My 71 Duster Project

[smartken22]

wow just went through all the thread had i have to say your doing an amazing job with your car! not only that but your threads are awesome!! i love seeing your your detailed pics! really helps me out learning about this stuff thanks and keep up the great work!!!

I appreciate the comment, Thanks! I am just passing on the knowledge and mistakes I have made to help everyone out. I know I have relied on this forum numerous times when I have been stuck. It really helps and I am a pictures guy when it comes to building. You can only get so much from reading.

 

[dusterbd13]

once you get the car complete and have a few iles on it to settle the suspension, you should be able to see the stance. i used lowering blocks on mine, but will be modifying the shackles and hangars to lower it and correct some geometry.

 

[smartken22]

once you get the car complete and have a few iles on it to settle the suspension, you should be able to see the stance. i used lowering blocks on mine, but will be modifying the shackles and hangars to lower it and correct some geometry.

Thanks for the info. I am sure it will settle as well. It actually does not look too bad right now. I adjusted the A-arm camber as the driver side was kicked out and it sits pretty level. I plan to take it in for an alignment once the motor and tranny go in.

 

[smartken22]

Ok, it has been awhile since the last update. Trust me, I have been plugging away on the resto, but my internet has been down for the last week and a half so I have not been able to post the progress. Now that the front suspension is completed I started working on wiring, restoring the dash and the steering column. Here are some pics of the progress...more to follow.

 

[smartken22]

I received the carpet and the glove box insert for the car today. I let the carpet sit out in the sun all day while I was finishing up the dash in order for it to reshape itself. Once i am finished with the dash I will install all of the body plugs and then install the carpet and the seats. Here are some more pics.

 

[racerhog]

Looking Good !!!!! Keep on thundering!!!!

 

[SRT_DSTRHOLC]

How did you get all the under coating off the bottom of the car? or did you leave it?

 

[smartken22]

How did you get all the under coating off the bottom of the car? or did you leave it?

I used a needlegun and then put all new undercoating back on.

 

[smartken22]

Looking Good !!!!! Keep on thundering!!!!

Thanks for the motivation!

 

[66CudaJim]

Your resto is looking great! I've been following it for a couple months now. Keep up the great work. What did you use for your undercoating? Seeing your progress really keeps me motivated. Jim

 

[smartken22]

Your resto is looking great! I've been following it for a couple months now. Keep up the great work. What did you use for your undercoating? Seeing your progress really keeps me motivated. Jim

Thanks Jim! I used the 3M Body Schutz Rubberized Coating with the gun. It sprays pretty nice and looks like the factory coating.

 

[78kitcar]

You got a nice build going on! Keep up the good work.Any specs on your speakers?

 

[71 Duster 440]

Really, really nice work. Following this one.

 

[smartken22]

You got a nice build going on! Keep up the good work.Any specs on your speakers?

They are Polk 4" DXi400 speakers. I ordered the custom mounting bracket that holds them from '74 Sport here on the forum. They turned out really nice. Here are some more pics of them and what the old original bracket looked like.

 

[smartken22]

You guys are not going to believe this one. I was surfing around on here for ideas on rims when one of the guys suggested that I tried cleaning up my old Keystones. He told me that I could not do any more harm to them so why not. Well, here are some before and after pictures of my attempt and they came out really nice! I was really surprised considering how much rust these things had. Most of it was just surface rust and dirt. I spent about 20 mins on them, so with a little more time and elbow grease they should turn out nice. I am going to take them off one at a time and finish polishing them up and paint the sides of them where the lugs go black again. There is one rim that is in bad shape and may take some time to clean up, so if it does not come out nice I will replace just that one for now and put new tires on them. Man that just saved some money there! Also here are a few more pictures of the steering wheel installed and the new emissions decal and steering column decal.

 

[Old Tired Rebel]

Keep working those wheels they will look great. The paint job is great.

 

[SRT_DSTRHOLC]

When you worked on the engine bay before primeing it, how did you get the surface ready to paint? And did you fill the big holes in the firewall with metal or just filler? Thank you

 

[smartken22]

When you worked on the engine bay before primeing it, how did you get the surface ready to paint? And did you fill the big holes in the firewall with metal or just filler? Thank you

I filled all the big holes with steel sheet metal I bought from my local metal shop. I welded in the patches and then cleaned up with a grinder. The biggest job was closing off the heater motor hole. I basically welded a plate on the back of the firewall and then used a very big holesaw to cutout a plate to fill the hole in the bay. Once everything was welded in, I smoothed with my grinder and then filled with Rage Gold body filler to smooth. I stripped the entire engine bay with my DA sander and used the needlegun for the hard to reach areas. For the final surface prep I used Kustom Shop grease and wax remover from TCP global and then shot etching primer, then urethane primer for the whole car. Hope this helps.

 

[smartken22]

Here are the latest pics. I installed the new throttle cable and pedal, did a little block sanding on the front end and installed the floorpan body plugs. I am currently on det with my squadron right now so there will be some down time for the next couple weeks. In the meantime I plan to order the tranny linkages, and some misc parts to get ready for the motor/tranny install.

 

[SRT_DSTRHOLC]

i filled all the big holes with steel sheet metal i bought from my local metal shop. I welded in the patches and then cleaned up with a grinder. The biggest job was closing off the heater motor hole. I basically welded a plate on the back of the firewall and then used a very big holesaw to cutout a plate to fill the hole in the bay. Once everything was welded in, i smoothed with my grinder and then filled with rage gold body filler to smooth. I stripped the entire engine bay with my da sander and used the needlegun for the hard to reach areas. For the final surface prep i used kustom shop grease and wax remover from tcp global and then shot etching primer, then urethane primer for the whole car. Hope this helps.

that helped alot!!

 

[smartken22]

Well, I finally made it home Friday and started work on the car again. It was like Christmas when I came home with all of the boxes waiting for me. I was able to get all of the new linkages installed and adjusted for the tranny. All I need to do now is take the shifter back off and clean it up. I also started aligning panels on the car. I removed the driver side fender and put all new weatherseals in and bolted it down with the new fender bolt kit. I also started routing/sleeving more wiring in the engine bay. That is a time consuming project there, but it will look nice when its done. All in all, a pretty busy weekend!

 

[AnotherA]

Awesome shifter!!!

 

[813Demon340]

Awesome job so far! Keep up the good work and the progress. The wheels turned out really nice. Are you going ot put the vinyl top back on it?

 

[smartken22]

Awesome shifter!!!

Thanks!

 

[smartken22]

Awesome job so far! Keep up the good work and the progress. The wheels turned out really nice. Are you going ot put the vinyl top back on it?

Thanks...yes I do want to put the vinyl top back on, but it wont be right away. I think I am going to run it off awhile for now.