73' B3 340 Duster pro touring build

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I think at the end of January ...my wife is going to be working (on a temporory assignment) at the Marathon Petroleum Akron/Canton refinery for at least a month...I'm sure I'll come for a few 2 maybe 3 day visits......gotta be carefull...thats how we ended up in WV for 5 years.

I'll pester you then.....
 
30K on the rider??...you too?....chuckle...chuckle

Mark...maybe then I can get to a few auctions in PA...know what I mean?
 
Whats the purpose of the cowl anyways? I want to get rid of it and I will not have AC or Heater. The only thing on the firewall is the brake cylinder
 
Fst73_360 said:
Whats the purpose of the cowl anyways? I want to get rid of it and I will not have AC or Heater. The only thing on the firewall is the brake cylinder
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It seem there functional purpose was strictly fresh air thought the floor vents at your feet. The only reason I'm keeping mine is strictly cosmetic, I want everything the factory put there to remain... but want it to me modified or updated with a modern look.
 
yup, just for the fresh air source of the leg vents. Heater/defrost and A/C all channel through the heater core enclosure. L8r

Jim
 
Oh ok, then mines gone lol, It's just another space for water to get in where rust can build, no thanks!
 
Okay since I'm still waiting on the local plating guy to get my bumpers stripped to bare metal, I decided to mount the steering column. I cut out some brackets and had at it..My first thought was to just weld the lower bracket in but on second thought I decided to make it adjustable and bolt the column bracket to the inner support I fabbed up...... all in all it turned out with plenty of adjustability and a clean look. Also decided to Cap the front frame rails.....Sorry kinda boring but I felt it was better than being open. Oh yea, picked up the hood from Stripmasters now I can start grafting the 2 steel hoods together. More on that once its fully underway..Enjoy
 

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76orangewagon said:
Okay since I'm still waiting on the local plating guy to get my bumpers stripped to bare metal, I decided to mount the steering column. I cut out some brackets and had at it..My first thought was to just weld the lower bracket in but on second thought I decided to make it adjustable and bolt the column bracket to the inner support I fabbed up...... all in all it turned out with plenty of adjustability and a clean look. Also decided to Cap the front frame rails.....Sorry kinda boring but I felt it was better than being open. Oh yea, picked up the hood from Stripmasters now I can start grafting the 2 steel hoods together. More on that once its fully underway..Enjoy
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Looks great..... when you say "plenty of adjustability " what do you mean? in and out? up and down? That column was a steal!
 
Ross,
Don't forget.....I still have a extra hood with your name on it....or your welcome to use it for a "trial run" or test piece before you cut into your good one(s)
 
HemiMark said:
Looks great..... when you say "plenty of adjustability " what do you mean? in and out? up and down? That column was a steal!
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Well as long as the Bolt on the Black bracket is loose I can adjust in and out, but what I was refering to was left to right or up and down within the hole diameter, also as long as I tighten the column clamp bolt first, the black bracket will slide and not fight itself if it were welded. Long story short .......it moves. The column came from Welder Joes Ebay store .....
and yes he has more for all bodies A, B's and E's.
 
maybe its in one of these pages but what heater system are you using? or is it built?
 
HemiDenny said:
Ross,
Don't forget.....I still have a extra hood with your name on it....or your welcome to use it for a "trial run" or test piece before you cut into your good one(s)
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I would love to come get it, but weekend's are soooooo busy, since I have money tied up in this one having it Media blasted, I'll probally dive right in and start cutting on the clean metal...the other hood which will be giving up it's outer skin and stamped scoop is new from goodmark. I appreciate you still offering it to me.... thanks whats up with your dash ? any new gauge's ?
 
http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?mode=hybrid&t=201732

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?mode=hybrid&t=209884

Love the build so far.. great craftsmanship and some real innovative ideas!
As far as the dash is concerned.. I thought that you said somewhere in the last 29 pages you were going to keep the stock look but improve it.
For anybody who is keeping the stock look and hates those dim stock bulbs... I think the solution is in the links I added above.

The dash construction is similar on 1972-1993 Dodge trucks and I think some of the fixes listed above would apply to A body dashes.. The tech section on the Diesel Truck Website (All Dodge, btw) has a lot of good ideas one can use for other vehicles as well. Especially the Electrical section.

Enjoy! I hope this helps.

http://wiki.dieseltruckresource.com/wiki/Tech_Articles

This is the First Gen section (1972-1993) which probably applies most closely to the cars we are working on.

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=102027


Alan
 
mine to you is No Charge...delivery x-tra unless I'm heading your way...I will eventually be and will bring it...if you still want it

my dash is pretty much done...I kept the old school look. Replaced the broken amp guage, replaced the dash lights with the bright LED bulbs, wired my line lock indicator light to the "fasten seat belt" pod and picked the best unbroken dash bezel I had (out of five)... refurbished/detailing it with new lenses along withreplacing the wood grain with a matt black .

I yanked the HVAC box out to recondition and finally hook up the A/C. good thing that big M F-er comes out and goes in as sub assemblies.

also pulled the pig and had the ring and pinion micro-polished and the backlash checked/tightened....had a slight wine at about 45mph on decel...no LIKEE
while I was back there I replaced the rear housing 4-bar poly-ends with rubberized ones from Ride-Tech....should make a little softer street ride
also eliminated using the extended rear shocks as the stop for when I drop the rear end for any maintanence

a few little things to do yet....
 
Alan
After 15 months into this build lots of ideas have come and gone including the "stock appearing dash", I am going to go with a Rocky mountain dash design with a twist or two, something along the lines of a 3D face, so it's not flat. I love thier design and if they still around I probally would just buy one and be done with it but since there not and I have to start from scratch I don't just want to go with a "Copy". Thanks for the links, I'll add them to my resource list I have for future consideration.
 
you better get crackin'...the Nats are less than 9 months away
 
HemiDenny said:
you better get crackin'...the Nats are less than 9 months away
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I'll probally be ready for the Nats in 2013 or 2014. Remember body guy will have it at least 4 months and realistically it probally wont be ready for him until Febuary or March.....due to the lack of speed of part suppliers.
 
I like the streering column and also how your going to incorporate the exhaust into the bumper, it's going to look slick. is always keep up the good work,later.
 
Three A's said:
I like the streering column and also how your going to incorporate the exhaust into the bumper, it's going to look slick. is always keep up the good work,later.
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Thanks for the compliments,well I'm still waiting for the bumpers to get back from the local plating guy it's going on 4 freakin' weeks now.......
 
Three A's said:
What's the hold up on the bumpers. Must be the the season.
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It must be.....I called twice in one week to check and think I ticked him off the last thing he said was" I'll call you when there done !!!". I've used him for years and this is the first time it's taken this long for anything...Of course, this is the first for stripping chrome bumpers. Oh well I guess I have time to start reinforcing my front shock towers, Right Denny !! Found the pics your brother John posted ....I'm excited now.
 
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