A 1974 Duster - My 2nd one, 41 years later!
^ Thanks Richard.
So the US Car & Tool frame rail connector/radiator support just did not fit right on my 74' Duster. It was close but not what I was wanting. I called them and asked if they had any clues what could be wrong or possibly did I get sent the wrong piece? Sent them pics of the gaps and explained how it did not sit tight and flush. They said it was the right one but they made it to fit on a Dart. So...time to jump on the Fab train. I did not want the position of the hood latch/grill support to change so I cut into the US Car & Tool piece to fit over it. It also did not fit correctly where the support brace goes from the K member to the underside of the OEM radiator support...so a lil' relieving there too. There are 1/8" gaps in the front where the OEM radiator support needs to be padded out so the new piece will fit tight against the front, so I'll weld in some 2 x 1/8" steel. The corners were too wide too, so I had to break the weld and as it gets welded in I'll clamp in the corners to fit and then weld them back. Hard to explain...but a Picture is worth a thousand words. More pics as I go.
IMG_3016 by Alexl5280, on Flickr
IMG_3051 by Alexl5280, on Flickr
IMG_3052 by Alexl5280, on Flickr
IMG_3053 by Alexl5280, on Flickr
^ Thanks Richard.
So the US Car & Tool frame rail connector/radiator support just did not fit right on my 74' Duster. It was close but not what I was wanting. I called them and asked if they had any clues what could be wrong or possibly did I get sent the wrong piece? Sent them pics of the gaps and explained how it did not sit tight and flush. They said it was the right one but they made it to fit on a Dart. So...time to jump on the Fab train. I did not want the position of the hood latch/grill support to change so I cut into the US Car & Tool piece to fit over it. It also did not fit correctly where the support brace goes from the K member to the underside of the OEM radiator support...so a lil' relieving there too. There are 1/8" gaps in the front where the OEM radiator support needs to be padded out so the new piece will fit tight against the front, so I'll weld in some 2 x 1/8" steel. The corners were too wide too, so I had to break the weld and as it gets welded in I'll clamp in the corners to fit and then weld them back. Hard to explain...but a Picture is worth a thousand words. More pics as I go.
IMG_3016 by Alexl5280, on FlickrIMG_3051 by Alexl5280, on FlickrIMG_3052 by Alexl5280, on FlickrIMG_3053 by Alexl5280, on Flickr