my 72 Duster

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1BadDodge71

1BadDodge71

FABO Rice Hater
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Messages
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Location
Fort Collins,Colorado
Ever since I sold my first car in 1995 ,a 71 Duster /6 which I inherited from my mom and never got to finish,I always wanted another one but struggled over the years to find another one.My search for a affordable 70-76 Duster finally came to an end when I found this baby for $500 in 2008
72 Duster with a /6 six ,auto,no power steering,drums,very solid except for the usual rust on the quarters found on these cars.Interior seats are original ,not ripped,but the usual sun baked dash,plastic floor mat,and a few small tears in the panels.This was to be a father & son project,but sadly he passed from kidney failure in 2009.
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Knowing that it will be awhile until I get the money to paint it right and it will be outside,as much as I hate spray bomb paint jobs,I decided to sand it and throw some rustoleum to cover the rust.I totally forgot I had the old hubcaps from my 71 in the basement and threw them on for now.
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I decided to clean up the /6 ,put it together and maybe drive it for awhile ,so after doing all of this ,rebuilding the carb,painted the valve cover,new valve cover gasket ,new plugs,oil,filter,distributor cap,plug wires,oil change ,fuel filter ,I brought the old slant 6 back to life,but it smoked,and it smoked really BAD!=(
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I bought a set of 5 slot mags from a member here,and my cousin hooked me up with some tires and threw them on,along with new brakes shoes,drums,master cylinder.
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The broken grille was starting to bother me,and used grilles go for alot,so instead I decided just to fix this one.I used Fusor to fix the cracks ,and scrap styrene and fusor to fix the missing fins and painted it in the style of the 70 Valiant Dusters.
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After replacing the valve seals on the /6,and many other attempts,it still smoked alot,and I figured it was time for it to go.I had a decision,another /6,or V8?I decided on V8 power and found this 360 for a very good price.Im not sure what the specs are on the cam,but all the receipts that came with the motor showed it was .40 over.
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after yanking the 6,I cleaned up the engine compartment again,redid and cleaned up all the wiring before installing the V8,which was alot of fun trying to do on gravel.
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After wrestling with a having to do a few mods to my transmission linkage for the column shifter to work with the 727,and shortening the driveshaft and having it balanced and installed.The car failed to start.It kept wanting to fire,but nothing,even after fiddling with timing.I decided to look under the distributor cap and found the pick up coil was rubbing on the reluctor,so I used a brass non-magnetic feeler gauge to adjust it.Put the cap back on,still wouldnt start.I took off the distributor cap and noticed a crack on it.I replaced it and it fired,which scared the **** out of me because the headers were open.!!
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After i got it running,I took it down the down the block,and it ran pretty rough,and died.Waited a few minutes and it started and made it home and it died in my yard and wouldnt start again.I had fuel,but checked for spark and had nothing.So I replaced it with an aftermarket ECU,and it worked for a few weeks and still ran rough,and again while it was at the house,it died again,and no spark.After some diagnosing ,I found the ECU crapped out.I found many threads on how crappy the aftermarket Chrysler ECUs and found a site that showed how to use the GM Module.I did this and worked great and I wasnt having ignition trouble anymore
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As I started driving it more,the roughness of the motor was getting worse and I noticed it barely had power,then one day it died and wouldnt start again,and thankfully it happened at home.The tank had fuel ,but noticed no fuel was squirting out of the carb.I decided to open up the carb and this is what I discoverer,alot of crap inside.After cleaning and new gaskets,I also noticed no fuel was coming out of the fuel line.I removed the fuel pump and discovered the inlet side was clogged with chunks of crap.I replaced the fuel line,removed the tank and found the sending unit sock was deteriorated(which probably explained the crap clogging up the fuel pump)
ordered a new sending unit,had the tank cleaned and sealed until I can get a brand new one,and new fuel line.After all of this,the car ran so much better and smoother,the only thing next I had to do was remove the /6 radiator which was just temporary and installed the bigger radiator

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Sorry,I didnt have my camera when I cut out the rust and welded new metal .I stripped the hood then I used SEM Dual-Mix to attach the scoop to hood and spread SEM Carbo-Fill
sanded that with 30 grit,applied a couple of coats of Evercoat Lite-Fill filler,sanded with 40 grit,followed by 80 grit,then applied a skim coat of glaze putty,smoothed it with 80 grit,finishing with 180

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I used Eastwoods FM 2k Urethane Primer,I found that an etch wasnt necessary.If anyone is interested,this primer is on clearance through Eastwood for $61.00 a gallon including activator!!Heres the link to it.Even though my compressor barely handled spraying this,it sprayed great and fills very goodhttp://www.eastwood.com/fm-urethane-buff-primer-and-actvator-gal-kit.html
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How it looks after getting the primer on.I sprayed on a generous 3 coats.Im letting it dry for a few days more ,then I will guide coat it and block it.
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today,I worked on the trunk.I wire brushed and sanded as much of the surface rust I could,sprayed an etch on it and covered it with bedliner.I know,I missed a spot ,I touched it up after seeing the pic,lol.
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