Getting my 1971 Duster back on the road

[Rakers_SS]

Well, you've all helped me out plenty so far so I figured I would add a post to update on where the care is at incase anyone is interested.

A little bit about me, then on to the car! Im 24, live in Las Vegas but grew up in Illinois then lived in DC for a little bit. I have a 2011 camaro SS that my dad and I have done all the work to (headers, intake, exhaust, complete suspension, etc.) that we've gone to cruise nights and some shows with. Dad's first car was a 1971 'Cuda 383 4 speed (would love to track it down someday) so I've alwasy had somewhat of a soft spot for mopars. Fast forward to a couple years ago and I had a 2015 Charger R/T Road and Track Package but sold that since the new job came with a company car. Now I was without a Mopar and needed to scratch the itch!

A few weeks back I finally got bored enough in quarantine and decided it was time for a project car, I'd been looking at a 1971 Dart 318 automatic and some C10 pickup and then what is now my Duster popped up on Facebook marketplace. I got what I think is a great deal on the car but I'll find out more about if it was a good deal as I keep working on it. The car is a slant 6 (225) with a 3 speed manual on the floor. A previous owner swapped in an 8 3/4 rear which will save me quite a bit of time and money! The car didn't run when I picked it up but many of you have helped me to get it to where it now starts and idles with some throttle help!

Well, that's my story for now and I'm sticking to it! I'm looking forward to working on the car more and getting more involved on this forum. I'll be posting more regularly on my Instagram

so feel free to follow me there to see more of the car, my username there is the same as here.

 

[Rakers_SS]

A little bit more that I forgot to add in the original post.

Long term plans for the car are a 360 magnum swap, part of the deal purchasing the car was all of the parts the previous owner had accumulated for doing the swap himself but had too many other projects. For now though, I'm going to get the slant running and driving and enjoy it as is for a bit. It definitely needs some work, but it'll be an awesome learning experience along the way.

So far what I've done to it has been minimal. Rewired the ignition system and replaced the distributor and ballast resistor. Now I'm going through the brakes, I pulled the rear drums off the other day to find a couple of broken springs on one side so new brakes will be here Friday 6/19/2020. Once that is done I should be able to back the car out of the garage under its own power for the first time since I've owned it! An extra holley 1920 and a bunch of parts are on it's way from another member as mine seems to need a rebuild (float bowl is leaking and running way too rich).

 

[Mtrhead]

Good choice ..My Favorite Year duster!!!!!welcome to fabo..

 

[MOPAR4Me]

A little bit more that I forgot to add in the original post.

Long term plans for the car are a 360 magnum swap, part of the deal purchasing the car was all of the parts the previous owner had accumulated for doing the swap himself but had too many other projects. For now though, I'm going to get the slant running and driving and enjoy it as is for a bit. It definitely needs some work, but it'll be an awesome learning experience along the way.

So far what I've done to it has been minimal. Rewired the ignition system and replaced the distributor and ballast resistor. Now I'm going through the brakes, I pulled the rear drums off the other day to find a couple of broken springs on one side so new brakes will be here Friday 6/19/2020. Once that is done I should be able to back the car out of the garage under its own power for the first time since I've owned it! An extra holley 1920 and a bunch of parts are on it's way from another member as mine seems to need a rebuild (float bowl is leaking and running way too rich).

Cool project, looking forward to following your work. This is the best site, post here and you will make the FABO Gods and all us faithful followers happy .

 

[lenky1]

Looks like a great starter car. Im a fan of the 71's considering i have 2 . Good luck with the build!

 

[sireland67]

Looks like a solid start.
Also your plan is also smart, keep it running and enjoy it, instead of tearing it apart.
Engine change in a weekend is a doable project if you have all the parts.

 

[Rakers_SS]

Update to the project: Got the brakes sorted out this weekend. Rear drums were all replaced with new parts due to a few broken springs, figured I might as well do it right the first time and replace it all. Fronts were functioning and have plenty of life left so I just bled those and called it good. I'm impressed these cars came with 4 piston discs stock! I went through all of the 360 magnum swap parts I have and will be posting the list of those soon to keep a record of what I have and what I still need (suggestions are always welcome). Recently installed a new to me holley 1920 as mine seemed to be having a few issues and leaks. Also have a decent amount of parts for the 1920 so if I do need to rebuild it I should be able to. Right now I'm just waiting on the replacement battery tray to get here and then I'll see if I can get it to run reliably. My battery tray was rusted, and a plastic one had been tech screwed in on top of it, just didn't like the look of that so AMD gets some of this paycheck!

 

[Rakers_SS]

Here's a list of all the parts I have for the eventual Magnum Swap. This all came with the car when I bought it.

- Header Gaskets
-Water Pump Gasket
-Head Gaskets
-Valve Cover Gaskets
-Intake Gaskets
-Timing Cover Gasket
-Front Main Seal
-Oil Pan Gasket
-Headers
-Carpet Kit
-Camshaft
-Cam Bearings
- Timing Set with tensioner
-Valve Springs
-Lifters and Pushrods
-Universal Speedometer Cable
-Spark Plug Wires Set X2
-MSD Blaster Coil
-MSD 6AL Box
-Pro-Comp Electronic Distributor
-U-Bolts
-Distributor Cap and Rotor (extra)
-Valve Stem Seals
-Cam Bolt and Washer
-Camshaft Key
-Water Pump Inlet Tube
-160 degree Thermostat
-Thermostat Housing and Gasket
-Blaster SS Coil Bracket
-Seat Relocation Bracket
-Spark Plugs
-ARP Head Bolts
-Water pump (serpentine setup)
-Engine Swap Mounts (trans Dapt)
-Oil Pump
-Starter
-Air Shocks and Lines
-Heater Hose 6' (X2)
-Coolant Bypass
- Bell housing for 3 or 4 speed

 

[Rakers_SS]

Took a couple of days to get the gauge cluster in my duster "restored" this weekend. Fully disassembled it and sanded the old paint off and used some brake cleaner to get the tough spots off. Also buffed the lenses to get over-spray from a previous owner paining it off. Looks much better now! I didn't get a great before photo, but here it is. Thinking about getting a replacement wood grain decal for the face of it...

 

[Rakers_SS]

Finally made some good progress on getting the car to run reliably today, once I got the car to idle somewhat reliably it got up to operating temp and I found two more freeze plugs need to be replaced, unfortunately one looks to be behind the intake/exhaust so I'll get started on pulling that off once the car is cooled off. Or I'll start the magnum swap LOL

 

[Rakers_SS]

Well, today marks the day that I decide to call it quits on the slant six. I would have loved to get it running, however when I pulled the intake and exhaust manifolds a stud snapped in the block and the extractor broke off in the stud (just my luck). While I could've solved that with some time and effort, when I got the top freeze plug removed to replace it I found a massive accumulation of rust and who knows what else inside the block. It really needs to be pulled and rebuilt, and if I'm pulling an engine I may as well put a 360 in that I have most of the parts for. So lets see where this adventure goes next!