Canadian Classic


 

 
Richard Fox, from Ontario, Canada, bought this 74 Duster in original form in 1988. I was bone stock and owned by the "little old lady" we all talk about buying cars from. It came complete with original brown paint and /6 powertrain. He used the car for 4 years as a daily driver before beginning the transformation to serious street car.

 
After disassembling the car, the dirty side was cleaned and sandblasted. 2x3 subframe connectors were added and a DC offset hanger kit was installed. Fiberglass fenders, hood, and bumpers were fitted, then the whole thing was shot with a modified GMC orange.
Out back, Rich installed HD leaf springs and an 8.25 rear with 4.30 gears, which he found under a 74 Duster 360 in his area.
All suspension and brake parts were rebuilt,replaced, and/or painted. All-new fuel parts were used, including a new tank, sender, lines, electric pump and filter. Wheels are the old style Keystone Klassics, 15x4 and 15x8. The 727 was rebuilt using heavy duty parts and includes a forward manual valve body, 3000 stall converter and a B&M cooler.

 
 
The interior is largely stock and was in excellent condition. Mint seats were found in a donor car and the door panels were freshened with a vinyl dye.  A new carpet was added to make everything perfect. For the 70's theme, retro Sun gauges were installed along with an original AutoStick shifter.

 

 
The '67 383 was found in the local paper for $125. It was in excellent condition given the price. 
The block was tanked and honed, getting new bearings and plugs. The pistons, rods, and crank were also in great shape, so new bearings and rings were installed on the stock parts using ARP fasteners.
Even the crank was nice, only needing slight polishing.  A high volume oil pump was used to help lube at higher rpms.
The stock heads recieved new valvesprings to match the 292/509 MP cam. The intake is an Edelbrock that Rich had on the shelf and it holds an Edelbrock 750 carb. Exhaust is handled by uncoated Schumacher Tri-Y's, which happen to be the first set sold in Canada. They're bolted to 3" pipes and Magna-Flow mufflers.
The motor was installed with Schumacher spool mounts, and cooling is handled by an aluminum rad from an early Ford Aerostar. Richard states the Ford rad holds 185 degrees on the hottest of days.

 

Rich took an alternate path when building his ride, using parts
rarely thought of, parts already on hand, and finding 
seemingly impossible bargains. The result is a show-quality
car that probably cost less than half of most others.
Smart guy...

 
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