Full Frame Duster?

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73DusterFullFrame

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So awhile back I bought a 1973 Duster. Previous owner was trying to build drag car out of it. That’s not really my thing, more into pro touring road course. That’s the background info.

The real question is,
Could I possibly take this 1973 Duster and put it on a 2003+ PI CrownVic frame? Now I know the wheel base is slightly longer, so I’d have to cut about 6 3/4“ out of the frame between the tires each side. Also I know wheel track is wider but that’s actually the look I’m going for. Plus that wider stance along with channeling the Duster body is going to make it very low and wide. Perfect for a road course kind of build IMHO.

HAHA before y’all crucify me, I do have the intentions of using a 5.7 hemi and a manual transmission!

I’ll try to get more photos of the car so y’all can see what I’m workin with.

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@replicaracer43
-Not sure if you’ve seen the duster build called project recycled or not. But that’s essentially what I’m trying to build. Just corvette rolling chassis is a lot more expensive! So thinking of other routes to go.

41FD7AB8-48DD-4537-8EC1-6D2CB47F0EDE.jpeg


8ABFA527-2BCA-40B3-BBDC-B2D2D553F0A2.jpeg
 
It's got the look of the old Chrysler kit cars... I probably wouldn't do the frame swap deal, but if you do build it, start a thread on it for us to follow.
 
replicaracer43 said:
Anything is possible with enough fabrication abilities
Click to expand...

Exactly so! With enough fabrication almost anything is possible.


73DusterFullFrame said:
@replicaracer43
-Not sure if you’ve seen the duster build called project recycled or not. But that’s essentially what I’m trying to build. Just corvette rolling chassis is a lot more expensive! So thinking of other routes to go.

View attachment 1715518876

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Actually I think the Crown Vic would probably make a better platform than the ‘vette, at least from the perspective of the swap. I don’t think the Crown Vic is quite as wide on the track. Wider than the A-body but easier to make flares for than the ‘vette.

There was someone that did a rear clip with a Lincoln? For the independent rear suspension. I’m not sure they actually finished it though, I’ll see if I can look it up. And then there was a B-body Plymouth that somebody put on a modern Charger platform, basically took the floors out of the Plymouth and grafted it to the Charger pan.

While I actually think that the torsion bar platform is much more capable than people give it credit for, and I wouldn’t do a swap like this myself, I’m definitely interested in seeing the process. Done right it could be a real beast.
 
@72bluNblu
Honestly didn’t even think about looking up track width of the vette. But I’d say you’re definitely right. I do like the raw look of the tire sticking out like that but if I were going to drive it any kind of distance I think a flare would definitely be the way to go for aerodynamic purposes and also to keep tires from throwing everything against side and top of car maybe figure out a way to come up with some kind of quick detachable flares

Also I don’t really know anything about Dusters and their factory setup. But I do have a 70 nova that I’ve built that has 3 link torque arm and subframe connectors. It’s a pretty sweet setup. But ever since I saw this guys car I posted above, I’ve been hooked on trying to build my Duster like that. Something completely different then what’s normally seen on the streets.

Color wise I’m thinking of going with a very flat almost primer green, maybe like f8 green, and all the chrome blacked out.

Once I get around to building it I’ll definitely post a thread on it specifically so everyone can follow along. Still finishing up some minor stuff on my Nova and coming up with ideas for this Duster project
 
You could drop it on an existing frame, but I know there is a gentleman on here who has done some research into retrofitting the subframe from a Lexus SC300/SC400 into an A-body since the frame rails are the same distance apart. You would get an all-aluminum K-member, rack and pinion steering, and a lot of aftermarket coilover options due to the SC300 and SC400s popularity. Just another option!
 
What about a '98 or newer Dakota short bed? Suspension could be lowered.
 
replicaracer43 said:
It's got the look of the old Chrysler kit cars... I probably wouldn't do the frame swap deal, but if you do build it, start a thread on it for us to follow.
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Kit car? (A few beers were involved) LOL

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I'm still looking for a couple of the other builds I mentioned, but here's a FABO member that's putting a Duster on a new Challenger chassis. Actually a much better fit than I ever thought it would be!

Morphed
 
There have been several B body chassis swaps done, I knew someone who did one several years ago, IIRC it was a '69 or '70 Charger on a 20something Charger SRT chassis, was featured in several magazines at the time.
 
@318willrun
Wonder what the performance market is like for a Dakota vs CrownVic. Still would have to cut somewhere in the middle to bring the wheel base in. Then back off the extra bed length. Then I would have to lower it. Think maybe CrownVic financially would be cheaper to start with as the rolling chassis. Not a bad idea, will definitely add to my list of options and look into it.

@Chained_360
That’s sounds like a pretty sweet option as well.

@72bluNblu
That’s pretty wild! Just got done reading his thread. Wonder if it would be cheaper to do it his way or cut the front and rear clip off a 2008+ challenger. Then channel in frame rails to the body of the Duster and then attach front and rear clips to it.
 
@missing linc
Oh trust me man, if I had the money to buy a full chassis for it from either them or Schwartz performance, I definitely wouldn’t be thinking about a CrownVic or similar frame!
 
73DusterFullFrame said:
@318willrun
Wonder what the performance market is like for a Dakota vs CrownVic. Still would have to cut somewhere in the middle to bring the wheel base in. Then back off the extra bed length. Then I would have to lower it. Think maybe CrownVic financially would be cheaper to start with as the rolling chassis. Not a bad idea, will definitely add to my list of options and look into it.

@Chained_360
That’s sounds like a pretty sweet option as well.

@72bluNblu
That’s pretty wild! Just got done reading his thread. Wonder if it would be cheaper to do it his way or cut the front and rear clip off a 2008+ challenger. Then channel in frame rails to the body of the Duster and then attach front and rear clips to it.
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I've never attempted a project like you are planning, so I'm of little help. I was just thinking, a short bed/regular cab Dakota would give you the stance you want, but would be shorter overall than a Crown Vic? I would think it would be a lot easier to unbolt a bed and cab to have a running/rolling frame and chassis? You could even run the 5.2 or 5.9 magnum in the short term... Also, I would think there would be more available to putting a 5.7 hemi in place of a small block mopar vs a 4.6 Ford??
 
73DusterFullFrame said:
@318willrun
Wonder what the performance market is like for a Dakota vs CrownVic. Still would have to cut somewhere in the middle to bring the wheel base in. Then back off the extra bed length. Then I would have to lower it. Think maybe CrownVic financially would be cheaper to start with as the rolling chassis. Not a bad idea, will definitely add to my list of options and look into it.

@Chained_360
That’s sounds like a pretty sweet option as well.

@72bluNblu
That’s pretty wild! Just got done reading his thread. Wonder if it would be cheaper to do it his way or cut the front and rear clip off a 2008+ challenger. Then channel in frame rails to the body of the Duster and then attach front and rear clips to it.
Click to expand...

The '08+ Challengers are unibodies, so no real frame rails any more than the Duster has. I think the way that rapidtransitric is doing it may be the "easiest" for a '08+ Challenger donor, that whole thing fits way better than I thought it would have.

The full frame idea though may be a little easier, it depends on how well the frame matches up with the contours of the unibody and how much sectioning has to be done.
 
@kursplat
Those are all sweet! Don’t worry, she might not be 100% mopar, but she’ll have a Mopar heart ;)

@318willrun
Those are really good points, it’d definitely be a whole lot easier to
un-bolt a bed and a cab. That and I could potentially sell the bed and make a few bucks. You’re also right about 5.7 swap on a Dakota. There’s actually kit/brackets to do it. Not so much for the CV.

@72bluNblu
Well I don’t think fitting the frame will be hard necessarily. Thinking might just cut the whole floor out of the duster, rusted out anyways, so I’ve got an open canvas per se. the cage that’s currently in it with some “tie bars” should hold the rest of body rigid and straight.
So with that should be able to just sit it on frame and figure out where I want to channel it, so the body will sit down in the frame versus on top. Which will give it a lowered overall appearance and get the weight lower to the ground and more centered in the chassis. Then I can build a new floor around it.
 
318willrun said:
I've never attempted a project like you are planning, so I'm of little help. I was just thinking, a short bed/regular cab Dakota would give you the stance you want, but would be shorter overall than a Crown Vic? I would think it would be a lot easier to unbolt a bed and cab to have a running/rolling frame and chassis? You could even run the 5.2 or 5.9 magnum in the short term... Also, I would think there would be more available to putting a 5.7 hemi in place of a small block mopar vs a 4.6 Ford??
Click to expand...

I was told it's easier to put a hemi into a "was a 4.7" Dakota than a Magnum one, for whatever that's worth I've also read but can't really confirm that the Dakota platform shares some of the ?? suspension geometry of a Viper?
 
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