my 74 Duster 360 Project :-)

[Khyron]

well, i'm a bit farther along since i came back to the site, but i'll post up as if I just got the car Some things I have done I don't have pictures of so i'll post about what I did, then add pictures later

After having to sell My Charger because of my divorce <i still have visitation with her> I came into some money and decided to get another project, I started to build a 57 chevy Gasser, had some fun but got bored fast, needed another Mopar, so the hunt started. I figured on an A body, I like the looks and wanted something a bit more agile then i had with the charger... So the search started, shortly after a friend told me about a Duster a few miles from his house in the country, got me the number and I made the call, he wanted $7k for the car, it was a running , driving, inspected and insured car, I didn't want to send that much... after some back and forth, we agreed on $5,000 ... made a call, got my buddys dealer plate, bought the car and drove it home.... here she is at the former owners house.

 

[Khyron]

I received some paperwork with the car and a bit of the story on her, this guy was the second owner, as i can see, the car was very well taken care of, the guy had sanded and primed the body to have it repainted but never had it done, my plane was to paint her original and enjoy it... then noticed a new tags and markings on the car that didn't look right, after doing some homework, and decoding the fender tag, i found she was a Duster 360 car... less then 4,000 built, i was happy

Then i decided to keep it original, i got a quote on the paint, $1,400 for a gallon of burndish red poly... F that lol, too boring a color to be that expensive, so i was well, time to have fun, so much for original..

first thing, spring relocation kit and sub frame connectors.

The car has the original 360 in it, and a performance build 727 small block trans going to a 3.23 posi 8 1/4 rear.

 

[Khyron]

opps, forgot the inside shot... BTW: floors and sub frame are rock solid!

 

[Khyron]

sooo, after seeing the price of the paint, and not being an "original" kinda guy, figured, motors coming out, rebuild, and engine compartment painted the new color... the car will be yellow orange, white half vinyl top, and she will get her factory white stripes on the side and back

 

[Khyron]

after looking at the rest of the car, I saw several melted points in the harness, and lots of splices and tape... soooo... after seeing 2 of my friends cars get burnt this year... I gutted all the Mopar wires out of the car, replaced with a speedway 21 circuit ... figured better to have too many then too few. I've been running wire all week lol, car now is wired for lights, ignition, and accessory.

I figured while im at it, I want the ease of a GM 1 wire alternator, i like bright lights

sooo, removed the mopar alt, and now the mechanical fuel pump, wired up electric fuel pump, MSD ignition, pressure regulator and am continuing to work, so... in a nutshell, we're caught up


Comments, Questions, confusion, all welcome I will update as I work, I may have missed a few things i've been doing or why i've been doing it... so if a question comes up, i will answer ;-)

Ohhh BTW she also has new leafs i had custom made at a local place ...

 

[dusterdan]

very nice!!! love the pics, keep them coming

 

[Alex5280]

Very cool. I will enjoy watching your build!

Alex

 

[Khyron]

Thanks guys, another thing i did was puch the front bumper in about an inch and a half, and removed the bumperettes, will have to get a picture up soon of that, much nicer cleaner look on the 74, problem is the 5 mph bumper on the back, need to figure out how to hug the rear bumper in.

 

[Alex5280]

Here is a nice approach to dealing with the nasty 74' rear bumper:
http://www.protouringmopar.com/showthread.php?1279-74-Duster-the-demonizer-build/page4

 

[72bluNblu]

Here is a nice approach to dealing with the nasty 74' rear bumper:
http://www.protouringmopar.com/showthread.php?1279-74-Duster-the-demonizer-build/page4

Lol. That's my thread. You can look at it right here on Fabo too.

The bit with the bumper is down toward the bottom.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=198098&page=3

It's a very simple modification, all you really need to do is weld a heavy gauge patch panel into the "D" shaped hole where the shock bumpers go through the bumper reinforcement panel. I'll probably do that when I pull my car apart again for paint. The brackets are super easy to make though, you could even do that without welding at all if you just put a 90* bend in a couple pieces of flat stock.

 

[Alex5280]

^ It's your thread, yup...and you did a great job!

 

[Khyron]

nice, i will check that out when I get to the garage, and your not kidding about how heavy that freaking thing is LOL

 

[Khyron]

been very busy lately, but I have been doing some odds and ends on the car, My digital gauges came in and have spent the last week working on that since i haven't been able to get garage time,

Basically I purchased a used gauge cluster because i felt like cutting one up and no going with stock locations, and no need to destroy my good working one

All in all I was pleases with the kitt from intelletronix. The volt gage came defective but only a phone call and they have my new one on it's way.

I made a template for the back plate and for the clear plastic, decided to add a few 30 amp switches for accessorys, they are red when not in use and turn green when switched on, radio shack for $4, I ordered some carbon fiber vinyl for it to see if i like it.. what do you think?

 

[Snake]

Lol. That's my thread. You can look at it right here on Fabo too.

The bit with the bumper is down toward the bottom.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=198098&page=3

It's a very simple modification, all you really need to do is weld a heavy gauge patch panel into the "D" shaped hole where the shock bumpers go through the bumper reinforcement panel. I'll probably do that when I pull my car apart again for paint. The brackets are super easy to make though, you could even do that without welding at all if you just put a 90* bend in a couple pieces of flat stock.

well thanke you sir thats what i plan on doing great job.

 

[Snake]

Nice Duster thread to boot as well,I am just starting my 74 Duster,I will be watching as well. Good luck.:happy1:

 

[Khyron]

I just got off the phone with Intelletronix .. i bought the build your own digital gauge set from them, well, the volt gauge was defective. I called and they explained that it happens and apologized, they said if i ship them the old on eI can call and send them the tracking number and they would ship a new one right out before they even got the old one... I did so.. well, it's been a few days so i called back. They said they were very sorry, they just got a huge order and are swamped and i wont get the new one till Tuesday of next week at the soonest... That upset me a little... however.... i joked and said "well you should send me the clock for free then" ... not even hesitating he replayed... "white? I would be more then happy to send you one for free" ... now THAT'S customer service... BIG thumbs up for these guys... so if you are in the market, i strongly recommend these guys!

 

[Khyron]

I missed some updates, so i'm going to do it now

 

[Khyron]

New transmission gasket and filter, fresh fluid, gas pressure regulator adjusted, exhaust done (for now) BandM shifter installed and hooked up (still needs adjustment) car will now run turn key... Rear bumper brackets half done

cleaned up some wires... i ripped out all he original wires and installed a painless wiring system, also installed a GM alternator so i will have no resistor or flicker!

also removed that pesky shifter from the steering column and removed the shift indicator, it's not a counsel column

 

[Khyron]

Light day... Sand blasted some odds and ends, cleaned up wires and sanded, repaired, and painted dashboard... Added carbon fiber vinyl to swap meet b&m shifter base and around dash gauges...

removed dash with windshield in, thanks for the tip guys ;-) cleaned and painted, will get rid of the tan and white interior for a black and white, always liked that look.

rear bumper mocked up with custom brackets and now in and almost flush with body. shifter hooked up, exaust done, she should be drivable again real soon!

 

[Khyron]

front and rear bumper will be body color, both sanded and pushed in, really cleans up the look of the 74, you can also see the GM alt mounted.. this is a little older picture, engine is now running

 

[Abodybomber]

Nice work,Kryron!