My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head

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Thanks to the write ups you and goldduster318 have made I'm making the move to a Cougar twin fan set up. Found one on Ebay with the wiring pig tails (try finding the harness now days) and ordered up a controller. Need some info on the Tuff Stuff 100 Amp alternator your running. I have a lead on a new black mopar unit that the owner doesn't know any thing about. Any way to ident the 100 Amp unit over a stock 60?

PS. Is your March pulley set up six grove?

Well, I haven't actually seen a Tuff Stuff 60 amp alternator in person. I went out and took a look at my 100amp, but I didn't see any markings on it that indicated it was a 100 amp. At least nothing obvious I can see with it mounted in the car. The part numbers are even the same except for a single letter between the 60 amp and 100 amp versions. They come with a test tag in the box when they're new that indicates what they tested at, that may be the only way to know for sure.

The march serpentine set up is a 6 groove.
 
Love your build, loved the read, Thanks! I just got a 74' Duster and hate the rear bumper for sure. Gotta do the same swap you did! Thanks again for posting this!

Alex
 
What an great build thread! I love your approach to the work. The dash is fantastic, and the wheels look perfect!

I do have a question...where did you get that hood? Is it fiberglass? I'm having difficulty locating a steel '71 Dart hood.
 
I saw this car at the Good Guys June show at P-Town and damn near bought it myself. Glad you bought it, it takes all the pressure of me.
 
Love your build, loved the read, Thanks! I just got a 74' Duster and hate the rear bumper for sure. Gotta do the same swap you did! Thanks again for posting this!

Alex

Me too, i love the bumper part as well, i'm strongly thinking of doing this to my '74 Dart Sport as well........
I concur about the build thread, lots of great info here for me to steal! :evil4:
Good stuff, i can't wait to see more.
 
Love your build, loved the read, Thanks! I just got a 74' Duster and hate the rear bumper for sure. Gotta do the same swap you did! Thanks again for posting this!

Alex

Thanks! Glad I could help

What an great build thread! I love your approach to the work. The dash is fantastic, and the wheels look perfect!

I do have a question...where did you get that hood? Is it fiberglass? I'm having difficulty locating a steel '71 Dart hood.

The hood is steel. I bought the entire front clip from a guy that was parting out a '71 Dart 4 door. Shame, because it was a clean car, but he was parting it out and I wanted a front clip.

I actually have another one, I pulled that one off of a '71 Swinger that ended up at Pick N Pull of all places. I may try to put an AAR 'Cuda scoop on that one though.

I saw this car at the Good Guys June show at P-Town and damn near bought it myself. Glad you bought it, it takes all the pressure of me.

No you didn't. I wasn't there. ;)

I bought the car in 2012. Before that, it was a /6 '74 Duster with a dead cylinder that wouldn't have been able to make it much further than down the block. Which is about how far I got when I bought it in 2012 before I needed to have it towed home.

Me too, i love the bumper part as well, i'm strongly thinking of doing this to my '74 Dart Sport as well........
I concur about the build thread, lots of great info here for me to steal! :evil4:
Good stuff, i can't wait to see more.

Thanks! I'll try to get some more stuff posted. I installed a set of rear spring sliders, I should take some pictures and post them. I've just been using the car as my daily, so I haven't been doing much to it other than dealing with boring little issues that come up when you drive a car like this daily.
 
Took the "duster" on a trip up to Tahoe the other day and took some pictures.

A few outside of Twin Bridges, CA.

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Showing off the slightly lower stance now with the rear leaf spring slider mounts installed. Isn't much, but it makes a difference. Still just a teeny bit of rake, perfect. :D

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And one overlooking Lake Tahoe near the top of Hwy 50

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340 ran great, less altitude variation in my AFR than I thought there would be, but it definitely slowed my idle down a touch while I was up there.
 
Thanks for trying on the alternator. Nice pics of the car. Makes me want mine done so bad it hurts. Sold my 15" rims and tires and have borrowed my friend's 345/40 x 17 tire and rim to do some measuring for the eventual 18s. Mocking up the new Cougar fan for mounts and 50% done with rewiring. Need my controller so I can finalize everything. The TS 100 AMP alt. is on the motor and looking sweet. Need to make a spacer to get the pulley alignment spot on. No light at the end of the tunnel, yet.
 
Thanks for trying on the alternator. Nice pics of the car. Makes me want mine done so bad it hurts. Sold my 15" rims and tires and have borrowed my friend's 345/40 x 17 tire and rim to do some measuring for the eventual 18s. Mocking up the new Cougar fan for mounts and 50% done with rewiring. Need my controller so I can finalize everything. The TS 100 AMP alt. is on the motor and looking sweet. Need to make a spacer to get the pulley alignment spot on. No light at the end of the tunnel, yet.

That's a lot of tire! But I guess that's what mini-tubs and a 3" relocation will get you. I'm pretty happy I stuck to 295's. I could probably go a little bigger if I rolled the fender lip and did a "reverse tub" on the wheel well to remove the bump toward the outer edge, but even 295's are pretty darn expensive. And with the ~420 hp or so I'm making I really don't need anything bigger.

looks like an awesome drive

Yeah it's a great drive. Beautiful scenery, some decent sections of corners etc to have a little fun. Of course most of the time I was stuck behind some slow poke, but that's the way it goes. And the car handled all of it very well, even with climbing up to Echo Summit at 7,382 ft from basically sea level down in Sacramento.
 
Good stuff, I think I might copy your idea; going to go by St. Helens this weekend if everything goes right. I'll toss up some pics in my build thread.
 
Yeah it's huge and it's nice to know that something that big actually fit the wheel well but I was more interested in the dimensions off the rim. Believe me I have not really delved into tire selection yet but whatever I end up with is going to fill a good portion of that mini tub.
 
Thanks for this build thread!! Just read through the whole thing. The "duster" looks great with that wheel/tire combo
 
Thanks! I need to update my thread, one of these days I'll get off my butt and get it back up to speed with what I've done. I've got a few more parts in the mail, so hopefully soon. :D
 
Need an update!

Rumor has it you put sliders in the rear springs and got rid of the shackles....but I might have that wrong.
 
Need an update!

Rumor has it you put sliders in the rear springs and got rid of the shackles....but I might have that wrong.

Sorry! Been sick as a dog for almost two weeks. I have a pile of parts to install, SPC adjustable UCA's, QA1 tubular LCA's, a set of Digi-Tails LED tail lights, plus a few other random goodies.

I did install sliders awhile back to eliminate the shackles. So far they're working great, once and awhile I hear them make a little noise but it's pretty hard to hear with my exhaust.

I intended to take pictures as I went, but that didn't happen so I only ended up taking a few pictures afterward, and after I had driven the car out to see my family (they live down a dirt road, so, that's why all the dust.)

I replaced the shackle mount with my own mount for the sliders that just bolts in place of the old shackle mount. I cut a couple pieces of square tube and welded plates to the open side, and set the mounting plate up to be level with the rear frame extension. I drilled holes in the plates and into the frame to mount the sliders, so they can be removed with only a couple of extra holes to show for it. They can also be adjusted if I decided to slot the holes, or add some more. The install, even the way I did it, lowered the car about 3/8" in the back. The slider bolts ended up a smidge further back than I intended (probably because of the drop), but you can see from the "clean" spot that the sliders don't travel all the far backward, even when subjected to gravel roads with potholes etc.

Like most of the stuff I do the first time it didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it, but it's more than functional the way it is. I may go back and make a new set of mounts later, and channel the sliders up into the frame a 1/2" or so for some additional drop. Right now the car sits at 25" to the top of the wheel opening in the front, and 26" to the top of the wheel opening in the rear. I intend to lower the front a bit more with the new LCA's, so I may have to go back and lower the rear again.

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It's not like I've gotten much done on my car, so don't think I am throwing stones because I asked. Just checking in.

BTW, I'm guessing there are pictures attached, but I am blocked from Photobucket here so I can't see them. Have to wait until I get home to comment.
 
Oh no worries, I'm the one that keeps putting "teasers" on here and then not updating my thread. I just have a slightly better reason for it this time.

Yeah, I attached a couple of pictures of the sliders and mounts. :D
 
Ticks me off that they block Photobucket. Much less enjoyable to surf FABO when you can't see the pictures. :)
 
Very cool! I like how you came up with a clean way to mount it without having to cut up the car.
 
I could've swore you were the one who notched you frame to set the sliders up higher to lower the rear!! Must've been someone else...

Figured out it was younggun2.0 that notched the frame.
 
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