need help

[74Dusterkid]

i have a 74 duster and the whole back end of the car is rotted away and we dont know whether it is woth it to restore it to close to original or go with the tub and 4 link set up so any info on setups or what else we could do would be very appreciated.here are some old pics i can get new ones after i cleaned all the rust this wednesday.

 

[66340SEDAN]

How are the frame rails? You can replace the trunk floor with new stuff, may be easier and cheaper than going with the "link" set-up.

 

[Burntorange70]

How are the frame rails? You can replace the trunk floor with new stuff, may be easier and cheaper than going with the "link" set-up.

X2.

If the frame rails are good. Just get a new trunk pan and weld it in. Unless you are going to build a 8 sec car or want the pro street look. You will not need a full tub. You could allways miney tub it if you need/wan't to.

 

[74Dusterkid]

the thing is the rails are questionable and we dont know if we can weld to them to put new metal in. and with all the work needing to be done on the rest of the car we dont know if we should just go straight drag car since we have to replace most of the metal(quarters both sides, the complete trunk,both floorpans) on the car or just go with the mini tub and just keep the leaf susp.its just that either way its going to cost alot its just which seems more sensible to do with what is being replaced.

 

[bOb shingler]

back half it for a big tire.

 

[Burntorange70]

Well. It is kind of up to you wether or not you want a drag car or a street car. What do you want to do?

 

[74Dusterkid]

i would like to have it on the street but i do have another normal car to drive on the street like a daily driver. somaybe a mini tub? cause most of the back has to be replaced and just make it wider while we have it apart.insted of going back to stock and then doing it.

 

[stroked 340]

That rear section is pretty shot..if the frame rails ARE usable you could just install a new floor,and get out kind-of-cheap..unless you plan on keeping it a long time,or a planing a full blown race car, i would'nt put the time and money into tubbing it,i'd move on to a cleaner car...

 

[GTXperience]

I am just reiterating what others have said. If the rails are good, I would install a new pan and extensions.

 

[crackedback]

I am just reiterating what others have said. If the rails are good, I would install a new pan and extensions.

I agree!

 

[74Dusterkid]

from what i can tell there are no holes in the frame just surface rust so it might be better than what i think it is.

 

[mshred]

if the rails are good than i would minitub while your replacing all the floors and stuff...you mine aswell and youll be able to get a nice sized tire under there if you do a spring relocation. If the frame is bad though, i would backhalf it baby! mind, it sounds like you have a lot of work on your hands...if it was me id find a cleaner car to start with, especially since you said your young and tight on money...just like me =)...and let me tell you building a car adds up very fast, so you need to be careful where you spend your money...good luck

 

[74Dusterkid]

we havent put any money into the car yet so we have only spent what we paid for the car so far.

 

[wjaholic]

If you dont mind I would like to show some pictures of how I rebuilt the trunk extentions and the bottom half of the wheel house in my '74 Duster.

I had bought the car with a blown 318 (Read broken rod), rebuilt a 440 and 727, I was getting ready to install it in the car when I dropped the gas tank for the trunk extension and found what turned out to be a bigger project than I had intended on. Long story short, a year later and a lot of welding it is all back together and I am planning on firing it up in Feburary. The point is, with the original wheel wells and intensive measuring you can run a 275/60 R15 with no problem.

 

[74Dusterkid]

yea i plan on having the car for a long time so i think im gonna go with the mini tub while we are replacing the metal i just took another like 20 pics of the rear frame rails and the trunk after i cleaned it so once i get home i will upload them and put them in the thread

 

[74Dusterkid]

here are the new pictures of the trunk and frame rails they actually dont look bad compared to what i have seen on here. and dont mind the key to the trunk in some of the pics lol!!!

 

[74Dusterkid]

more

 

[74Dusterkid]

the last of them

 

[wjaholic]

Luckily, It looks like most of the damage is actually the trunk floor. I would be concerned with the shackle mounting area. It looks like the passenger side may be eaten through. If you are going to mini tub it I imagine you will be able to fix/re-enforce that area pretty easily.

Those EAU's (Energy Absorbing Units bolted to the bumper connecting it to the uni-body) are a pain to get out, atleast they were on my car. When you guys get that back bumper off you will quickly realize it weighs a ton :angry7: . I modified mine quite a bit, I ended up cutting 12 or more pounds off of it. I cleaned up and re-used the original EAUs, some guys will make up there own brackets to take there place though. Thats your call.

 

[72bluNblu]

:withstup::-D

It looks like the rails are pretty solid, if you clean them up well (harbor freight spot blaster maybe?) you should be able to spot weld the new trunk pan in. Once the pan is out completely you can clean and re-inspect the rails from the inside as well to get a better idea how solid they are.

I would just plan on replacing the trunk pan, and mini-tubbing it if thats what you want to do.

 

[Burntorange70]

Rails look savable. Cut out the old trunk pan and get a good look at them first though. But it looks like a new trunk pan will fix it. And you can mini tub it while you are at it too if you wan't to go that route.

 

[74Dusterkid]

yea i will cut out the pan when i get a new one to replace the old one and a welder that might help with the install and i would like to put a big tire in the back for that mean look :-D. and then i will hopefully get the motor out and tear it down cause this the floor pans and getting the interior together will take a while .

 

[Jims71duster]

I agree!

save the damn thing!!!!!!! even if the rails are junk,, make or get new ones, they will be ok just ahead of where the pics show the damage but will be junk all the way to the back. There are a few places that make caps, buy them and narrow them up and use them as dirct replacements,,,,, anything can be saved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

['74 Sport]

It all kind of depends on a lot of things...
What are your skills - metal working, welding, body work
Do you have all the tools necessary - compressor, cut-off tool, welder, sawzall, grinder, body tools
Do you have the space to work for an extended period of time - shop, garage
Do you have help - dad, brother, neighbor, buddies
Do you have funds - can you afford new replacement metal, do you salvage
Do you have patience - long term projects can wear on your nerves

This is what my son Aaron and I did for our very first ever car project. Yes, it was ambitious. Yes, it was rewarding (dad and his 14-year old son bustin' knuckles together). Yes, it tied up a few dollars, but we spent less than buying a crappy used car exactly like every other kid's in his high school. Yes, Aaron learned things about cars and auto mechanics he can use the rest of his life - he works on his own car. Finally, we both got bitten by the MOPAr bug and are developing this into a life-long hobby (nearing completion of 2nd car soon).

Just decide what you want to do, dive in with both feet, ask plenty of questions when you hit a snag, and NEVER look back.

Jerry

 

[74Dusterkid]

i have all of those but the skills and funds. you have to remember i am 16 and working a job for 7.65 and hour getting between 16-24 hours a week. so ive been slowly adding up the cash as of now i have like 230-250 saved in the last month. and i dont want help with cash cause i dont want anyone to say you didnt do the work and daddy just paid for your car. ill blast or grind the rails and if they look good enough to use i will if not i will be saving for a while longer.