Finally getting to it!!! 1970 Duster 340

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I picked up my finished block, intake manifold and exhaust manifolds from the machine shop today. Once he finishes with the cylinder heads, it's time to put the engine back together.
Got some pics of the body today. Progress has been slow but I don't care as long as the work is good. I'm anxious to see what the old girl looks like wearing some new color.

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I finished the restoration of my day/ night rear view mirror today. The back was painted with SEM Trim Black. The base was painted with Krylon Dull Aluminum.
The rear seat panels were painted with Herb's Black Interior paint and topcoated with SEM Semi-gloss clear.
I picked up my block from the machine shop. The heads should be done soon. After I get them back, it's time to start the assembly process. :blob:

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Everything seams to be coming along nicely. Keep up the good work.
 
Thanks Sag. It looks like you're making good progress on your build. I wish that I had taken some adult education welding classes. It would certainly cut down on the amount of time my car has spent at the body shop.
 
This has been a good weekend for finishing up some odds and ends with the car. My original drivers side wiper pivot had a lot of slop in it so I decided to get another one. I tracked down a very nice used pivot from Collectors Auto Supply in BC Canada. I was very pleased with the condition of the part and their service. I just finished putting a Schumacher wiper seal kit on both pivots. It's hard to imagine driving an A-body in the rain without getting a wet left foot!

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Nice progress. Yes, I agree that you won't know how to act when you drive in rain without wet feet! I love these A-bodies but, Ma MoPar missed the mark on the pivot design... Keep up the great work!
 
Great thread. I like seeing all the before and after pics along with the information on what you used to restore them. Very helpful. Thanks!
 
Thanks ESP47. I'm glad that you're enjoying the thread. Most of my components are restored and I'm waiting on the machinist. I recently sent my fuel filler tube down to Wilson Productions to have it redone. I'll post pics of it when I get it back.
 
FJRdoc said:
Thanks ESP47. I'm glad that you're enjoying the thread. Most of my components are restored and I'm waiting on the machinist. I recently sent my fuel filler tube down to Wilson Productions to have it redone. I'll post pics of it when I get it back.
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Great, looking forward to the new pics.

Quick question, on your steering column, did you use this paint or spray it with your compressor?

 
It was a beautiful day here in South Central PA. I picked up my block a couple of weeks ago from the machine shop. Decided today was the day to get it spic and span for the upcoming assembly. I sprayed it down heavily with Marine Clean and scrubbed with a brushes inside and out then hit it with my pressure washer that was hooked up to the hot water spigot in my garage. This was repeated several times and then dried off with forced hot air. Finally, I sprayed everything down liberally with Sili Kroil. I should be good to go when the heads are completed sometime this week. My local powder coating facility is starting to do ceramic coating. I dropped of my exhaust manifolds to have them Cerakote them tungsten color. I plan to install them on the engine and overspray with orange once it's time to paint the entire assembly.

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It was day 1 of the 340 engine assembly. I good friend of mine from the 'hood came over to help with some assembly. We got the crank and cam installed without issues. Journal tolerances were spot on! I was happy about the progress. I'm trying to be steady and meticulous on this build.

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Looks good. You may be driving next spring.
 
Spring would be nice. The limiting factor will be getting the completed body back from my paint man.
 
My exhaust manifolds are back from the local powder coater (C&C Powder Coating, Ephrata, PA). Their business is just starting to get into ceramic coating and I was their first customer. They used Cerakote tungsten and I am very happy with how the manifolds look. I intend to mount them on the finished engine and paint everything like the factory. I expect that most of the orange paint will burn off the manifolds for that "Day Two Look."

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Thanks Paul. That's exactly what my wife tells me :finga: I sent my fuel filler tube to Wilson Productions to have it restored. The tube arrived this week looking like new. The photo doesn't really do it justice.

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It's a rainy day here in south-central PA. The rubber stamps that I had made arrived this week and I thought I would try my hand at hose stamping. It took a couple attempts until I was satisfied. Later today, I will be filing piston rings for my engine rebuild. Sounds like a good mindless job to do especially after the week of work that I've had.

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Piston rings are filed and assembled on the pistons. I will borrow a piston ring compressor from a friend this week and get them pushed into the bores. Things are moving along nicely.
 
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