Bringing a car (74 Duster) back to life

Veeky Forums,

I need your help and collective knowledge to get a car in running shape again.

It's a 1974 plymouth duster that belongs to my relative; they stored it in a garage but my relative is no longer in business with that service and brought his car to our driveway (him and a friend pushed it all the way here).

I don't know much about the car aside from what my relative told me; 74 duster (88K), slant six engine (225 Cu.), automatic transmission, and all round drum brakes. I know it ran when parked 6 to 7 years ago, but since then it's been in storage. Also about a decade ago, my relative got the car repainted and from looking underneath it, I cannot see any signs of rust and rot to the body and frame.

Off the top of my head, I know we will likely need:

-New battery (the terminals have leaked acid and solidified)
-ALL fluids to be flushed and replaced (engine oil, ATF, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid, and window washer)
-Drum shoes replaced
-Carb rebuilt
-Engine compression check
-New spark plugs & wires (not sure if the cap, rotor, and dist. need to be replaced)
-Possibly tires (they didn't look cracked and didn't have flat spots as far as I saw)
-Fresh fuel (will it run on unleaded gas?)
-New filters (fuel, air, oil)
-Possibly new vacuum lines (they didn't look rotted away or bitten at)

Regarding the brakes, in the brake reservoir, there are two chambers, the one closest to the engine has fluid in it, but the rear one does not; my relative says when he has put fluid in it, it leaks out, so we know somewhere (in the brake line?) it's leaking.

Is there anything else that I'd need to check? Also, please go easy on me - I am by no means a mechanic, but I do like to read about cars and fiddle with my own when I need to.

Thank you so much for your help, and please, if you need any additional info I will do my best to provide it.

More photos: imgur.com/a/1huvO

Don't be stupid, change oil fire it up with new battery and go. If nothing else is wrong, and there probably isn't check the tire date. Doing all that other shit is useless without even starting it.

You will need $500 and an afternoon

Thanks for the reply. Just the engine oil? I did check that it and it is black as night (and low). The tranny fluid is hardly red/pink, so that's why I think it (plus the other ones) need to be replaced before even attempting to start it up.

Can you elaborate a bit more? What will I need to buy with the 500? Thanks

I stopped reading after slant six and auto

Don't even bother with any of that shit, find a 340 or 383 and a 4-speed to swap into it

Replace drums with disks at least up front

Maybe throw an LSD in or like an 8 inch or some shit

Roast tyres

Your plan sounds pretty good, change the fluids for sure. clean up the battery and see if it will hold a charge. the garb probably only needs a good dousing of carb cleaner and some fresh gas. check to see if it starts and go from there.
The rest of the stuff may not be needed.

This user is just throwing out dank Veeky Forums memes, m8.

He means get an ls1 v8 from a junkyard with 500 and use an afternoon to put it in.

Your plan sounds good, making sure brakes run good and engine rumbles. I would swap a v8 and different transmission but shit I don't know how to swap engines anyway. Anyway, nice find. Amc's are worth their gold to old men with "I know what I got" cars, just don't sell it.

Yeah, I know it's not the best engine and tranny combo; IIRC my relative has got a 454 big block (I think that's what it is) or something that he knows will swap into the car. He just never got around to doing it.

Thanks bud, I'll follow your advice and clean the terminals. Is there anything you recommend I use as a cleaner? (I already have the 3 pack detailing auto brushes to wipe that gunk away).

Thanks user, I figured he was trolling about. Like I mentioned in the OP, somewhere in the brake system is a leak; so that plus getting it to start are the two big issues right now. If we can get it start, safely brake, and shift gears without grenading the transmission, we can get it to another garage for the winter.

They sell battery terminal cleaner at the parts store, but water with a bit of baking soda mixed in+ a wire brush usually does the trick for me.

All I can tell you, user, is that you've got a special car there. A Slant-6 Duster is a really unique piece of automotive history. Hold on to it. Take care of it. Cherish it.

One day, there won't be many left.

bump

Swapping in a V8 will require a new k member, torsion bars, and radiator core support. Keep the six- it's slow, but will get 17 m.p.g. and last forever.

This. If it's numbers matching which it seems like it is and you get it going you can DD it and eventually somebody is going to offer you something more fun in even trade.

Douche detected.
Slant 6 is a great engine.

There's no reason to make this into a track car, keep the six.
Change oil.
Drain fuel tank.
Replace battery.
Check cap and rotor.
Crank it and see if carb leaks, if not, fire it up.
74 should have front disc.
If I'm wrong on that, I'd upgrade before I DD it.

Brake line leak is one of the wheel cylinders 100%, just replace all of them, normally if you only replace the offending cylinder another one will blow out shortly after

Diet coke master terminal cleaning race

honestly, just do what I did when I got the ferd going

>flush radiator
>drain old gas and put new fuel in (unleaded will be fine, it's an economy motor)
>new plugs maybe
>clean the shit off the points
>new battery

if the engine/carb had gas in it when it was sitting, then clean the carb. you might need to dump some gas into the intake because the fuel will need some help getting picked up from the tank.

then, if that works
>fill tranny fluid
>burp power steering pump
>replace the master cylinder
>REPLACE THE MASTER CYLINDER
>bleed the system, the shoes are probably fine.
>check tire pressure
>drive
>oil change

that's what I did with muh ferd. it was pretty easy, just took 3 or 4 days of work all in because I had to rebuild some brake lines. fuck brake work.

here's it the day I first touched it.

I had a 70 1/2 Dodge Dart Swinger with a slant six. Not fast, but I brought that thing home 900 miles from where I picked it up. Smoked hash most of the way home.

Lessee- brakes are where I'd start. You can probably get away with replacing all the soft parts- so hone the brake cylinders lightly, then new hoses and seals in the wheel cylinders. make sure you get the brake adjusters back in the right way. Mine was 4-wheel drum, and drums suck.

Otherwise mine was pretty tough and reliable for a free car. Mileage was right about 17 mpg no matter what I did. I towed a few stuck 4-wd pickups out of the bog with it.

I got a warped backing plate and rebuilt the brakes which was a huge hassle- it was the winter, and it rained and the wind howled every day I was under that fucker. Then the heater core went out. Then I let the oil run out (it hooved oil) and it seized. A guy payed me $125.00 in 1982 dollars for it, so I let it go.

Get the title sorted out before you lift a finger.

I just want to say to everyone thanks so much for the replies - you've all given me great info and I feel more confident in what I have to do to get it back running. I'll connect with family tomorrow and talk about the next steps. I'll check in periodically and share any updates.

good job man. also check in with the /ccg/ classic car general threads, lots of useful information. just ctrl + f and type ccg in the catalog.

It's a slant six those motors are bulletproof.

If the motor can turn over, fill the float bowl in the carb and turn it over. I bet you it'll start. I bought a Dart with the same motor that had been sitting for 13 years and that cunt fired right up with a little fresh gas and a battery.

If the motor hasn't run in a long time pull the spark plugs and put a few drops of motor oil into each cylinder, helps with compression and sealing the rings since it'll be pretty dry in there from sitting so long. It'll smoke for a little bit until it burns off.

Drain the oil out, pull the valve cover, make sure there's no mouse nests under there I've had them get in through the PCV breather holes before. Fill your oil by dumping into the head over all the rockers and valves, gets everything nice and sexy moist.

Brakes are easy just put some fluid in it and have someone step on the pedal while you get underneath and look around. Just follow the lines and you'll find where it's wet.

Don't worry about the brake shoes those don't really "go bad" unless they're soaked with oil from a leaky wheel seal or something. Just give them a once over and make sure they've still got meat on them.

Clean the carb, you probably don't need to rebuild it, it might have a stuck float so watch out for that.

It'll run on unleaded, any leaded gas car WILL run on unleaded the difference is engines made for unleaded have hardened valve seats. Unleaded gas in a leaded car will eat the valves eventually. Very very cheap to get hardened seats installed at a machine shop and ta-da! Now you're good for unleaded.

Replace the ignition components just for the fuck of it. That car should have cryslers weird little silver box spark controller so it's kind of a half assed electronic ignition. Replace the box too.

>pic related, used to be a slant 6

I'm in a similar situation to OP.

Looking to bring life back to an '85 Camaro that's been in a barn since 2000. Haven't had a look at it yet, but the same steps should apply, right?

I'll start a thread when I can see it in a few weeks. (It's also free, so I can't turn down this opportunity to restore it unless it's rusted to death)

I just pulled my truck out of storage
Its been sitting since 2002
Fuel pump was dead.
Put in a new battery.
Poured gas down the carb while buddy cranked it
Fired right up

The brake fluid issue is likely the master cylinder fucked, the fluid leaks out the front seal and into the booster and gets sucked into the motor and burnt off when it's running.

The slant 6 is an awesome motor, but the electronic ignition box they come out with can be tempremental and only want to work properly on warm days, and make the car hard to start when they are on their way out. You can get a drop in electronic distributor and 12v coil that eliminates the need for it cheap enough.

Quick glance through the thread and it doesn't look like anyone mentioned hoses and belts, so check that shit out. If it's been sitting that many years, everything is likely dry-rotted. Including your tires so even if they have tread and are holding air, you'd be smart to get them changed out. Same if there is a spare. Otherwise it looks like most everything has been covered. I'd consider draining the gas tank just in case it's full of grime, but that's me.

bump

Are you done yet OP?

My buddies and I rebuilt a slant 6 Duster in high school a while back. We sort of, kind of knew what we were doing.

We got that thing about 15 miles up the road when the bottom end let go. We felt a THUMP and felt/heard small pieces of metal ricocheting off the floor pan and behind us as we coasted to a stop on the side of the highway. Meh, that car was a gift anyway. We donated it to the junkyard.

You live, you learn.

Hey again everyone,

Met with family today and we won't be able to get to the Duster until next week. I did however swap out the battery and was able to get the engine to crank. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to go (Tried pouring gas down the carb and using starting fluid). Not sure where I went wrong but I'll give it another go tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone for your advice!

This, especially fuel hoses if they had ethanol fuel in them. My bet is all the rubber seals in the carb will be junk as well.

Nice quads.

If the car is carbed and has been sitting a while it's likely that the jets in the carb are gummed up with sludge caused by our "eco-friendly" alcohol gasoline.** Budget a rebuild kit for the carb and an evening breathing fumes on the workbench. Not very expensive, but take your time and take lots of photos as you do it. If it's the ignition system, then you might want to plan to convert it to a fully electronic ignition system.

Change the oil ASAP on that engine. You don't know how long it has sat or how often it was change. Plan on doing the same for the coolant. While you are doing the coolant you might as well go ahead and replace the water pump for peace of mind.

Eventually think about replacing the points ignition system with an aftermarket electronic system.

Good luck. Once sorted it will be a very reliable car.


** Fuck the EPA and the Ethanol Ag Lobby. They now want to shove E15 down our throats, in spite of the negligible benefits it produces. Ethanol causes gasoline to go bad, causes gum and varnish in fuel systems, causes corrosion, and reduces MPG. There are other, better ways to help the environment. Fuck ADM, Fuck ConAgra, and Fuck corn farmers.