1972 Duster, 340/4, black on black (the endgame)
(so let's see...the bike is done...the furniture building kick I was on is just about wrapped up...what else is going on?)
(oh yeah...)
And we're back! Yes, I did go on a furniture building kick after I finished up the bike last spring and while it didn't do ol' Black Betty any good, the apartment and correspondingly my quality of life is better for it. I'm wrapping up a coffee table & a pair of matching end tables now and my thoughts strayed to the needs of the Duster. I got to researching shortened rear axles so I can get them into the narrowed axle housing and get the rear suspension finished. While cruisin' ebay looking for cores to have shortened, I looked at dashboards out of curiosity and stumbled on one from a '68 Barracuda notch complete with harness for $450. Never one to miss an opportunity like that, I made it mine.
But. That's not really a priority right now. What I'd like to get on with is getting the body work finished up. The taillight panel needs to be repaired and the front clip needs to be stripped, some Valiant holes closed up and refinished. While I'm at it, I'm thinking of reshooting the whole car in BC/CC so I can seal those stripes under clear. It'll be a handful to do this right but I haven't pulled any punches on this project and I'm not going to start now.
So, since I suspected this would work I spent a couple hours stripping the front clip with a razor blade:
If I had used paint stripper, the first coat would have only taken off this layer and there's the added benefit of not contaminating the substrate if I find it salvageable. And so far, it seems to be:
I still have to do the left fender. I have struck bondo on the right fender above the centerline so I'll be sanding that down to see how well it was applied. If there's no need to replace it, I won't.
I also mounted the seats and fixed the issues with right door fit. It was nice to hear that firm "clump" of a Duster door closing again. And the seats are a good fit, considering they're from a later Charger:
And just a reminder-yes, all the zebra stripe is going away in time. New door panels haven't exactly been a priority right now. The seats will get new black vinyl of course-the seat buns are good, which is more than I can say for the originals. And no alterations to the tracks either-they were a bolt-in fit.
After I got the right door aligned, I rolled up the window and found this:
Yes, floatation devices. You don't know where we're going but I saw it done in a cartoon once.:rolleyes:
Anyway, it's nice to get back on this again even if it's baby steps compared to all it needs. The plan is to get the bodywork finished once and for all, get the interior and suspension finished up and finally purchase, rebuild and install engine.
Ken
(so let's see...the bike is done...the furniture building kick I was on is just about wrapped up...what else is going on?)
(oh yeah...)
And we're back! Yes, I did go on a furniture building kick after I finished up the bike last spring and while it didn't do ol' Black Betty any good, the apartment and correspondingly my quality of life is better for it. I'm wrapping up a coffee table & a pair of matching end tables now and my thoughts strayed to the needs of the Duster. I got to researching shortened rear axles so I can get them into the narrowed axle housing and get the rear suspension finished. While cruisin' ebay looking for cores to have shortened, I looked at dashboards out of curiosity and stumbled on one from a '68 Barracuda notch complete with harness for $450. Never one to miss an opportunity like that, I made it mine.
But. That's not really a priority right now. What I'd like to get on with is getting the body work finished up. The taillight panel needs to be repaired and the front clip needs to be stripped, some Valiant holes closed up and refinished. While I'm at it, I'm thinking of reshooting the whole car in BC/CC so I can seal those stripes under clear. It'll be a handful to do this right but I haven't pulled any punches on this project and I'm not going to start now.
So, since I suspected this would work I spent a couple hours stripping the front clip with a razor blade:
If I had used paint stripper, the first coat would have only taken off this layer and there's the added benefit of not contaminating the substrate if I find it salvageable. And so far, it seems to be:
I still have to do the left fender. I have struck bondo on the right fender above the centerline so I'll be sanding that down to see how well it was applied. If there's no need to replace it, I won't.
I also mounted the seats and fixed the issues with right door fit. It was nice to hear that firm "clump" of a Duster door closing again. And the seats are a good fit, considering they're from a later Charger:
And just a reminder-yes, all the zebra stripe is going away in time. New door panels haven't exactly been a priority right now. The seats will get new black vinyl of course-the seat buns are good, which is more than I can say for the originals. And no alterations to the tracks either-they were a bolt-in fit.
After I got the right door aligned, I rolled up the window and found this:
Yes, floatation devices. You don't know where we're going but I saw it done in a cartoon once.:rolleyes:
Anyway, it's nice to get back on this again even if it's baby steps compared to all it needs. The plan is to get the bodywork finished once and for all, get the interior and suspension finished up and finally purchase, rebuild and install engine.
Ken
