1974 stock Duster to 340 powered

[zig]

Thought I would start a thread on my 1974 Duster I bought this past summer. I've always wanted an old mopar to work on, and now I've got it...

The car was basically stock 318/904 column shift car. Body is very solid, underbody is rust free. Overall a nice Michigan car with about 70k miles. It was an old lady car that was garage kept it's whole life. The interior was redone a bit, new carpet, seats, headliner by the previous owner. I didn't think it was to bad for a nice running and driving car for $3500. The car rides great on the freeway at 70 mph...

 

[zig]

Next I purchased a used 73 340 from someone local on craigslist. It was supposedly rebuild 10 years ago with about 5k miles on it, but sitting for a long time. I was going to just clean up and drop in, but decided to fully disassemble and rebuild the engine with some better parts.

I've got the block and crank at the machine shop now. Waiting for what machine work needed to be done before ordering some new KB pistons and all new bearings. Heads going in next for some mild work.

 

[zig]

My big plans for the winter are to strip the car down and have it painted. I am thinking hemi orange with the 340 stripe and black hood... Finally got the old motor and trans out the other day.

Engine compartment empty and ready to be cleaned. I plan on painting it body color to be mopar correct...

Engine and trans ready for whatever future plans...

I will probably end up having the 904 rebuilt and switch to floor shift. I am still thinking of swapping to a 4-speed, but that is still up in the air.

Next step is to strip all the trim and bumpers off and get it ready for paint. Hopefully I can have everything done by spring and ready to cruise this summer... At least painted with the 340 rebuilt and installed. I still want to upgrade the rear end, new wheels, some interior upgrades and so on... I know I have lots of work to do still... Should be fun. Will keep things updated as I make progress...

 

[72swinger83]

very nice car car, especially for the money keep posting pics and keep us updated!