74 360 4speed duster returns to family

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KZ1972

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Location
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My Dad bought this car new in 1974. We believe he bought it off the showroom floor in summer/fall of 74 in Edmonton Alberta. My Dad enjoyed this car for many years. He was a mechanic that loved adding modifications. He added the hood scoop, headers and a vinyl roof. What is interesting and a bit controversial is the black striping on the hood. This is a factory hood treatment that was offered in 74 for the Duster. I have included pictures of brochures with the hood treatment on. It seems to be very rare especially on a 4speed car. My Dad decided to sell the car to our next door neighbor at the time in 2001. The fellow loved the car and took very good care of it. It was a car that he took to grad as well as to his wedding. Unfortunately my Dad passed away in Dec of 2018. During my grieving period I was introduced to a Medium. I don’t normally believe in this stuff but she keep on saying that he was trying to show me a red wagon, you know the radio flyer type. You will see why this is important after I get the stripe back on the car. After weeks of trying to understand what she meant my wife asked me what color my Dads old car was. I said red and all of a sudden a light bulb went off. I decided to try and track down the car. We contacted the guy that my Dad sold the car to via Facebook. To my surprise he still had it. It was sitting in his garage. Because life and family takes priority he had let it age without driving it much. After a few phone calls he decided he would sell it back to my family which I am very grateful for. In June of this year I was able to bring it out the Vancouver Island where I know live. I have done a lot of TLC things to the interior and some of the mechanical to getting it on the road again. It still needs lots of work. The engine has a bad knock in it and the transmission as well as the steering box leak quite badly. This winter I hope to pull the engine and transmission out and have it overhauled. I will keep this thread posted as to my progress. Here are some pictures of the story and my progress this far. I would love to hear from anyone that knows about these cars and their history.

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Nice! I didn't know there was an E58 code that early on. Glad to see you got it back, for sure!
 
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It doesn't get any better than that.Great looking car and the story behind it is priceless.I can't wait until you get to bang gears in it.Pops will be smiling.
 
Glad to see this getting its own thread. It’s a great story and a great car! Keep us updated on the progress. Mechanically it sounds like it needs work but the body looks decent from the photos??
 
Glad to see this getting its own thread. It’s a great story and a great car! Keep us updated on the progress. Mechanically it sounds like it needs work but the body looks decent from the photos??

Body is actually in great shape considering it hasn't had anything done to it for 20 years.

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It doesn't get any better than that.Great looking car and the story behind it is priceless.I can't wait until you get to bang gears in it.Pops will be smiling.
Funny you should say that . I had to put a new carb on it ( and a bunch of other stuff) to get I running again. I was able to do a few burn out for the family. Everyone had big smiles. I have to take it easy though. The engine needs to be redone. Not running as crisply as my dad would have liked.
 
Might need a better tune up than the manual suggest. If no smog testing is required the ignition timing is not even close to optimum for performance.

Neat story and nice to see you enjoying the car from the past.
 
Did you drive it from Edmonton to the Island or trailer it?
 
looks like it has at least one repaint on it
Yes they did the rear quarters in 2000 and removed the aftermarket vinyl roof. It has held up well. It could us a all ne paint job but I will make due for a while. Getting the driver rear quarter fixed next week but thatis about it for now. Wantto find some to redo the eng6 for me first.
 
My first car is a 74 Duster 360. I have been watching them for years and know a lot about them; however, I have never seen one with that hood treatment. I have been to many shows and researched them for a long time.
 
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