My first mopar 74 Plymouth duster

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I would definitely stay with E5 color. Way, way easier. Even if you upgrade the mechanicals it won't detract from the value. changing paint will. Once upon a time a-bodies were considered disposable and easily replaceable, no more. Original mechanicals are o.k. but not necessary. Just have fun. Good luck
 
Well, I didn't get as much done this weekend as I would have hoped but I got more of the interior torn out. I will definitely be needing a new rear shelf and head liner. Most of the plastic need a good wash and so do the door panels and rear panels.

I wish it was alittle warmer here so I could have washed the panels but later with week I think it's suppose to be 60 and sunny so I should be able to get it done.

Then I will be coating the rusty floor pan and bare metal spots and pulling the dash and steering column for paint. After that I can start redoing the interior, I'll probably set up a spot in my basement so I have a nice warm spot to do the seat recovering.

I will most likely be using a dynamat type product for insulation, how is this stuff? Have you guys had good expirences?

What are you guys using for replacement headliners? Mine is very....well...nasty and will need to be replaced. It also has a hole from the mice near the drivers side.

I think you guys may have talked me into keeping the rallye red.
 
Well, with the turkey in the oven and alittle whiskey in my blood I got some motivation this morning!

I broke one of the pins to the instrument cluster when I pulled the plug so I soldered it back on.

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Then I cleaned up the copper connections

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And converted the roof surface rust and started the floors, its 60* today so I'm taking advantage!

Before

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After

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I got the driver side motor mount (the passenger side looks like it will be a royal PITA), spark plugs, wires, ignition coil, distributor cap and rotor done tonight. I'm jumping all over but making progress. I'm thinking I'll throw the front seat and gauge cluster back in for the winter just so I can move it around if I need to. Next up is draining the oil and replacing the valve cover gasket.
 
Got the dash pulled (thanks to an older thread that showed how to do it without pulling the windshield) and got the first coat of color on it Sunday. It looks awesome! I went with a satin black. I should be able to finish it up this weekend!

Tonight I was able to flush the coolant and install a new upper/lower rad hose, t-stat and a new temp sending unit.

This weekend I'm hoping I can replace the fuel pump and with that out it should give me enough clearance to get to the passenger side motor mount.
 
You are off to a good start, making it mechanically safe, alot of guys just rip them apart and they never get put back together.
Keep it red and the A230 will take a beating.
Slow upgrades will keep the wife happy with smaller amounts of cash spent.
I also have a jeep addiction.
 
sireland67 said:
You are off to a good start, making it mechanically safe, alot of guys just rip them apart and they never get put back together.
Keep it red and the A230 will take a beating.
Slow upgrades will keep the wife happy with smaller amounts of cash spent.
I also have a jeep addiction.
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Thanks, gutting it and then being at a stand still with no cash and overwhelmed is what I was afraid of. That is why I'm just bouncing around and doing what I can on my budget right now. I'd like to get it running and driving better and get what I can cleaned up, then I'll really start digging into things. I will be keeping it red.
 
I like both your approach of being surgical and staying with Rallye Red.
I didn't have a choice due to basketball size holes in the floor and a blown and raped power train.
4 years later I am still plugging away but now I can jump around and do small things as I can afford them.
I hope to have mine moving and stopping sometime next summer!
 
DusterDaddy said:
I like both your approach of being surgical and staying with Rallye Red.
I didn't have a choice due to basketball size holes in the floor and a blown and raped power train.
4 years later I am still plugging away but now I can jump around and do small things as I can afford them.
I hope to have mine moving and stopping sometime next summer!
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Thanks it was actually your build that helped me settle with the idea of keeping the red. It looks awesome when there is a fresh coat on it.
 
tbr1806 said:
Thanks it was actually your build that helped me settle with the idea of keeping the red. It looks awesome when there is a fresh coat on it.
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Well Thanks, and come on, look at it. Just a roller with no stripes no nothin' it looks like it goes fast.....
 

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Crazy73 said:
Lookin good TBR, can't wait to see it on the road!

-modrapos
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Thanks buddy, I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of it, seeing you're right down the street from me. I can't wait to see how your cuda turns out. :burnout:
 
I also agree with the red. and keep the wife happy, spend and work on it as makes sense, get it on the road as is! and go from there!
isn't it wonderful to have a solid car to work on!?????

a mopar budy bought a new 70 383 runner when he turned 16. it had a 3 speed in the floor. Dad would not let him get a 4 speed!! my dad: 4 speeds are for racing, you AIN"T racing! quote unquoye! ha
my buddy changed out the 3 to a 4 speed. his dad NEVER knew!
 
Got some more done this weekend.

New heater core, I have seen alot of people have fitment issues with the after market ones but this one fit perfectly! Not mods or BS.
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Here's the old one.
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Dash looks great with a fresh coat of paint! the pictures make it look to have a little more sheen then it actually does and I used a little armoral to clean up the old dash pad, it looks great!

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This is the ash tray and what the dash looked like prior to alot of sanding and a new coat of paint.
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Some older pictures but I thought I should add them.

Floor pans before removing the headliner
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The mess it made removing the headliner
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I also got the shifter boot cleaned up and did alittle color inlay on the shift knob.
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New fuel pump, distributor cap, rotor, wires, spark plugs, ballast and coil.
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Not sure if this is "known" around here yet but my father showed me this when we use to work on cars.

We use to use 3m marine restorer and polish on metal parts that were faded and had small spots of rust. Here is what it can do...


My dome light had some small that spots and heavy build up on it, possibly from cigarette smoke and years of sitting, I hit it with the polish and then some turtle wax to protect it.

It's not the cure all, end all and doesn't always work but when it does it can save you some money and is like magic!

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After some Polish and elbow grease

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After some wax

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Nice work! You'll get there take your time and do it right make a NICE car from an old one...............
 
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