Doug and I have been searching for a "project" car for almost 10 years. We've drove all over New Brunswick looking in fields and barns. We replied to almost every kijiji ad and kick tires to the point where our toes hurt (Tire kicking are for those people who act interested in the purchase but never actually purchase the car) Then one day on Kijiji there was an ad for a 72 Duster. The seller was in Ontario and he brought the car up from "the South". He sent many pictures of the car. Interior and exterior. I think Doug fell in love at first site. After much debating back and forth and discussing whether or not we could actually "restore" a car, we decided to hell with it. We're not getting any younger and this is something we both dreamed about.
On Monday, October 26, our car was delivered to us. I could barely keep myself together as I pulled up to the driveway and saw her sitting there. She was beautiful. Her body was solid, rust free and looked mean. Yes, she had some flaws...but don't we all? Her red paint job had faded and it reflected years of being out in the sun. Her interior showed ripped seats and most of the instruments were missing such as heater, radio, etc. The carpet is much to be desired. I'm sure the rug and seats could tell some stories from back in the 70's. All in all, she was still beautiful. Then Doug started the engine for me. I must say, I would have no fear someone hot wiring it and trying to steal it because once they started it, the whole neighbourhood would be notified. She is loud!
We were very lucky in purchasing this car. The motor, transmission, exhaust, fuel tank and radiator (the most expensive parts of restoring a car) were already restored for us. All she needed was a paint job and the interior completely gutted and redone. Before actually buying the car, Doug and I discussed what colour to paint it. Plum Crazy Purple? Lemon Twist Yellow? Sassy Grass Green? or Panther Pink? Well, we didn't choose any of those...well..sorta. We chose Moulin Rouge. Those of you that are Mopar fans know exactly what colour that is. No, its not red. It's pink ! Why pink? I still have no idea why. I was abit concerned about Doug choosing pink but once he explained that all the other muscle car colours are done to death, I realized our car had to be pink...I mean Moulin Rouge.
Now I know what some of you are thinking....what kind of wussy, sissy pants, weirdo drives a pink car? I'd like to point out that an A body Mopar weighs approximately 3100 lbs. This car has a rebuilt 340 ci motor, alluminum intake, high performance Edelbrock carb, new TTI headers, and a Magnaflow 3" exhaust...all together putting out 390-400 hp....most wussies can't travel a quarter mile in 14 seconds or less.
As of right now, the car is sitting at the mechanics to have a good going over before we send her off to the painters. It's going to have a satin black hood with the original snorkel hood scoop, and the correct stripe package in black as well. And so our adenture begins. It may be awhile before I add to my blog. As things progress, I'll be updating my blog and adding pictures. In the meantime, I've posted a couple of before pictures.
