The car is now in my driveway. Just in time to put it away for the winter
I've yet to get it fired up, but may tinker with it this weekend (depending on the weather).
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| My 1974 Plymouth 'Gold Duster' project https://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30850 |
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| Author: | polara pat [ Fri Oct 17, 2008 11:28 am ] |
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It's just me but I would fly there with some tools and drive it home. I've done this before and would definitely do it again. Think of it as auto salvage adventuring. Think of the money you'll save (probably not much) compared with the stories you'll have of your cross country excursion, but you'll be spending on yourself and hopefully fond memories instead of handing a "G" over to some transport company. |
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:49 pm ] |
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The thought of a cross country trip in the dustpan does sound crazy tempting and that what I originally had in mind at time of purchase. However if something went wrong I would have to leave the car and ride a bus/train home. Once the car got left I doubt I could come up with the money again to get it back from the towing company let alone arrange for either another trip out there or for a shipment from wherever it ended up. I also couldn't fly out there and drive it back here (~2,300 miles) for $1,000.00. Thankfully the seller is letting the car sit for free. In the auction he stated that he would charge $50.00/month. I told him I couldn't bid without having free 'storage' and help with loading whether I came to get it or a transport company did. He agreed and seems to be a great guy (for a Chevy man...lol)! I purchased this car back in January 2008 so I am glad that the guy has been this patient. |
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| Author: | Russ [ Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:29 pm ] |
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Well how did it all work out? I just read your post and its got me wondering what ever happened? did you ship the car or road trip it? I once rebuilt a flat head six in a plymouth i still own , and did a solo road trip from florida back to new york. It still is a happy memory, and i couldnt believe all the thumbs up i got on the trip! |
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:19 pm ] |
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That was just posted today... I didn't do either yet. |
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Sat Oct 25, 2008 8:29 am ] |
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Wahoo! I finally got a carrier to haul it to Joliet (Chicago), Il. for $810.00! He contacted me earlier today and Is going to pick it up today at around 2pm Cali time and have it in Joliet Monday night and I will pick it up early on Tuesday. It's about 6.5 hours south of here and will cost me about $175.00 to go down and pick it up. It'll work out well though as I have a pair of slotted mag wheels and a mint Demon hood I have to pick up there as well. |
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:08 am ] |
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The car is now in my driveway. Just in time to put it away for the winter I've yet to get it fired up, but may tinker with it this weekend (depending on the weather). |
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Sat Nov 01, 2008 12:10 pm ] |
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Well it's a B-E-A-Utiful day out there so I decided to see if I could get some things accomplished. I got it fired up and it sounds really good actually. It does have a nasty exhaust leak, but, heh, I can't do everything in one weekend. Now to get some more things done... |
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Sat Nov 01, 2008 6:56 pm ] |
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I removed the front & rear bumper gaurds, got an original factory dual snorkel scoop mounted, and I also installed the slotted mag wheels so it looks slightly better. It sure needs a good bath and some rubbing compound to help bring back some luster. I need to lower the rear a little bit and the front quite a bit. I also need to clean up the roof and get it painted black and remove that nasty looking front license plate. Who would ever install it like that anyways! :tsk: 
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| Author: | 66aCUDA [ Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:00 am ] |
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Hey Daniel Looks great and I know what its like to wait for your car to come home to you. Will you get to do the work this winter? Id be firing the wood burner up in the garage, LOL. Frank |
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:34 am ] |
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My garage doesn't have any heat and my big block 1974 Dart Sport is already taking up the entire thing (it's only 15' x 23'). The Gold Duster will go into my parts warehouse (storage unit ... lol) until spring. I should be able to get all of the "upper list" work completed over the winter. I have all the parts already so it should go pretty easy. Here is my winter to do list * New H.D. rear springs (I still need to purchase) * Install my Mopar Performance lightweight master cylinder * Change the plugs, wires, cap rotor, fuel filter, air filter, PCV... * Change the oil & filter, transmission fluid & filter, rear end lube... * Install an extra steering column that everything is known to function correctly * Go through the front brakes. * Go through the front end * Change the power steering box to a non leaking perfect functioning unit * Install the Tuff Wheel & adaptor * Install my mint original chrome dual sport left & right mirrors * Get everything tuned well and running great Once the car is running & driving excellent I'll start the more serious modifications: * Swap out the torsion bars for my extra .870" units * Swap the 7.25" rear end for my extra 8.25" unit with 3.55:1 gears and disk brakes * Weld in my frame connectors * Install my 4-speed transmission & swap parts * Install my Super Six set-up * Bend/install a 2.25" exhaust system (my dad has a pipe bender) * Swap the head for one with my big valves (I have the valves but still need an extra head to do) |
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:16 pm ] |
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I pulled the front plate off and ran it out of fuel a couple days ago. Today I added 5 gallons of fresh non-varnished fuel. I also got it insured and plated! A little  I know, but I never had a vanity plate before.
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| Author: | armyofchuckness [ Thu Nov 06, 2008 6:50 am ] |
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Very nice. Duster + Slotted Mags + Slant Six is about the coolest combo I can think of. I almost bought a Gold Duster last weekend. I think my apartment complex would probably draw the line at TWO project cars in the lot. 
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Fri Nov 07, 2008 7:01 pm ] |
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Thans guys for all the nice comments. Today I set out to wash the car, use the shop vac to clean up the inside & trunk area, and install the rear spoiler. Unfortunetly I didn't get any of that completed. I did wash the windows which took a lot of effort as they have some type of near impossible to remove scum that almost needed to be scraped off (which is what deterred me from the washing job). I also did a quick spray of the roof to flat black. I changed the fuel filter, air filter, distributor cap, distributor rotor, and PCV. The spark plug wires needed to be oredered and will be here tomorrow afternoon. There is a combination of three sets of wires on the car right now. :ghey The saddest part is the none of the wires are any good and are all to short with the two "longest" wires having constant tension on them. The Spark plugs are Bosch Platinums and were recent so I decided to leave them in for now. I changed the headlights to Sylavia SilverStars and replace the standard old school headlights that were in there (they were not even Halogens!). A few hoses here and there needed replacing as most of them leaked from being so dry rotted. The fuel hose looked like a sprinkler hose. I have to replace a ton of vacuum hose and then start tuning the carb, if I don't upgrade to the Super Six set-up first.  I did get to take her on its maiden voyage today to the local car club meeting. The brakes need to be pumped once before they are where they should be. The rear brakes are making noise which is probably cause the above problem. The fluid in the master cylinder looks like mud :puke It does have a nasty exhaust leak and I think the exhaust manifold is cracked (with the intake/exhaust manifolds being married it is hard to tell). The car is really down on power even for a slant six so I got some work cut out for me. The speedo doesn't work nor do the blinkers. The steering column is all jacked up as someone tried to fix a problem there in the past so I'll just swap it out with an extra I have that I know everything works and all the wiring is good/functional. I also still need to change the coolant, change heater core, change the oil & filter, change the rear differential lube, and change the transmission fluid & filter and change the alternator/water pump belt. Hopefully I can get all of the above accomplished before I put it away until spring. The power steering pump is also p*ssing fluid out of the front seal. It runs/drives great though. Fires right up and rides like a C-body. |
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| Author: | Joshie225 [ Fri Nov 07, 2008 7:22 pm ] |
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Don't let Dan find out you paid money for Silver Stars or that you left Bosch plugs in the engine! |
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| Author: | daniel_depetro [ Sat Nov 08, 2008 6:07 am ] |
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He'll find out I'm sure. I knew I would get jacked up for both.  I was going to get some NGK V-grooves which I ran in my prvious stock slant with great success, but I am broke. I'd like to try the NGK IX iridiums. When I go to pick up my wires (pre-paid) today maybe I will get some plugs as well. Hopefully I can find enough empty soda/beer cans on the side of the roads to return. Here in MI they are worth $0.10 each! The Silverstars were a 300% improvement over the non-halogens that were in the car (surely any modern buld would have been a major improvement). With some better wiring I hoping they will improve a little more. I paid $36.00 with the shop discount from Advanced Auto Parts. I have them in our 2000 Tiburon and they are very impressive (it has projector beam housings). because of this I purchased Silverstar Ultras for my 1993 Ford F-150 that I tow with and they were better then what I replaced. They were some off-brand ricer bulb with a thick blue coating. I have read some articles (I think it started here with Dans write up a few years ago) that state any light bulb with a 'coating' to tint the light will reduce its output. It makes sense. I could buy some headlights (what does Dan recommend?) and do a side by side comparison with my 1974 Dart Sport (or leave one Silverstar in and change the other one again in the Gold Duster). As for the plugs, I would have to drive it and then change the plugs and re-pete a couple times to see if there is any difference. With only 100 HP and a few minutes between runs to change the plugs I doubt I could tell a difference (if there was one) without instrumentation. Is is the platinum plugs that is the problem or is it Boschs' poor quality that is the issue? I'll have to do some searching again and see why they should be avoided. |
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