Duster Rear Window Louvers

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I wonder if we could call a couple of manufacturers and give them the dimensions of the window and see if they have anything close we could modify?? Just something we might be able to trim and add. Then maybe find someone who could do some fiberglass work.. and see if they could copy.. It's a theory.. Just thinking out loud..

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Or maybe 73abodee can send his louver to a fiberglass company and they could copy it or go to a local metal shop and have them fab up a bunch and he could sell them. Just a thought
 
if we can compile a list of links right here of companies that develop molds and do injection molding and fiberglass, i would spend a few hours emailing them and sending pics of what i have. it just cant be that hard for the side windows, there is really nothing to them, no funky curves, they are damn near flat glass. as weve gone through before in this thread , the 77 volare road runner is the closest ive seen, but getting ahold of a set of those to experiment with is almost as bad as trying to find a pair for a duster
 
If i had the cash to commission some from scratch at the moment, I'd get the measurements, draw them up in autocad, and send them to the metal shop.
 
I'm going to check with my friend who has a fiberglass shop next to my body shop and show him the ones off my 71 Road runner. I have my Duster sitting there and see if he thinks we can make some that will fit a duster. My duster is a 70 340 car, but not sure what years the window would have changed.
 
moparmusclecars said:
I'm going to check with my friend who has a fiberglass shop next to my body shop and show him the ones off my 71 Road runner. I have my Duster sitting there and see if he thinks we can make some that will fit a duster. My duster is a 70 340 car, but not sure what years the window would have changed.
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that would make our year man if you could get us some info or get something going. i can almost bet it would be worth the effort, because the duster and dart sport glass remained unchanged from 70-76. even if they required a little finishing or fitting. i would even buy a couple pieces of side glass to send out for a mold. please let us know what happens
Thank you
 
I'm with you all!!!!!!! I'm still looking for some scrap aluminum, just to see if i could pop rivet a set together for a mold of anything? Problem is aluminum being the price it is and the ability to find some straight pieces, not too easy... However I have been contemplating my neighbors.....I dont think he would miss a piece or two from around the bottom of his house...LOL...
 
moparmusclecars said:
I'm going to check with my friend who has a fiberglass shop next to my body shop and show him the ones off my 71 Road runner. I have my Duster sitting there and see if he thinks we can make some that will fit a duster. My duster is a 70 340 car, but not sure what years the window would have changed.
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Keep us posted and im sure i speak for many people when i say we will be interested
 
Yeah, I will talk with him tomorrow. I actually made 69 super bee side scoops in my shop years back before the repo's came out. I had the idea for years when I was looking for a set for my car. At that time, I could not find anyone who was making them. My problem was I was still in college, and could not take the time to make several sets to sell. Still got the first few sets I made in the shop. Maybe this will be my new adventure. Basically just need something made up to build the mold. If he can't help me out, maybe I will pursue this myself. I'll let you guys know. We would all need to decide which type of rear side window louvers look best, as I think actually those might be easier to build. The problem is going to be that with a fiberglass mold, we need two halves, then gotta put those together. These pieces we are talking about really need to be made by injection molding processes. Building one set with fiberglass molds wouldn't be bad, it's just when you start getting into building multiple sets, that it would be a pain. Also, pricing would be hard to figure, but I'm sure a rear window louver set made out of injection molding won't be $300.00. I know either way, I want at least the rear window louvers for my car. I would like them personally to look more like the ones on my 71 Road Runner or the ones on the 70-71 Cuda's. I personally don't care much for the ones made out of metal. Am I being unrealistic here? Just curious what you guys are thinking on preferences?
 
i really like this style for side windows having four openings or "slats" if you will. as far as the rear window goes, it wouldnt matter to me if they were metal or plastic. i am pretty sure the RR side louvers are fiberglass, but ive never had one in my hands. the louvers in your link are exactly what i would want for the rear , but man the prices on any set i have seen are just too rich for my wallet. a few pages back are examples of the abs plastics. i put that picture here for reference in case the link disappears
 

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i will ask my mentor today when i get to the shop. i know he has made hood scoops and done alot of fiberglass boat repair. i will see if he feels like making a mold to make some.
 
this is the best i could get it made out cardboard. there was really no way to get any curvature without spending days working it.
 

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My fear is for someone to get set up properly to repo these for us is gonna cost us. I am thinking once we know what these will cost us, that it will take the wind out of many people's sail's as far as really wanting to buy a set. Anyone who sets up to make these is first going to want to see a real desire from buyers, committed buyers. If we only really end up with a handful of committed buyers, then this will all fade away. Gean Alhambra Customs made repo 71 RR rear window louvers and claimed they fit as good or better than the factory ones. They were $1500.00 for the complete set to mount them. That is a little spendy, but we are not going to get anything of any quality for a price of $300-$400 I am sure. My fear is once everyone knows what they will cost to buy a set, they will be done. I am willing to buy a set, but I am not sure I would want to pay $1500.00 for that set either, regardless of how nice they may be. I have contacted Gean to ask him about these, and told him there appears to be a lot of interest, but we will see what he says. I think I already know what will be said based on how well the 71 RR rear window louvers DID NOT SELL. I will let you guys know his response once I hear back.

http://alhambracustomservice.bravehost.com/rear_window_louver.html
 
more interested in the side louvers like 73abodee's
those would look pretty cool and price would effect it alot maybe just make from sheetmetal or fiberglass
if the rearwindow louvers were cheap enough wouldnt hessitate to buy
 
the side louvers could have tabs to push in under the trim in front and have a hole for the pop-out lever to go through to hold the back on. all dart sports and dusters have pop out windows
 
73, I agree with your idea on the side louvers...I love it...I understand that the side louvers would be fiberglass, I guess it just depends on what most people would want in a rear window louver...metal...or fiberglass. it just seems the metal louvers I have seen for the most part look kinda cheesy to me, but maybe I haven't seen a nice set yet. I realize a lot of guys would love to have louvers for their Dusters, it's just a matter of what are we willing to pay for them. No one in their right mind will gear up and start making them if it is not profitable for them. And I am sure they do not want to go to all the hassle only to be sitting on 1500 rear window louvers in the end, because no one wants to pay the asking price. That's my fear. We may need to just make our own out of whatever we wish for our own cars. I will see what Gean says, hopefully on Monday!
 
completely understood. i can imagine most would see this as a lost cause and that they would be wasting their time. i dont think there would be enough demand for them on any kind of large scale. if someone could crank out a 100 pair, they would probably sell them all, but it probably woudnt be enough to cover their time and energy , and then make a profit. but we are still hopeful ! ..cause you never know
 
The first 2 are were made by a guy on here and he wants 1100 bucks and they are made of alluminium.
The last 2 pics are factory originals
They are (missing) the last louver so the deck lid will open and not hit
 

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The first set look pretty nice to me, except I would want my a semi gloss black or something close to that. Is that second set the Mr. Norm louvers? I thought there was actually no factory louvers ever made for our cars? Hmmm....I will still keep hoping....
 
maybe we all need to buy a set together for the 1100.00 and whoever pitched in will get a set made just like them at a discounted price. it wouldn't be too hard once you had a set of those to take them apart, and copy everything in whatever metal once a good sheet metal man had them. I used to be a airframe repairman, but its been years, and I don't have anything as far as sheet metal tools, presses, brakes, etc to do that kind of work. Just a wild idea, if some of us get desperate enough to still want a pair for our cars.
 
the first set that is the color of the material is what the guy told me.
The american sunshade company the same people that built the sunroofs for the big three made the louvers which were only available in 1972. They mounted to the body under the upper rear window trim trim instead of the top of the roof like ebody'.s
the last set are from a mr norm demon.
 
moparmusclecars said:
The first set look pretty nice to me, except I would want my a semi gloss black or something close to that. Is that second set the Mr. Norm louvers? I thought there was actually no factory louvers ever made for our cars? Hmmm....I will still keep hoping....
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yes those are mr norms louvers for a duster. and yes they wanted 1100 bucks for them. there are more pics in the first few pages of this thread. i just dont like the way they fit the back window. to me they look too much like an afterthought, although they probably were lol
 
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