9 replies to this topic

[scttyb69]

Well this is my introduction thread.

I am a 17 year old student without a job.

I currently own a 1986 Plymouth Turismo (says duster on outside though??), Its an automatic.

The can runs great, at 38K miles with about 40 miles of commuting a day. It could use a lot of work though.

The exterior has its share of scratches and the paint is starting to chip off on the hood and sides, the back bumper is rusty.

The one major problem that I really need some help on, is a leak or something that allows water to collect on the floors.
Usually it happens after it rains, but could keep getting wet for days and days after that. Has anyone had a problem similar? Here is a picture of my driver side floor





I would like to get more power out of this car, I know these turismos have amazing potential inside and out, and I would like my car to live up to the expectation of par fans.

Here are some pictures of the car:











Heres a poor quality video also:

Edited by scttyb69, September 9, 2009 at 06:22 pm.

[Abkshelby]

Welcome to the forum. That Duster is in quite good shape for it's age. Keep in mind that it probably has 138k on it's odometer. But it has many miles left in it if you care for it. Your leak is one of 2 things. Your windhield itself may be leaing but more than likley you have water leaking in the cowl area (Area up where the windhield wipers are underneath) L-bodies were infamous for the seam sealer cracking and leaking water into the floor area. Get a K&N air filter and get the engine tuned properly for now. You can play with engine timing some to increase power but unless you want to spend a lot of money there is not much you can do to make it really fast. Just enjoy it and have fun!

Edited by Abkshelby, September 9, 2009 at 08:44 pm.

[scttyb69]

It is verified 38K, the previous owner was a family friend who had bought the car new at age 68.

Let put this out there for you guys, I have little to no experience with cars at all, I'm an electronics engineer (smaller than your finger).

If you post something, please try to dumb it down to a level that someone who hasnt worked with cars would understand.

Thanks greatly!

Scott


Edit: Im looking to swap out all the internal lights with blue instead of the teal the car came with.

Does anyone know what kind of bulb these turismos use? If not ill end up just ditching the bulb all together and soldering in some LEDs with 12v resistors.

Edited by scttyb69, September 10, 2009 at 03:06 pm.

[Abkshelby]

The Turismo dash cluster is illuminated with glass wedge #168 bulbs which everyone replaces with 194 in any color you want. (Orange looks cool in there by the way also)
There are blue/green covers over the bulbs you can take off to make it light up brighter also. Enjoy!

[scttyb69]

The Turismo dash cluster is illuminated with glass wedge #168 bulbs which everyone replaces with 194 in any color you want. (Orange looks cool in there by the way also)
There are blue/green covers over the bulbs you can take off to make it light up brighter also. Enjoy!

Thank you for the info, Now to get to the dash lights, I would have to remove the whole dash correct?
Also, while removing the center console, It got stuck on the E-brake. Is there an efficient way to remove this?

Sorry for all the questions, your a lot of help though!

[ImperialCrown]

I colored my bulbs vermillion red and blacked-out the gauge pointers, except for the pointer tips which I left orange. It was an eerie view at night. While the books that were availible to modify these cars are long out of print, they may still be out there at amazon.com and online technical book vendors. Carbs were troublesome on these.

[scttyb69]

A book that includes the 1986 mustang was the closest I could find to my car
http://www.amazon.co...2619899&sr=1-42

Im more of a trial and error kind of guy, this weekend ill try the dash by myself.

[Abkshelby]

Thank you for the info, Now to get to the dash lights, I would have to remove the whole dash correct?
Also, while removing the center console, It got stuck on the E-brake. Is there an efficient way to remove this?

Sorry for all the questions, your a lot of help though!

You can replace the bulbs without removing the whole dash.
Just take the front lens off and remove the individual gauges to get to the bulbs.
Removing the speedometer is tricky though. The cable clips onto it. It breaks easily.
Your best bet is to obtain Chrysler factory service manuals before you take stuff apart. Ebay has them usually cheap. The rubber handle part of the ebrake cable slides off to aid in removal. If your ebrake is adjusted real tight it will be difficult to remove. Don't worry about asking questions. You won't find out unless you ask.

[scttyb69]

You can replace the bulbs without removing the whole dash.
Just take the front lens off and remove the individual gauges to get to the bulbs.
Removing the speedometer is tricky though. The cable clips onto it. It breaks easily.
Your best bet is to obtain Chrysler factory service manuals before you take stuff apart. Ebay has them usually cheap. The rubber handle part of the ebrake cable slides off to aid in removal. If your ebrake is adjusted real tight it will be difficult to remove. Don't worry about asking questions. You won't find out unless you ask.

I had taken off the front lens, but the gauges seemed to be part of another box inside the dashboard that I couldnt get to.
Ill try again this weekend.

Closest factory manual i could find was a 1980 omni series. Probably wont work correct?

Thanks for all the help so far everyone!

[ImperialCrown]

Try your local main library for a factory manual. Photocopy what you want to keep. Most libraries have their resources listed online and if they're checked out or not. Ask if you don't see them on the shelves, they may be stored in the back-room 'stacks'.