So it begins, '71 Duster 340 TX9

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As I'm between med issues/treatments/tests, I've been able to quickly slide in and do a bit more prep work in tear down of the Duster. I frequently take deep breaths and remind myself I probably did some of the same lame things when I was younger, that were done to the Duster. In getting things loosened on the exhaust, I've found 3 different types of bolts holding the factory exhaust manifold on. This seems to be a theme as I've found a mix of screws, nuts, bolts etc while disassembling. Hoping to get a lot more done in the next week and a half. Hopefully get the motor pulled and off to the machine shop. Not doing a whole lot to the motor, still have to see what's what inside. IF it's in pretty good, stock shape I'll probably just warm things up a bit inside with a CompCams Magnum stick (21-214-4) kit. Still contemplating headers, but not too hard. Cost to benefit just doesn't fit, and I'm not likely to do anything on the strip. I could always be convinced though...

Here's a pic of bolt that busted off. It was so weak that I thought it was loosening (properly) then it snapped. Oh snap! And that Fram filter? Must be welded on. More to follow, especially on the motor pull. Take care, be safe.


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If you are thinking about a stockish build I would pay attention to piston weight. In stock form 340s have extremely heavy pistons. So if pistons need replaced and you shop around compare piston weights. Maybe machine shop could help with piston selection too.

For stock like 340 builds I recommend take a look through this article:

1970 340 High Performance Mill Dyno - Mopar Muscle Magazine

TTI makes 2 1/2 mandrel bent exhaust that will hook right to the stock 340 manifolds. The TTI head pipes are full 2 1/2 inch and no torsion bar pinch to choke flow. It will sound and run better with headers but for mild builds stock 340 manifolds not a bad choice especially with the TTI exhaust.

Also note stock mopar A Body exhaust tips have like 1 1/2 inch inner diameter where the tips goes into the outlet of the tail pipe. Crazy restriction that can be avoided with stock appearing tips from TTI and others which slip over top of tail pipe outlet so no "choke" effect.
 
340sFastback said:
If you are thinking about a stockish build I would pay attention to piston weight. In stock form 340s have extremely heavy pistons. So if pistons need replaced and you shop around compare piston weights. Maybe machine shop could help with piston selection too.

For stock like 340 builds I recommend take a look through this article:

1970 340 High Performance Mill Dyno - Mopar Muscle Magazine

TTI makes 2 1/2 mandrel bent exhaust that will hook right to the stock 340 manifolds. The TTI head pipes are full 2 1/2 inch and no torsion bar pinch to choke flow. It will sound and run better with headers but for mild builds stock 340 manifolds not a bad choice especially with the TTI exhaust.

Also note stock mopar A Body exhaust tips have like 1 1/2 inch inner diameter where the tips goes into the outlet of the tail pipe. Crazy restriction that can be avoided with stock appearing tips from TTI and others which slip over top of tail pipe outlet so no "choke" effect.
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I'll definitely read the article. A lot of the direction I take will be after the motor gets pulled, cleaned and inspected. Mild to moderate increases in performance aren't necessarily cost prohibitive for me.

TTI is booked marked in my rebuild folder, but thank you anyway. It's good advice in my book.
 
Things are moving ahead "brilliantly" (as the Brits would say) on the 71 TX9. It's been little by little, but the bulk of the exhaust is out/off. Having set for so many years, it's just so much of a rust pile. I'll be pulling the stock exhaust soon, and likely have the motor out to next week to get disassembly done and off to a machine shop in San Antonio. That will free things up to continue pulling the goods out in preparation for sheet metal/body work, and eventually paint. I found a guy that does excellent sheet metal/body work, specifically on Mopars. Looking at options on handwork versus panels. I've seen what he's recreated, so I'll be making cost comparisons.

I was happy to see (after clearing more out of the trunk) that the tail panel isn't as bad as I thought, it may be workable. However, it did expose some more holes, nothing too bad though.

Today I found on the Mecum auction site, the line up of the Kissimmee auction, which holds a 71 Duster 340. I was very happy to see the info on this, as my 71 is a factory 340, 4 speed, with a factory Go Wing. On a YT video from a few days ago, I saw that Mecum expects this Duster to go for $60-$82K. It's on tomorrows block, so I'll be very interested to see what it sells for. 1971 Plymouth Duster | T233 | Kissimmee 2023 | Mecum Auctions
 
Looks like a great project , will be fun build, in the middle of my own wallet drainer lol but love these cars, bought my first a body in 1983 , was a 1973 Dart 340 sport hang 10 ,,I miss that car
 
72dustervs said:
Looks like a great project , will be fun build, in the middle of my own wallet drainer lol but love these cars, bought my first a body in 1983 , was a 1973 Dart 340 sport hang 10 ,,I miss that car
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My first was in 83 also. A 72 Duster 340. I think this one is revenge from the 72. For me treating it like I did as a young hot rod, street racing paratrooper.
 
MyD750 said:
My first was in 83 also. A 72 Duster 340. I think this one is revenge from the 72. For me treating it like I did as a young hot rod, street racing paratrooper.
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Mine was the first car I went an got a loan for an bought myself, cost $1100 off used car lot , lol wish that again ,,I ran the wheels hard , but I wrecked on black ice once , slid straight off in ditch line and folded front wheel on passengers side were it looked like a Frisbee , no body damage but had to climb out sun roof to exit ,,rebuilt front end and had shop try to straighten frame , small damage but they tried 3 or 4 times back then , still wore tires out quickly but drove few more years , until ex-friend begged to drive on short 2 mile drive home an hit a tree getting into a curve like an idiot ,,my skills now would have fixed it , but then not so much . saved the 340 an in my 72 challenger today ,,so building a 72 duster and located another 340 and building a dream of days past , and at 60 years old takes a few minutes but coming along
 
Was your duster factory sunroof if it is real thing that car not many that came with sunroof.
 
oldpunko77 said:
Was your duster factory sunroof if it is real thing that car not many that came with sunroof.
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Oh no. That's not factory by any means. The did a great job of cutting the roof and installing, but not factory. That's part of the sheet metal repair/body work to be done. I think I'll be offering up that, the Kraco stereo/cassette, and K-Mart shocks to the Smithsonian for their 1980's collection.
 
Bought 72 340 duster has that aftermarket Sun roof and look like been weld metal sheet back on but terrible job but got it that way so how hard to restored back?
 
oldpunko77 said:
Bought 72 340 duster has that aftermarket Sun roof and look like been weld metal sheet back on but terrible job but got it that way so how hard to restored back?
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I'm no welder, I could do spot welds and some short work, but this will be for someone experienced. When I bought the car, a piece from a donor Duster roof, from that spot was included, so for whomever I use, it will be a bit easier since the contour is already there. I have to people in mind, I've seen the sheet metal/welding work of one, and I know he's good. I'm not sure about the other, but I know his overall body work has been good. I watch Adam Hamby's vids on YouTube (Hoosier Garage) which gives me a much better idea of how it should be done (he does killer work, he's doing 72 Duster vid series now). I would love to have talent like that.
 
MyD750 said:
I watch Adam Hamby's vids on YouTube (Hoosier Garage) which gives me a much better idea of how it should be done (he does killer work, he's doing 72 Duster vid series now). I would love to have talent like that.
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Yeah I found his youtube channel searching for A Body floor replacement. I Subscribed and Like his videos which helps his channel ratings. But yeah crazy fab/welding skills I learned a lot watching him.
 
It's getting closer to motor pulling time. Tomorrow my friend and I will be attacking the bolts on the bell housing. As you can see below, it's just about there. What have I found recently? Well, since you asked... The pass side motor mount? Yep, missing a bolt. Transmission to bell housing? Missing or snapped, I can't see well enough under the car at this point. And bell housing to motor? Another bolt, missing or AWOL. On the bright side, the second owner (most likely) was very much ahead of the game. Above the differential in the well, there's a blue boat trailer light wired to the lights. My friend was helping get the exhaust pipes out, and was under the car I thought he was joking with me when he asked why Plymouth put a blue light up there. WAY before under body LEDs. I'll get a pic next time I'm under there. Here's how the motor is versus last week.

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Not ready.JPG
 
72dustervs said:
drop it all from the bottom with the kframe
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I dropped mine out of the bottom last time. I will never ever ever ever again take it out from the top, nope, never again. Drop out the bottom only for me here on out, yep. Other thing, its a one man job both out from the bottom and then back in from the bottom, thats right one person, no help required.....

EngOut6.jpg
 
So after dealing with a A LOT of rust and corrosion from years of sitting, finally got the motor out. Now for scrubbing bubbles, tear down and trip to the machine shop. While it's away I'll be attacking suspension, brakes, steering and fuel lines in prep of taking the body to the shop for work there.

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After spending a week doing necessary repairs on my primary driver, I started disassembly of the motor yesterday, pulling the heads and intake manifold. Here's what I found out...

Over all things don't (on first eyeball look) too bad. I wasn't thrilled to learn it's already been bored out .030, but I'll just have to live with that. I should have things finished in the tear down by Wednesday and off to the machine shop Thursday morning. I think I'm looking forward to hearing what comes from cleaning and inspection.

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Another milestone was passed on Friday with the 71 TX9 Duster, the engine went to an excellent machine shop for inspection,cleaning, measurements, bearings pressed and machining. If you're not familiar with Hill Country Performance, here's a link to Danny's Youtube. I was really wanting this to be the machine shop for the 340, and thought I would end up somewhere else. Thanks to Danny and "Shop Mom" I got worked in. https://www.youtube.com/@MrDanielSoliz

While that's getting worked over, I'm starting on the front suspension, transmission pull and final prep to get to a body shop. More to follow.
 
MyD750 said:
Another milestone was passed on Friday with the 71 TX9 Duster, the engine went to an excellent machine shop for inspection,cleaning, measurements, bearings pressed and machining. If you're not familiar with Hill Country Performance, here's a link to Danny's Youtube. I was really wanting this to be the machine shop for the 340, and thought I would end up somewhere else. Thanks to Danny and "Shop Mom" I got worked in. https://www.youtube.com/@MrDanielSoliz

While that's getting worked over, I'm starting on the front suspension, transmission pull and final prep to get to a body shop. More to follow.
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Did everything check out on the engine?
 
CFD244 said:
Did everything check out on the engine?
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So far, things are not a disaster. The info from owner 2 about only 5-8k miles from the rebuild appear to be right. The cam, bearing, lifters etc are in great shape. Strangely, the cylinders appear to be sleeved, which I thought when I pulled the pistons, but wasn't sure. The cylinders weren't properly honed, which confirmed my suspicion from piston removal, because there was no cross-hatch pattern visible. The pistons showed very little wear, the factory machine marks are still visible 360 degrees around, although slightly worn in a few areas. I was surprised to learn that not all windage trays survived, mine did. The crank is a 10-10, and has a couple of minor nicks in one spot. Otherwise looking good.
This is really short considering I spent well over an hour going over the block, parts etc with Danny. His SB Mopar knowledge is awesome.
 
Cool car! Are you doing an OE restoration? Curious about the options, can you post a picture of the fender tag?
 
I'm still kind of up in the air on how OE I'm going. I'm definitely going back to Black (TX9) for the body color and interior. It was black on black on black. Black body, interior and stripes. I'll go with the Go Wing (from factory) and I'm seriously considering the dual snorkel hood scoop, but only if I go operational with it. I like functionality. The stripes/call-outs are 'under review.' I would really like to have a good 'wine red' pearl/color shift for that but may end up going back with factory black stripes. That all depends on what I learn from a local paint expert. He's been painting cars for decades, I feel safe with his advice. Wheels...I have Cragars, that look like crap. Those will get powder coated or re-chromed.

Mechanically, it will look pretty stock under the hood. Keeping the factory manifold. I'm laboring on Thermoquads right now, we'll see how that goes. Inside, it's already bored .30 over and the pistons show little wear. We're researching the cam that was installed. Since it and the lifters show little wear and are in really good shape, those may remain. If not, I have a CompCams 270/470 cam and lifters ready. I'm about 90% sold on keeping the factory exhaust manifolds on. Since I don't plan on racing, the sound and performance should be fine. Future Mopars I have may not fare as such. But since this is a numbers matching car, I'm going to limit my changes and TRY to keep in the spirit of a 70s street rod.

I will order a repro fender tag, and have this one sealed for prosperity.

Fender tag.jpg
 
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