My '75 Duster "The Juice"

gerty · Jul 4, 2007

This is my favorite section of FABO and it's time I post a few of my own experiences with my project '75 Duster. It's nothing fancy or rare just a plain old original slant six car that I releave my stress with. I bought the Duster on eBay last year from a guy about 50 miles from us. It was the most horrible day ever trying to get home with the car. I told my wife Angela "we can drive the thing home with no issues" and 15 hours after picking it up we finally limped into our drive way with more issues than I could have imagined. It was a 100 degree day and we over heated three or four times ( the engine as well as us), we added 6 qts. each of oil and tranny fluid, about a qt. of brake fluid. If there is a next time the project will come home on a roll back! Angela named him "The Juice" because of the orange paint and the the fact it tried to kill us getting it home. And yes that is a reference to O.J. Simpson. I haven't taken many pics so far so I don't have many before pics.
Well anyway I started the rebuild with an 8 3/4 rearend swap from a '66 b body and moved the springs in with a MP relocation kit. The new heavy duty springs came from J.C Whitney and were built by John R. Spring Company. I don't think Whitney sells them anymore and if I need springs again I'll just go to John R. Springs. Mancini and others sell J.R. Springs but they add a markup.
http://www.johnrspring.com/index.htm

More to follow.

Mick Semantel · Jul 4, 2007

Doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. It's nice having an understanding wife. Mine put up with a whole lot with the motor swap. The rear looks nice. How was the Brake line work? I need to swap my 7 1/4 and install the 8 1/4 here soon.

ValiantMike · Jul 4, 2007

Gerty, I read your story and had to think about times that has happened to me.
quote:

I bought the Duster on eBay last year from a guy about 50 miles from us. It was the most horrible day ever trying to get home with the car. I told my wife Angela "we can drive the thing home with no issues" and 15 hours after picking it up we finally limped into our drive way with more issues than I could have imagined.

end quote

Well, at least you got it home and learned some of the things that it needed. Looks like you did a nice job with the rear and springs. You can always look back and see how much you have improved your ride. Mike

OneOfMany · Jul 4, 2007

Couldn't help but chuckle at your "journey". I'm sure it will always get a chuckle (even from your sig other) when you lookback on it.

Reminds me of a time I was bringing home a 67 Cuda (on the wrong plates). While driving down the highway in a rainstorm, my headlights kept switching on and off. I finally pulled over, and while laying under the dash (getting a bit wet!), a RCMP car that was following me pulled up behind. The officer saw the "blinking" lights, and asked me what the problem was. Being frustrated and extremely wet, I mumbled something about a bad connection. It was "suggested" that maybe I get a tow home. Not! I ended up ripping the wires out of the foot dimmer switch (which was all wet from the water pouring in the wiper seal),and twisted them together to get the lights on. The "concerned" officer followed me for at least 5 miles (probably waiting for one more "blink") before speeding by me. What made it more nerve racking was the fact I was running the plates from my 69Cuda lol.

gerty · Jul 5, 2007

Mick Semantel said:
Doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. It's nice having an understanding wife. Mine put up with a whole lot with the motor swap. The rear looks nice. How was the Brake line work? I need to swap my 7 1/4 and install the 8 1/4 here soon.

Mike, the brake lines are the sheilded type from NAPA. They were the straight universial ones and easy to bend by hand. I think they were about $12 or so. I used a new later style stock junction block with the attached rubber brake hose and used the 66's vent bolt. I saved some bucks over the repo lines and they look fine to me. On your's the 7 1/4 brake lines, wheel clys. etc. should swap over to the 8 1/4. I used the 10" backing plates, drums and hardware from my 7 1/4 on the 8 3/4.
Bob

gerty · Jul 5, 2007

ValiantMike said:
Gerty, I read your story and had to think about times that has happened to me.
quote:

I bought the Duster on eBay last year from a guy about 50 miles from us. It was the most horrible day ever trying to get home with the car. I told my wife Angela "we can drive the thing home with no issues" and 15 hours after picking it up we finally limped into our drive way with more issues than I could have imagined.

end quote

Well, at least you got it home and learned some of the things that it needed. Looks like you did a nice job with the rear and springs. You can always look back and see how much you have improved your ride. Mike

OneOfMany said:
Couldn't help but chuckle at your "journey". I'm sure it will always get a chuckle (even from your sig other) when you lookback on it.

Reminds me of a time I was bringing home a 67 Cuda (on the wrong plates). While driving down the highway in a rainstorm, my headlights kept switching on and off. I finally pulled over, and while laying under the dash (getting a bit wet!), a RCMP car that was following me pulled up behind. The officer saw the "blinking" lights, and asked me what the problem was. Being frustrated and extremely wet, I mumbled something about a bad connection. It was "suggested" that maybe I get a tow home. Not! I ended up ripping the wires out of the foot dimmer switch (which was all wet from the water pouring in the wiper seal),and twisted them together to get the lights on. The "concerned" officer followed me for at least 5 miles (probably waiting for one more "blink") before speeding by me. What made it more nerve racking was the fact I was running the plates from my 69Cuda lol.

Yea, what we all go through for our beloved projects! Sometimes I get to thinking I might be unstable but then that other voice reassures me.
Bob

gerty · Jul 6, 2007

This is a bit out of order but I just found some photos taken a couple of days after "The Juice" made it home last year. It is a fairly straight body and only a little rust in the rear quarters. A poor repair job had been done in the past on the quarters. The floors, trunk and eveything else is in great shape. The first thing I did was get it on jackstands and survey the problems. Next I put it on hold until this past May when the fun began. I wish I had taken more photos at first.

If Y'all noticed the blue Sport behind Juice it's my Bracket Car that I sold last fall. Blue ran 11.10s to 11.20s with a slightly warm 340.

gerty · Jul 6, 2007

Here is a shot of the Duster on the ground with the 5 leaf HD springs and 225-70-14 tires. It's about 4" higher than with the old springs. It'll probably settle some more when completed.

I plan to use these 245-60-15s on 8.5" wheels and I think 5.5 backspace. 275s would fit but I already have these and don't want the thing to look too aggressive to Chevy and Mustang folks around here.
Bob

gerty · Jul 8, 2007

I didn't think about this until mounting the wheels. The rear axle, being from a '66 model, had left hand lug studs on the driver's side and nobody makes LH mag wheel lugnuts. I didn't want to take the axles back out to press in new studs so I used a trick I saw my dad use many years ago. Use a 2 lb or so hammer and just kinda let it swing into the lug studs with no real hard whacking. After a few whacks, the stud will pop out. Now here is the trick, put the new studs in the freezer for a few hours. Spray some WD40 into the stud hole on the axle flange, insert the cold stud, and using several washers and a lug nut turned backwards, slowly tighten the nut with a breaker bar or torque wrench. Watch the back side to be certain the stud is going in straight. Use a long prybar jammed between two studs to keep the axle from turning. When the new lug is flush, reposition the prybar and remove the nut.
Screw some lugnuts on the new studs to prevent thread damage from the prybar.
I hope this might be helpful to someone. Bob

gerty · Jul 8, 2007

Hope this helps,

Bob

gerty · Jul 11, 2007

All my "Honey Do" chores were taken care of, so i got some time to work on the Duster's engine room. I had aready traded for a v8 k frame and it got installed last week. It came out of a low mileage Valiant that a tree had fallen on 10 or 15 years ago, so I'm hoping the bushings and such are not dry rotted, though it looks good and seems very tight. It took me a day and a half to get it in, I'm getting old and slower for sure. So here are some before, during and after pics of my progress.

Here is the only rust I've found other than the lower rear quarters.

All sanded down and then I brushed on a good coat of Ospho,a rust converter and etching treatment. Good stuff! I let it dry overnight, then rinse with water, let dry, and then prime.

Now for the Master Series rust primer, paint, sealer. Thanks for this tip 65s

Rust damage repaired. Welding is not one of my finer points, its a little rough but no one will ever see it here, under the fender.

Inner fenders are in good shape.

About ready for some paint.

I cut out the center radiator support to make it easier for my fat rump to work on the engine compartment, and should make the new engine and trans easier to install. I'll weld it back in later. Thanks to Coyote Jack for this idea.

gerty · Jul 15, 2007

Last weeks job was to crawl back under "The Juice" to work on the floor pan. Not the most fun thing job on an old car, but this one was not really that bad. There was a lot of trans fluid and fine Ky. soil under there but no rust other than a bit of surface rust. The factory undercoat was in good shape, tough as nails, and I saw no reason to remove it.

I degreased and scuffed the floor, then applied Oshpo and let it work overnight. I then put on a good coat of Rust Encapslulator and finally the undercoating.

I still need to add another coat of undercoat to match up better to the factory applied stuff. I wanted to use undercoat on the bottom side for it's sound deadening.

gerty · Jul 28, 2007

This is an experiment that I've been wanting to try for some time. I first heard about people using Dry Molasses to remove rust about a year ago. I stopped by a farm store and bought a 50 lb. bag for $11. My wife said "you're going to do what with that stuff?". Then she kinda took over the experiment.

Here is the mixture of 1 gallon molasses + 8 gallons of water. Place the cover on loosely after inserting the parts. The stuff smells good when first mixed, but the next day it stunk. So it is a good idea to put the container about 50 yards from the house. This mixture is harmless to you, pets, bugs, grass or anything in the enviroment. After all it is a food product. It may not be so green if greasy parts are soaked.

Here are the test subjects. These are the front bumper shocks/ brackets from the Duster.

Day 3 of the test shows some improvement but not much.

Day 6, now things are looking better!

Angela was very busy for a few days, and then checked the parts on day 14. Looking great now.
And this is the final result after a rinse with the garden hose. The metal dried with a haze of rusty dust on the surface but a quick spray with brake cleaner took care of that.

They are now ready to prime and paint.

I'm pleased with the outcome. I can think of lots of items that I could soak like intakes, brake drums, rusted carbs, etc. I have the tub filled with bolts and small parts off the Duster now. The only limit would be the container size. This takes at least a couple of weeks to work so it's by no means a quick derusting process.
Bob

69signetv8 · Jul 28, 2007

Looking most excellent Bob!! I think your having far too much fun :-D Keep up the good work :cheers:

moparman1 · Jul 28, 2007

hey, I think I found a new use for the swimming pool, now if I new how many bags it would take. lol now how did you get rid of the stuff when your finish. dump it in someones yard you dont like

gerty · Aug 1, 2007

Thanks Jim, and yes it is fun and a stress reducer! moparman1, it's funny you mentioned a pool. The rowdy neighbors to the back of our place have about two acres of yard and where do you think they placed their new pool? They put the thing next to our fence, and all we've heard all summer is the soothing sounds of thousands of teens and preteens yelling, screaming, splashing etc. Naw, I'm not going to dump the miracle rust remover stuff in the pool,,,,, but Angela might! lol
Bob

RPM · Aug 1, 2007

Very nice !

-RPM

sulery1 · Aug 2, 2007

gerty,
Thanks for the great photo's. It helps me in making some decisions about the under side of my car. What type of under coating did you use?
Looking great.

gerty · Aug 2, 2007

Thanks RPM

sulery1, I used Duplicolor spray cans and had good results. I first considered truck bedliner spray after a buddy had his Jeep's underside sprayed at Line X. But i decided on the undercoat after I got started. The factory undercoat was in great shape and i didn't see any need to scrape it off. I just needed to fill in the spaces where the factory didn't coat, which was about 60% of the floor. The Dupliclor goes on thin, so I had to spray three coats to match the factory undercoating density. I got a deal on a case of the Duplicolor on ebay and I used three cans on the floorpan and one can on the inner fenders. Sorry to ramble but I get carried away at times.
Bob

gerty · Aug 21, 2007

The engine room has been the focus for the past few weeks and here is the update. We finally decided on the paint color which is '07 Dodge Mineral Gray and maybe adding some Frost Gray metalic for the second color if we decide to do a two tone job. The bodywork will have to wait a while but I wanted to paint the engine room before the drivetrain goes in.
The old harness cleaned up nicely with GoJo hand cleaner and brake cleaner. I've installed a rebuilt cop car steering box and new brake lines. I'm trying to decide if I should install a larger fuel line now while it would be easier but I probably won't really need it.

Here is the engine that will be going in maybe next week. I've had this one sitting around about a year now. Not a race engine just a cruiser. It's a 40 over LA 360, 9.5-1 compression, zero decked,etc. Just your basic good machine work nothing fancy.The cam is a Summit 218-228 duration .441 lift which should work out to about .470 lift with the Magnum 1.6 rocker arms.The heads I purchased from my friend, a Dakota R/T enthusist. They are from a Magnum crate motor and have been massaged a tad. The R/T was running 11.70s but he stepped up to a pair of highly modified MP aluminun heads.

And this is the tranny de jour, 727 rebuilt by another friend with TCI internals and shift kit. After looking at this photo I can't help but point out the helpful hints,,,,,, sorry.
#1 You will notice the 7/16 wrench bolted to the front of the housing to keep the torque convertor in place.
#2 The orange paint on the t/c lug, and a matching mark on the flexplate. A heck of a lot easier than trying to line up the parts when the tranny and engine are bolted together.
#3 The 8" piece of tailpipe I use to install tranny seals. Much cheaper (free) than a seal driver.

More to come, hopefully next week.

dusterboy · Sep 14, 2007

Good job so far gerty. I found the molasses rust remover very interesting!

chasb · Sep 14, 2007

There's a reason for the saying " slow as molasses". I think you found it.

It really worked well.

Chas

mtn_jake · Sep 14, 2007

Great looking job!! I know what you mean about doing the dirty job of cleaning under the car and painting it to prolong it's life....not to mention a great looking job when someone looks under the car to expect to see a lot of rust or oil and grease but to see a clean...mean looking ride....
Below is a picture of mine after doing the whole job of cleaning it and priming and painting laying on my back in my building during the winter months....but the picture was taken when I got the car to the body shop for restoration so I took a shot of what it looks like from a greater than 18-20" distance that I was working in to do the underside painting. I didn't use undercoating, I used Rustoleum paint (approx. 3 coats) over about 3 coats of Rustoleum primer paint.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/attachment.php?attachmentid=15943&stc=1&d=1189806009

Fun stuff!! Can't wait to get back on the road with my completed Duster.

for a slide show of my Duster's progress at the body shop, click on the link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mtnjake/1973DusterRestoration

Greg.........mtn_jake

gerty · Sep 15, 2007

chasb said:
There's a reason for the saying " slow as molasses". I think you found it.

It really worked well.

Chas

That's a good one Chas, and the stuff really does work. It's slow but I'm in no big rush these days. This project is suppose to be stressless, so far so good.
Bob

flyboy01 · Sep 15, 2007

gerty said:
This is an experiment that I've been wanting to try for some time. I first heard about people using Dry Molasses to remove rust about a year ago. I stopped by a farm store and bought a 50 lb. bag for $11. My wife said "you're going to do what with that stuff?". Then she kinda took over the experiment.

Here is the mixture of 1 gallon molasses + 8 gallons of water. Place the cover on loosely after inserting the parts. The stuff smells good when first mixed, but the next day it stunk. So it is a good idea to put the container about 50 yards from the house. This mixture is harmless to you, pets, bugs, grass or anything in the enviroment. After all it is a food product. It may not be so green if greasy parts are soaked.

Here are the test subjects. These are the front bumper shocks/ brackets from the Duster.

Day 3 of the test shows some improvement but not much.

Day 6, now things are looking better!

Angela was very busy for a few days, and then checked the parts on day 14. Looking great now.
And this is the final result after a rinse with the garden hose. The metal dried with a haze of rusty dust on the surface but a quick spray with brake cleaner took care of that.

They are now ready to prime and paint.

I'm pleased with the outcome. I can think of lots of items that I could soak like intakes, brake drums, rusted carbs, etc. I have the tub filled with bolts and small parts off the Duster now. The only limit would be the container size. This takes at least a couple of weeks to work so it's by no means a quick derusting process.
Bob

Bob, I tried that also, it made my garge stink like you would not believe.

It does work, not very well, and not very fast. My favorite is using Evaporust, its about $65 for a 5 gallon pail, but damn it works fast.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...37;3AMEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=170090965604&rd=1

I did this water pump overnight.

The Molassis mixture works very well on hardened steel and chrome, but not so well on mild steel, heavy rust, or cast iron. The acid stuff works good, but it can be very agressive and is not skin friendly. I have tried a bunch of different methods, but so far in have been impressed with the Evaporust the most.

Just my .02