1971 Duster 340 ground up pictures

[gdrill]

Lookin' good. Heck between you and 340plot, a guy sure feels guilty for not gettin' as much done as he probably should! Keep it up! :cheers:

 

[steve340demon]

hey i am looking for tuff wheel adapter with the spline and horn mechanism, can u help thanks

 

[Oldmanmopar]

No none forsale. I was told all my tuff wheels are for truck columns and I will not sell any more. I have alot here but I guess they only fit pa cars. You are located in WV so I don't think they will fit. Sorry

 

[Paladin06]

I so into this. Would you happen to have any front grill trim pieces for a 72 around?

 

[Oldmanmopar]

yes I will go through them when i get to that part of the install.

 

[73moparman]

yes I will go through them when i get to that part of the install.

Hello, I am restoring a 1973 Plymouth Duster 340 also and was wondering if you had any parts laying around that your willing to sell..Thanks!

 

[Paladin06]

Thanks.

yes I will go through them when i get to that part of the install.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

03/10/2012 Right now a freshly restored Omni is in the shop getting a TII drive train and electronics. No work is being done on the Duster until this is done. So I have been sorting screws . nuts and bolts and all small parts collected in the last 30 yrs for A-Bodies. I will take pics of that accomplishment today. This will help the build go faster when I get to that point. I won't have to hunt for any parts.

I am also getting every thing together for three ralley dashes. A member wants one and I am putting a complete one together for him. I need two. so he is buying the one taken from my duster with a tach and a nice pad installed. I have several but only three frames out until I bring in other cars.

Here are some pics of the mess I am going down to this morning.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

couple more pics

 

[Paladin06]

Wow...

 

[gdrill]

:toothy10:

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Well I went to the garage to sort through some parts today and my son was working on the Duster . The floor had to be repaired where they chopped the original console brackets out and patched them

The areas were cut out and the hump from another car was held over on the inside . It was then sprayed with black paint to get a pattern of the excact piece to be fitted and but welded with a tig. This way they can be ground down and not seen from under the car,

The car was then leveled the console was fitted to the shifter and leveled then tacked in. The seats were installed to get the correct placement of the console as was the trans and shifter. Now the motor and trans can come out and they can remove the cowl and front bottoms of quarters to address any surface rust under them when it gets blasted. Here are some pics of the Work that was done today. Hopefully no cars will come in. also the mess in the back of the gararage sorting a-body fasteners and small parts.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

more pics for 03 16 2012

 

[Oldmanmopar]

03 18 2012 What was done today. cut cowl off of a scamp that is needed for the Duster. I will cutting the Cowl off of the duster to clean it out and and paint the under side. There is always junk in the cowl and they always have rust under there. I had one rust through after the car was done . This will never happen to me again. Also you would not believe the crap I got out of the cowls on some clean cars .
I also finished the console brackets and pulled the block and trans out. Here are the pics of todays work.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

03 18 2012 more pics

 

[sleeper-oem]

Good work wish I had that lift. Its not a restore withouth the dogs hanging out watching in the shop pics love it. My pups lay around me the whole time.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

There is 4 labs here these two have to be in the way all the time. One is on each side of my chair right now. "Bullit" the older one looking at the camera is the gardian. He is about the most serious. You can see in the one pic That "Duke" the younger is trying to pul "Bullit"s legs out from under him. My daughters chocolet lab is two yrs.Can't keep him out of the quarries or the neighbor hood pools everyone knows "Buster Brown" . They know my daughter brought him back home when her fiancee was killed. So they all put up with him. "Buster Brown" is like the neighbor hood baby. and my wife has her Chocolet lab /blood hound mix."Molly"Just like the wife never shuts up.

 

[Thunder]

Some serious work going on here. Good progress being made.:coffee2:

 

[Paladin06]

Stillhoping you have some descent front grill upper and lower trim pieces. ;-)

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Stillhoping you have some descent front grill upper and lower trim pieces. ;-)

I counted 11 plane grilles here a three ST's And found a box of about 30 grille trims upper and lowers maybe more I didn't count them. Just moving the box I saw some weren't perfect, But some were .

Whenever I get a grille now with nice trim I hang the grille up I have the wall room now. Years ago I woud strip the trim off and put it in a box for safe keeping. In moving 3 times in 30 years I broke alot of grilles But who cared then. But I found the Box of trim.

I believe The trim is in a New Sharkstooth grille box from 30 + yrs ago.Its almost full. I will let you know when I get to make 2 perfect grilles for my Dusters. Then I will know whats left.

If I sell any now I'll need one then you know how that goes. Probably why I am going through thing's. I showed in some pics the parts I have been going through. This place is a mess. I had the son upstairs in the attic. counting up bucket seats and back seats I got My covers and buns from Dantes and I need to get them to my friend to put on. While he was up there he bump a heater box and antifreeze came through the floor.

I told him and Jose to bring all the heater boxes down. Well there was 16 . I had no idea that there was that many up there. Or I would have had them take a bucket up there and empty them out. And I won't let Hose take them back up he pu scratches in the geting them down. Now I gotta deal with This. I put some in the shed with some work and the rest in one of the parts trailer which you can barely get in. I need better help. someone that likes a-bodies not fast & furry cars.

Oh yeah while I'm complaining. They broke a ralley dash bezel I had laying in the back room getting the hose out to wash the Omni. lucky it was a cut 67 or they wouldn't be eating this week. And I do't mean short on cash. I mean Apple sause for awhile. I didn't say I saw it they layed it back down with the piece looking like its attached. I am going to ask them to move them tonight and we'll see who don't pick that one up.

Well didn't get any thing done on the car . but tonight the block gets cleaned and honed I am putting new rings and bearings in . Its a standard bore with factory pistons I am leaving it standard to give it a future for someone. Whats funny is the crank and rods were .010 under. Car had 42K and the bores are perfect. It Had a home made depp pan on it though seen in pics coming out. It is the numbers matching motor.

Here are some pics of a RR I did when I was 28 30 yrs ago. Check out the parts trays. I think I still have and just saw parts in them somewhere on the patch.

 

[Paladin06]

Thanks for the update and I like the runner.

Good luck with your projects!

 

[sleeper-oem]

LOL Gotta love them dogs. Mine love to get in the way. I got 3 the 14 year old she just lays and watches. The 3 year old tries to but the pup is constatly buggin her and if shes not doing that there is a good chance she is eating something she shouldnt. My girls are the same way they want to know everything iam doing and how to do it (I love it though). They will be old enough to want to drive them before i know it and to busy for me. Back to cars you have to have a stock pile of parts with these old ones takes 3 cars to make 1 and another 3 incase you have to fix the one lol.