1971 Plymouth Duster 340+6

[mrmike]

I bought this kit from a fellow Classic Plastic Model Club member over a month ago. It's AMT's '71 Duster 340.

I wasn't sure how I was going to build it, but I wanted it different from the '70 Duster 340 conversion I built almost 3 years ago. After some thought, I decided to build it as a hotted up version with different paint, graphics, induction, and wheels and tires. My paint will be Tamiya TS-31 Bright Orange with 1970 'Cuda 340 Hockey Stick stripes from Keith Marks.

I am undecided on which wheels to use. The wheels at the top of the picture are simular to Cragar Dragstars or the American Racing Torque Thrusts at the bottom. I am leaning towards the Dragstars though. We shall see...

More to come...

Edited April 26, 2012 by mrmike

[lrlocke01]

I'm tuned in.. I recently acquired this kit but I have not decided on a color yet, it will be factory stock though. Very interested to see how yours turns out. I also like the Weld wheels for this car

[Nick Winter]

Very neat Choice Mike, I also just acquired this kit, if you don't mind me asking, where'd the Crager Dragstars come from.

Nick

[mrmike]

Thanks Rickey and Nick!

Nick, I have had these wheels in the parts box for a very long time. I think they came from an '84 Corvette that was molded in a tannish-gold colored plastic. MPC, AMT maybe? I don't know. Anyways, the plating will have to be stripped, wheels will be painted in gloss black enamel and painted will Alclad II Chrome paint. I think I have choosen my wheels!

[Bartster]

Nice choice, Mike. On the kit & the rims. I just got this kit in the mail today along with the street machine version. Glad to see you build another Mopar. I'm gonna enjoy this!

[mrmike]

Thanks Bart! I hope you won't be disappointed.

[martinfan5]

I kind of want to get this kit, going to watch this one

[TooOld]

It's nice to see a Duster going together . The 'cudas and Challengers get a little old after awhile .

Can't wait to see where you go with this one . The Bright Orange will look super !

[Bartster]

those 5-spoke mags that you guys are calling Drag stars are Cragar Euro spokes from the 80's. the Drag star was Cragar's copy of the Weld Pro star and they had a "street" version called the Street star IIRC and is a different wheel.

......True. Mike did say similar, though. I have a nice set of Drag/Street Stars from MPCs '57 Vette, if you'd be interested, Mike.

[mrmike]

OK guys! Before I have to get out the baseball bat and start knocking some heads to calm y'all down, I did say that they are similar to Cragar Dragstar wheels. I didn't say that they were. I know that they do look similar, but I don't really know what kind or brand they are. I'm still not 100% sure what kit they came out of! I do appreciate the information being posted here and I certainly don't want any mis-information going around. Thanks DoubleD! Thanks for the offer of the wheels Bart, but I'll be using the wheels that I have.

[Bartster]

Dave seems to be a lot more sure than I am. I would go with his info for accuracy's sake. I could be mistaken about the kit my rims came from as well. Thanks, Dave. Please continue Mike! Sorry for the interuption & I'm anxiously awaiting your next move, Bart

[mrmike]

Not a problem Bart! I'm hoping to get the body painted sometime this weekend. I have decided on a tu-tone paint scheme. Tamiya Bright Orange for the main body color and Tamiya Light Gunmetal for the hood, door and fender tops instead of factory flat black scheme.

[wraith]

MIKE!!!! I LOVE THIS!!!!

I cannot wait to see this build progress and the end result!!!

As a big fan of your work & MOPARS I will be watching!

and go with the Cragars!

[mrmike]

Thanks Darrick! I have decided on the Dragstar type of wheels for this build. I wasn't sure if I wanted to use a rear deck spoiler or not. I prefer a ducktail spoiler versus a wing spoiler. My reasoning is this...the wing spoiler generally looks like a tack-on accessory versus the ducktail spoiler which, for the most part, looks like a part of the car. A search through my parts box produced nothing that I could use on the Duster so I am going to use the kit wing spoiler, but it'll be painted the main body color instead of flat black as it came from the factory. First, I had to fill a couple of injector marks on the underside of the spoiler.

When the Bondo was dry, I sanded it smooth and mounted the stanchions.

I started assembling the engine which will be painted Hemi Orange. I didn't glue the intake manifold on as I may paint it aluminium.

More to come...

[wraith]

Come on Mike! I know with your skills that you could scratchbuild a ducktail spoiler!

That spoiler is actually a very decent representation of that wing! Most other spoilers like that in other kits are not even close.

[mrmike]

Darrick, I suppose I could scratch a ducktail spoiler, but the desire to do so is not there. I mocked up the kit spoiled unpainted on the unpainted Duster body and imagine it painted in the main body color and in my mind, it looks better than if it was painted flat black. This build will not be factory stock or OOB. I suppose it could be more of a street machine than anything else. I haven't wire an engine in a while so that is on the agenda as well.

[donkeypuncher76]

i had 3 of these b4 the ex wife destoted(yes destoted as we figured several months ago, destoed=to destroy ones plastic collection of love because you are no longer#1) i did mine in a pearlescent yellow(an old boyds color) with a hemi from one of the old charger option kits and the 20inch 5 star w/ 17inch fronts from the older wanna b panelrod that looked like a pt cruiser, it was killer, glad to see another mopar bacck to life. after getting back the last few months and starting several ideas im just trying to slam a few good 1s to have some eye candy. look forward to the muscle mopar..

[mrmike]

Thanks James! Sorry to hear about your collection.

This morning, I started painting the engine and air cleaner parts with Mopar Hemi Orange Engine Enamel.

I drilled out the heads for spark plug wires before I painted the engine. I usually do that after I paint so I guess I am changing my ways for the better!

I prepped the hood for scoops. If you look at the scoops, they are shorter on one side versus the other and I have notice this on 1:1 Mopars with this type of hood scoop, too. The higher side would be towards the center of the hood. To me, the scoops should be swapped with the high side towards the outside edge of the hood, But then, that's just me.

More to come...

[Bartster]

I agree Mike. I always thought the high side of the scoops looked better on the outside. Like lowering your eyebrows in a sinister way. Like the '70 Super Bee grille. Keep up the good work.

[mrmike]

Thanks Bart!

James, no offense, but I have tried to read you posting three times and it seems to be one long sentence that has to be read in one breath. Some of it doesn't seem to make any sense to me. Please slow down and use some capital letters and punctuation marks so I can be able to read it. If you could type and spell in conversational English, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and again, no offense.

[LURCH426]

Has to be my favorite a body from Mopar.

[mrmike]

I did a quicky mockup to help get an idea of how the Duster is going to look. I also checked the body for flaws and found a few...nothing major. Another coat of primer, a quick and light sanding and it'll be ready for it's tu-tone paint scheme.

I fitted the carbs onto the manifold and painted it all with Aluminium Metalizer. I'll start detailing the carbs later with paint and maybe fuel lines.

I dredged the wheels out of the purple pond after a couple days of soaking. A good washing with some Dawn detergent and hot water and the wheels are ready for some gloss black and Alclad paints.

More to come...

[martinfan5]

Looking good Mike

[Bartster]

Keep after it , Mike. The motor & body are both looking great!

[charlie8575]

The model looks good, Mike. Did you use the bright orange on the engine too? If so, it sure is bright! Actually, from what I've seen, that's a pretty good match to Hemi Orange, which, from what I understand, the hi-perf 340s/383s/440s also used, depending on year.

This will be another nice build of yours. And, guys, I've said it before, I'll say it again- I've seen Mike's work up close and personal, it really is that good. And Mike really is one of the nice guys in this hobby, too.

Charlie Larkin