nice car
Next Phase of my Mopar Life
- Thread starter BrianT
- Start date
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I plan on using this thread as a blog to keep a record of everything that I've done to the car since the beginning. There's a big show coming up Sunday at the General Motors plant and I've got a few things to work on first. Here's what I accomplished tonight.
When I took the car to get inspected, they noted that one of my back up lights was out. No big deal, or so I thought. Popped the trunk and both the bulb and socket were missing on that side.
I ran out to my buddy Shawn's house and grabbed a socket and bulb off the old Dart and problem was fixed.
After driving the car several times now, I've noticed that the rear view mirror wont stay in place and that the visors hit the mirror when put down.
So I took the rear view mirror apart and cleaned it and adjusted it. Afterwards, I put on a couple light coats of silver rattle can and we are back in business. I used the visors off of the old Dart and I think it looks much better.
I forgot to mention that I had a headlamp burned out before the state inspection so I went and bought a pair of Sylvania SilverStar bulbs for it. I had good luck with them on the old car and they don't disappoint. I highly recommend them as an affordable alternative to expensive LED bulbs and such.
I replaced the fuel filter with a Wix steel filter to replace the old one which was made out of yellowed plastic.
I have a whole list of things to complete tomorrow including working on the brakes and trying to do a full detail. I might have time for a couple of extra projects if I can get started early enough. Stay tuned.
When I took the car to get inspected, they noted that one of my back up lights was out. No big deal, or so I thought. Popped the trunk and both the bulb and socket were missing on that side.
I ran out to my buddy Shawn's house and grabbed a socket and bulb off the old Dart and problem was fixed.
After driving the car several times now, I've noticed that the rear view mirror wont stay in place and that the visors hit the mirror when put down.
So I took the rear view mirror apart and cleaned it and adjusted it. Afterwards, I put on a couple light coats of silver rattle can and we are back in business. I used the visors off of the old Dart and I think it looks much better.
I forgot to mention that I had a headlamp burned out before the state inspection so I went and bought a pair of Sylvania SilverStar bulbs for it. I had good luck with them on the old car and they don't disappoint. I highly recommend them as an affordable alternative to expensive LED bulbs and such.
I replaced the fuel filter with a Wix steel filter to replace the old one which was made out of yellowed plastic.
I have a whole list of things to complete tomorrow including working on the brakes and trying to do a full detail. I might have time for a couple of extra projects if I can get started early enough. Stay tuned.
I started my day by installing the strobe stripe that I got from @challengergary . It was a simple and straight forward installation and adds a little more black to break up all that red.
Next, I put the car up on four jackstands so that I could check and adjust the brakes. I also installed a new Raybestos master cylinder because the old one was leaking and I didn't care much for it's rusty look. When I pulled the front wheels, I found the rattles that I was looking for. BOTH dust caps (Chinese) had come off and were rattling around in my wheel caps.
I got a few other small projects taken care of but the detail is gonna have to be a quickie on the way to the show tomorrow. It's Saturday night and the wife wants to go out to dinner.
Next, I put the car up on four jackstands so that I could check and adjust the brakes. I also installed a new Raybestos master cylinder because the old one was leaking and I didn't care much for it's rusty look. When I pulled the front wheels, I found the rattles that I was looking for. BOTH dust caps (Chinese) had come off and were rattling around in my wheel caps.
I got a few other small projects taken care of but the detail is gonna have to be a quickie on the way to the show tomorrow. It's Saturday night and the wife wants to go out to dinner.
Friday, I had my car appraised for the insurance company and my own piece of mind. The guy that came out was very personable and knew his cars. He took a TON of pics and climbed all over and under the car. I will get the appraisal on Monday and forward it on to the insurance company.
I did a little more work to the Duster yesterday, mostly cleaning and detailing under the hood. I wiped down the interior and touched up some spots on the lower doors where people's feet had hit getting in and out. Nothing major.
I purchased a fan and clutch from member @qkcuda along with a reproduction fan shroud from eBay. Now I need to find the correct mounting hardware. I need the little speed nuts that go on the radiator so that the shroud can be bolted on. I will go to the hardware and see if I can find something local.
Since this is Mother's Day weekend Classic Industries was running a 20% off sale so I pulled the trigger and bought a reproduction rallye or sharktooth grille. I also bought the matching headlight buckets. They should be here this week and I'll have plenty to work on next weekend!
I did a little more work to the Duster yesterday, mostly cleaning and detailing under the hood. I wiped down the interior and touched up some spots on the lower doors where people's feet had hit getting in and out. Nothing major.
I purchased a fan and clutch from member @qkcuda along with a reproduction fan shroud from eBay. Now I need to find the correct mounting hardware. I need the little speed nuts that go on the radiator so that the shroud can be bolted on. I will go to the hardware and see if I can find something local.
Since this is Mother's Day weekend Classic Industries was running a 20% off sale so I pulled the trigger and bought a reproduction rallye or sharktooth grille. I also bought the matching headlight buckets. They should be here this week and I'll have plenty to work on next weekend!
My buddy John came over last night to check out the new car and go for a quick ride around. When we got home he noticed that my dome light wasn't working and I replied "yeah, it's on my list". He popped the lens off and this is what we found. Kinda like the reverse light that didn't work because it didn't have a bulb or socket.
Luckily, I had a new lens and bulb laying around and it was fixed in two minutes. Crossing that one off of my to do list!
Luckily, I had a new lens and bulb laying around and it was fixed in two minutes. Crossing that one off of my to do list!
Very cool car and love that you found the perfect replacement for the Dart.
Glad you found a new and great old Mopar to love!! It is a beaut!! Or as the young guys say "sick"! ( I guess they mean COOL!?)
Thanks for the compliments everyone. I can't take credit for building the car, but I can take credit for this. I came home from work today and there was a large box on my front porch. I couldn't wait til tomorrow to put it on.
Looks great Brian 
That looks really good.
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You certainly earned it the hard way! Great looking car. Glad it has turned out well for you. Congrats guy!
Dartnut
Don't hate me because i'm beautiful
Those shark tooth grilles just ''make'' the front ends of these Dusters...
Yes, A bodies rule
Just a reminder, I'm using this thread to document MY purchase and everything that I've done to the car.
I've noticed that if I run the car hard through the gears, sometimes the shifter will bind up and not want to come out of second gear. A good solid jerk frees up the shifter and everything goes back to normal until you run it hard again. It has always had a drip from the transmission, so I thought I would start by checking the fluid. Two and a half quarts of gear oil later, it is full. I didn't see anything wrong with the shifter or linkage so I just lubed them good with PB Blaster.
A quick run down the highway confirmed that the transmission is now "fixed" and it shifts like butter. I wish all things were as easy as this to repair.
I've noticed that if I run the car hard through the gears, sometimes the shifter will bind up and not want to come out of second gear. A good solid jerk frees up the shifter and everything goes back to normal until you run it hard again. It has always had a drip from the transmission, so I thought I would start by checking the fluid. Two and a half quarts of gear oil later, it is full. I didn't see anything wrong with the shifter or linkage so I just lubed them good with PB Blaster.
A quick run down the highway confirmed that the transmission is now "fixed" and it shifts like butter. I wish all things were as easy as this to repair.
A previous owner had installed a 72 340 trap door air cleaner sometime in it's lifetime. They stripped off the orange paint and repainted it black and stuck a new 340 sticker on it. I never really cared for it, so I bought a 70-71 air cleaner from @badlilred79 .
Before
After
Before
After
I'm up at 3 am and am driving 3 1/2 hours to go on a parts swap meet up today. Guy is meeting me across from the dragstrip in St Louis. I'll be trading him the finish panel off of my old Dart for some undisclosed parts. I'll post pictures when I get home!
French demon
Well-Known Member
Hello from France, Bryan. Your Duster is a true jewel
At your parts swap meet, try to put your hands on a pair of correct sunvisors
Here's what they look like (sorry for the sun glare) :
François
At your parts swap meet, try to put your hands on a pair of correct sunvisors
Here's what they look like (sorry for the sun glare) :
François
Undisclosed parts? Enquiring minds need to know!
Here it is. I traded my trunk finish panel and a reasonable amount of cash for a powder coated A body housing, a set of Dr. Diff axles with green bearings NIB, a rebuilt 489 case with 4.30 gears, and a rebuild kit in case I want to change gears (which I will).
Nice! Always good to trade parts, especially good looking ones.
Good score! Nothing like shiny new stuff to play with!
The wife and I met some friends at our local pizza place last night for their monthly car show.
My son Alex likes 35mm photography. His girlfriend Brittany took this photo of us the first time they came over to see the Duster.
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