I'm Cummins swapping a '74 Duster, thought I'd share the progress.

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Daniel Garcia said:
I have not, I have considered using a crown vic or an 83+ S10 regular cab frame though
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You know, if you are hellbent on seeing this through, putting a duster body on the frame of a diesel vehicle would be the safer way to do it
 
diymirage said:
You know, if you are hellbent on seeing this through, putting a duster body on the frame of a diesel vehicle would be the safer way to do it
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This isn't a bad idea, AND it would be a hell of a lot less work, find a diesal 94ish reg cab Ram truck preferably 2wdr, shorten the frame as needed and everything power train wise bolts right up, fit the body and voila! You have essentially what you want for a reasonable investment. Worth a think
 
mopar56 said:
Worth a think
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Would still be full redneck. lol

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sometimes when i'm at the yard and i see what appears to be a perfectly good car just entirely wrecked-- and i don't mean accident, but like all cut up and the work of some hackasaurous rex from planet hackulon with some half assed idea and half assed skills that's whole assed some abortion of car somewhat together and then abandoned it for reasons-- i always wonder where they come from, like how that happened.

today, now i know.
 
rmchrgr said:
To the **** show...
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Well, it's his car and he can do whatever he wants to do with it. With all this negative feedback, I'll keep this in mind, so when I do something, I'll just no go public with it. :rolleyes:
 
OK, @Daniel Garcia, here are my thoughts:
1. Go for it. It's your car. It's your plan. And I think it will be cool.
2. I saw where a V10 Viper engine was put in a Mopar (an E Body I think). I wonder if people told him it would never work out? I KNOW that stuffing a 6 cylinder diesel in an A Body is different, but the concept is the same. You are stuffing a bigger motor in your car than it was designed for. Go for it.
3. Will it be safe? I see no reason why it can't be. I assume you have no intention of just cutting and hacking until the big motor is in there. I know that you are going to strengthen and reinforce everything as you go. A heavier car will need better brakes, but I bet you already thought of that.
Overall, I would say this. Can it be done? Yes. It is a matter of how good you are at problem solving and fabrication. As long as you plan it out, take your time, do things properly with an eye on strength and safety, you should be good. I can't wait to see the finished product. Hey, I am only one state away. When it's done, can I come and get a ride?
 
85glht said:
Well, it's his car and he can do whatever he wants to do with it. With all this negative feedback, I'll keep this in mind, so when I do something, I'll just no go public with it. :rolleyes:
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I don't see a problem with calling out ill-advised buffoonery. Maybe no one around him has questioned this idea until now. The OP does seem to be able to handle the criticism just fine though.

Posting things online is obviously a choice and it should go without saying that if/when you put yourself out there in a public forum for all to see you have to be prepared to accept differing opinions on whatever it is you’re doing. Can't always expect to get 100% validation on everything, especially for doing something that makes zero sense.

To be clear, he's getting negative feedback from some of us because he is trying to do something that defies logic and will most likely bury another Mopar. Most people here care enough about these cars to not want to see one willingly get destroyed for a pointless exercise.

I'm not sure how anyone could be in favor of this project but what do I know. I'll just stay inside the box.
 
Absolutely no different than the C body guys that get mad at me for paying for a c body to derby it...it was for sale. I bought it. It's mine I can do as I please. And then I give away and sell the good useable parts to keep other good cars on the road. At least he's using a Cummins not Duramax or powerchoke. It will be set back far enough the unibody can and will be reinforced with a heavy trans crossmember. By no disrespect but it's easy to tell on this thread that most people have never done any major alterations to a car or any modification of any degree other than open a box and bolt a part on. He will have a fabricated trans tunnel which will be a major point of strength. He's not affecting the rocker panels which is the major portion of the frame structure of the car. He will have a firewall to tie the floor into the pillars. I am so puzzled at the amount of people without modification experience saying it's a bad idea. It's rolling weight that needs to be addressed and much better braking. The structure of the car will be better than factory. Even with little to no fabrication experience. If he knows how to weld properly that's all that matters.
 
In a weird way, this idea makes me smile. The OP knows that it is weird and difficult but chooses to move forward with it anyway.
There is a motivational poster that reads....Life begins outside of your comfort zone.
With that in mind, ask yourself, does anyone cheer or remember the dudes that played it safe and never tried anything different?
Not really.
Does anyone have fond memories of that average girl, the slow Toyota you owned, the job at Wal Mart or the bland beer that you drank?
Again, no.
You will remember the tattooed and pierced stripper that took you behind the dumpster in the alley, you'll think of the 440-6 barrel engine you had in the Duster, you'll fondly recall the job as a lifeguard at the beach and never forget that night of tequila and Jagermeister!
 
Kern Dog said:
In a weird way, this idea makes me smile. The OP knows that it is weird and difficult but chooses to move forward with it anyway.
There is a motivational poster that reads....Life begins outside of your comfort zone.
With that in mind, ask yourself, does anyone cheer or remember the dudes that played it safe and never tried anything different?
Not really.
Does anyone have fond memories of that average girl, the slow Toyota you owned, the job at Wal Mart or the bland beer that you drank?
Again, no.
You will remember the tattooed and pierced stripper that took you behind the dumpster in the alley, you'll think of the 440-6 barrel engine you had in the Duster, you'll fondly recall the job as a lifeguard at the beach and never forget that night of tequila and Jagermeister!
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And the SBC powered '71 Vega you had to sell 'cuz the doors wouldn't close anymore due to the torque....

(Well, that and all the tickets you got with it!)
 
Owen 340+6 said:
it's easy to tell on this thread that most people have never done any major alterations to a car or any modification of any degree other than open a box and bolt a part on.
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If wanting to be a up and coming you tube star this project will provide years of content.
I`ve done a somewhat similar out of the box build that took me a decade to finish, but my car was a rotted-gutted basket case. His car seems to be pretty solid which could knock his build time down to a few years, Mine is an old 50`s frame car so I didn`t have to rely on unibody strength, but I did fab up a complete custom frame.
It will be great experience for him as it was for me.
ProjectBazza said:
Uh....A coal rolling gasser?

I'm so confused!
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Might be the way to go, lower the engine in a subframe and keep the flat hood, giving oil pan ground clearance :D
 
Owen 340+6 said:
Absolutely no different than the C body guys that get mad at me for paying for a c body to derby it...it was for sale. I bought it. It's mine I can do as I please. And then I give away and sell the good useable parts to keep other good cars on the road. At least he's using a Cummins not Duramax or powerchoke. It will be set back far enough the unibody can and will be reinforced with a heavy trans crossmember. By no disrespect but it's easy to tell on this thread that most people have never done any major alterations to a car or any modification of any degree other than open a box and bolt a part on. He will have a fabricated trans tunnel which will be a major point of strength. He's not affecting the rocker panels which is the major portion of the frame structure of the car. He will have a firewall to tie the floor into the pillars. I am so puzzled at the amount of people without modification experience saying it's a bad idea. It's rolling weight that needs to be addressed and much better braking. The structure of the car will be better than factory. Even with little to no fabrication experience. If he knows how to weld properly that's all that matters.
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No one is arguing the fact that the guy can do whatever he wants with his car. I mean come on.

To your point - people don’t generally modify unibody cars to such an extent. Nor do they put 1,500 lb drivetrains in 3,400lb. cars. When you start going beyond stuff like frame connectors and torque boxes you better be a really good fabricator or you take it to a chassis shop and have **** done right and safely. Problem is the OP admits that he does not know what he is doing. That does not sound like a recipe for success.

Frankenstein is a cautionary tale.
 
rmchrgr said:
No one is arguing the fact that the guy can do whatever he wants with his car. I mean come on.

To your point - people don’t generally modify unibody cars to such an extent. Nor do they put 1,500 lb drivetrains in 3,400lb. cars. When you start going beyond stuff like frame connectors and torque boxes you better be a really good fabricator or you take it to a chassis shop and have **** done right and safely. Problem is the OP admits that he does not know what he is doing. That does not sound like a recipe for success.

Frankenstein is a cautionary tale.
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I was trying not to be rude in anyway I hope I made that clear. I promise you it's not as concerning as it sounds on paper. The car will hold it. Let's not forget the best way to learn is to just dive in and figure it out. If he don't know how to fabricate. He will soon. And if not he has this thread and we can help him . I'll say it again in hopes he reads it. Triangular stuff ridged trans tunnel. Ridgid firewall tied into trans tunnel. Sub frame connectors. Aftermarket disc brakes stiffen k frame in the center accordingly. Myself I would straight axle swap it in front and the leaf spring will spread the weight across the front rails just fine. The bummer will be the very short driveshaft if he pulls it off it's gonna be pretty awesome rattod duster.
 
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