Finally getting to it!!! 1970 Duster 340

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It's been hard to stay upbeat regarding the Duster with all the body shop BS. I've been working on the rear quarter pop-out windows and finished the drivers side today. Had to go to a local fastener supply house to find some steel rivets. They didn't have rivets long enough to pass through both sides like the original, so I went with 2 shorter ones. The windows were pretty rough looking and I remember that the seals leaked with washing the car. Thought I would throw in some before and after pics.

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Sorry to hear about your body shop nightmare. That shop owner should be thrown in jail. You might want to check out Autos Unlimited 5207 Glen Echo Rd, Glenville PA 17329. He does full restorations and is a mopar guy. The owner Jeff Doster lives 5 minutes from where I live and his shop used to be local till he moved shop to PA (his personal house still close to me). He owns two road runners, one race car the other fully restored original car. He is a straight shooter and does things right. I have seen some of his completed cars they are stunning.
 
Thanks for the body shop info 340s. I've been checking out a shop here in Lancaster that specializes in Mopar only restorations. I really can't move ahead with body work at this time until I see how things shake out with the previous shop.
 
Finished the passenger quarter window over the weekend. I located steel pop rivets from a local fastener supply store. They didn't have rivets long enough to span the frame so I used 2 shorter rivets without issue.
I replaced the surrounding rubber gasket as well as the flocked hinge along the front of the window. Anybody contemplating replacing the rubber gaskets should seriously consider replacing the hinge gaskets as well. My originals crumpled to pieces when I removed the glass. I purchased my flocked hinges from Dantes. Don't throw the original piece away as it comes in handy as a template when trimming the new piece.
 
Not much for me to do on my Duster at this point. I wish that my body was finished so that I could begin assembly. I only have some stainless steel trim pieces to polish.

Last week, my 18 year-old son got his first car. He purchased it off the Alabama CL and had it delivered last Thurs. It's a 1983 AMC Eagle SX/4 with the tried and true 258ci/ 4.2 liter inline 6. It is a Mopar through indirect lineage. Kind of like the red-headed stepchild.

I owned a 1983 AMC Spirit GT 4-speed for 15 years. It was by far the most reliable car that I've ever owned. This little Eagle needs some mechanical and cosmetic love but it is very complete without rust. I believe that less than 3,000 of the SX/4's were made in 1983 making it low production.

It looks like my attention will be directed from the Duster for the time being until I get this AMC road worthy and ready for PA inspection.

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The 258 run for ever, 4wd car in PA is a plus.
Good thing for a first car the old AMC don't have very much power.
Just slow and dependable.
 
Sorry to hear progress has slowed on the Duster.....congrats to your son on his new wheels! Dont see those e erday thats for sure
 
FJRdoc said:
Mmmmmm. I wonder if we could shoehorn a Hellcat hemi in it?
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401 bolts in with the right motor mounts, trans bolts right to it.
Life expediency of front and rear axles, less than a week.

My buddy has a 401 in a CJ-5 that he bought new, SOB sounds like a late model dirt track car when he opens it up.
He still runs a built T-150 3-speed, he swears nothing will break in it and changing a trans is easier than a clutch or rear end, I have never seen it break on the trails, and we do some pretty crazy things with jeeps.
 
I'd buy a newer jeep 4.0 and take the crank/rods out of the 4.2 buy new pistons ($100) and bore 4.0 to .030 over. 4.6 liter stroker. Will go for ever and put out around 300 ft lbs and lil over 200 horses.
Sweet amc. I've got a stroker in my jeep cherokee and that thing does 14.8 in the quarter with 35 inch tires.
 
ProStocker273 said:
I'd buy a newer jeep 4.0 and take the crank/rods out of the 4.2 buy new pistons ($100) and bore 4.0 to .030 over. 4.6 liter stroker. Will go for ever and put out around 300 ft lbs and lil over 200 horses.
Sweet amc. I've got a stroker in my jeep cherokee and that thing does 14.8 in the quarter with 35 inch tires.
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Sounds like a nice torque motor.
I am pretty sure the OP was kidding about motor work.

FYI the stock 258 in my 80 cj-5 has way more low end than the stock 4.0 in my 03 wrangler.
Wrangler has more top end and better street manners, the cj-5 is just a old plain jeep.
I have had probably as many jeeps as mopars over the years.
 
My Duster project has come to a halt while my attorney deals with the body man. I'm hoping that I will be able to get some money back without having to go to court but I am prepared to go to court if that is what it will take.
I started a thread on the work my son and I are doing on his AMC Eagle over on the AMC Eagles Den

http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=45519.0

It's been a good diversion from the problems I've had with the Duster. I also bought a Millermatic 211 mig welder which has been been wonderful. I now have the ability to do metal fabrication and I hope to be able to use it in the future with sheet metal repair.
 
Here's the most recent update on the status of my Duster. I filed a lawsuit against the first body man. We tried to negotiate a settlement but his offer was way off base. I received notice last week that he is now filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy (comes as no surprise to me). I have now secured a bankruptcy attorney who will be taking care of any future legal issues.
I've been in contact with the new body man. It looks like he will be able to pick up the Duster from my home next week. First step will be to have the car media blasted ....again to start over and see the quality of the prior work. I'm excited about moving forward with the bodywork and paint, but it is upsetting to have waisted all this time and money just to have to start over.
 
Glad to see you are moving again. You will get it done, just don't put a timetable on yourself. You still might beat me done and my car is almost ready to start in the car. Thanks David
 
FJRdoc said:
Here's the most recent update on the status of my Duster. I filed a lawsuit against the first body man. We tried to negotiate a settlement but his offer was way off base. I received notice last week that he is now filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy (comes as no surprise to me). I have now secured a bankruptcy attorney who will be taking care of any future legal issues.
I've been in contact with the new body man. It looks like he will be able to pick up the Duster from my home next week. First step will be to have the car media blasted ....again to start over and see the quality of the prior work. I'm excited about moving forward with the bodywork and paint, but it is upsetting to have waisted all this time and money just to have to start over.
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That's good to hear the Duster is gonna get back into the shop Kevin!
 
Thanks John. I'm excited. Have you had any luck locating quarter window seals?
 
FJRdoc said:
Thanks John. I'm excited. Have you had any luck locating quarter window seals?
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Not luck on quarter glass seals. Steele Rubber says maybe June or July they'll have them in. Guess I'll have to wait and see.
 
Today was an exciting day! My new body shop (Sigel Enterprises in Brownstown, PA) picked up the Duster and transported it to their shop. The plan is to have the car media blasted early next week to assess the status of the body and work that had been completed before. It makes me feel good to get the body out of my garage where it was a constant reminder of my misadventure.

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FJRdoc said:
Today was an exciting day! My new body shop (Sigel Enterprises in Brownstown, PA) picked up the Duster and transported it to their shop. The plan is to have the car media blasted early next week to assess the status of the body and work that had been completed before. It makes me feel good to get the body out of my garage where it was a constant reminder of my misadventure.
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Great to see the Duster project is still going forward Kevin!
 
I've been having a lazy day at home today. I decided to take care of a few loose ends. Finally installed my digital converted thumbwheel in my dash assembly. That completes my dash restoration.
Cleaned up my garage today and installed my daughter's old stereo system for tunes. I was rocking out to Tesla and Kix for motivation.

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Tesla and Kix sound good to me Kevin! Here's a pic I took today while at the shop.

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I'm so glad that the Duster is in Steve's shop. I know that he will do what needs to be done on it. My wife, Nora, took video of the car getting loaded on the trailer.
I'm sorry that your quarter windows are holding up the work on the Demon. If mine weren't already installed on my frames, I would have given them to you.
 
FJRdoc said:
I'm so glad that the Duster is in Steve's shop. I know that he will do what needs to be done on it. My wife, Nora, took video of the car getting loaded on the trailer.
I'm sorry that your quarter windows are holding up the work on the Demon. If mine weren't already installed on my frames, I would have given them to you.
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Thanks for the kind gesture Kevin. It is what it is and will just have to play the waiting game for those seals. My 340 is getting rebuilt and still waiting on the proper valve springs recommended for the cam I am going to run.
 
My body went off to the blaster......again last week. My body man will call me when it comes back to his shop so that we can look over the damages. I met with my attorney regarding the bankruptcy and will be moving ahead on the issue. My son was digging through my mom's photo albums and found a "period" picture of me and the Duster. I thought that I would post it.

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FJRdoc said:
My body went off to the blaster......again last week. My body man will call me when it comes back to his shop so that we can look over the damages. I met with my attorney regarding the bankruptcy and will be moving ahead on the issue. My son was digging through my mom's photo albums and found a "period" picture of me and the Duster. I thought that I would post it.
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Yeaah.......Cragars would still look good on it!
 
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