YOUNG GUNS! Sign In and WIN

[1bad360duster]

i just joined the site a couple weeks ago and just found this. i amm 16. id love to participate. can i?

 

[Dusterdude72]

Of course you can....tell us about your ride and let us hear what inspired you to be attracted to mopar and vehicles in general.

Read over the thread to get an idea of what kind of stories we have all posted and BE SURE to read what leanna posted at the start of this thread so you can make sure your entered into the contest

 

[1bad360duster]

Ok guys im in now, wasnt sure if i could enter because of my join date but i got the go ahead so im excited to tell my story. here it goes.
My dad has had a 1973 dodge dart since he was sixteen and still races it today. i've been going to the track with him since i was maybe 5 or 6 and can remeber it alot. of course being brought up in this kind of family i felt the urge to be a true mopar fan/hot rodder. i then remeber being in 8th grade and looking at the one for the money add of the duster. i knew then that i wanted a red duster with white stripes. So the search began to find a duster. i looked alot online and found one that claimed to have no rust. Well we got there and it sure HAD rust. we could stick our hand up through the floor lolol. Anyway i passed that one up. Luckily, a guy at my dads job found one on craiglist that was right down the street from me. Shockingly, it was a california car that had been brought over to new york only a couple of years ago. it had virtually no rot except for minor spots9nothing major). the guy even put it up on the lift for us and we were amazed how clean it was. well it was a steal at 1400$ an was a 1976 duster. I then held on to the car for about 1 year and a half without doing anything but cleaning it and taking it out on sunday drives. when i turned 16 this june we really started to work heavy on the car and the work continues on as i speak. Me an my dad have done all the work and will until it is completed. My dad used to own a body shop so luckily all the body work is free and i get to learn alot as the project goes along. i stripped the entire car to the bare metal and epoxy primed it and then put regular primer over that. so far the car is on its third prime job. 2 more blockings and it will be ready for paint. since i got the car i also have gotten a job which i ahve had for 1 1/4 years so far in which i like and all the money i make goes into the car. so the project is not just a restoration but a way that is teaching me how to manages things. plans for the car are to basically be a resto mod-street/strip car that runs strong. i will probaly race the car at least once every week next summer. i have bought many little parts and big parts including greg weld rims-8.8 4.10 gear rear end and a 360 magnum out of a jeep in which i painted and converted to carb. However, i have changed my mind and am instead trying to sell the magnum in order to build a street 440 but if it doesn't get sold i will just use that. currently me and my dad on mini tubbing the duster. I think its awsome that some young guns out there are still into mopars. sadly it is a dying breed, but not a weak one at all. i love it when the kids at school give me a hard time saying they will whip me with their acuras and hondas. Oh when my cars done, we'll see about that lolol. by the way i plan to paint the car viper red with white stripes and black interior with white door panels and seats. the car will also have 1 stage of nos with either motor
heres a pic of my dads dart which gave me my mopar roots

and here is a slideshow of my car from bone stock up until now in order of the work--click duster pic to watch

hope you enjoy the read and the pics. i know im forgetting alot of little things but for the most part its all there. thanks, and have fun with your MOPAR

 

[mshred]

Ok guys im in now, wasnt sure if i could enter because of my join date but i got the go ahead so im excited to tell my story. here it goes.
My dad has had a 1973 dodge dart since he was sixteen and still races it today. i've been going to the track with him since i was maybe 5 or 6 and can remeber it alot. of course being brought up in this kind of family i felt the urge to be a true mopar fan/hot rodder. i then remeber being in 8th grade and looking at the one for the money add of the duster. i knew then that i wanted a red duster with white stripes. So the search began to find a duster. i looked alot online and found one that claimed to have no rust. Well we got there and it sure HAD rust. we could stick our hand up through the floor lolol. Anyway i passed that one up. Luckily, a guy at my dads job found one on craiglist that was right down the street from me. Shockingly, it was a california car that had been brought over to new york only a couple of years ago. it had virtually no rot except for minor spots9nothing major). the guy even put it up on the lift for us and we were amazed how clean it was. well it was a steal at 1400$ an was a 1976 duster. I then held on to the car for about 1 year and a half without doing anything but cleaning it and taking it out on sunday drives. when i turned 16 this june we really started to work heavy on the car and the work continues on as i speak. Me an my dad have done all the work and will until it is completed. My dad used to own a body shop so luckily all the body work is free and i get to learn alot as the project goes along. i stripped the entire car to the bare metal and epoxy primed it and then put regular primer over that. so far the car is on its third prime job. 2 more blockings and it will be ready for paint. since i got the car i also have gotten a job which i ahve had for 1 1/4 years so far in which i like and all the money i make goes into the car. so the project is not just a restoration but a way that is teaching me how to manages things. plans for the car are to basically be a resto mod-street/strip car that runs strong. i will probaly race the car at least once every week next summer. i have bought many little parts and big parts including greg weld rims-8.8 4.10 gear rear end and a 360 magnum out of a jeep in which i painted and converted to carb. However, i have changed my mind and am instead trying to sell the magnum in order to build a street 440 but if it doesn't get sold i will just use that. currently me and my dad on mini tubbing the duster. I think its awsome that some young guns out there are still into mopars. sadly it is a dying breed, but not a weak one at all. i love it when the kids at school give me a hard time saying they will whip me with their acuras and hondas. Oh when my cars done, we'll see about that lolol. by the way i plan to paint the car viper red with white stripes and black interior with white door panels and seats. the car will also have 1 stage of nos with either motor
heres a pic of my dads dart which gave me my mopar roots

and here is a slideshow of my car from bone stock up until now in order of the work--click duster pic to watch

hope you enjoy the read and the pics. i know im forgetting alot of little things but for the most part its all there. thanks, and have fun with your MOPAR

dude, your dad's car is badass! if there's one car thats dominated my desktop background its your dads car! ive talked to him a couple times on some forums and if those stupid kids at school ever bust your balls again just show em a pic of your pops mope with the wheels in the sky! oh, and about using the N20, i know where that influence came from LOL...enjoy that duster man and hopefully we'll see you posting here more! your duster looks good!

 

[1bad360duster]

thanks man. i've actually followed your stuff around also. i see you post on yellowbullet etc. the scamp is reall sweet. if you want more pics of the dart i can make a new topic on here with them b/c i have alot. lol
ohh by the way the kids at school will laugh at his car and think it is a lowrider because the wheels are (bouncing) maybe 1 or 2 kids only really get it .lol. what can you do. i also post on other racing sites for awhile moparts etc and just found this site, and i have to say i lovvveee it especially for threads like this.

 

[JeffTheMarine]

Well I suppose I will enter also. I am 23. I have had a few Mopars to date and that include a 1970 /6 3 on the tree Duster, a 72 318 auto console demon, a 1971 Dodge Demon (my current main project) and a 1969 2 door post Valiant. My Demon I purchased bone stock from a guy that has more Mopars then he can shake a stick at and never sells. The only reason he sold me the Demon is because he is more of an E body person and because he is a family friend and I am a service member. My dad is a huge Mopar fan and I grew up with it and loved it ever since. My heart bleeds penestar. Either way the Demon was a 318 904 auto on the column with a 7.25 rear and originally autumn bronze metallic. When I bought it it was painted all black and had a Duster nose on it. As soon as I got it I added the correct nose did a full tune up and drove it from my home state of Washington all the way down to Reno where I stored it at my father in laws house when I was on my first deployment. When I got back I drove it the rest of the way down to Camp Pendleton and used it as my daily driver until the 904 took a crap on me. I also added a performer 4bbl manifold and a Holley 600 carb. As soon as the trans went out I took it out and begin the process of converting it to a 4speed. 8 months later it is back on the road with the 4 speed a 8.75 rear with 3.91 sure grip and super stock racing springs. I have a set of Kelsey Hayes disks that I intend on adding to the car and drilling for LBP. The car will eventually have a stroker motor with a Paxton super charger. My intentions are to paint it gun metal grey metallic with the full stripe package and a Go wing on the rear. Oh and I have a sunroof out of a 74 Duster that I intend to put into it. Also a full resto, my dad has a rotisserie so that should help aid with it in the future. All of the plans are slow going due to the fact that the military doesnt pay worth a darn. I took just one pic of it today but I will add some more tomorrow when it is light out again.


Jeff

 

[1bad360duster]

nice car and especially thank you for your service. that is extremly honorable.

 

[JeffTheMarine]

nice car and especially thank you for your service. that is extremly honorable.

Thanks I appreciate it. I am about at the end of my contract and ready to go back home and have a quiet day to day life with my family again. The Demon has its rust issues and I have been looking for someone who does good body work around my area but I havnt had any luck. I am probably going to have to wait till next year when I go home to get the quarters hung. But thanks though I appreciate your support.


Jeff

 

[MopaR&D]

I'll give it a shot. My name is Khalid and I'm originally from State College, Pennsylvania. As a kid I was always interested in mechanical things; my grandpa would let me work on and use his lawnmower when I was only seven, and I loved getting my hands on anything under the hood of a car. When I was 15 I had just started discovering Mopars and met a guy entirely out of coincidence who owned an awesome 1965 Coronet Super-Stock lookalike with an ample 440. My grandpa and I gave him a visit at his home where he had probably five Mopars (one of which is a totally restored '67 Coronet R/T 440) and three newer cars. He gave me a ride in that Coronet and I was hooked. I knew that my first car would have to be a Mopar.

In September of 2007 my father and I were looking for a good first car for me. After much searching I found the car displayed in my signature, a 1970 Duster with a stock 318/904 drivetrain. Having no previous experience with Mopars, I didn't have enough intuition to notice the haphazardly leaky Carter BBD, slackened timing chain, and receded valves that robbed the engine of power. The original timing chain finally bit the bullet one day pulling out of school and that was the beginning of the road to turning my Duster into something resembling a muscle Mopar. I spent over 7 months getting an engine stand, pulling the engine, gathering parts, rebuilding the engine, and finally dropping it back in with the parts listed in my sig. Even though the engine visibly burns oil and doesn't get better than 16 miles per gallon this Duster has been my daily transportation to and from UCCS 25 miles away since the beginning of the semester in mid-August. In that time I had a brake hose and radiator hose go bad, and not much else (not including things that I farted around with...LOL).

In the future I want to at least first do a complete rebuild of the 318 along with an A-999 trans and beefier sure-grip rear end. My ultimate plans, however, are for a nasty g-Machine-type 408 (~525 HP)-powered road race car with a 5-speed, heavily beefed suspension, and heavily lightened (pun intended). Think something between a Formula S and the "Green Brick" Valiant but with a semi-fastback roof and a nice interior (and hopefully painted either Turbine Bronze or a pretty purple/blue).

Here's the old gal when I first got her:

And here is how it looked the last time it wasn't covered in slush and ice...

 

[livinlarge]

basically, my dad loves cars, and from him i've learned quite a bit about em. be a teenage girl, most people wouldnt think that about me, so im able to put cocky guys in their place haha.

i have an '89 shelby daytona. its a turbo, and a standard. its been sitting around for a few years because first i was workin on my trans am. but this past summer i rebuilt the engine, and did a bit of body work. i had to leave for school, so there wasnt time to actually hook the engine up to the wires and such; im planning on finishing it up this winter. im excited to drive it because it'll be the first time taking it out, since the previous owner blew a head gasket. and thats my story.

 

[grassy]

basically, my dad loves cars, and from him i've learned quite a bit about em. be a teenage girl, most people wouldnt think that about me, so im able to put cocky guys in their place haha.

i have an '89 shelby daytona. its a turbo, and a standard. its been sitting around for a few years because first i was workin on my trans am. but this past summer i rebuilt the engine, and did a bit of body work. i had to leave for school, so there wasnt time to actually hook the engine up to the wires and such; im planning on finishing it up this winter. im excited to drive it because it'll be the first time taking it out, since the previous owner blew a head gasket. and thats my story.

Welcome aboard..a pic of both cars and you name would be nice

 

[805moparkid]

Weekend bump for the newbies :-D

Hey was up cudachick! as i am a young gun i was wondering whats up? i havn't heard anything new.

thanks ahead of time

 

[Harrison]

I figure I'll write my story.

Back when I was 13, my mom was helping the people that she worked for at the time find a car. I get a call, it's mom "Harrison, there's this AWESOME Dart down here that I want to get for you". I had never even heard of a Dart before, but I figured it'd be pretty cool so I said sure. A few days later, we go look at it before it gets dark. They dealer guy tells us that it was garage-kept by his grandmother and it's in great shape. It's dark and we can't see much, but we take his word for it. We get it a few weeks later.

First thing we notice now that it's finally light is that the carpet is just a bunch of scrap pieces of house carpet thrown down. We pull those out, and we find that the entire floor pan is rusted. In fact, it's rusted so badly that there are holes. I do a few things to it, but I'm too young to get a job and there's no extra money, so the car sits untouched for a while.

3 years later, I find this site. I'm ready to start doing work. I make a post, and pretty soon I get a PM from Dartnewbie. He's also got a 63 Dart, and wants to send me some extra parts. I give him my address, and soon I get a package containing shifter buttons, hood letters and emblems, tail light bezels, and trunk letters.

I chill in IRC and get to know the people. I ask for advice on what to do about my rusted floor pans, and I'm told I should wire-wheel it. I live with my mom though, so I have no tools. Waggin hooks me up with a drill and a bunch of different wire wheels, as well as a really nice gascap to replace the wrong one that came with my car. I do the floors and all seems to be going well.

The end of summer comes, and things happen. I end up moving from my mom's in NC to my dad's in SC. Right now, my car is still sitting up there with my mom. We're trying to work on a way to get it moved down here, but we haven't been able to yet.

And that's my story so far. Here's all the pictures of my 1963 Dart.

 

[bayyum]

i like your story harrison, and good to have you back

 

[dustya_383]

My name is stephon wolf. No relation to steppenwolf the rockband haha and I'm 19 years old I from san jose california it all. Started back in 2006 when I was about fifteen, my birthday wascoming up so my dad who lives in another state, decided it was time to look for a car. I spent months and months searching for a car online and in magazines and got dragged into american muscle, I had always wanted a 69 chevelle cause I always seen them around along with novas and such and became attracted to that body style. I had seen one online for a real good price just needed paint but the guy had just sold it the previous day.I was sort of sadend by this but didn't bother me too much had some time, I later came across a 66 dart. And thought that's not a bad looking car but the distance was too far for me too go just to look at it. I went to see many others, buick skylarks, novas, etc. But they just didn't seem to suit me. So. I'm listening to some music on the computer while searching , and I hear the lyrics say, "who is this chick, can I trust her?? Took her outside to my plymouth duster." I said wats a plymouth duster?? I knew a little about mopar, but not nearly as much as I do now,and decided to see wat was on craigslist under plymouth duster, the first one I looked at was a 440 duster with a four speed and said to myself" that's the car for me" now obviously the price on that duster was thru the roof so I did research and found a74:spiderma: for 2500 in san francisco.it had a rebuilt 360, 727 and an 8 3/4 rear which I didn't know til way later. So I asked my mom can we go check this one out?? She agreed,we made the call and it was set. We went to see it and it was more beautiful then. In the pics, immaculate interior,chrome 15's and. Once he started it I was in heaven. There was rust but nothin major so,we got paper work done and drove her home. Oh forgot to mention my mom talked guy down to 1200. So for a few months she sits in the garage motionless because I have no license yet but my mom would let me drive everyonce in while. But anyways I could go on and on but ima fast forward a bit, I'm a junior in highschoolwhen I first take her to school, when I pulled in the parking lot all heads turned directly yo me note I was running straight pipes haha that's one of the coolest feelings in the word knowing everyone is looking at your car with their jaws to the floor lol. It great. So time goes by andi start taking classes to for engine transmission autobody and paint, I had car knowledge before this, always helped dad work on porsche and such, but after a while I started doing little thing replaced bench seat with buckets ,which I still have and is still in perfect condition, put headman headers on, intake carb just to gain a little hp. As time progresses and I gain morre knowledge , iii go in for the kill which was back in september of this year, I stripped her down ,replaced all rust and am still in this process of finishing her up,and throwing primer on it,but after that I plan on stroking my 383 block I have and matching it up to my 4speed, and painting it hemi orange,and plan on building more mopars and only mopars. Want to stroke my 360 to a 408 and drop it inanother car and do who knows what with it. I have encourged a good friend of mine to become a mopar fan and he now drives a 70 dart swinger. This is my story kind of chopped and screwed but you get the idea, hope you enjoyed my little story and thanks for reading any quuestions or want to know updates visit my page or shoot me an email [email protected] also have big block and small block parts forsale pm me

 

[Stormy69]

Welcome aboard..a pic of both cars and you name would be nice

lol, that would be my daughter Khrisa we did some more work on the car tonight, she should be posting some pics tomorrow. she told me she was joining, finally have one of my children on a car forum!

 

[livinlarge]

oh. the name is khrisa. and heres my baby.

 

[CudaChick1968]

Attention entrants and thread watchers, an OPEN CHAT DISCUSSION has been scheduled for Sunday, January 3, 2010 from 8:00 p.m. til ???? to brainstorm ideas for prize distribution.

Please make plans to attend and share your suggestions. More details / comments about the chatroom meeting: http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=85014&referrerid=641

 

[goldduster318]

This is the first time I have seen this post...so here goes.

My name is Pat and I am a 23 year old Mechanical Engineer who lives in Farmington Hills, MI...originally from the Erie, PA area.

At the ripe old age of 14, I convinced my parents to allow me to buy this 1970 Plymouth Duster while on a vacation in Flordia. I purchased it from a guy who was 19 at the time and was having issues with it. The car had a very bad overcharging problem and many other electrical gremlins and a shot steering box. Other than that, it was your typical worn out car with 250,000 miles on it. 318, column shift auto, 7 1/4 2.76 open rear, radio delete...and white with green interior

With the speedometer broken at 110 and headlights not shut off, I got it shipped back to Pennsylvania. My dad and I cut out all the bad wiring that had melted and soldered in some new wiring. I fixed the many safety issues it had and we got it legal the same year...so my dad could drive it for me.

I then began modifying it. I first found a total loss 74 Duster in the local junkyard and took its disk brakes and 8 1/4 rear axle. I had the rear axle rebuilt with a 3.21 sure-grip and put it in the car with some new springs. Over the winter, I built the car up with the disk brakes, new front end components, added a factory sway bar. I then added some cragar street star wheels and some old 225/60R15 goodyears to it. Then came the headers and duals. I was looking really good there and drove the car all of the summer of 03 when it wasn't snowing. It was good to me.

Then, problems started to come...the oil pressure light started flickering. I put a gauge on it...and the car had only 4 psi of oil pressure hot. This wasn't good. I took it home and pulled the pan...metal everywhere and shot bearings. Time to yank it. I purchased an 89 318 from the scrap yard that ran good...cleaned it up, put a cam in it, edelbrock performer, holley 600...seemed like it would be good. Fired it up, broke in the cam...all seemed fine...then i started hearing a noise. It sounded like it was in the bellhousing...I thought it was the automatic...so I wanted to convert it to a 4-speed car.

About this time I went off to college...48 weeks a year in MI, 300+ miles from the car. I purchased a 4-speed setup and put it in...the noise was still there. Did a compression test...0 psi on #6....pulled the head. A screw from the holley baseplate had gone through the piston.

At this point i decided to yank it again...got some used pistons from a member in Ohio. Put it together...new bearings, swapped to magnum heads, etc. Used a crosswind intake (china)...car started, ran good. then it started tapping a bit. Wiped the rear cam lobe and got coolant in the oil. I replaced the cam and found the intake was defective. I put it back together for one more try...it started to seize on me (obvious damage had been done).

At that point I said enough was enough. I purchased a 1977 360 from a guy in detroit that I could look at the bores/bearings ahead of time. Brought it home and put my magnum heads, camshaft, and bought an edelbrock air gap intake for it. I put it in the car and it came to life right away. By this point, 4 years had passed since I had driven it last. This spring I spent a lot of time tuning it and finally got to enjoy it. I even swapped in an 8 3/4 rearend from a B-body for better fitment of the rear tires and more strength for my more powerful engine.

I still love this car more than I did from day one. Its kind of a unique car in the mopar circles as it has many modifications done to it that I get asked about constantly including the Fastlane West dash, Hydraulic Clutch setup, Magnum heads on an "LA" block, B-body 8 3/4, offset shackle kit, Side exit exhaust, and 74 disk brakes with rear mounted calipers.

The car has made the trip with me to my new home in Farmington Hills. I can't wait to take my trusty companion out on Woodward.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

great contest by the way! Thank you!

 

[Mopar_Chick]

Well here it is, My name is Kourtney Johnston, I am 18 years old and a senior in high school. On August 30, 2005 I purchased a 1972 plymouth "Gold Duster". At the time I was 15 years old. I had originally wanted a '66 Chevelle SS, what was I thinking right? Then I started thinking I wanted a Dart. My dad's friend had mentioned he thought he had a Dart but when we got to his shed it happened to be a duster, so I went ahead and picked it up thinking this could be pretty cool! I happened to pick the car up along with a '75 4-door Valiant for $500, I thought this was a steal! Considering the valiant was a running and driving car with a 904 tranny a 318 block and a 7 1/4 rear end. I figured I could swap all of it out and put it in the Duster because it had a cracked 318 in it along with a 7 1/4 rear end and 904 tranny. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to fully restore a car. This duster was a hunk! but I saw the potential! I spent about four years restoring this car. We started deciding what exactly we wanted to do with it (color, paint scheme, interior, motor, etc...).

So, we started tearing everything apart and labeling and putting everything in boxes, just me and my dad! I was so stoked. We then did the body work, which started as going down to the first layer of paint but then decided to totally cut through and do EVERYTHING! We did all the body work ourselves including using as little bondo as we could. Then we really got into going to those all so famous SWAP MEETS! My dad and I would go to everyone here in the Northwest. We found many used parts and things we could fix up as we were kind of on a tight budget. With my father's and my knowledge we saved and salvaged everything we could and tried to do everything ourselves and get some great deals. We happened to start out with a pretty complete car and then came across three more '72 dusters for other parts cars.

After the body work we started cleaning up the motor from the Valiant. We took the 318 out and cleaned and dressed it up. We put new lifters, mild cam, an Edelbrock 600 on it, high rise edelbrock intake, manifolds, valve covers, air cleaner, etc... and painted it 340 orange. By this time I had figured out that I wanted to make it look like a 340 car that way later on I could find an actual 340 block and be set! I decided I wanted my car the famous MOPAR lime green but knew I wanted pearl in it. So we had a friend mix me up a color called "Kourtney Green Pearl" which is somewhat between a sublime and a sassy grass green with a pearl added to it. Then I picked out my 340 striping and decided to do the ladder bar striping. Along with that I built my own custom guage cluster and center console along with a hurst ratchet shifter for the on the floor automatic. Then had a friend recover my bucket seats in an all black vinyl with black carpet. I painted all the interior metal the same green as on the car in our barn and then started assembling. We did everything ourselves except the 2 1/2 inch flowmaster super 40 series exhaust, the half top vinyl top and the interior seats. All together we have around $6,000 invested in this car including the buying price. We were able to build an amazing car for fairly cheap just by being fortunate enough to be able to do about everything ourselves and buy used and some new parts. Yearone, Paddock and PST had a huge involvment in this project!

I am now 18 years old, and orignally I had put a 318 block in this car with a 904 tranny and a 7 1/4 rear end also with a four core radiator. The tranny ended up blowing up...sad day. But I then replaced it with a rebuilt 727 with B&M stage II shifter kit in it for $300, which was a smoking deal! Since I was replacing the tranny, I decided to go ahead and replace the rear end and driveline too.
So I bought a rebuilt 8 1/4 rearend and put that in and then had my uncle build me a new driveline for it. It currently still has the 318 and is running like a champ! I recently just bought the new rubber front end kit to rebuild the front end from PST and it is amazing!

I never really came from a family that was all about MOPARS. My aunt and uncle have a few and My dad has a '36 buick, a '54 ford panel with a 350, a '67 camaro and now we have four '72 dusters and a '75 valiant. So,of course I got picked on for having a MOPAR, but now they aren't laughing! This project has taught me so much about cars, I have always been knowledgeable in that area, but now I can whoop some of those boys! My father is very proud of me and it was a great time for us to spend some time together. My duster was my first car and still to this day after being done for 2 years my true love! I call it "Born in'a Barn" since we did all of this work in a barn on our farm in Jefferson, Oregon. I have won over 30 trophies at car shows every summer and still attend as many as I can. I love the people and the cars!

 

[DSTR 340]

First off, I want to say thanks to the guys and girls who came up with this idea. It’s not often people think about us “Young Guns.” My name is Justin, I am 25, and I am working on restoring my 1970 Duster 340. I found it in my home state of New Jersey. I grew up with my dad talking about different cars he used to own and work on. Growing up, my house didn’t have a garage, there were no project cars to speak of. So, when I turned 23, I saved up enough money for my own project car. I was young enough (and stupid enough) to just work on it in the driveway. My dad was okay with the idea, so I set out to find a car. I spent about 6 months searching, but finally found a car no too far beyond my skill level. Much to my girlfriend’s (now wife’s) dismay, I ended up spending the money I had saved for her engagement ring on the car. (We ended up getting engaged 6 months later.) So, I ended up with a1970 Plymouth Duster 340. My car is a real deal 340 with the fender tag and build sheet to prove it. Some of the other options my car came with from the factory were: a heavy duty 4 speed, 8 3/4 3:91 sure grip posi rear end, Torch Red (aka Hemi Orange) and a rally dash. Below is the fender tag, in case anyone wants to correct me if I am wrong (or just curious):

v6x v8x y05 en2
g33 L31 m21 n41 n85 r11
ev2 a01 a04 a62 a88 c55
ev2 L6x9 tx9 a24 004014
e55 d21 vs29 hob ******

When I got the car there were many things that were a mess, and might I add, still are, ha ha. When I got the car, the suspension was a so worn out that it floated all over the road when you tried to drive it. So I went to work and pulled the engine out because that need to be redone (and it’s easier to work on the suspension with no motor in it.) I pulled every thing off the car and replaced; ball joints, pitman arm, tire rod ends, shocks, and bushings all the way around. I painted most of the suspension parts with a rattle can after power washing them, but I had the K frame and upper control arms powder coated.

So then I learned an important thing about project cars. Once you take one thing apart to do something else, you end up replacing what ever you took apart for your initial project. The car had a newly rebuilt 318 in it when I got it, but we all know that had to go. So with the help of this forum, some of the guys put me in touch with Ken (aka physixx) who was able to provide me with a date coded 340 for my car. The block was bored .30 over to clean everything up. I also did some other things to the engine. Thee original 340 X-heads taken from the 318 were fully rebuilt with new valves. I added a new Edelbrock 750 carburetor, Edelbrock performer RPM intake, KB pistons .30 over, new starter, water pump, fuel pump, alternator, and new hoses all around. Ken did a fantastic job in building my engine and I would recommend his work anytime.

Then getting back to the point I was making, since I had the whole suspension apart, I decided to up grade to front disk breaks. The original disc brakes had been cannibalized long before I got the car. With all my new horsepower I didn’t want to be all go and no whoa, so I put on a set of SSBC front brakes and ran new lines all around the car. Special thanks to Mike (aka Swing69) for finding me the kit at a great price.

My next project for the winter is to rewire the car because whoever tried this before me did a piss poor job and made more problems then they fixed. So with my Christmas money, I will be buying a new wiring kit for the car. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to voice your opinion. (But I’ll post about that later.) I have not fired up my new engine yet (and it’s killing me) but I am just afraid the wiring is so bad it will give me problems when I go to do the first start up.

Thanks for reading! (I hope I didn’t ramble on for too long.) I wanted to say that I think this is a great site, and it has been very helpful to me. I am part of a group of guys who plan on starting a local cruise night this spring with an annual car show. So if you’re in the North Jersey area, or want to take a ride up here, I will be posting info once all the snow melts and it’s time to break out the muscle. Oh, and thanks to this post, I think we are going to have to have a Young Guns trophy at our car show. Thanks again.

Justin

 

[mopardart72]

Well im tyler. ive had my dart since i was 13 years old i got it for my 13th birthday and me and my dad have worked on it for 4 years still havent gotten it running. It takes alot of money that we currently dont have. Me and dad plan to get it running by this spring if funds permit. Were getting closer but still pretty far away. I plan on 15'' chrome cragar torq thrusts with blue paint and white stripe custom blue and white interior 4 10" subs and alot of powder coating from leanna =) im putting 2 neon seats out of the neon i wrecked last summer going to get them reupholstered blue and white vinyl with matching rear seat, plexiglass door panels, package tray with mopar logo as same with doors, custom console, custom gauge cluster with equus gauges from o reilys, and box in the trunk with 4 10s and cnc out mopar logos with plexi glass backings and blue neons behind the plexi areas. the car has a 318 small block built motor with a 904 trans with a reverse manual valve body. its a great little car. All it currently needs is a starter 2 bbp 8 3/4 axels manual steering pump and column and 2 more wheels and its going to be ready to drive i plan on using it as my project in auto collision next year that is why im trying to scramble and get it runnign so i can get it to the shop. I dont live with dad because my granparents ripped me away from him. I dont get to see him much or the car but dad promised we would start on it this spring. im just entering this contest to try and get a little help in hoping to get the remaining parts i need to finish the build to start driving it thanks for reading and have a good day =)

 

[jeffstrong]

Hey, Leanna!

Count me in for one of your donated prizes! I will donate one of my 18 x 24 Custom Show Boards for your "Young Guns" prize drawing. You guys can see my work by viewing my show board slide show Good luck to all you "Young Guns"!
(regular price for show board is $220 + $20 for the easel back stand and $25 S&H. Show board is 18" x 24", 1/4" PVC with gloss laminate)

By the way, guys, in case you haven't already figured it out, CudaChick is the best powder coater in the country! Honest and good looking too! (A real triple threat!)

Good luck, guys!

Jeff Strong
Owner
www.StrongKeepsakeImages.com
19 Highland Ave
Vernon, CT 06066

860-402-2811
[email protected]

Also check out my business card slide show.
Need a cool collage? Check these out!

 

[Dusterdude72]

Hey, Leanna!

Count me in for one of your donated prizes! I will donate one of my 18 x 24 Custom Show Boards for your "Young Guns" prize drawing. You guys can see my work by viewing my show board slide show Good luck to all you "Young Guns"!
(regular price for show board is $220 + $20 for the easel back stand and $25 S&H. Show board is 18" x 24", 1/4" PVC with gloss laminate)

By the way, guys, in case you haven't already figured it out, CudaChick is the best powder coater in the country! Honest and good looking too! (A real triple threat!)

Good luck, guys!

Jeff Strong
Owner
www.StrongKeepsakeImages.com
19 Highland Ave
Vernon, CT 06066

860-402-2811
[email protected]

Also check out my business card slide show.
Need a cool collage? Check these out!

I really think this is a cool prize that has just been offered and thanks for donating! I personally have not had anything powder coated by leanna but I have heard nothing but the best....I do know first hand that she is a generally good person though.

 

[fredsmedina]

Hey, Leanna!

Count me in for one of your donated prizes! I will donate one of my 18 x 24 Custom Show Boards for your "Young Guns" prize drawing. You guys can see my work by viewing my show board slide show Good luck to all you "Young Guns"!
(regular price for show board is $220 + $20 for the easel back stand and $25 S&H. Show board is 18" x 24", 1/4" PVC with gloss laminate)

By the way, guys, in case you haven't already figured it out, CudaChick is the best powder coater in the country! Honest and good looking too! (A real triple threat!)

Good luck, guys!

Jeff Strong
Owner
www.StrongKeepsakeImages.com
19 Highland Ave
Vernon, CT 06066

860-402-2811
[email protected]

Also check out my business card slide show.
Need a cool collage? Check these out!

Thats an awesome prize! thanks for donating. All of us young guns appreciate it!