Building a 72' Duster for my wife

So right before Christmas I struck a deal to buy this Duster from a buddy who only bought if for the Edelbrock headed 440. He keep the motor and I got everything else. Car had been running 11.0's last time it had been raced.

Of course you have to make a car yours and I had some leftover parts from other projects. First I decided to ditch the SS springs for some ladder bars and coil overs I had.





We had a lot of holes in the inner fenders and firewall to fill and I installed part of a new firewall to clean it up.


Had to go black because she wants to change the color of the car maybe next winter...

Next came the new chromoly cage, the mild steel cage that was in the car fit so poorly I couldn't handle it!


Final welding and most of the painting was done out of the car.


Just finished up the seat, steering column and shifter last night


Hopefully motor and trans will go in soon and then wiring can begin. I bought a carpet kit and new sill plates to finish the interior and will finish the rear firewall / package tray in aluminum.

Very nice

Very nice. Love it.

Nice work

Nice, that will be fun for her. Did that car race at firebird around the 2000 ish time frame?

She's is smiling which means she is happy which means you will be happy.

Right!

I don't believe the car was ever raced anywhere besides Walla Walla Dragstrip or Renegade Raceway...?

Nice work

Nice work, cool Mopar and a happy Lady.

NICE WORK, NICE SHOP !

Thanks guys, I figured everyone would enjoy some fab pictures.

great work. really like the chassis reinforcement, would wonder how that would work without a rollbar and instead of the traditional subframe connectors?

Forest you do really nice work. Will it be a SB?

It would be ok, I've done it that way too. I just know that a ladder bar car is pretty hard on that mount...

No I have a 440 in my 1970 Dodge Dart. I am 5.7 hemi swapping it and using that 440 in her Duster.

The 440 has the Pro Comp heads, Lunati Voodoo .533 cam, M1 single plane, 750 double pumper, 2" fenderwell headers and a 9.5" 4,000 rpm stall converter. I think it will run 11.50 ish...? I'll have to slow it down a touch to run Sportsman for now.

WHY 8 3/4 ?

I'm trying to piece it together with parts I have. I'm sure it will get a Ford 9" at some point...I have a nice 3rd member but need a housing and axles.

I ran a similar setup in my duster for a good many years. 440 with stock cast flat tops pistons, steel 915 heads that my dad did some work on at home, Mopar .533 cam, an old wieand intake, Holley 750 dp, 5000 stall convertor, hooker fender well headers and had a Dana with 4.56s and a 30" tire. It weighed 3250 with me in it and usually ran 11.40-11.60s

Happy Wife Happy Life!! Awesome fab skills

Very nice, it will be a solid bracket car.

Thank you, that's what I wanted a nice safe car my wife and kids eventually can all learn to race in. I'd be happy to drive it!

I'll keep the post updated as we finish putting the car together.

Very nice work. Two things that need to be addressed, are the ladder bar front heims need a safety strap/loop, and that 8 3/4 needs a back brace. Without a back brace it WILL bend the axle tubes outside the ladder bar mounts. Been there, done that.

I agree. Those bars look like Chris Alston's bars - mine came with a strap that needed to be welded on.

Looks great and awesome workmanship as usual. I am sure she will quite happy with her first racecar.

Yes I have the safety straps, just need to get them on before we take the car to the track...

Nice car!! You do great fab work,,,

Nice work, Forest, I see you also stretched the wheel wells. I think your 8-3/4 will be fine since you added that stiffening bar between the shock mounts.

Yeah the wheel wells are kinda rough...they were like that when I bought the car. Same with the mini tubs.

We'll see what the car turns into as she gains experience. It will probably get a 9" sometime in the near future...

Great looking work! Consider boxing the rear ladder bar mounts. I got sideways in my Dart and mine bent over, jaming the slicks into the tubs.

Is that cage a kit or a home built thing? I love it, seems way easier to build the front bars into the upper door bars than the way my cage builder did it.

I custom bent everything

Well my next cage guy is gonna see these pics, the setup I have currently was a pain in the [censored] to weld. I see the cage was partially assembled how well did it go into the car like that?

Obviously the dash is out. I got the front 1/2 out easy enough. The rear 1/2 with the rear halo was a little harder. I ended up taking the passenger side door off to get it to come out assembled. I know it sounds like a lot but its worth it to get nice welds and paint sprayed all the way around the tubes...

Lookin good!!

awesome build that should bring years of enjoyment. Birdtracker

UPDATE we have been working pretty hard on the car!


new fiberglass bumpers front and rear

simple fabricated dash



lean front and rear with screws hidden under factory trim!

Lexan looks good! Nice work as always

[img]https://i.imgur.com/bjEPyIT.jpg?1[/img]



Made the wiring panel big enough on the lower section so thatI can upgrade to a MSD grid later...

Very nice work!

Great job, looks fantastic, love the back tin work!

Who makes that “fuse block”?

K&R Wiring, Jeg's sells them or you can buy direct. Very nice and set up for a drag car.

Top work.!
Apologies for the hi-jack but where do you get the carbon fibre tube protectors from ? (As in the middle pic)
I just cant seem to find them anywhere.
Thanks.

Great job, looks like the car will be awesome when it's finished. The tin work looks very clean and I love that bead rolled Duster tag in the back!

[/quote]
Top work.!
Apologies for the hi-jack but where do you get the carbon fibre tube protectors from ? (As in the middle pic)
I just cant seem to find them anywhere.
Thanks. [/quote]

I get the carbon tube protector from QuarterMax aka RJ Race Cars

VERY NICE wiring forest ! i REALLY enjoy seeing work of that caliber vs fixing the stuff i have had the "pleasure" of doing over the years. again, VERY NICE !

Looking good, I really like the duster stamped tin work.

Looks real good, the Duster in the tin is a nice touch.

Her is mine:

I did door panels as well.

Car is looking great. You are making really good progress on that project. The wife must be a real slave driver! She also must not be very tall. That seat is right next to the steering wheel. I don't think I could fold up my legs far enough to sit in that seat. Guess that is a good way for nobody else to drive her car. Did you put a second seat location farther back so you can do make some test runs?

Very very nice tin work! the rest of the car is great too.

That looks awesome! I chickened out and skipped the dust cloud!

Thanks Andy! Yes I have a adjustable rear mount so I can move the seat back for me. She's 5' 2" and Im 6' and I can actually sit in the car and move it around etc.

Were you able (or ever attempt) to get the factory dash in it with those down bars?

Was the carpet kit you purchased specifically for a duster , where did you buy ? I will be changing mine this spring & am looking for a replacement . Gary

i could be wrong [what else is new ?] but i think ACC is the only outfit that makes [good] carpet for our rides.
rock auto is the best [so far] place to buy, and don't forget to find a promo code to use. [it goes in the "where did you hear about us" box]

It is an ACC carpet kit and I found something close to cover where the rear seat was.

I need to up the post with some new pictures. We just swapped in a new motor I bought from Cab its a 508 with Indy 440-1's. Also converted it to a powerglide now too.

The dash panel that came with the car was ruined from the previous owner. I did a cage similar in a different duster for a customer with the factory dash. So yes its possible if you have the windshield out.

Here are some updated pictures with the new motor. Also added a delay box, starting line enhancer and digital dial boards!

Just heads up for future reference, or anyone looking to carpet the rear seat area. I got an ACC carpet kit through Kramer Automotive, and they got me a kit that extended all the way back for no backseat direct from them.