My 71 Duster work in progress

[b-body-bob]

We went to the local "collector's" place yesterday and traded one of the damaged AMD bumpers for parts.

He had a 69 Valiant grille and turned down a $300 offer on it. He countered with $300 and a 70 GTX grille I've got. I thought my wife was nuts for offering that much on the Valiant grille, so I turned the counter offer down. She's wanted one since the first one she saw online. (this ain't that one)

 

[Stretch]

I think Jass has a couple of really nice 69 Valiant grills. Just sayin.

 

[Dr.Jass]

$300 and a GTX grille for a '69 Valiant grille?! That and a hearty handshake would probably net you a whole car.

I do indeed have a complete spare. I bought it because I'm terrified I'll hit a deer; they outnumber humans 4:1 here. That's the main reason I'm not inclined to sell it--a deer would break into my trailer and run into the front of the car repeatedly. Do I think it's worth what dude was asking? Not really, but my sense of value would change dramatically if odocoileus virginianus decided to go Virgil Exner on my front sheetmetal.

The other spare I have is just the center section, with no additional parts.. That one I bought because @71ChargerRT asked me to look out for one at a swap meet. I technically still own it, but you'd have to get him to give up his rights to it. He also has (or had) a '69 Valiant, so holding of breath isn't recommended.

The problem that you and b-body-babe are going to run into here is the turn signals: Guess which parts bin Chrysler raided for the 1969 Daytona? Yep, they're the same. My guess is your "collector" knows that, hence his ridiculous demand. I did find an exceptional spare on eBay last year inexpensively from someone who didn't know it was a wing-car part.

 

[b-body-bob]

He's got a collection of junk, but calling him a "collector" sounds better than "the guy with all the junk cars".
The whole grille, turn signal lenses, headlight buckets, etc is there. He probably does know all the interchanges, but he didn't mention that. He's holding out to sell the whole car for $1000. There's nothing else on it that I want and it's only about half a car anyway. The guy's just weird that way, he holds on to stuff way too long, and I'm weird because the offer price goes down every time I talk to him.

He's got a Hemi 'cuda 4speed that's been painted but not assembled for about 10 years now. I offered him 50k for that as it sits. Nope. Also has an A12 bee, a 70 road runner (that i used to own), and a 70 Duster in the garage. None of them are anywhere near put together. The 'cuda is the only thing I'd be interested in, but not at a higher price.

 

[Dr.Jass]

My spare is also 100% complete including the headlamp mounts and wiring... hell, even all the bulbs are there. I bought it from a swap vendor who was tired of hauling it around for less than $100, never mind triple that amount. I bought the spare turn signal simply because the lens is perfect, whereas the ones actually on my car are a bit crazed.




They made a lot of Valiants in 1969. I'd think a little time and effort would turn up a grille far less expensive than what that guy is asking. In my mind, wearing him down to sell it for $300 straight across wouldn't be a victory... but maybe I just got into two of 'em so inexpensively that I can't grasp it.

Side note: I think the Duster headlamp bezels from '70-'72 are the same, or extremely close to it, with the exception of the paint. Those things are all over eBay, cheap like borscht.

 

[b-body-bob]

I've got a 71 grille so I guess I've already got the headlight buckets. I talked to wife, told her the offer goes down every time, she said no, it's off the table, and he can try to eat the thing when he gets hungry.

 

[71ChargerRT]

Yep, I still have it sitting the back yard, still need the grille. Now that the Ram is back together and has over 1,000 miles on the first motor I've ever completely assembled, I'm ready to drag it back around to the garage. I have a pair of decent fenders for it, that my brother traded to me for a set of pistons and rings, so I hope to get back to on it this year.

b-body-bob, I love the sig line!

 

[b-body-bob]

b-body-bob, I love the sig line!

You have to know your strengths. I turn 60 this year though, and strength and work are quickly turning into tired and bored.

Speaking of which, I'm trying to get up the will power to drag myself out there for a couple of 10 hour days this weekend. So far I'm failing.

 

[Dr.Jass]

It's like 2° in my garage right now... Kelvin. Mine own self will not be dragged out there for 10 minutes, much less hours.

That being said, I've diagnosed the garage furnace and repair parts are on the way. Their arrival should coincide with that of temperatures in the 20s. Hopefully I'll have the ol' girl chuggin' along by next weekend.

 

[Stretch]

It's like 2° in my garage right now... Kelvin. .

It's about 70 deg. in mine right now. Much more pleasant than the -10 deg outside temp.

 

[b-body-bob]

It's 60 in mine, could be warmer but I'm trying to not go broke in service to the power company. It's supposed to get up to 34 outside today, hopefully that will melt the coating of ice we've had here for the past 2 days.

And ... JFC who would've guessed a bog standard Fram PH8A wouldn't work on a 400 engine, and why didn't I just look at the filter I took off and order the same thing? I can either have power steering, or an oil filter, but not both. The one that came off is a NAPA 21068, which fits with the belt on, but I had to take the belt off to get the filter off even with the shorter filter.

 

[Dr.Jass]

And ... JFC who would've guessed a bog standard Fram PH8A wouldn't work on a 400 engine, and why didn't I just look at the filter I took off and order the same thing? I can either have power steering, or an oil filter, but not both. The one that came off is a NAPA 21068, which fits with the belt on, but I had to take the belt off to get the filter off even with the shorter filter.

I would've--the 51515 (PH8A) was the standard Mopar filter through '71. They switched to the 51068 (which should be the right filter for your engine) in late '71 for '72. The B/RB oil pump never changed through the end in '78. They changed to the 51085 in the '80s, even shorter than the '068, a change necessitated to fit V6 Dakotas. All three filters have the same base. The "skinny Ford" 51516 has the right thread and gasket, as do the late-model 5.7L corporate truck V8's listings of 57899 and 57060--both of which are downright tiny in both height and diameter. The 51516 is the same length as the '515.
One of those many options should clear your belt just fine, but something doesn't sound quite right about your accessory arrangement. You shouldn't have to remove a belt to change the filter. I'm assuming you have the '73-up water-pump housing (passenger's-side inlet) but the filter should clear the belt. I'm not knocking what's in there and working, but maybe try the 51085 filter. It'll probably clear the belt enough to not have to fuss with it for a simple oil change. I don't remember having to do so on any of my 400s, but my memory's increasingly sketchy.
If you're pretty consistent with your oil changes, filter size isn't really a concern. I like to have the bigger one if I can too, but there's a 51085 on the Valiant (I had several on hand for my Dakota) and I'm not concerned one bit... never you mind about its 10-quart pan.

 

[b-body-bob]

Yeah I've got no problem with the shorter filter, just ashamed of myself for not checking what was on it. I can just hang on to that PH8A for my road runner so at least I'm not stuck with another part I can't use. I had oiled the seal and it wouldn't be right to return it since I'm the dummy who picked the part #.

Today I found out that putting that e-brake mechanism in with the car assembled is going to be a major PITA. Ditto getting that grommet for the cable installed. The voltage regulator is in the way of the grommet so I tried to take the voltage regulator off and opened up a whole nother can of worms. The thing has self-tappers in it, and one will not come out or tighten up. I tried prying out with a screwdriver, etc. Then I dropped the other bolt on the frame and it disappeared, probably to the same place the cable runs through. I could see threads in that hole and found a 1/4" (3/8" head) bolt that worked.

Another cool thing I found is the passenger side rocker under the fender was covered with red Permatex. I can't find any holes in it, but it's pretty crummy looking with pits and rust. Not sure if that was pre or post Permatex. I found it because the paint had cracked wide open, probably because either paint won't stick to silicone, or the stuff gassed under the paint. Or both.

The only thing I can figure is they were trying to stop water from draining between the firewall and rocker. It looks like it's got an intentional designed-in gap there to drain the cowl. I'm going to hit it with some Scotchbrite cookies and a good layer of Rust-Mort before squirting paint on that and forgetting about it for now.

On the + side I got the k-frame and all around the wheels cleaned up pretty good and have just a couple of evenings of painting the LCAs left to do and I'll be putting the front end back together.

 

[Dr.Jass]

Any new progress Bob? I've been mired in furnace work both to survive and get back after the Challenger so my automotive progress is nil, as it has been for awhile.

Hope all is well and that you'll check in soon.

 

[b-body-bob]

Yeah some progress. Had to take my time painting because I could neither paint outside or open the doors to let the fumes out, but I eventually got everything that needed painted done. Today I realized that after leaving the suspension kit laying around for weeks, it didn't come with torsion bar boots, so now it'll be another week before I can put the torsion bars in. The LCAs are in, so I'm going to go ahead and put the spindles, UCAs, etc in today. Time will tell how much I get done.

Yesterday was a hell drive, 700 miles to pick up a couple of puppies for my wife Gina. That was a long long day. They're way too wired to hold still for a close up photo, but it's a twin pair of female black pugs. This is one of them here https://www.lancasterpuppies.com/puppy-for-sale/pug/zoey-0

We basically got a 2 for 1 price because one of them has a common leg defect that doesn't cause real problems, along with a maybe hernia. It's got to be spayed anyway so they can fix the hernia at the same time if it's really necessary.

They're tiny little things made of 100% energy

 

[Dr.Jass]

Awww, Zoey's a cutie. Are you keeping the name or did you give her your own?

Somewhere I have a picture from years back taken after I'd done some painting in the garage. The overspray is literally visible in the picture; it's a fog. After my self-induced medical issues originating in '13 I've usually been careful to either do that crap outside, or wear a mask... but I skipped it when we primed the floors in the Valiant. I was physically pretty ill for a couple of days afterward. I now use a full face mask indoors; I don't even want that stuff getting in my eyes.

 

[b-body-bob]

I had the same effect last week for a couple of days until I figured out why I felt like I was getting a sore throat.

I guess eventually they will tell me their names, or they'll stay Zoey and Bailey. One was strutting around in the seller's garage and walked face first into a grease gun but I couldn't tell one from the other one or that one would now be Greaseball. The thing I wonder, since there's two of them and they're basically attached at the hip, if they will ever know their own name or will they just be interchangable?

Our daughter named the last pug puppy Jada, but I renamed her "the Bug eyed freak" so Bug was her informal name. The twins are little psychos, I don't remember Bug being that way but that was a long time ago.

I got the spindle, and both CAs installed and torqued yesterday. I'm waiting to put the rest on until the parts show up and I've got the TBs installed. Probably going to be next weekend unless a USPS miracle happens.

I've got to get the blast cab working to clean up the wheels for paint and new tires too.

 

[69.5CUDA]

puppys are terrors, and pugs just get more attitude as they get old

wife had been insistant on a puppy for a couple years..kept telling her when were down to 1 "maybe" as the ole shitzu was pushin 18 with health issues and was always just snapping out of it and bouncing back like a daisy even after multiple strokes ...the pugitzu IE porkypug is blind and deaf and will probably be around long after our new GSD passes

picked up a gsd in oct was told 7-8weeks.....yeah NO.....wifes a retired vet tech, and with with his teath dating we got him when he was probably 4weeks..its been a LONG time since i had a dog

 

[b-body-bob]

puppys are terrors, and pugs just get more attitude as they get old

wife had been insistant on a puppy for a couple years..kept telling her when were down to 1 "maybe" as the ole shitzu was pushin 18 with health issues and was always just snapping out of it and bouncing back like a daisy even after multiple strokes ...the pugitzu IE porkypug is blind and deaf and will probably be around long after our new GSD passes

picked up a gsd in oct was told 7-8weeks.....yeah NO.....wifes a retired vet tech, and with with his teath dating we got him when he was probably 4weeks..its been a LONG time since i had a dog

We had a couple of pugs before, and they were cool as little fonzies. That's why we bought pugs again.

They weren't both puppies at the same time though. The light colored one was probably a year old when we got her.

 

[b-body-bob]

A shipping label has been printed for the TB boots/locks I ordered on Sunday so they might finally ship today. I'll be lucky if they get here before next week. They are shipping USPS so that might have been true anyway, but delaying shipment didn't help things a bit.