Father/Daughter Project 72 Duster 340

[Divenut]

Hi Chicagoland Mopar folks,

Name's Pat and I live in Naperville. (Was a Bow-Tie fan for 30+ years before coming over to the Mopar way of life...so go easy on me ) Thought I'd post my build thread here. I purchased my 72 Duster last September as a project for my daughters (11 y/o twins) and I to play with. Our plans are to put together a capable strip car that will also hit local cruises, shows etc. She has a 340, appears to have beem cammed at some point but have no clue as to the specs, reverse manual valvebody 727, what appears to be a 3200-3400ish stall, Torker intake, Hooker Comp headers, MSD 6AL, Edelbrock 650 Carb, Champion Radiator etc. The cars was missing a lot of stuff, wiring is hacked up big-time, had no working lights, wiper motor, assembly, no seatbelts, bad shifter assembly among other things. Slow but sure we got the exterior lights sorted out and working. Found and installed wipers (had no motor, linkage, wiring harness etc), installed a working shifter, threw in two seatbelts and got to drive her a bit before we pulled her inside for the winter.

As is often the case, our "to-do" list is growing rapidly. Couple hot items have bubbled to the top of the list.

*Need to replace the Manual Steering Gearbox. Gathered all the parts, seemed simple enough, remove 3 mounting bolts, coupler etc. But quickly found that it's a pain in the butt to get to them (Thanks in part to the headers.)

* Oil pan was pancaked and needs to be replaced. (Figure we'll do this while we have the headers and steering arm out of the way.

*8 3/4 Rearend with Open 3:23's. - Need to find a Suregrip/limited slip chunk. Traction is non-existent when hitting it in first.

* Need to figure out the problem with the dash lights.

But despite all that the girls and I love this car and are really excited about the project. We'll post updates as they are available.

The kids are learning the joys of steering linkage and wiring..LOL





Thanks and hope to meet some of you at the local events.

Pat & Kids

[Divenut]

Here's a few pics of the car....got a lot to do but she's getting there!

[Divenut]

the nasty interior & engine bay

[Super43]

Hey Pat, Welcome

My Name is Bruce Graham, I am in Naperville too, and have two daughters (although i think we are much older) If you can, try to make a meeting or two... its at Connie's pizza by the old K mart on Odgen, the last Tuesday of the month starts about 7pm
but for sure... try to make it May 20 to the DuPage county fair grounds for our car show... even if you don’t bring the car.. hunt me down, I’ll make sure you meet some of the Naperville and close by Mopar crowd... we have club members with a huge wealth of knowledge… no need to fight those A body issues alone

[Divenut]

Thanks Bruce,

I will definitely plan on attending some of the meetings at Connies. And I plan on attending the show om May 20th. May not have the Duster back together by then, but look forward to meeting you and some of the other Mopar folks.

Regards,
Pat

[chargerwayne]

Nice project. It's great to get family participation

[Divenut]

Thanks chargerwayne....and your ride kicks! Hope to see it in person this season.

Pat

[dave kanofsky]

That's an awesome project! Look forward to seeing you at the cruises/shows.

[furious70]

I hope to have that fun some day, so far my daughter has only graduated to washing status

[Divenut]

I hope to have that fun some day, so far my daughter has only graduated to washing status

Now that there's a great picture furious70! She'll be spinning wrenches with you before you know it.