Father-Son 1974 Duster Project

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sireland67 said:
New house, I thought you were going to put an addition on the one you have.
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Maybe she's leaving him, - Too much time massaging the Duster and not enough time massaging her feet. He didn't say it was a house for THEM to buy.
 
DusterDaddy said:
Man... This weekend I had big plans to get so much done on the car and other stuff detoured me. My wife wants to look at houses to buy, my son has a party, my daughter needs help writing poetry, my little guy needs a new video game from gamestop, and my son Aaron needs help getting the engine off his dirtbike project.....

I did manage to get the AC side of the heater/ac box cleaned and put back together, and clean and organize the garage....
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Sheesh! - And his son is throwing a party! - I wonder what his daughter's poem will be about...

There once was a man from the Garden State
that played with his Duster 'til quite, quite late.

His wife was in a huff
because his hands were so rough.

Now he lives in the doghouse this date.
 
Don't mind me DusterDaddy.. I'm just living in my own fantasy world here...
 
1967 'cuda said:
Maybe she's leaving him, - Too much time massaging the Duster and not enough time massaging her feet. He didn't say it was a house for THEM to buy.
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Very funny. I was just rubbing her feet Sunday night! The boss isn't sure if we should add on or move. I vote for stay. I just want my pool and new garage....
 
DusterDaddy said:
I got my steering column back in the car and got some junk done in the trunk :D
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Correct me if i am wrong, but i think you may have the reassembly order off on this one. The heater, pedals, and wiper linkage go in first, , then the dash frame with gages goes in, and the steering column goes in last, up from the bottom.

Id hate to see that nice column get all scratched up trying to fit the dash sheetmetal over it.

Your dash frame sides have 1 slotted hole per side. You loosly thread the bolts in these holes in the body, get somebody to help you fit the dash slots to these side bolts letting it rest on the bolts, and rotate the dash frame upright. Have somebody hold it so you can reconnect your tubes vents and cables for the heater unit, then rotate it full upright and tighten the 5 bolts across the top of the dash, then tighten the 2 lowers.

Matt
 
moparmat2000 said:
Correct me if i am wrong, but i think you may have the reassembly order off on this one. The heater, pedals, and wiper linkage go in first, , then the dash frame with gages goes in, and the steering column goes in last, up from the bottom.

Id hate to see that nice column get all scratched up trying to fit the dash sheetmetal over it.

Your dash frame sides have 1 slotted hole per side. You loosly thread the bolts in these holes in the body, get somebody to help you fit the dash slots to these side bolts letting it rest on the bolts, and rotate the dash frame upright. Have somebody hold it so you can reconnect your tubes vents and cables for the heater unit, then rotate it full upright and tighten the 5 bolts across the top of the dash, then tighten the 2 lowers.

Matt
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Thanks Matt,
When I took the dash frame out I dropped the column as low as it would go and it came out without damaging the column at all. I would not even consider putting the dash frame back in until the heater box is all re installed. I'll drop the column all the way down, tape up the column real nice with blue tape. The cluster wont go in for months and I dont have the heat/ac control either and wont for some time...
Ignorance is bliss:D
 
I got the heat/ac box in the car today. I put a thin coating of lithium grease on the seal to the cowl vent just for grins. There is a small hole in the firewall near the heater core penetration, and I'm wondering what goes in or through it?

I also cleaned up our under dash harness. Then I layed down on the seat and looked at how to put it back in. Its been so long since we took took it out I don't remember how it routes around the steering column or where the fuse box goes or what holds it to the fire wall....
 

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It's been a while since I've been under a Duster dash, but the harness should lay in looms made into the dash frame. I bet it routes over the steering column/brake pedal support also. The fuse box should mount to the firewall with a few screws, kind of up above the dimmer switch area. Here's a tip I learned years ago, that may save you some grief chasing electrical demons later on. Before you reinstall the dash frame, sand the points where it bolts to the door frame all the way to the metal. Do that to both the dash frame, and the door frame. Coat it with some electrical silicone grease like you put on battery terminals, and bolt it up. That will give your dash frame a couple of good grounding points. If you bolt it back up paint against paint, it might not make a good ground. The silicone grease will keep it from rusting. As far as the hole in the firewall, could it be for one of those plastic nail thingies that hold insulation?
 
Thanks for the grounding tip JD, that makes sense and I would not have done that had you not mentioned it.
As for the hole, it's too big for a fastener. I think it may be for a vacuum line for the heat/ac controller....
We're going with fatmat as insulation on the firewall once I figure out all the penetrations
 
Bob that might be a hole for the nail that holds the old insulation pad.
They used plastic nylon nails to fasten insulation to the firewall.

I have a few if want me to take a picture.
 
That may be what it's for. I was looking at GDonovans thread about his 74 Duster, and it is an AC car. Maybe send him a PM, and get him to look for you. Gary is a good guy, and would probably be happy to help.
 
BoB

Take a look at around picture 5- 7 it shows an orientation from inside the cab and outside of the cab You can see the firewall nails on the engine side. Keep in mind that this is taken from my dart but it'll give you a good perspective.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showpost.php?p=1970195860&postcount=43

also here is a picture from the same page in my thread that shows the back of my dash and how the harness is routed.

1017192_469660353116344_439830720_n_zpsusxcdn1e.jpg
 
Thanks Al. Somehow I was thinking the main trunk of the harness ran along the firewall. Duh!
I laid it out along the dash frame and it all makes sense now.

I also found the lower duct for the heater box and got it in the car. I was wondering where that hanging vacuum actuator mounted....

View attachment image-1264911072.jpg
 
sireland67 said:
Looking good!
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Sometimes I feel like an *** due to my lack of Auto Mechanic knowledge, and It is compounded by the time that has passed since I disassembled most of the car.

:banghead:

Today's riddles include, what thread size are the u-nuts and bolts that fasten the dash frame to the back side of the cowl and what size is the appropriate vacuum tubing for my heat/ac set up? Where does the main vacuum line come through the firewall? And were can I get a schematic of the vacuum plumbing? I did a search for the latter and couldn't locate one....
 
A box of goodies arrived from Summit today! Floor shifter, spark plugs and wires, fuel pickup and sending unit and after market two post am-fm radio. We also have the heat-ac control and the HEI heat sink bracket that bolts under the distributor on the way... Since I have 2 stock instrument clusters, we are modifying one by installing an oil pressure gauge in place of the oil-brake idiot light and a 2-1/8 tachometer under the water temp gauge in that big open flat space. Brand tbd. What ever is reasonable and matches well. Decided to set the odometer to 32057 on this cluster since that is the mileage on the title even though there was no odometer in the car when we bought it.... View attachment image-4209358194.jpg Wondering about the orientation of the metal tangs between the digit wheels. I assume the notch goes over the housing frame in the back of the well where the odometer sits....
 
Here is a marked up picture that outlines our plans for the stock cluster modification...

Maybe I should put the tach where the idiot lights are and the oil pressure gauge in that big empty spot....
 

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DusterDaddy said:
Here is a marked up picture that outlines our plans for the stock cluster modification...

Maybe I should put the tach where the idiot lights are and the oil pressure gauge in that big empty spot....
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I don't think I'd do it unless I could match the same style of gauge. I love having the info that gauges provide but I never care for the look of a set of mismatched gauges closely together in an instrument cluster. I think it looks better to have a second set of gauges off to the side when they're a different style.
 
1967 'cuda said:
I don't think I'd do it unless I could match the same style of gauge. I love having the info that gauges provide but I never care for the look of a set of mismatched gauges closely together in an instrument cluster. I think it looks better to have a second set of gauges off to the side when they're a different style.
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I was worried about that too. I may just get her going with one of the stock dash clusters I have. Never been a fan of the column mounted tachs or secondary pods....

John, you could have just said " I think that will look stupid"
 
DusterDaddy said:
I was worried about that too. I may just get her going with one of the stock dash clusters I have. Never been a fan of the column mounted tachs or secondary pods....

John, you could have just said " I think that will look stupid"
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Actually i think it'd work out fine if you could match the style of gauges to the ones already in the cluster. I just think that it looks odd when gauges that are close together don't match. I am on the fence when it comes to the column mount tachs. As much as I like the 'race' look, it does tend to keep the instrument panel from looking clean. I have to admit though that I do tend to read a tach easier (while driving) if it's on top of the dash or on the column.
 
Well a fellow member pointed me to allpar where there were 73 Dodge service manuals for download. Found the under dash vacuum diagram and just about anything else I may need. Much more accurate then the 72 manual I have. More relevant to my 74.

Took the crown of one of my grilled tonight and cleaned and polished it up. It looks pretty good...

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Tomorrow I need to find a good epoxy to make a few grille repairs.
 
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