My 71 Duster Project

[smartken22]

It has been awhile since the last update on the car so here is the latest progress. On this day I cut out the lower section of the left quarter panel that was rusted out. I got some donor skin off an old door my buddy gave me and cut out a section I needed, fabricated it to fit, and then welded it in.

 

[smartken22]

These two days were spent working on the engine bay. The engine bay is almost ready to go. All of the welding work is completed, I just need to finish busting some rust and final prep work.

 

[Dusterdude72]

Just recently went through all the same stuff but a bit more extensive.

can be a pain.

looks good though....need to post some pictures of the new quarter patch installed.

check out the link below to my build thread if you want to see what I did on mine.

 

[smartken22]

OK now we are up to date here. This is the progress from today. Here I fabricated and welded up a new piece of skin to replace the rusted out quarter panel section I cut out last week. Everything turned out really well and this car is looking very good. I ordered some body lead from Eastwood.com last week and it should be here on Monday so I can smooth out the weld seams on both the driver and passenger quarter panels.

 

[smartken22]

Just recently went through all the same stuff but a bit more extensive.

can be a pain.

looks good though....need to post some pictures of the new quarter patch installed.

check out the link below to my build thread if you want to see what I did on mine.

I hear ya...this actually was not as bad as I thought it would be, just time consuming. I just posted some pics of the quarter patch for you all. I will check out your build as well. Thanks for the comment!

 

[Dusterdude72]

yup, I see you added pictures of it.

Looks good!

I bought my quarter panel patchs because of the dents and rust mine had but I couldnt see the sense in spending the money on the trunk extensions so i build them by hand.

your metal work looks good! good forming.......once you get it all smoothed off no one will probably know the wiser! keep it up.

 

[smartken22]

I got the new bucket seats last week and did all of the fit checking to make sure everything was gonna line up. Everything lined up perfectly, so I welded in the re-inforcement brackets. I also did some work on the driver side door striker. I removed the old striker and assessed the damage. I tried to weld it, but the metal was too weak and thin so I ordered a weld in panel from Dynamic Renovation that is a lot more beefier than stock. I am thinking about doing the same to the passenger side as well just to avoid future problems and while I have the car torn down. Finally I did some work on the door hinges. Thanks Ross for the fast turnaround on those! I have not installed them yet, but I plan to install the hinges and shim the doors next weekend. I did some prep on the hinge mount points today though. Here are some pictures.

 

[dusterbd13]

still need a filler neck and vent assembly for a 49 state car? ive got a setup in pretty good shape left over from the resto of my 70. just vents to outside air through the grommet in the trunk floor.

michael

 

[smartken22]

still need a filler neck and vent assembly for a 49 state car? ive got a setup in pretty good shape left over from the resto of my 70. just vents to outside air through the grommet in the trunk floor.

michael

No I am good now. I went ahead and treated mine with the POR-15 fuel tank sealer. Its as good as new. Here is a pic of it. Thanks though!

Ken

 

[smartken22]

Here is the latest work on the car. I finally got around to repairing the door striker on the drivers side of the car and got both doors re-installed. They open and close like butter now! Here are some pics.

Ken

 

[Old Tired Rebel]

WOW you're car is really coming along.

 

[smartken22]

Here are some before and after pics of the floor pan. I used POR-15 to do the whole floor pan. Also are some pics of the torsion bar crossmember fab that was done to replace the old section that was hacked out. All I need to do is fine tune it a little and then weld it in. Once that is welded in, I can weld in the tunnel hump and finish closing off the floor pan.

Ken

 

[smartken22]

Here is a current pic of how she sits right now. More to follow...

 

[Old Tired Rebel]

Looks like you will be ready for paint soon.

 

[smartken22]

Looks like you will be ready for paint soon.

Yes! My next step is pulling the vinyl top off as there is some visual bubbling up happening. I am sure there some serious rust happening under it. Once I get that all sanded down I will just need to finishing all the block sanding on the car as there are a few ripples here and there. My goal to shoot primer is next month!

 

[Old Tired Rebel]

Yes! My next step is pulling the vinyl top off as there is some visual bubbling up happening. I am sure there some serious rust happening under it. Once I get that all sanded down I will just need to finishing all the block sanding on the car as there are a few ripples here and there. My goal to shoot primer is next month!

Are you going to repaint the original color or go with a another color?

 

[smartken22]

Are you going to repaint the original color or go with a another color?

Yes...original. My build sheet calls for B5 Blue. Here is a pic of a members car here from the resto forum with the same paint job my car was and is what my final goal is.

 

[Old Tired Rebel]

That will be sharp.

 

[340sFastback]

Nice job on that body work. I like that fighter jet too!!

 

[smartken22]

Ripped the top off the car and as suspected, it was rusting! I started to sand down one section to see how bad it really was and it actually cleaned up pretty nicely. I am going to finish sanding it down tonight and lay a thin coat of Evercoat Rage Gold to fill the pitting left behind from the rust. Overall it looks worse than it actually is.

 

[Old Tired Rebel]

Ripped the top off the car and as suspected, it was rusting! I started to sand down one section to see how bad it really was and it actually cleaned up pretty nicely. I am going to finish sanding it down tonight and lay a thin coat of Evercoat Rage Gold to fill the pitting left behind from the rust. Overall it looks worse than it actually is.

That doesn't look bad at all. So will you be resealing the drip rails?

 

[smartken22]

That doesn't look bad at all. So will you be resealing the drip rails?

Not quite sure what you mean by that? Are the drip rails the channels along the roof frame and down the A-pillar? Where do you seal them?

 

[Old Tired Rebel]

Not quite sure what you mean by that? Are the drip rails the channels along the roof frame and down the A-pillar? Where do you seal them?

Yes the drip rails are the channels that run down the roof and A pillar. I can't remember what is used to seal them with before painting.I am sure other members can chime in on what they used.

 

[Old Tired Rebel]

This link will help.

http://www.autobody101.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11829&hilit=drip+rail+sealer

 

[smartken22]

Yes the drip rails are the channels that run down the roof and A pillar. I can't remember what is used to seal them with before painting.I am sure other members can chime in on what they used.

Gotcha...I also just did a search on the rails and mine are in really good condition. The only place I saw rust and slight cancer was in the upper windshield channel. I am going to wire wheel the drip rails and windshield channels tonight and evaluate how much repair will be needed. Should be pretty minimal stuff. I am still curious as where to seal the rails. I already bought seam sealer and auto body sealer from TCP Global and plan to do all that prior to Primer/Paint so this is all good gouge! Thanks!