1972 Duster Build with my Daughter

[Red's '72 Dart]

Love the pics of the column. I need to work on mine. The steering wheel moves about a quarter inch in and out, plus my gear indicator is hiding or missing! Lol. Do have pics on how the indicator is attached? Loving the detail!

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Love the pics of the column. I need to work on mine. The steering wheel moves about a quarter inch in and out, plus my gear indicator is hiding or missing! Lol. Do have pics on how the indicator is attached? Loving the detail!

Sounds like the upper bearing is toast or one of the snap rings is not installed.

I did not take one but it is easy. There is a screw hole in the rear casting on the top. There is nothing but a plastic arm that screws to it and has a 90 degree bend that goes up into the indicator. It is all visible and removable by simply by looking at the top of the column. It would take no more than 30 seconds to R&R it in the car.

Actually you can see it in this photo.

 

[Dartfreak75]

All I can say is wow! I think it's safe to say that when it's all said and done you and Kaelyn may have the nicest abody iv ever seen! I love seeing how much detail that you put into this thing. I also follow this build on Facebook it's just amazing. You and Kaelyn have done a phenomenal job. It also let's me see what a piece of crap I have in comparison and motivates me lol

 

[Jim Kueneman]

All I can say is wow! I think it's safe to say that when it's all said and done you and Kaelyn may have the nicest abody iv ever seen! I love seeing how much detail that you put into this thing. I also follow this build on Facebook it's just amazing. You and Kaelyn have done a phenomenal job. It also let's me see what a piece of crap I have in comparison and motivates me lol

Thanks. My late dad was a John Deere mechanic is entire life. His reputation went far and wide throughout central NY and he was always in demand through is day job and side jobs. There were always tractors, bulldozers or skidders at the house he was repairing. He taught me to do it right or you will eventually get to do it again. I don't really think of these as cars I think of them as 1:1 versions of the model cars I built as a kid

 

[Dartfreak75]

Thanks. My late dad was a John Deere mechanic is entire life. His reputation went far and wide throughout central NY and he was always in demand through is day job and side jobs. There were always tractors, bulldozers or skidders at the house he was repairing. He taught me to do it right or you will eventually get to do it again. I don't really think of these as cars I think of them as 1:1 versions of the model cars I built as a kid

A really cool model car you can actually drive when you're done! Haha

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Wiring....

So had to improvise to hack the '73 AC into the '72. The differences were subtle but it turned out we could use the '73 AC harness and the '72 Main harness. Here I snapped in the '73 AC harness (compressor) to the AC fuse box. The down side is the AC compressor and blower power to the switch will both be black with a white stripe but that is what this thread is for

The Green wire that should be for the blower motor is not used in this case because the '72 main harness ran the wire from the fuse box to this area in the main harness. What this does is cross contaminate the main and AC harnesses so they can't be disconnected separately but it makes a cleaner installation.

Here is the supply voltage for the Clutch (left) and blower motor (right). They are both now the same color, oh well.

Again the fuse box, the blower motor (second from the right) is the original '72 main harness and the AC clutch is the '73 AC harness on the far right.

The M&H main harness fuse box was not like the original and did not give you the ability to add accessories to the orange fuse. I took the special clip from the original box and bead blasted it and wired it into the new harness so we it would be like the original.

Soldering iron ready

Old fuse holder wired into new harness ready for accessory stacking.

The map light connector on the '72 accessory harness (not reproduced by M&H or anyone I could ion) was gone so I stole one from the old '73 Dart harness and wired it into the '72 accessory harness.

Heat shrink tubing and it is better than new.

Needed to wire in the '73 AC head light. In '73 this light was part of the main harness so I cut it out of the original '73 harness and wired it in to the orange accessory harness so it is always on.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

In goes the Out of Sight bluetooth stereo. Mounted it to the bottom of the glove box.

Simple hookups are all that are needed.

Made a tap off from the radio fuse in the fuse box to power it.

All done and now just a series of final configuration documentation photos across the dash.

Remove all the paint from the frame at the attachment points so it gets a good ground.

The aftermarket ignition switch connector was not compatible with the original pins for the light for the hazard button an the key in switch so I made them compatible by drilling them out one size larger. Then the old connect pins would go in and snap in place.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Two issues were solved tonight. First was the circuit board on the cluster had a copper trace burr that shorted the two single lights together. The result was the front blinkers and dash bulb would both flash when either blinker was used. The rears functioned properly. A razor blade and brush removed the copper short. The other was the blower and AC harness wired Kaelyn installed in the firewall plug did not snap in so when the underhood plug was installed the pushed back out. Once they were snapped in and plugged in the blower motor and compressor wire worked.

Here is a walk around video. We forgot to show the hazard illumination light, the hazard lights, ash tray light, cigar lighter and glove box lights which all work.

Excuse the focus, the camera does not auto focus in the dark very well.

 

[starmanj64]

Although there are generally huge gaps in my spectating this is one thread I always make sure to come back to check out. Awesome progress since I last saw it! The color came out great, and the graphics really make it! I had a 1974 in basically the same color I moved on from years ago.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Called Booster Dewey and the booster is apart and being sent out for yellow zinc chromate plating. Maybe ready to ship next week! I have the NOS master cylinder and the rebuild kit in the garage ready for rebuilding.

 

[6pk2goDemon]

Beautiful work going on here! Your daughter & her Duster are STARS...5 of them!

Restored the mirror and visors. Are these the right visors for this car?

I'm pretty confident those smaller visors are correct for 72 even though the mirror base has the indents for the visor tips. You can run the other style for better coverage & I doubt anyone would notice...

 

[John_Lemon]

Two issues were solved tonight. First was the circuit board on the cluster had a copper trace burr that shorted the two single lights together. The result was the front blinkers and dash bulb would both flash when either blinker was used. The rears functioned properly. A razor blade and brush removed the copper short. The other was the blower and AC harness wired Kaelyn installed in the firewall plug did not snap in so when the underhood plug was installed the pushed back out. Once they were snapped in and plugged in the blower motor and compressor wire worked.

Here is a walk around video. We forgot to show the hazard illumination light, the hazard lights, ash tray light, cigar lighter and glove box lights which all work.

Excuse the focus, the camera does not auto focus in the dark very well.

Nice job Jim. She looks pretty happy. What a sweetheart, car and daughter.
LMAO at at the blue LED dash lights, we did the same thing. I also hate that damned door buzzer. We're thinking of disabling ours.
What stereo receiver did you put in it, Retro Sound?
When are we meeting at 4 corners?

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Nice job Jim. She looks pretty happy. What a sweetheart, car and daughter.
LMAO at at the blue LED dash lights, we did the same thing. I also hate that damned door buzzer. We're thinking of disabling ours.
What stereo receiver did you put in it, Retro Sound?
When are we meeting at 4 corners?

Out of Sight Audio.

Easy to disable. Remove the left kick panel, find the horn relay and unplug the single wire connector.

Soon!

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Apparently A-body guys are fanatical about their Rally Wheels..... Lots of hate mail on Facebook

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Dropped the 8 3/4" differential housing off at Tucson Differential to get the axle bearing replaced and the perches welded on to A-Body width.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Day started off good. Oblong the holes in the gaskets to allow it to be centered around the ported heads better. Just needed to come down a bit.

Never seize on the new studs.

Kaelyn installed the spark plugs. One of the boxes was short a plug so we are short one.... grrrrr.... but it got worse...

Something did not seem right when she worked down the left manifold.... It hits the aluminum head. Asking Bruce if I can grind on the head right there... grrrrrrr

Spun up the starter with the battery charger. Worked great... Installed and ready crank this thing over.

Stuck down 2 pieces of 80 grit on a piece of glass and Kaelyn sanded out all the flaws in the thermostat housing flat... then we found it was the wrong housing. Also the Performer manifold had the thermostat to high so it hits the AC bracket... grrrrr..

 

[Jim Kueneman]

The "fits '73 small block" plug wires are not bad except 2 and 4 are about 8" to short to route the way the factory routed them..... grrrrr

Reproduction fuel lines.... Have no idea how that is suppose to work... grrrr...

New clutch does not have the same bolt threads as the factory studs and nuts.... grrrrr

Exhaust it just mocked up with the shield. Kick down is all installed other than need to fabricate the carb to bell crank arm. Shift linkage is all figured out and correct ready to go in..

Where can I get one of these clips?

Need to call John, this chunk is not very good....

 

[jaws]

Chunk looks a little crispy. Parts store like Napa, or a transmission shop should have the clip.

 

[Scamp Rhonda]

The "fits '73 small block" plug wires are not bad except 2 and 4 are about 8" to short to route the way the factory routed them..... grrrrr

View attachment 1715312842


Reproduction fuel lines.... Have no idea how that is suppose to work... grrrr...

View attachment 1715312843

New clutch does not have the same bolt threads as the factory studs and nuts.... grrrrr

View attachment 1715312844

Exhaust it just mocked up with the shield. Kick down is all installed other than need to fabricate the carb to bell crank arm. Shift linkage is all figured out and correct ready to go in..

View attachment 1715312845


Where can I get one of these clips?

View attachment 1715312846


Need to call John, this chunk is not very good....

View attachment 1715312847 View attachment 1715312848

I got these from O'Reillys Auto Parts. I got an assorted package of them. That was the only way they sold them where I'm at. But they worked fine.
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/.../dorman-autograde-linkage-clip/118070/4177729

 

[John_Lemon]

Out of Sight Audio.

Easy to disable. Remove the left kick panel, find the horn relay and unplug the single wire connector.

Soon!

I wasn't asking, I was stating. I know where it is and how to do it. You forget you're walking on ground we walked a year ago.
Jr. got boobed flashed lat week while cruising our 72. I have driven some cool $hit over the years and can can honestly say that has never happened to me.
Get that sucker on the road! Driving them is 99% of the fun.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Second to last big dollar order from Jegs tonight (took a fifth of Tequila!). the spoiled brat got the rims she wanted even though it forced a narrower tire than I wanted. Question in to Accurate Exhaust for the final big dollar investment.... and then we are done. The cabin in Show Low is rented with a 2 car garage so we have to get this done and debugged ready for a 600 mile round trip by May 28th!

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Bruce Toth looked at the heads and we can grind in the area the manifolds are hitting so after Accurate Exhaust tell me they can make a system with this manifold we will be grinding.

 

[Scott's dart]

In goes the Out of Sight bluetooth stereo. Mounted it to the bottom of the glove box.

View attachment 1715309279

Simple hookups are all that are needed.

View attachment 1715309280

Made a tap off from the radio fuse in the fuse box to power it.

View attachment 1715309281

All done and now just a series of final configuration documentation photos across the dash.

View attachment 1715309282 View attachment 1715309283 View attachment 1715309284 View attachment 1715309285


Remove all the paint from the frame at the attachment points so it gets a good ground.

View attachment 1715309286

The aftermarket ignition switch connector was not compatible with the original pins for the light for the hazard button an the key in switch so I made them compatible by drilling them out one size larger. Then the old connect pins would go in and snap in place.

View attachment 1715309287

Think we could get a link to the Bluetooth stereo?

 

[Jim Kueneman]

That was not fun..... grinding on my new aluminum heads..... Bruce did some looking at his pile of cores and was convinced there were no water jackets in the area.... Needed to take off about 0.200" to get the manifold to clear. All installed and a nice sliver of a gap between the head and manifold... Thanks Bruce for researching this for me...

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Think we could get a link to the Bluetooth stereo?

Very basic but very easy to install and use. Nothing to get distracted with. Connect and play...

Out of Sight Audio - Hidden Bluetooth Audio and Hands Free Calling for Vintage and Classic Cars