This is a ’72 Duster with a ’69 340 and four speed. It belonged to Master M for many years. The concept is a Duster as it might have been built in the early to mid eighties. There will be some updates though.
The car is PPG Clapton Green Metallic. It has a factory style stripe and black hood paint scheme, but instead of flat black, it’s a semi gloss. Master M does not like “flat”. It will have factory style vinyl interior, 6×9 speakers on the rear deck, a Hurst T-handle, and some Centerline ConvoPros. I know, the Convo Pro was not around back then and Auto Drag wheels would be more correct. But those are really flimsy. Great for straight lines, not much else.
This car was partially done by Master M before coming to the S&M Shop for the full treatment. The trunk floor was replaced, rear wheel wells widened, springs relocated, subframe connectors fabricated, and the entire underside of the car was wire-brushed, sanded and painted in single-stage. The front suspension was rebuilt using RMS upper control arms, torsion bars for a 383 A-Body, and a customized Addco sway bar.
Here, we have the lower rear quarter panel patch welded in place. Like the ’56, the Duster’s patches are butt welded using a pencil tip gas torch. Master S is the wizard of the gas torch, and he did the honors on most of the seam. I took care of some areas, but stuck to spots that are somewhat hidden.
The spot in front of the rear wheel was patched too.
For a while, the fiberglass hood was the coolest part of the car. Very nice. It’s from AAR Quality Fiberglass.
Our new employee wrote all kinds of crap all over the car, so we chained him up and threw him in the trunk. Anyway, the sandblasted area hides the seam somewhat, but there are three patches around the lower edge of the tail light. If you look close, you can see where the gas welds are.
The driver’s side is almost ready for primer and filler.
Here’s a view of the butt weld from the inside. This seam will not get ground flat, just a little urethane seam sealer, primer and paint.
