1974 D100 frame off build up

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FullmetalPanic

FullmetalPanic

Restomod - The new Hotrod
Joined
May 19, 2024
Messages
26
Reaction score
27
Location
Visalia CA
Hey all, I just registered after seeing that all old Mopars are welcome here, just wanting to show my ongoing progress with my 74 D100. At this moment the chassis is repaired and ready for the prep work to get it coated. Everything Im doing is video logged and put on youtube. The more feedback I get from the places Im posting the better the build will end up! Im putting all my knowledge and wisdom from being a former FCA technician of 6 years and a mechanic for much longer into this project. It may be my one and only Mopar, but its my gateway Mopar. I really want a 70-74 Duster for my next project.

 
Welcome from Arizona! Thanks for sharing the video, looking forward to seeing your progress.
 
Thank you. What are your thoughts on using oven cleaner to remove old chassis paint? I was tipped off by my shop neighbor about it who does auto detailing.
 
Oven cleaner works ok in my experience but nothing comes close to working as well as aircraft paint stripper. You’re in Cali so you’ll likely have to go out of state to find it. Yes it’s worth it. Btw I’m jealous as I am in the market for that exact same truck. Following.
 
So the good aircraft remover still exists? Yea the stuff here in the golden shower state does nothing but make a mess. I can try the oven cleaner first before anything. I have a diesel burning pressure washer that should help! Other than the orange stuff, the rest is very thin and a quarter surface rust.

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Looks like a rattle can job (and not a very good one), you might find that a few cans of brake clean will take it off.
 
IMO, the best way to remove paint from something like a chassis is sandblasting.
 
I thought about getting a sandblast attachment for the pressure washer, and I have a sandblast tank, the cheapo one from harbor freight but has no nozzle on it. I was going to try chemical stripping first, if no luck then I'll go with plan B for blasting. Definitely plan to make a video covering what I find. It's a discovery and informative build for sure.
 
TT5.9mag said:
Looks like a rattle can job (and not a very good one), you might find that a few cans of brake clean will take it off.
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Definitely not rattle can, looks more like Wagner sprayer quality. The crap was absolutely everywhere, radiator hoses included when I first got it. And it's caked on thick! Starts to melt when I'm wire wheeling it. Brake clean hasn't worked, I've tried haha
 
FullmetalPanic said:
Would it mar the metal? Never used a needle scaler but I see they are pretty affordable.
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It didn't for me. I took all the undercoat off my Dart using one. It's filthy, noisy, exhausting work, but it is effective. You will need a big compressor to run one.
 
Never tried the chemical stripping and went straight into blasting. It works pretty well, just need a bit more sand for longer work times.. like 3x or 4x the amount I had.
 
I have an idea for completely revamping the front suspension on these trucks with aftermarket parts. The only sure fire thing so far is using van LCAs to lower the truck up front and you need custom upper control arms to correct the camber. I dont know if custom uppers are still being made by people still or not, but I found interesting information that will let me experiment with the lower control arm, and spindle replacement. The Mustang II spindle uses the Chrysler upper ball joint on the upper and lower control arms. That ball joint is the screw in K772. The lower control arm for the Mustang II using radius arms/tension struts is the same shape as the D100 LCA, but is 4 inches short. There are companies that make aftermarket tubular LCAs for both styles of the Mustang II LCA, using either the stock spring, airbag, or coil over mounting. What I plan to do is get the tubular LCA for the Mustang II that uses the radius arms/tension struts, mounts the coil over, and lengthen it 4 inches between the ball joint and the spring perch mount. I already have my custom radius arms/tension struts that will also work on this. If the bushing of the LCA fits the crossmember of the D100 we are in business. That is the only part that I dont know the measurement of so far, is the width of that bushing. So both the upper and lower control arms at that point will have the K772 ball joints. The Mustang II spindle will then fit, and it looks similar in height as the D100 spindle. Outer tie rod matching will be fairly simple. The interesting thing is the same company I was looking at makes spindles, 2 inch drop spindles, and spindles that use the Gen 5, Gen 6 and Gen 7 Corvette sealed bearing and brake caliper mount. You could drop the front of your truck 2 inches using stock upper control arms and stock Mustang II brakes, or using tubular UCAs use the Corvette brakes. You would need to switch over to 17" front wheels with the Corvette brakes.

So with this, I might be pioneering the D100 front end power up that doesnt involve replacing the front suspension crossmember. Someday, when Im well off, Im going to just fabricate these things myself and add them to my website. I want to help these trucks live longer, there is a lot of love for the A body and the rest of the Mopars, Ill help fill in the blanks for the Mopar Muscle Trucks.
 
Wondering why you feel the need to re-invent the whole front end? They work fine as-is, and lowering springs worked fine for me. Just curious
 
replicaracer43 said:
Wondering why you feel the need to re-invent the whole front end? They work fine as-is, and lowering springs worked fine for me. Just curious
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I wanted sealed bearings and better brakes, and to stand out with something unique. Lowering springs need increased spring rate to prevent bottoming out, because any lower and you ride on the bump stops, thats why they get cut off. Van LCAs let you keep the spring rate of the stock springs, but its still a truck front spindle and brake caliper. With sealed bearings that use Corvette brake calipers and rotors, you have much more braking capacity for stress applications, like auto cross. Ive seen the Crown Vic front end swap on these trucks, and people love it. I want something thats more of a bolt in deal anyone can do in a weekend. "As-is" was never good enough! Never aspire to be basic!
 
An SRT Brembo would look great. Challengers are 4,200 lbs and a short bed D100 is just 3,000 lbs. It would keep it n the Mopar family too.

My main concern is the lack of aftermarket upper control arms. I have a 73 D100 and need to freshen it up with van lowers and a custom upper control arm. Bigger sway bar would be nice. I’ve been told a certain C/10 bar works?
 
As much as I would like to keep it Mopar, sometimes you have to go with what you know fits. SRT is too new for this truck! A sway bar that mounts to the control arms instead of the tension struts would be a good thing. My truck didn't have a sway bar when I got it, never put much thought into one, but I will when I'm putting it back together.
 
What is wrong with the spindle? I would like to try out these: Dodge Front 3" Drop Lower Control Arms 1978 - 1993 RAM D150 D100 | eBay
And these : 1974-1993 Dodge D100, D150 Adjustable Lowered Tubular Control Arms (Pair) (Upper Arms)

Very pricey but there are no other options outside of van lowers. I don’t have time, equipment, or skill to fabricate my own stuff.

For me and my uses a factory brake system that’s rebuilt and a hydro boost system would work fine. Big brakes would look cooler but I would never use the full capability of a 14” rotor and 6 piston caliper on my street truck.

The eBay seller has uppers, lowers, and lowering brackets for the leaf spring perches so you can keep your axle under the leaf to not notch the frame.
 
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