What a day............
 

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/...ine=1238987530
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Chehalis, Washington
Posts: 10


71 Duster Rust issues...
So , just an update on the Duster. I finally got all the interior stripped out, all except the dash. Its ending up being ALOT worse with rust than I expected it to be. the pass side floorboards (including under the pass rear seat) are all gonna have to be replaced. Ill probably do all of them on both sides just to have it done. The trunk is a mess, trunk pan is bad, as are the (extensions??) areas to the outside of the trunk area towards the fenders? To add insult to injury, I had the front end jacked up to swap my disk brake setup onto the car: I was showing a buddy the rust in the trunk, tapped on the back area of the spare tire pan, and as luck would have it .........THE GAS TANK WAS RUSTED OUT AS WELL!!!!! Normally, this wouldnt be an issue EXEPT...... with the car jacked up up front all the gas (10 or so gallons) immediatly made its escape onto my carpoort floor.............. Now I wasnt aware that gas was a thinking feeling entity, however it sure seemed angry and more than happy to escape the confines of the tank in a hurry...MUTINY!!!!!!!!:eek::mad::o

I also found rust in the corners near the top of the trunk deck where it meets with the area just under the rear window. Im feeling a bit frustrated at the moment, but I havent lost hope....YET. So. Im taking a few days to chew up my preconcieved notions about the car, and ill get back to it. Ill throw up some pics and see if any of you have any input.... Im not a body guy... I can do dents and such, but im not a welder. I have several friends who are, but how do i trust my project to a buddies hands? Oh well itll be what it is.....

So, feel free to comment or send advice....
Thanks all...
Twisted Wrenches

Hey Twisted, if it makes ya feel better I have seen way worse. Maybe I am conditioned for rust being from Canada, but from the pics its not that bad.
I know body metal is available for the car. Cross Canada Autobody has all kinds of metal for the 71 and there is a warehouse in Vancouver which is relatively close and with the exchange maybe you save some bucks.

Don't be even close to upset over this. AMD offers a full floor pan for the A-Body. The Duster is only $429.95 + shipping, witch really gets you :eek: The trunk pan is 299.99. If I have any money left from my tax return, I'm ordering the floor pan for my '68 Dart next month. If I run out of money, it gets ordered in December...along with the floor pan for my Duster :D As far as installing, I am thinking of trying to do it myself. I dunno yet, but there is a great thread at FABO that shows how one member did it.

jhttp://www.autometaldirect.com/image.../3636A_web.jpghttp://www.autometaldirect.com/image...s/3602_web.jpg

my dart is worst, would the panels pictured fit my 73 dart?

If the ones pictured don't, I'm sure they make them. The A-Body is quite popular now. Maybe not E-Body popular, but enough that it is getting more parts reproduced. I'm glad about that :D

j