1972 Duster , starting to tear into the build

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Got the lower fenders patched up , didnt cut above the body line as my issues were all down low and will be easier to smooth out , got to rebuild my lower door hinges next , they were just enough movement to make me rebuild them , upper ones are good , dont really want to use the bushings in the kit , may end up welding the holes and redrilling to proper size and just use the new pims

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I have to do that very same repair on both fenders of my '68 Dart. I have to fix the inner braces as well so I've been a bit nervous about cutting into it and getting them right so they line up. Guess I just need to bite the bullet and start cutting.
 
72dustervs said:
Was unusual , and the inner fender was undamaged , unsure if something was spilled an caused this rust or what happened ,
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My Duster fenders were rusted in the same spot. I just fixed them, no big deal.
 
KCBones said:
I have to do that very same repair on both fenders of my '68 Dart. I have to fix the inner braces as well so I've been a bit nervous about cutting into it and getting them right so they line up. Guess I just need to bite the bullet and start cutting.
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As far as my patches I lined up an marked well but inner braces were good , If I had to do braces as well , I would have done inner brace first , drill out and remove before and spot weld in place before cutting the outer fender for patch and then line everything up before the next step
 
72dustervs said:
If I had to do braces as well , I would have done inner brace first , drill out and remove before and spot weld in place before cutting the outer fender for patch and then line everything up before the next step
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Exactly what I was thinking. I think I'll cut the outer sheet metal far enough up to allow access to the inner brace and then mark and cut the inner brace as necessary, bold the new brace in place, trim to fit, and tack in place before I remove the fender from the car to do the outer patch. I'm hoping that way I can make sure everything lines up like it should before I remove all the front sheet metal for some other work I need to do.
 
KCBones said:
Exactly what I was thinking. I think I'll cut the outer sheet metal far enough up to allow access to the inner brace and then mark and cut the inner brace as necessary, bold the new brace in place, trim to fit, and tack in place before I remove the fender from the car to do the outer patch. I'm hoping that way I can make sure everything lines up like it should before I remove all the front sheet metal for some other work I need to do.
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should work , was lucky on mine as there was only about 2 spot welds to deal with on the side that is a pinch weld and 2 spot welds on bottom , I was able to bend out the folded lip and cut free and then 2 on bottom were easy , mine was a very easy fix ,
 
New stage 3 firm feel steering box has finally being shipped my way , soon as I get box in , can then start on getting motor bolted up and get front end installed soon I hope , maybe get to painting after that
 
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got motor installed an tranny from underneath , was very easy and the car hasn't had a motor in it for many years , lined up very easily with tranny secured , just need to torque some bolts , maybe get the front end installed soon and front wheels again so I can move it around the shop easier

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Able to get wheels on front again , can move around again easier in shop, now has a 75 dart front suspension with sway bar an disk , still need new rotors an calipers but old ones will do for the moment to keep moveable ,, its coming along

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Well my first attempt to lead weld didn't turn out to bad , it is not easy to lead , but for the tail panel I wanted to put back as original , the drivers side turned out great , passenger sider had a spot I wish I had caught but small , but for me I think it turned out great

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little progress , shot some primer as most body work is done , primer showed me a ding or 2 but major work is complete,,but I see lot of block sanding going on

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small progress on passenger fender , cut in half and used a different fender an lead welded together, bought a cheap fender with good front half were as mine was damaged , didnt turn out to bad, not perfect but with little more work should look good,,last of body parts to work on , get this finished and perhaps some more primer shot and block sanding all parts ,,I hate block sanding lol

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So slow but progress, went away from the orange air breather and painted black , nothing original about car anyways , also have all brake lines installed short of ones for calipers , new calipers an rotors are ordered and will install this week, also drive shaft is installed , so the ole Plymouth is close to being able to start up and move under own power for the first time in 30 years or more most likely , unsure of complete history but its been a day or two , I have the exhaust front pipe installed , just need to weld up mufflers and connecting pipes to front and to tail pipe , after that just need to buy a radiator and some hoses and alternator and install wiring under hood and other odds an ends , get a battery ,
So if I can swing the money I may get to break in the new engine before the new year maybeeeee ? But money is tight ,,already have a new interior just need to put together and upholster my seats ,,maybe by next spring can get painting on exterior finished and buying new windshield to install , I think I can reuse my old rear window, already bought the seals to install ,,if it hadn't been a 2022 bad year of nothing getting done due to covid and wife's operation this thing would already be close to finished this year but oh well ,, oh I need a month of vacation from my bill paying job to get more accomplished lol . But starting to see the light at the end along with a ton debt to pay for all the parts , whew it takes a lot of money but will be worth it to me anyways

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slow but getting there , first wheel installed after upgrade of rotors to 11.75 , baby moons with a 225/70/15 ,,waiting on the rear tires to arrive , going with 255/60/15 on rear

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Small progress , got an N.O.S. Dixco tach pedestal mount , should look good on the console , also got all fuel an brake lines completely plumbed in , had to take polished pulleys off and use original pulleys an mounting brackets to make A/C compressor mount properly with proper belts , polished pulleys were not proper size , .
Need to either paint underneath or spray raptor liner ? Unsure just yet , but raptor liner should protect better . Also installed all new under hood wiring harnesses for engine and headlights , almost done under hood except for mounting a plate for the HEI module and other small things to complete , have a new clutch switch coming , after that could almost start except got to finish underneath to get fuel tank mounted , but should get by spring with any luck and only like the body to paint and interior , maybe summertime be real close , but my bill paying job could slow me up , got 4 more years before retirement if I am lucky

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GY3 WEDGE said:
who did your booster is that new or rebuild? Look nice
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I found one on ebay that was N.O.S. , but the rear mounting studs were different offset ,but the rest was a perfect match , I was able to transfer my original rear section plate with mounting studs to the new front with all the new inside parts , now after I did this I was told of a place that rebuilds is called Booster Dewey does rebuild the original boosters or your booster for you , the picture shows the one I purchased , all the numbers stamped on it matched mine , but after it was delivered is when I found were it mounts to firewall were different , but I am confident when I took my old one apart and cleaned it up that it will be fine as it was an easy swap of the rear plate section , even the arm to pedal was the same , so I am unsure as how or maybe it was a different model or something but all numbers were the same , either way it turned out as original














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Probably my best bet is to get mine redone at booster Dewey I will give them a call on Monday I think they also do master cylinder
 
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