YOUNG GUNS! Sign In and WIN
First off, I want to say thanks to the guys and girls who came up with this idea. Its 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 didnt 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 girlfriends (now wifes) 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 its 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 didnt 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 Ill post about that later.) I have not fired up my new engine yet (and its 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 didnt 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 youre in the North Jersey area, or want to take a ride up here, I will be posting info once all the snow melts and its 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
First off, I want to say thanks to the guys and girls who came up with this idea. Its 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 didnt 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 girlfriends (now wifes) 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 its 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 didnt 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 Ill post about that later.) I have not fired up my new engine yet (and its 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 didnt 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 youre in the North Jersey area, or want to take a ride up here, I will be posting info once all the snow melts and its 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