Halloween Pumpkin

-

sireland67

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Messages
11,502
Reaction score
7,523
Location
WV
This is kinda going to be a backwards thread, I am going to start on how the car looks now, and work my way backwards thru photos.
A little history, I bought this car about a week before Halloween in 2010.
I had drove by it for several months, one day my kid was with me and said "look Dad an old mopar, lets look at it"
Ended up buying it, I should have just left it to die where it was.

It was a plain jane, poop brown 73 Duster, that started.
Typical flat black hide all paint job, with a 318, duel exhaust auto, 7.25 rear.
Nothing fancy but did have a aluminum intake and a 625 carder carb, with really custom speaker wires running to the amp gauge.

Like I said should have left it there.
8 years later its a 340 4-speed 8.75 toy.
Its not done yet, but getting close, still needs a black top installed. But this is how it sit now.

JmNCjP.jpg


I gave it to my now 18 year old kid, because I promised him when he was 10 he could have the car. He helped out alot along the way with it.
 
This is a picture of the old turd bucket when it came to me, $800

1002150f.jpg
 
A lot of work to get the old turd bucket where it is now.
 
Looks great just the way it is, lucky kid I'd say! 65'
 
Hello Sireland 67.
Any pictures of the engine or interior?
Fellow 73 H code brother here.
Thanks in advance.
Happy Mopar :)
Arron
 
Hello Sireland 67.
Any pictures of the engine or interior?
Fellow 73 H code brother here.
Thanks in advance.
Happy Mopar :)
Arron

Here is a pic of the engine compartment before the exterior was painted.
22oucp.jpg


Here is an old pic of the interior, it still looks about the same.

A2cL4m.jpg
 
Sweet,
I need that steering wheel and spacer.
Happy Mopar :)
Arron
The spacer is a A-body tuff wheel.
The wheel is off a 71 E-body, it was the largest diameter factory Mopar wheel I had laying around for the manual steering.
 
Following I love that car you turned it into something beautiful!! Is that the summit paint?? That is the same steering wheel in my barracuda. Are you gonna replace the gauge cluster with an original one?
 
The spacer is a A-body tuff wheel.
The wheel is off a 71 E-body, it was the largest diameter factory Mopar wheel I had laying around for the manual steering.
Hello all.
Question,
Do you or any one that reads this have an extra A body spacer for sale?

In the pix i don't see the shifter, What one are you using ?
Just trying to figure out what is the correct 4 speed floor shifter for 73 with bucket seats from factory.
Also can you do a pix of the bucket seats ? from what i see they look like the ones i have.
On the gauge cluster, I am a fan of more OEM type stuff BUT on your build with the other two other gauges by the radio the cluster you have installed looks just fine.
Leave it and enjoy.
Happy Mopar :)
Arron
 
Following I love that car you turned it into something beautiful!! Is that the summit paint?? That is the same steering wheel in my barracuda. Are you gonna replace the gauge cluster with an original one?

Kinda, sorta summit paint, it is a summit color, that was matched in PPG.
The paint was done at my friend I went to high schools body shop.
I know all the guys he has working for him, so I was in good hands.
He only shoots PPG for business reasons.
I did the body work, they just block sanded it, repaired the roof dents.
I just wanted it done, because I needed garage space to fix my sons car.

As far as the gauge cluster, I removed the stock one and sold it to a member here that was trying to fix his fuel gauge.
I put that in with all new gauges, so it is staying in there.
 
Hello all.
Question,
Do you or any one that reads this have an extra A body spacer for sale?

In the pix i don't see the shifter, What one are you using ?
Just trying to figure out what is the correct 4 speed floor shifter for 73 with bucket seats from factory.
Also can you do a pix of the bucket seats ? from what i see they look like the ones i have.
On the gauge cluster, I am a fan of more OEM type stuff BUT on your build with the other two other gauges by the radio the cluster you have installed looks just fine.
Leave it and enjoy.
Happy Mopar :)
Arron

Here is a better pic of the shifter, it is an original handle, but I mounted it to a Hurst super-shifter III, with reverse lock out.
Second pic is it attached to the stock shifter bottom.

Seats, I will have to dig thru 10 years of pics, I put the car in storage not at my house earlier this week.

lPCFVP.jpg


tb9f.jpg
 
Looks really great Shawn!

Thanks, my buddy really put it over the top, now I am afraid to touch it.
Rented a storage unit where my grandkids cannot scratch it.

My next build, 70 cuda is going to stay primer, easy touch up.
Plus its going to be one of those builds, that most likely I will tear up drive-train parts on a regular schedule.
 
It all looks sweet
Thanks for sharing all your pictures and stories.
Keep us updated on the Cuda
Happy Mopar :)
Arron
 
It all looks sweet
Thanks for sharing all your pictures and stories.
Keep us updated on the Cuda
Happy Mopar :)
Arron
Actually been doing work on the old Cuda.
It is still sitting in my back yard, but been working on parts.

Bought a nice set of rust free doors and some other parts off a guy in OH, stripped them, cleaned them up, put some windows in them, and they are ready to bolt on the car.
But it is too cold outside, and I do not want to cramp my tiny garage up with a car this winter by putting the car in it.

Also been working an old dumpster 318 that came with my challenger, price was free if I loaded it the back of my truck.
So it is a 74 318 that was basically built out of parts from the factory.
The crank was .010 under on the rods, standard on the mains, had one copper connecting rod in it, and the best thing a round head bolt, that was never machined for the hex.
And it was siezed from sitting.

After getting the engine apart, it was actually a fairly low mileage engine, the timing chain had slack, but all the nylon teeth, so to me that means around 70,000 miles.
It was also fairly clean, but just an unusual engine.
As usual I did not take alot of pictures, I will get better at doing this.
 
Sweet looking Duster.

Here. is a picture of my 73 H code. It is waiting on me to get over my mad at the crappy machine shops that I over paid for their crappy work.
I guess you could call it a "barn find". lol



IMG_20150211_124054_1.jpg



IMG_20150211_124044_1.jpg
 
What air cleaner base are you using there, and where did you find the rubber seal? I am trying to come up with a plan to complete a fresh air system on the cuda.

I actually copied another members thread on here for the air cleaner.

I used a cheap drop base $20 summit air cleaner. It’s rivited to a cake pan, with a cowl induction hood seal off a Chevy.

Search for the thread, it goes into a lot of detail.
 
-
Back
Top