'70 Duster - First MOPAR Build

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Turns out there are a lot of low spots on 48 year old fenders...
But nothing some Superbuild can't cure.

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Very nice work.. I might of missed it but what kind of primer are you using?
Keep up the great work. .
 
Darren said:
Very nice work.. I might of missed it but what kind of primer are you using?
Keep up the great work. .
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Shop Line epoxy primer to seal metal, 3M platinum plus filler to make straight, and Evercoat Superbuild 4:1 finishing primer to prep for paint.
 
Fisher said:
Thats very cool. What did you make the grill Mesh out of?
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Sorry for the delay in replying. Just moved my family from Houston up to the Ft Worth area, it's been chaotic.
The grill is a piece I bought from customcargrills.com
I cut it to size and formed it to match the original insert and then attached it to the grill frame.
It takes out the turn signals from the grill insert, so those will be re-located. I plan on running cold air induction tubes from the grill to the carb.
 
Well, it's been a long time. There's been a bunch of changes, life tends to do that to a person, and I'm now just getting back to my Duster. This is a bittersweet post. In June of 2018, me and my family moved from Houston, TX to Weatherford, TX (where my wife is from and wants to raise our baby). My parents sold their business up North so they could "retire" and come down to Texas for 5 or 6 months out of the year, to get out of the cold, and be grandparents. We bought a great little place with 4 acres, that has a main house and a guest house so we'd all have our own space but still be together. My dad and I built a 40 x 45 shop and were so excited about all of the projects we had in store. They came down just before Christmas and we spent 7 amazing weeks together, working on our houses and working on our cars. We celebrated Christmas, my 43rd birthday, and my son's 2nd birthday in those weeks. Then one night, after we all had dinner, and my Dad played with toy cars on the floor with his grandson, everything changed. Dad said he had bad heartburn and just didn't feel good. Mom took him home to lie down and rest. 20 minutes later she checked on him and he was gone. She called, I rushed over and tried everything to save him, but there was nothing that could be done. He just closed his eyes and went to sleep. He was 59 (yep, had me pretty young), in good health, trim build, didn't smoke, did everything right. He was an old school wrench puller, loved Mopars, and taught me so much about life. We rebuilt engines, bled brakes, traced electrical goblins, skinned our knuckles, cussed, laughed, pondered, and restored cars together. He has a sweet '70 Challenger TA, plum crazy (not an A Body but don't hold that against him!) but he loved the direction I'm going with my Duster. I know none of the other members here knew him, but please trust me when I say that he was one of us. He was a great guy, a Mopar nut, a great mechanic, an amazing father, and the best grandpa in the world.
 
Smoothing some dents and dings along the body... next will be cleaning up the quarter panel, marker light, and gas cap welds.

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Sorry to hear that about your dad. Sounds like he was one of us. Take your time to grieve. Eventually life gets back to normal, and you still have all the memories of good times. If you are still struggling with this, there is no specific timeframe, and it goes in different stages. I had trouble with this, and read a book on the stages of grief. It helped me to understand what i was dealing with.

Your pops gave you a lot of car knowledge. The best things you can prob do to honor his memory is finish your duster, and teach your son all the things you have learned from your dad as he grows up. Maybe let your son know that "grandpa" taught you this or that, and that your passing the knowledge to him.
 
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When we lose friends, parents, and God forbid, a child.....we get a different perspective of what life is about.
Those that serve in the military see death, and they come home somewhat different.
Lke just said, take all the time needed to grieve, cherish the great memories, and love all the family still here with you each and every day with all your might.
 
Been back in the shop lately, and making some progress.

Had some work to do on the dash, some dents and dings to be smoothed out and the previous owner had mounted a bunch of who knows what in all sorts of places. So, a bunch of holes to fill. And, it was in the high 60's today so I figured it would be a good day to paint too.
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Also, finished the console. Figured I might as well paint it the same color as the car. It was a mess when I got it, but can't complain. For $100 I got 2 consoles, 2 sets of top plates, and mounting brackets. Pics aren't great, looks better in person.
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Been getting a lot of good quality time in the shop lately...

Doing a steering column rebuild, and restoring the steering wheel.

Started by tearing down the steering column. Blasted the collars in my bench top cabinet so I could see what I was working with. Just a few dings to smooth out.

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Also wanted to get the steering shaft painted, and sanded down so the lower bearing was easier to install.
Plus, needed to remove the locking plate.
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Installed new turn signal switch and was able to save the turn signal lever just by wet sanding the surface rust off. Left a very nice shine on the lever. Sandblasted and painted the column jacket, and column accessories. Did the collars to match the dash paint. Installed new upper bearing and isolator, and even put in upper & lower foam seals (although I'm not sure they are needed).
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Went with the SER205-16 bearing that I saw in another member's column rebuild post. I think it's a vast improvment.
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Filled in the ignition hole, because I'm relocating to a push button start. I was going to cut off the ignition hump in the collar, but I thought I might regret that if I ever need to switch it back.
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Figured I would do these too, since I had the paint gun out. Also, re-greased the pivot points in the latch release.
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I debated over restoring the steering wheel or not. Part of me wants to go with an aftermarket wheel, with a bit more substance to hold on to. The original wheels are SO skinny, compared to new ones. It's weird to drive with them, I think.
But, I decided to bring it back to it's former glory. And, if I don't like it, that's an easy change later.

The wheel had years and years of grime and build up on it, but it was free from any major cracks or missing chunks. So, it was a good core to restore. I could see there were a number of "bald spots" where the factory texture was worn off from the the middle arms. I actually cleaned it up in the bench top blaster, but I held it as far away as possible from the nozzle, so it would just remove the grime and not damage the wheel. I used some undercoating to re-create the texture, and I have to say it looks very similar to original.
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Just a couple of dings to fix and then primer & paint. It turned out really nice, looks better in person than I could capture in pics.
I also did the horn button, but forgot to get a pic. I'll try to add tomorrow.
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I agree that skinny wheel is part of the "feel" of the old cars!! Like sets of different wheels, you an have several , easy to change!!
 
Door hinge springs, pins, and bushings were removed and replaced (upper & lower) with a new kit from Restorations by Rick. Driver's side definitely needed to be done, so I figured why not do both.
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New parts were easy to install, and I'm sure will make a difference in the operation of the door.

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