A 1974 Duster - My 2nd one, 41 years later!

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Alex5280

Alex5280

74' Duster
Joined
Jun 3, 2015
Messages
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Location
Broomfield, Colorado
Hello Guys, I posted over in the Welcome Wagon that I was getting another Duster, and now I have it home. I say "another", because 41 years ago my parents bought me my first car - a 1974 Duster. I thought it would be awesome to get another one and fix it up the way I would have wanted to when I was 16 in 1974, but had no funds or means to fix it up then. So that's the story and here is my "new to me" 74' Duster on 6/15/15 as we are getting ready to leave St. Cloud Minnesota for the drive back to Westminster, CO.

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IMG_2089 by Alexl5280, on Flickr

Here I am in Santa Barbara, CA in 1974 with my very first car. This picture was taken by my Mom with an Instamatic camera, I was 16, it was the 70's.

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Image (2) (2) by Alexl5280, on Flickr
 
Welcome to the forum.

Sounds like a familiar story. My first car was my grandma's 1972 Dodge Dart which I bought from her in 1978. I turned the car into a bracket racer, but had to sell it in the mid '80s. 25 years later I built myself the car I wish I had in the '70s-80s.

Have a great time with your project :)

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www.70dart.com
 
My Dad got me my second car, a '74 Duster as well. 318 w/AC.
Started cutting my mechanical teeth on that one.

Welcome aboard and enjoy that car.
 
Welcome aboard, and congrats on the new to you Duster. You better put some low to the floor seats in it......you look like you must be 6' 5" or better!
 
Thanks for the warm welcome from all of you! Can't sell or trade my F150, never....I am the owner of www.HaloLifts.com we build Coilover lift kits for the F150 & GM 1500 trucks. I'm only 5' 11" ...but there will be some bucket seats in this Duster for sure. Thanks again Guys. I'll post some pics of this weekends start at the Duster. I first had to remove the vinyl top....its gone and is in primer now.
 
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Can't sell or trade my F150, never.
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I know how you feel--I had to part with my F150 when I PCSd to Hawaii...when I get back to the mainland, I'll be buying another.
 
^ Yes, Got stopped by a Minn State Trooper that was going the opposite direction. He flipped a B and lights a blazing came racing back to stop me. He said I was going 68 in a 60 mile zone. I blamed it on my larger tires....(truck has SCT Tuner that knows what size tire it has)...Trooper bought it and let me go with a verbal warning. He then proceeded to inspect everything about my trailer. The trailer brakes, the safety chains, the runaway cable, everything. It was all good and nothing was wrong. So I asked him if we were done??? He said yes and then my buddy with me asked if he could take a picture of him...he said yes. Here I am just before we started the journey...and then meeting the Trooper.

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image1 by Alexl5280, on Flickr

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image1 by Alexl5280, on Flickr

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image2 by Alexl5280, on Flickr
 
I'm not a vinyl top guy, so the first task at hand was removal of the vinyl top. That looks like the original color: Sienna Haze. Lots of glue to remove but the good news no rust and almost perfectly straight. I marked the two ridges that needed a lil' hammering down. I used an etching primer because I took it to bare metal in some spots, but will be switching to an epoxy primer from here on out. The roof will be re-scuffed and shot in epoxy primer but for now the bare metal is covered. I am using Corroseal if and when finding any surface rust that needing killing!

IMG_2091 by Alexl5280, on Flickr

IMG_2092 by Alexl5280, on Flickr

IMG_2099 by Alexl5280, on Flickr

IMG_2106 by Alexl5280, on Flickr
 
With the roof covered in primer I continued down the passenger side sail panel and onto the 1/4 panel. My idea is to remove the lousy gold NAPA shelf paint and leave the factory paint. The 1/4 panel was full of filler, and when I got it stripped it really is a big ripply mess. While I can fill, and I can take out minor dents, I am not a sculpting expert by any means. So the question is: Do I fill and shape or do I weld in a new 1/4 panel. I am thinking one solid day and a brand new complete 1/4 panel could be welded in place with little to no filler required. Looking for you guys guidance here. Thanks guys.

Alex

IMG_2114 by Alexl5280, on Flickr

IMG_2115 by Alexl5280, on Flickr

Not really knowing what the correct approach is I covered the bare panel in Corroseal while I decide what to do. When the panel is black you can really see how bad it is. 2nd pic I enhanced the exposure so you can see how uneven it really is.

IMG_2116 by Alexl5280, on Flickr

IMG_2116 by Alexl5280, on Flickr
 
depending on how deep those dents are and if it is effecting the body lines. i would patch the rust and fill the rest. replacing the whole quarter is not easy and will still require some filler when you are done because most aftermarket quarters are not as good of quality as the original metal.
 
dusterMike said:
replacing the whole quarter is not easy and will still require some filler when you are done because most aftermarket quarters are not as good of quality as the original metal.
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Welcome to the Gold Duster Salvation Society. My first car was a 1973 Gold Duster. I have another one already thru paint and waiting to be put back together now. It is a /6 automatic and is being restored to full Gold Duster trim.

I had to replace quite a bit of metal. I have to check with my shop, but I think I still have both a brand new right and left rear quarter patch (not the full quarter panels). They are Goodmark, so as stated above they will need to be straightened. I haven't posted my un-needed stuff for sale yet, but if you end up posting a 'wanted' I will likely reply.

Dennis
 
Well I would say the body lines are affected and compromised, it would take a pro to sculp the panel back to acceptable standards. I will still have to cut the bit of rust from the bottom corner. I have a pro autobody guy coming to tell me what he thinks. I am not afraid of installing a new 1/4. Welder and spot weld cutting bit are standing by ready for the word. Anyway, while I wait a Pro's decision on the 1/4 panel I will continue to get the car straight, in primer, and ready to paint. Removed the windshield today to inspect windshield channel and clean it all up. Only found very very minor surface rust, lots of black sticky crap. I will scrap it all out and corroseal it.

IMG_2121 by Alexl5280, on Flickr
 
With glass out, completely cleaned up the windshield channel, treated the minor surface rust and will be epoxy priming the channel next.... after hanging some visqueen off the blue tape..

IMG_2122 by Alexl5280, on Flickr
 
The story is, this car is a Washington state car most of it's life, then was sold to a couple in Minn. Was garaged in Minn for 2 years, Now resting in her new home and garage in Colorado.
 
Welcome. Looks like a nice project. I only did quarter skins, but even with full quarters your going to have more plastic than you think. If you can repair the rust Id consider keeping the metal she came with

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Thanks DusterDaddy. I will go with the guidence of the pro auto body guy, when he gets here to look at it. If he can fix it up then that what we will do. Nice project you have going as well!
 
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