Jim. I love how dedicated you are to this dad daughter Duster project. The attention to detail has paid off!
Father-Son 1974 Duster Project
- Thread starter DusterDaddy
- Start date
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You don't know how so... I got my *** reamed today because the wife and her older sister took the Duster to town to test the AC without Kaelyn and it got sprinkled on. She was actually PO'ed that I took it out when there was a chance it could get rained on.....
So goes the daily driver!
My dad passed on early this past week and my son Aaron came on a nice drive in the Duster with me so I could reflect on my childhood years with my dad.
We put about 200 miles on the car, and she drives and performs so wonderfully, she far surpasses anything I had thought she would be!
We began early in the morning, headed to Totowa, NJ where we lived when I was born. Then we headed up Rt23 to Oak Ridge, NJ where we lived until the end of Middle School. After that on to Stillwater, NJ were we spent my high school years, during this time I bought my first car, A 69 Barracuda.
Stillwater is in the country, a great place to grow up and tear around with your car, little towns around to cruise the main drag in your hot rod.
My dad was a carpenter by trade and thought me to master that trade, but he also taught me to stay with things and don’t quit.
Thanks dad for showing me staying with something even if it takes 8 years will be satisfying in the long run.
I snapped a photo just up the road from my home in high school. My dad would be proud of this accomplishment...
We put about 200 miles on the car, and she drives and performs so wonderfully, she far surpasses anything I had thought she would be!
We began early in the morning, headed to Totowa, NJ where we lived when I was born. Then we headed up Rt23 to Oak Ridge, NJ where we lived until the end of Middle School. After that on to Stillwater, NJ were we spent my high school years, during this time I bought my first car, A 69 Barracuda.
Stillwater is in the country, a great place to grow up and tear around with your car, little towns around to cruise the main drag in your hot rod.
My dad was a carpenter by trade and thought me to master that trade, but he also taught me to stay with things and don’t quit.
Thanks dad for showing me staying with something even if it takes 8 years will be satisfying in the long run.
I snapped a photo just up the road from my home in high school. My dad would be proud of this accomplishment...
Sorry to hear about your father’s passing.
I agree, he would be proud that you brought that car to a completed state.
You should be proud of yourself also.
I agree, he would be proud that you brought that car to a completed state.
You should be proud of yourself also.
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Sorry for your loss. Glad you and your son took a nice drive in his memory today. I am teaching my son perseverance on a father and son project of our own. Hey Totowa N.J. thanks for the memory. I used to live in Clifton N.J. years ago. Worked for Kosco Harley Davidson on Rt 23 in Pompton in the early 1990s before my aviation career took off and I moved to west Texas about 24 years ago. A buddy of mine worked at an electronics store on Rt 46 in Totowa. That whole area was my haunt back in the 80s and 90s. Used to drag race on the partially finished Rt 21 that went into Paterson. Had a start and finish lines spray painted across the road LoL. God I miss that era or time in my life. Things were so much simpler back then.
Sorry for your loss... Treasure the memories with your father. I'm jealous of you, I'm not close with my father and dont have memories made with him. The road trip with your son sounds like it was a great time. I did the same with my son this summer. From Atlanta back to Michigan. My son is my best friend. Couldn't see it any other way.
74 DART'
Well-Known Member
First sorry for your loss. I just wanted to tell u that every time I think of giving up on my car , I see your car and and feel like it is possible for me to have a nice car again. The work you and your family did is amazing. You are living my dream right now. I don’t need the best car or the fastest car. Just something nice to cruise with my family and to work every once and awhile. Can’t wait for those days!!
Thanks for the kind words. Just don’t stop with improving the car.
I know it sounds crazy, but if you get the body work done and get paint on it, you will be super motivated.
The paint on my car is a Maaco base clear job. Now I’m not saying all Maaco shops are the same cause they are not.
The owner of the shop I went to asked me if they could use my car as fill in work. I said as long as it’s never outside, that’s fine.
They used PPG primers and sealers. They had this one guy there who just loved working on old stuff and it was amazing to watch him as he blocked my car. You would have thought it was his car. They used PPG Omni Plus base and clear. The comments I get at cruise nights are mostly guys raving about the paint.
I paid $3,300 for bodywork and paint after I did all the metal work myself.
Now my car has not seen rain since it has been mine and I keep it covered inside the garage most of the time. It’s been close to four years and the paint still looks great.
I have had guys on this forum tell me I had to spend $15,000 minim to get decent paint work. They were high on paint fumes.
Keep at it!
I know it sounds crazy, but if you get the body work done and get paint on it, you will be super motivated.
The paint on my car is a Maaco base clear job. Now I’m not saying all Maaco shops are the same cause they are not.
The owner of the shop I went to asked me if they could use my car as fill in work. I said as long as it’s never outside, that’s fine.
They used PPG primers and sealers. They had this one guy there who just loved working on old stuff and it was amazing to watch him as he blocked my car. You would have thought it was his car. They used PPG Omni Plus base and clear. The comments I get at cruise nights are mostly guys raving about the paint.
I paid $3,300 for bodywork and paint after I did all the metal work myself.
Now my car has not seen rain since it has been mine and I keep it covered inside the garage most of the time. It’s been close to four years and the paint still looks great.
I have had guys on this forum tell me I had to spend $15,000 minim to get decent paint work. They were high on paint fumes.
Keep at it!
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DD, sorry to hear about your father. I'm sure he's smiling from "up above' at the way your Duster looks! You should be proud too. Stay strong.
My son is bound and determined to haul Misty out to Carlisle next summer with this 95 4x4 Dakota Sport club cab he just picked up with only 35,000 miles. The truck has the 3.9 Magnum. It’s 100% original and only needs some minor rust repair on the left fender and a 2 spots on the frame. It’s his dream to have a 2 vehicle Chrysler parade from the Jersey shore to Carlisle. He’s a stubborn and determined young man. Wonder where he gets that from???
Frame repair, body rust repair, bumper replacement and paint complete on the 95 Dakota.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Dodge73Dart
1973 Dodge Dart Sport restoration
Nothing but maybe a Dodge pulling a Ford put of the ditch.
Just saying! Lol.
75duster360
Member
Congratulations to you and your son! The truck sure turned out nice!! Are you guys planning to replace the graphic on the side? Looks good either way
Thanks!
Initially he wanted to put the graphic and the plastic flares back on. But a few people on a truck forum convinced him that the flares would trap water, road salt and dirt behind them and promote rot and rust. It takes him a while, but he has come around to a “less is more” attitude, which was the way I was trying to steer him. Aaron has a new Silverado so his middle Brother is going to drive the Dakota for a while until he figures out what he wants to do with his life....
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75duster360
Member
I’m glad he came around! It’s a sharp truck. I remember my dad had to convince me of the same thing when I got my first truck. I wanted to lift it and glue/tape every cheesy auto zone accessory onto that thing...he convinced me to just throw some nice tires on it and drive. Man I’m glad he did! Keep up the good work and keep nudging them in the right direction. They figure it out eventually haha!
zkx14
Duster De-ruster
Where did he get the idea to do black bumpers? 
Lol
Lol
Ha! The Sport model came with beautiful painted bumpers from the factory young man!Where did he get the idea to do black bumpers?
Don’t do it, that truck is not heavy enough to handle the weight of the trailer and car.
Plus if you are planning on renting a trailer, you are going to find out they will not rent the trailer, without a heavier truck.
I also would not want to deal with Penn-Dot when you get pulled over in Pa with the tow vehicle.
Dodge73Dart
1973 Dodge Dart Sport restoration
Make sure whatever you decide to haul with and on has some type of brake for the trailer.
Never a good thing trying to make a quick stop with thousands of pounds pushing you down the road or into a busy intersection.
Never a good thing trying to make a quick stop with thousands of pounds pushing you down the road or into a busy intersection.
I guess we can just drive them both
I have the entire AC unit for you, I can bring with me.
P.S. I just wanted to give you a heads up on towing with that light truck, I had a 94 Dakota that I bought in 96, I hooked my car trailer to it and hauled a car, no way it was safe, even with trailer brakes.
Recently I pulled my trailer with my 1/2 ton truck, semis would blow you all over the road, unsafe.
Finally I got smart and bought a 1 ton truck, it pulls anything I can put on the trailer, safe.
P.S. I just wanted to give you a heads up on towing with that light truck, I had a 94 Dakota that I bought in 96, I hooked my car trailer to it and hauled a car, no way it was safe, even with trailer brakes.
Recently I pulled my trailer with my 1/2 ton truck, semis would blow you all over the road, unsafe.
Finally I got smart and bought a 1 ton truck, it pulls anything I can put on the trailer, safe.
Yeah +1 on towing being a bad idea. Weight is probably the biggest factor in safety, learned that the hard way back in the guard when an E8 told me to "hook THAT trailer to YOUR truck". Didn't think anything of it, as you shouldn't when a master sergeant tells you to do anything, but turns out mobile command centers don't like being towed by anything less than an up-armored HMMV. When I tried slowing that thing going downhill, I learned a lot about towing physics that day. Barely kept it on the road and only managed to stop the trailer after it flipped. The truck just didn't have the weight and I didn't have the runway because of a couple of idiots who decided to stop in the middle of the road at the bottom of a steep hill. Not saying the Dakota couldn't handle it but it'd be one small mistake under the wrong circumstances from disaster for sure.
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