Project “Ghost Duster”, 1970 Duster Corner Carver

[fishmarket]

Great work! You have really brought the car along way! What stage are in you right now?

A few more posts and I’ll be caught up to where I am at the moment. Thanks for the compliment!

 

[Riddler]

Thanks! I’m the guy who gave you the wiper pivot bolt....over by the freez

Yes I recall who you are. Just more excited to have more Mopars to cruise with.

Riddler

 

[fishmarket]

The rear cross member was composed of three welded pieces. The outer ones spanned the width of the trunk drop downs and were previously patched....terribly.

Since I had to cut them back to install the trunk drop downs, I cut the patch out plus a bit more until I hit solid steel. Then I laid out new crossmember ends on sheet metal and made them long enough to fill in for the extra rust that was removed. Then cut them out on a shear and bandsaw.

I bent the flanges, as the original piece, on the brake. Here is an OEM beside the new and improved version.

I slit the overlapping 5/8” on the radius of the top flange to make sure the lower flanges sat flush on the drop down. Then I drilled holes for plug welding and burned her home.

Dressed the welds and coated with POR15.

Both sides needed the same treatment, looks great now and is super solid.

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[fishmarket]

On to the quarter panels. I originally was just going to patch the lower sections in front and behind the wheel tub. Upon further inspection, I uncovered some shoddy repairs so I decided to replace the panels further towards the body line. I removed the outer wheel tubs leaving about 3/4” of material from the inner to outer seam. This is for a future “project”. Although my pics don’t show it, I fully clamped the panel into position and returned the car upright. I supported the middle of the rockers with my threaded jack stands and tacked everything where I wanted it before rotating the rotisserie to make the welding more accessible. Again the AMD panels had their quirks. The rear marker light openings were so large that I could almost push the side markers right through. I decided to retain the original openings which also allowed me to avoid the leaded section at the quarter to tail panel area. This metal was in good shape.

 

[fishmarket]

Been a while since I’ve posted....Going back to work has cut into my car time.

When I cut the quarters off of the car I decided to cutout the outer wheelhouse for future tire clearance. Everyone knows how much the outers occupy space that a fat tire would love to inhabit. Here’s my take on the classic Mopar “de-hump”.

When I removed them I left about 3/4” of material to attach the new tub. I had to cut the original contoured weld flanges in the center of the tub to accommodate the new flat metal. New flanges were made from 20 gauge and plug welded to the newly trimmed tub brace. I added a curve to match the new shape.

I got out the poster board for some more cardboard aided design, and came up with a template.

Next, I transferred the pattern to some 18 gauge sheet metal and cut out the tub. I DA sanded both sides for paint adhesion.

I decided to make the tub in two pieces to make things easier. Next, I used the bead roller to strengthen the pieces and add a little rigidity and I drilled the holes for my plug welds.

Painted the interior side with POR15

 

[fishmarket]

I left a 3/16” gap between the quarter and the tub. It will be filled with seam sealer after the car is epoxy primed. I’m going to removed a large portion of the quarter lip when I fit the tires. Officially de-humped!

 

[Tanker]

You’re making all of this look deceptively easy. If only it were true. Very nice work.

 

[fishmarket]

I made a wheel tub brace/trunk close out panel to stiffen up the new outer wheelhouse and clean up the trunk area a bit. Laid out the design on cardboard and transferred to sheet metal.

Then I drilled holes in all the radii to make cutting out the final shape a bit easier.

Next I bead rolled the outside and added a few dimple die holes for strength and prettiness.

The pics are sideways because the car is on its side on the rotisserie but you get the idea. Going to weld them in after I get some epoxy primer on the back of the quarters and tubs.

 

[Machmeter1]

This is really fine craftsmanship - welding and metalwork. I really like your precision in fabricating those panels and reinforcements. A long time ago I completed my 4-year tinsmith apprenticeship. Even though I changed the industry, I still like to work with metal and know very well how much work and effort you are putting into fabricating all those parts.
Hats off

Cheers, Wolfgang

 

[fishmarket]

This is really fine craftsmanship - welding and metalwork. I really like your precision in fabricating those panels and reinforcements. A long time ago I completed my 4-year tinsmith apprenticeship. Even though I changed the industry, I still like to work with metal and know very well how much work and effort you are putting into fabricating all those parts.
Hats off

Cheers, Wolfgang

g

Thank you. Posting a few pics and a blurb of what you are doing sometimes makes these projects look easy but it’s the timeline that doesn’t show up in the thread. If I did this for a living I would go broke. I was off 6 weeks for covid and spent 6-8 hours a day in the shop. That’s when I completed a huge chunk of my progress. I probably had 30 hours into those wheeltubs, but it feels like an accomplishment when they turn out right. I’m a toolmaker and have been working with metal and welding for over 25 years. There is a bit of a parallel between that trade and fabbing parts out in the shop. I’m in no hurry with this car, I have a vision of what I want the outcome to be and I am picking away at it. Work is getting in the way at the moment. My motivation always seems to go in waves....I’m all in everyday day and then I let it sit a month or two. I need a tig welder to complete some of my ideas but with the border being shut down, I’m not able to buy what I want. Hopefully soon. Saving $ for a rear end and brakes, trying to decide between ford 9” full floater or a custom width 8 3/4” because I have a bunch of center sections and housings. Again, I’m restricted by not being able to cross the border.
Maybe I’ll go out today and accomplish something, at least clean up the shop. I think you’ve motivated me. Thanks!

 

[fishmarket]

Well, no work on the car today. I fixed my deck because it was sinking from a rotten post and procured my boys into fixing the fence that they riddled with hockey pucks. I did do a quick clean up in the shop so hopefully that will give me some motivation to get out there. As for the rest of the day, I’m off to a buddy’s for beers, bbq and swimming. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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[fishmarket]

Took a break from the rust and welding and decided to restore a set of clutch/brake pedals I got at moparfest a few years ago. I got these for a steal at $75.

 

[fishmarket]

After tearing the assembly apart, I did the Herb McCandless clutch pedal ratio mod and added about .625” to the pedal arm length as seen in this pic from Mopar muscle.

Then I made up a couple mandrels in order to make some bronze bushings to replace the factory plastic pedal bushings. I found some existing bushings where the ID was correct for the smaller ones and cut them to length, then turned the OD to the correct size on a lathe, as well as the outer lip thickness and diameter. The larger ones I had to machine the ID to size and then use the mandrel for the OD.

 

[fishmarket]

I sandblasted the pedal assembly parts, then added a zerk fitting to pack the pins and bushings with grease. I drilled a hole through the inner tube to allow grease to reach the inside bushings and drilled and tapped the outer tube for the zerk. After painting and assembling everything, I pumped grease in until it squeezed out of both sets of bushings and wiped off the excess. Probably overkill and most likely I will never have to add grease again but it’s there if I need it.

I will steal a brown wire off of an old wiring harness and solder it to the safety switch where someone cut it off, then this job is complete.

 

[440jimr]

Very nice work!

 

[Kendog 170]

Very nice! Zerk is a nice touch. No pedal squeks for you.

 

[racerjoe]

Just this weekend I replaced the factory linkage rods with rods I made with heim joints. I was amazed at the difference and wish I would have done this years ago. I adjusted pedal ratio by moving the rod closer to the pivot point on the clutch fork side. I tried it on the top coming off the pedal, but the rod hit the firewall. If you plan to do this, I'd recommend doing it now before installing the pedal box. It was not fun getting the factory pin off the pedal while under the dash!

 

[fishmarket]

I like it.

 

[fishmarket]

I shaved the lip off the frame rail in the engine bay, just “in case” I ever swap to a new Hemi. You need to remove the lip to clear for the alternator. I think it’s a bit stronger being fully seam welded and it creates a nice flat area for a landing pad for future j-bars.

 

[fishmarket]

Onto the j-bar project. I started by removing part of the seam between the cowl and firewall in order to make a nice flat spot to incorporate a rigid landing pad. I seam welded everything behind the plate for rigidity and to keep the water out. I wanted to tie in the three different planes where the cowl and inner fender meet to maximize the strength.

Here is the cut back seam and the beginning of the seam welding.

I roughly cut out the shock tower area of the inner fender. It turned out to be way too much and had to patch it back in the end, but I needed to expose the tower to measure for the the j-bar brackets and come up with a plan.

The landing pad is heavily radiused to reduce stresses that occur at the corners of square anchors. Looks a little funky, not as wild as the ugly American, hotchkis duster’s though. They remind me of a four leaf clover so hopefully they are lucky.

Here is the j-bar laying on there for perspective. I purchased them from jegs, pre bent.

 

[TT5.9mag]

Can’t believe I’ve missed this whole thread. I’m caught up now. Fantastic craftsmanship so far. Keep it up.

 

[fishmarket]

Thank you, I appreciate the compliment.

 

[HemiDenny]

After tearing the assembly apart, I did the Herb McCandless clutch pedal ratio mod and added about .625” to the pedal arm length as seen in this pic from Mopar muscle.
View attachment 1715577680
Then I made up a couple mandrels in order to make some bronze bushings to replace the factory plastic pedal bushings. I found some existing bushings where the ID was correct for the smaller ones and cut them to length, then turned the OD to the correct size on a lathe, as well as the outer lip thickness and diameter. The larger ones I had to machine the ID to size and then use the mandrel for the OD.View attachment 1715577697
View attachment 1715577679 View attachment 1715577681

Man, you do nice work.

For what it is worth, I did the Herb McCandless clutch pedal mod in my silver Hemi Duster taking it from the wimpy 5-1/4" measurement to 6".....after a summer of use, I re-did it......to 5-5/8". I'm sure the Herb mod is great for a strip car, but for street driving, IMO, it is too much. While it did take more leg pressure and the pedal was always smooth, when doing lot of stop / go, the 5-5/8 is a nice compromise. I stole the measurement from a set of 340 pedals I had.

Enjoy the ride,
Denny

 

[fishmarket]

My TIG welder is being delivered today! Unfortunately, it’s being delivered to my buddy’s in Michigan. I’m not sure when we will be able to cross the border, but it will be waiting for me when we can. In the meantime, I tack welded everything with MIG and will do the final welding with the TIG when I get it here.

Here is the clover landing plate, it’s made of 1/8” cold rolled steel. Just taped on in this pic.

Cutting the bars to size.

Here are the bottom landing plates on the frame rail. You can see where I trimmed the lip off of the rail earlier. Also cut a hole through the plate to allow the j-bar to sit closer to the inner fender. I will be able to weld from behind and right up the sides to tie in the inner fender and rail.

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[fishmarket]

To tie in the the shock mounts to the j-bars, I made up these brackets from 1/8” cold rolled and some DOM tubing. Obviously I was inspired by the Hotchkis Duster.... It was a compromise of getting the bar as close to the corner of the firewall/inner fender landing plate, keeping it within reach of the shock mount and having the bar tight to the inner fender. All in all it turned out great.

It is amazing how different the shock mount contour is, side to side. The brackets are totally different. Here they are laying in place with the j-bar.

Once I had everything where I wanted it, I mig welded the inside of the brackets. I made a cover plate with a couple holes that are dimple died, these welds will be covered so I just mig welded them in. A little sheet metal work was done to completely cover the gaps that I left when I did my original cuts.... a little too big. I’ll drill a couple holes for water to drain after I finish welding. You can see a slot I machined in the tubing to allow water to run out.View attachment 1715585623
Here is the bar with the top plate laying in place. I have a little more work to do but it should tie everything together and stiffen the front up quite a bit.
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