My 71 duster(first car)

[Greenmachine225]

Hey guys, I’m almost done with my 71 Duster that I’ve been building for 6 years. I bought it with my own money on my 15th birthday and I’ve been working on it since. The car had nice paint and a new interior when I bought it but mechanically it was junk, all original suspension from 71, a /6 that had everything wrong with it along with the rest of the drivetrain. Since my 15th birthday I’ve rebuilt the entire front and rear suspension with all new bushings ball joints, T-bars/leaf springs and all the other goodies. After I got it running reliably and safe to drive I started saving and buying as many parts as I can buy over 3 years. I was able to find and A-body 8 3/4 housing with big bolt axles and the rest from other people. A friend sold me a rebuilt 727 and I got a free 318 that I did a cheap build on. I made the mistake of not touching then bottom end of that engine and it was spewing bearing material everywhere. A year later I’m where I am now with a practically new 360. It’s a new short block with some stock 360 heads I had rebuilt, Isky cam, edelbrock air gap and a nice Holley carb. I’m going to be throwing it in later this week. I’m super proud of this build as I’ve done probably 99% of the work myself other than machining. I’ve wanted a v8 A-body since I was 10 and after 10 years of saving/building it’s almost done! The whole drive train swap was done in the street in front of my house which the neighborhood loved haha.
Sorry I know this was kind of long so Thanks to those who read the whole thing. And yes I know the 360 isn’t pretty but it should run pretty good.

 

[DFX 340 Duster]

Great job!! You have accomplished quite a lot in such a short time.
You have a great paint job now I suggest that you complete the engine compartment appeal by painting the engine. The two tone blue engine would be a distraction to the marvelous eye appeal of the work that you have done.

 

[Lee Robinson]

Great job!! You have accomplished quite a lot in such a short time.
You have a great paint job now I suggest that you complete the engine compartment appeal by painting the engine. The two tone blue engine would be a distraction to the marvelous eye appeal of the work that you have done.

Nice looking Duster. You must have good neighbors in San Jose. I used to live in Rancho Cordova in the Sacramento area. If I had worked on a car in the street
somebody would have complained to the county. I was working on a door on a stand in my garage one time, with the door open, and somebody complained about that.
I live in a rural area now, so nobody cares.

 

[Super-Cuda]

Hey guys, I’m almost done with my 71 Duster that I’ve been building for 6 years. I bought it with my own money on my 15th birthday and I’ve been working on it since. The car had nice paint and a new interior when I bought it but mechanically it was junk, all original suspension from 71, a /6 that had everything wrong with it along with the rest of the drivetrain. Since my 15th birthday I’ve rebuilt the entire front and rear suspension with all new bushings ball joints, T-bars/leaf springs and all the other goodies. After I got it running reliably and safe to drive I started saving and buying as many parts as I can buy over 3 years. I was able to find and A-body 8 3/4 housing with big bolt axles and the rest from other people. A friend sold me a rebuilt 727 and I got a free 318 that I did a cheap build on. I made the mistake of not touching then bottom end of that engine and it was spewing bearing material everywhere. A year later I’m where I am now with a practically new 360. It’s a new short block with some stock 360 heads I had rebuilt, Isky cam, edelbrock air gap and a nice Holley carb. I’m going to be throwing it in later this week. I’m super proud of this build as I’ve done probably 99% of the work myself other than machining. I’ve wanted a v8 A-body since I was 10 and after 10 years of saving/building it’s almost done! The whole drive train swap was done in the street in front of my house which the neighborhood loved haha.
Sorry I know this was kind of long so Thanks to those who read the whole thing. And yes I know the 360 isn’t pretty but it should run pretty good.

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Awesome job Greenmachine225 ! I guess you will have to change your handle to greenmachine360 now!

I know how this feels as I too still have my first car and its on this site as well. You couldn't find a better group of people to be associated with than FABO members. Ask away, we'll only be too glad to help you. Great to see new young members take up the Mopar Flag!!

 

[MoparMike1974]

The 360 might not be pretty but that is a damn sweet looking duster.

 

[Arron tate]

Hello Greenmachine225
Wow, Don't know where to start with this...
Amazing seeing all that work being done in the street just like us old school guys did it back in our day... Congrats to you for completing a task that most men twice your age could not do..
Enjoy that ride....
And as a wise person said..

Stay Safe...
Happy Mopar
Arron.

 

[Plymouth 65]

Congratulations, your car looks great and you should be proud you did it yourself! I'm impressed that you stuck with it for all those years and didn't give up. Not to mention the fact that you saved your money and paid for it! 65'

 

[CFD244]

Awesome job. If I saw you out there, I would have given you a hand. Your neighbours are awesome. The ones that ***** would rather see a young guy playing video games and hanging out at the mall.