Thinkin about making some changes to my Duster

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Stew4706

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Hi guys, I am really struggling with making some changes to my Duster and I know that I am not the only one going through this so let me know what you think. So here is the dilemma, customize my Duster or pick up a Dart or Barracuda and customize that.

A little history - I have had the car for 20+ years and have restored it to what you see here. It is an original 340 4speed car and I have the original engine although it is not in it, it has a warmed over 340 in it.

When I redid the car I fancied myself a drag racer so it has 4:10 gears, SS springs, 90/10s up front and not a lick of insulation. It looks very stock and runs low 12s. I want to build more of a street car that handles so I would like to ditch the factory suspension for something from RMS or HemiDenny. I want to add air, a custom dash, cool wheels... My struggle is the car is so damn nice the way it is.

Thoughts? Buy something else or start ripping the Duster apart?
 

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WOW leave it as it is, i will trade you my 71 duster for yours and some cash, mine is a nothing 6 cyl car that would be a great platform for what you wanna do. Mine has 20,600 original miles on it too.
 
buy something else to make a race car out of...
 
That car looks too nice to molest, they are only original once. Get something different and have at it.

But at the end of the day, it's your car.
 
Welcome to FABO. Looks pretty darn nice like it is but if it is no longer what you want, change it. Buying something else seems like it would make more sense, but then you still have this "race" car that it sounds like you want to spend more cruising time in. It's a tough call, but do you want / need two cars? Of course you do!! LOL. If you are done racing, that makes the reason to redo this even more feasible. Now having said that, it sounds like it is numbers matching so do you want to change all the components to custom equipment, or would it be better to leave those alone and retain the value of the "original" car? I would probably buy another to customize and restore this one to original some day, since it has a very nice interior package and there is likely a limited number like it.
 
I agree with the others...I love that duster just the way it is. ( but then I'm not much of a fan of that pro touring stuff, with the big getto wheels and all ) I'd much rather have a car like yours that looks pretty stock but can kick some butt from a stop light.
 
..make all the improvements..handling,air,brakes,gears or whatever, but don't change the appearance.
guess i'm showing my age..
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
Put the Hotchkis Total Vehicle System on it, along with their shocks and call it done. Completely reversible and will still look like a stock car.

I have never seen a custom dash that doesn't look like a polished turd.


http://www.hotchkis.net/6772_dodge_abody_total_vehicle_system.html

http://www.hotchkis.net/dodgeplymou...performance-series-aluminum-shock-4-pack.html
Click to expand...

This! For the price of the RMS front end you could put the entire Hotchkis TVR on it. It will handle like its on rails and still look almost entirely stock. And its all just bolt on, so if you ever wanted to put the car back to bone stock original you could easily.

Air would still be a piece of cake, the systems they have out there now don't require a whole lot of cutting on the car, so again reversible.

Wheels are easy to change, so no worries there.
 
By starting with this car, you know what you are starting with because you know what has been done. I would say modify it so it can later be put back to stock. It's your car, so go for it.
 
That's a really nice looking car!!! Looks straight as an arrow...and runs low 12's. I wouldn't rip it up.
 
beautiful car , i was in this area with my cuda , spent over 60 000 $ and more on restomod , i dont regret it but ..10 years later , i want to restore it to have an original look ... personnaly you never go wrong with the original/factory look... its your cars , youre decision , but you really have a great car rigth there , and... fast too
 
You'll find everyone has there own opinion. I myself would love to have mine back the way it was stock. Make another car to look just like yours but modified with upgrades of your choice. and put yours away. One day you will wish you had your old ride back. That car is to nice to molest. I went to far with mine and now I want it back the way it was. So I am doing just the opposite.
 

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Welcome to FABO.

I am in the minority...build your Duster how you want it.

A-Bodies ain't worth a ton of money.

Your mods sound like bolts-ons...just keep your original parts to go back to stock or pass on to the next owner.

If you want to go crazy with body mod and custom touches...then maybe think about another car.

Where do you hang your hat in the Motor City?

I can't say that I have seen your Duster...seems like I would remember a beautiful car like yours.

Paul
 
The cars look won't change from upgraded suspension so why not I look at it as Plymouth would do the same back then so why not now I plan on upgrading mine also but on a side note I've beat better handling cars on road courses with stock it's all about knowing yours and the cars limits
 
Thanks Paul. I am in Troy. What about you?
1972DusterPaul said:
Welcome to FABO.

I am in the minority...build your Duster how you want it.

A-Bodies ain't worth a ton of money.

Your mods sound like bolts-ons...just keep your original parts to go back to stock or pass on to the next owner.

If you want to go crazy with body mod and custom touches...then maybe think about another car.

Where do you hang your hat in the Motor City?

I can't say that I have seen your Duster...seems like I would remember a beautiful car like yours.

Paul
Click to expand...
 
Ok I have taken advice from some of you - I picked up a 67 Barracuda to mod so stay tuned for a build thread! Thanks for all the input!
 
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