70 duster: updating, and a no-dough pro-touring makeover

the origonal build thread on this car can be found at

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36043



the reason I'm doing a new thread is because I'm changing the direction of the car a little bit.



When i did the car last time, i was trying to go for resto/high school recreated. i succeeded.

the problem is, I've never really enjoyed the car all that much. its been "done" for a few years, and i have about 1500 miles on it. most of those miles were put on out of feeling guilty for owning a car that i don't drive.

since I've built the duster, i built a truck.

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43374



i actually drive the truck. i put about 10k on it in the last year and a half. i enjoy it. it handles good, runs out good, and stops good. looks good, gets attention.



i built the duster for the pleasure car, but get no pleasure. yeah, its fast. yeah, it looks good. but it doesn't handle or stop worth a crap, its cranky, it rattles, its hot, and its loud. oh, and uncomfortable.



I've contemplated selling it a lot of times, mostly because i don't drive it.





anyway, there's reasons I'm updating it a bit.

1. I'm bored with it.

2. the above mentioned deficiencies.

(and the coolest)

3. my family and i are starting to take weekend trips around the southeast to historic sites, festivals, etc. just spending time together as a family, going places and seeing stuff. My wife and i were talking about this, and i got the idea to build an impala wagon to do it in. went looking at a couple. after the last rust bucket, my wife started to question me about why i wanted "another old car you wont drive". i explained to her my vision of a daily drivable, comfortable family cruiser. her only question was "why not the duster?"

i tried to explain to her. she gave me "the look". i tried to explain some more. she continued to give me "the look".



after w while, i stopped talking. she looked at me and said: spend the time and money doing it to the red car. its paid for, and rust free.



wow.





why the hell didn't i think of that a whole lot sooner?





so to that end, Ive been planning, looking, and starting to work.





when i went down to the shop to start the car so i could get it cleaned up last month after this conversation, it wouldn't start. the last time i drove it, it was cutting out on me at random times, wouldn't idle worth a crap, etc. so i figured my old MSD box was taking a dump. pulled a plug and checked for fire. have fire. so it had to be fuel. a little bit of ether to get things started and the mechanical fuel pump primed. fired right up on ether, died right back out. stabbing the gas pedal and repeating this procedure got me nothing.



figured out it was a bad fuel  pump. no volume, no pressure. occasional spurts of gas, but nothing consistent.



went down to the parts store, and bought a Holley blue pump and regulator combo. also grabbed some fuel injection hose, and some fittings from Lowe's and tractor supply.



a couple of hours later, here's what i was looking at:





when i had wired the car, i had left a lead for an electric fuel pump, just in case i ever wanted to run nitrous. so i didn't even have to wire anything!! i placed it on the rear subframe, inside the torque box bu the front spring hangar. i think I'm going to paint it black, as you can see the shiny of it from some angles walking around the car.

i was warned that they were loud, but unfortunately i did not listen. they are. thankfully, i cant hear it over my 3 inch exhaust or rattles.



i then quickly realized that the regulator in the box is required, not suggested. that left me a dilemma about where to put it that would be clean and neat, as well as adjustable and accessible.



i finally wound up putting the regulator where the mechanical fuel pump lived. as i had to make a block off plate anyway, i got creative. i used 3/8 thick plate, cut to match my fuel pump gasket. drilled and tapped the three regulator bracket mounting holes, used the piece of 5/16 fuel line i cut out as spacers, and some stainless machine screws to hold it all together. i had about 10 foot of 3/8 line left over from pluming a big block new yorker, so i used if for my new metal lines.



here's the finished product.







looked pretty good.

fired right up, and after playing with the Holley yet again, and again....



i ripped the damn thing off. it was a highly modified 850 double pumper. got it instead of some money owed to me. put it on craigslist with a FOR TRADE heading.



i wound up with a brand new, in the box, 750 manual choke edelbrock.



old:





new:







installed a fuel pressure gauge and spectre fuel line.

it runs and drives a lot better now. I'm down a BUNCH of power, but then again i haven't tuned this carb in yet. its also a manual choke, and i will be converting it to electric.



so now the car runs and drives again. i had previously swapped in a 3.55 gear instead of the old 3.91. so far, all these changes have been positive, and i can actually drive the car now for more than 20minutes without getting a migraine and having to work on it.



about 45 in though, the front intake seal started leaking. now i can change that out. I'm debating getting rid of the single plane for a dual plane while I'm at it. I've already de-tuned it this much, why not more??



also, I'm starting on the rest of the drivability issues.

first thing was safety and handling. the dunlops that were on it were purchased in 2000. they're a little old.



on craigslist, a set of mustang bullitt wheels came available for 175. so i bought them. 17X8, with two usable 255/40/17 tires. i traded the worn out 275/40/17 from the rear for a pair of equally worn out 255/50/17/



these sizes equate to a 1 inch diameter reduction in both ends. for fitment, i had to use 1 inch hub-centric spacers on the rear, longer wheel studs and 3/8 spacers front, and new lug nuts. for a total of 275, i have wheels and tires on my car. and yes, i need new tires for my new wheels and tires. these are for checking for rubbing, handling, etc.







the next step is to lower the car 1 inch all the way around.

ill currently be doing this via blocks and t-bar cranking, but in the near future i will be getting the hotchkis rear leaves to do it properly.



also, near future plans:

power brakes: already have all the parts, just need to rebuild the, clean them up, and install them.

3 point seat belts

new seats for the front

AC

alignment (tube uppers)

that's the short list right now.



overall goals are a good handling, good looking, great stopping, comfortable, family friendly cruiser.



thanks for looking, and i welcome feedback and suggestions. also, you're welcome to tell me I'm screwing up a perfectly good, fast street car. that's what a couple of my buddies say....





michael

progress update, and i figure ill start a running tally of expenses. that way, i can shake my head in disgust at how much Ive spent. or, go "cool!! i didn't spend as much as i thought i would!"

wheels and tires, total installed. (need new tires): 275
fuel pump, line, gauge, etc.: 134
intake gaskets: 18

total for this round so far: 427


took the car out for its maiden voyage tonight with the bullitts, etc. runs good with the new fuel system. runs really good. was able to get it sideways in second at 35 by just standing on it. that was after the really, really nasty bog though. gotta get the carb tuned in here soon.

there was no rubbing or anything with the new wheel and tire package. the car did not settle as much as i hoped it would, so i am definitely going to work on the stance. also, the new package made the previous ill handling nature even worse. part of that is tire pressure (didn't check until after my test drive. no two tires are the same.), part of that is the bad alignment, part of that is worn out tires. all needs rectified before putting it through its paces to see how the handling is different.

the intake still leaks. badly. so i drained the oil when i got home, pulled the air cleaner, started disconnecting stuff. tomorrow after my little girl and i get home, I'm going to get the cooling system drained and change the gaskets. I'm thinking about removing the carb spacer while its all apart, as the angle of the carb to throttle linkage bracket, and carb to return spring bracket, are severe. i don't know if i would lose torque and drivability, though. easy enough to see, right?

the family's first planned outing with the car is next weekend to the transportation museum in Spencer, NC. were going to take Mary on the old fashioned steam locomotive, and also enjoy the Plymouth clubs car show. I'm hoping to get the thing cleaned up this week, and some more work done. if i don't make it with this car, well just drive the Subaru.

look for pics Sunday. or not. depends if i get anything picture worthy done.

michael

looks like a fun project!

I like the mustang wheels on it, didn't think they would look that good on a classic muscle car but they fit it pretty well.

so, its been a really good day.

this morning, my little girl and i ran some errands and did some yard work. by about 11, i was able to get in the shop. started draining the radiator, disconnecting hoses, electrical, etc. the worst part about the job was the 12 point ARP manifold bolts i used. what was i thinking? had to use all sorts of odd wrenches to get the manifold bolts off and on.



a fresh set of 1213 gaskets, tube of RTV, two rolls of paper towels, and a can of carb cleaner later....







pic of the polished lifter valley, indybrock heads, and solid roller





pic of the gasket matching on the victor jr.





pic of it all back together.





cleaned it all up the best i could, but this POR 15 is really stained. when i painted the block this time, it went badly. last one i did, back in high school, never stained, chipped, discolored, etc. i think that i didint mix it properly this time, or stir it enough, or something.

one of these days i will re-do it. probably go hydraulic roller at the same time.



also, i removed the carb spacer. it actually runs much better without it. crisper throttle response, and more power.



treated it to fresh antifreeze, and 7 quarts of 15-50 synthetic mobil1.





after it was back together, my best friend came over to help and hang out. we decided to do the lowering of the car, see where the stance and wheel/tire fitment was.



to lower the rear, i purchased 1 inch aluminum blocks from autozone. 30 bucks, included u-bolts that i didnt need. we had to drill the register for the leaf spring pin a bit deeper, and file down the top locating pin some. about 1 mins worth of modifying the universal blocks. they went in with my old u-bolts, no problem. also, as a benifit, they made my rear sway bar line up better than ever before. my links are actually perpendicular to the arm now.



we turned the front t-bar adjusters 4 full turns each. this resulted at a 1 inch drop at all 4 corners.



it sits right now. also, the is a VERY small scrub over major dips in the road, but only from the right rear corner. plenty fo ground clearance for steep parking lots and speed bumps.



the lowering also had a benifit that i was not expecting. somehow, by some miracle of geometry that should not have happened, it made the car drive better. there is still no stering wheel return, but the turn in is much crisper, the cornering is much more precise, and the car is more stable and less twitchy at hihway speeds and above.



on our test drive, we pulled into the closed dodge dealer here in town to take a picture. its the best o can do right now.









next purchase will be new tires for these wheels. im looking at the federal 595's. i can get a set for 420 out the door. supposedly a pretty good tire. its actually the spec tire for the legends racers at CMS. my theory is that i dont need a super grippy tire for this car. it just doesnt need it. it needs a quiet, dependable, decent wet weather tire. the federal supposedly will do all that. if anyone has experience with the, please let me know.



thats all for now. grand total at the moment is 457.



michael

the new stance looks great!

^ definitely looks good.  Great looking car man, everywhere is just spotless.

thanks, guys.
im working on getting happy with the driving, then getting the looks where i want it.

well, my daughter brought home a stomach virus that she gave to me, so I've been kind of hit and miss all week.



got my new tires, federal super steel 595. 260 tread wear, ultra-high performance summer. so far, they seem quiet and grippy. ride good (except for the front right wheel, as the rim is somewhat egg shaped). i like the tread pattern and sidewall, and at 408.12, the price was really reasonable.



pics of tires:







my boss threw me out for coming in sick today. she doesn't want her daughter to get it either, and i cant blame her. so I've been piddling in between bouts of nastiness.



cleaned up the interior for the first time in ages. no armor all, as i hate the way it makes everything greasy. just a good old fashioned damp rag.



and washed it. its funny, but i started out to wash this car a couple of months ago, and wound up starting to redo it. finally got it washed. no wax, and ill say why later.















looks pretty good so far. really cleaned up well. (haven't washed it in close to a year and a half. haven't waxed it in two or three....)



i have started on my next two steps of upgrades. brakes, and interior.



on the brakes, I'm going in stages. first is a power brake upgrade. the booster, master, and all the brackets cost me 35. pulled off a 75 valiant 4 door that i could not open any of the doors on due to being fender to fender with other cars at the yard. i ordered new stainless lines from classic tube for 40, and a new check valve for 6 from autozone. so, 81 in the power brake conversion. still have to make sure the booster is good, clean and paint the assembly. I'm thinking black for the booster and brackets, cast iron for the master body, and cast aluminum for the bolt on lid.



stage 2 is going to be 2 piston C5 vette calipers and 13 inch cobra rotors. i see no need to upgrade the rear at this time, as the 11X3 finned drums with semi-metallic shoes do wonderfully.







then comes the interior. looking first at my unfinished trunk. hoping to start sound deadening this weekend, and then starting to develop my closeout panels.









after that ill move into the interior for seats, seat belts, console, etc.





the total for this stage  (not including brakes. ill add that when i get them done)

is:

865.12



I'm looking at some exterior mods now, which is why i didn't wax it. I'm thinking the full 71 340 package. stripes, scoops, rear spoiler, blackout hood, and a chin spoiler. ill have to get a photochop done for that before i decide, though.



michael

so, a little bit has happened since the last update.



ive put about 400 miles on the car.



weve done a family trip



my wife gave her input.





the family trip went great. we went to the NC transportation museum in Spencer, NC. spent the day looking at the exhibits, riding the train, and enjoying our time as a family. as luck would hav it, the plymouth club was having a car show there that weekend, so we put the duster in it. didnt win anything, but that wasnt the point. we had a blast.



we also learned a few things about the car, and traveling as a family in it.



1. mary has no leg room in the back seat. with her car seat, her legs are firm up against the seat back on the pass side.

2. theres a lot of noise from the trunk.

3. the turn signals dont work

4. the heater never gets completely closed off.

5. my wife feels uncomfortable with only a lapbelt, and cant wear the fixed shoulder belt because it hits her in the ear.

6. with a full tank of gas, stroller and assorted stuff, and the family, the right rear tire comes into contct with the fender lip



we also had the shifter come apart. the bolts that hold the stick to the box loosened, and one fell out. when i put it back together at home, i cleaned, adjusted, greased, and locktited everything.





all in all, a great outing. i wouldnt trade it for the world.



so ive started working on that list some. as well as my other priorities.



the first one to start on was the trunk, mostly because it annoyed me and i had most of the stuff to do what i wanted to do.



i pulled everything out, cleaned all the metal, and started to sound deaden it. my wife came down to the shop for something, and made the comment about the battery being in a very inconvienient spot for fitting luggage in the trunk. that was all the encouragement i needed. i had been debating moving it over the axle centerline for a little better weight distribution, but couldnt justify it. well, we all know what comes next. the snowball effect.

thankfully, i have plenty of supplies stashed away. like battery cable, wiring, etc. moving the battery to the center of the package tray area allowed me to upgrade my amp wiring, upgrade my MSD power and ground wiring, and free up a lot of trunk space. unfortunately, it also made my current subwoofer enclosure unusable. so im thinking about that, and have something to try before i make a decision.



to lay down the sound deadening, i had a few sheets of the mcmaster carr adhesice backed elastomeric left over from when i did my mazda. so i used it.



heres what the current product looks like:







used a heat gun and a j-roller to get it to fit well.



i also decided while i was in there to finally get a spare tire and jack for the first time since 1998. while i was at beavers honda salvage up in moorseville picking up an engine, i spotted a jack, wrench, and carrier assembly from an 07 civic coupe. had the right measurements according to the tape measure, so i bought it for 35. fits right in, but my spare doesnt. the 235/60/15 i have doesnt fit the wheelwell, and the 255/40/17 sticks up a rediculous amount. so im going to find a donut spare from a 1998 mustang cobra.



heres what im talking about:







theres only about 6 inches from the top of the assmbly to the trunk lid.





also, ive been working on my power brake cnversion. ive got my stainless lines (40)



and verified that my junkyard booster was good. (35)

im in the process of cleaning up the booster. the master was a 4 wheel drum master, so im going to toss it on the shelf and keep it for if i ever go 4 wheel disc. for the conversion, im going to retain my 1 inch bore manual master. according to my FSM from 1970, manual and power used the same bore master cyl, so i see no reason to change it. an its already paid for!



also, i ordered my new UCA bushings, moog K7103. got them for 52.74 from amazon.com. cheapest o could find them.

after i get the brakes sorted out, ill get those put in.







so budget total is 1027.86



next stop is going to be getting the booster in, and finish my trunk.



michael

last budget total was 1027.86



Ive done a little more work since the last update. some on the list, some not.



on the list, I've continued to work on my trunk. got my bent wheel replaced with one a buddy gave me, and am using the bent as a spare. i really don't like how much room i lose with it.

the mustang spares that i was looking at are going for stupid money. like around 100 bucks in my area. I'm not about to pay that for a donut spare.

i did, however, find that the dodge charger uses a 17X4 spare with the correct bolt pattern. they go for about 35 around here. lot better price. ill find one on a free Saturday morning and see if it will fit.

Ive worked on the audio system some. i tried repositioning the origonal 10 that was in there. i tried two 10's in custom boxes, wired for a 2 ohm stable load. still was not what i was looking for. so i got to thinking about the old JL audio 12 in my truck. it was really too much bass for the little s10, and i had it dialed WAY back for sound quality. so i wired it to my old MOSFET power acoustik amp (may be older than dirt, but its always sounded good, and never let me down) and stuck it in the trunk. had to play with my amp and crossover settings some, but the system is much cleaner and has better sound quality than ever before.



here's what i wound up with. still a work in progress. i thing I'm going to modify my enclosure some so it will clear my battery cables on the passengers side and move it over there. also, I'm starting to mock up for my closeout panels for the trunk.







next, I've got my booster completely redone. came out pretty nice for what i started with. not concourse correct, but neither is the car.

spent 7 on paint and tape, 8 in stainless nylock nuts.









the next project i the tackled was installing the center rear seat belt for Mary's car seat. that was a PITA. i bought a universal lap belt at Pep Boys over in Charlotte for 23. nice webbing and stitching, decent hardware, and i liked the latching operation. i had to enlarge the holes a bunch for using the TTI supplied seat belt anchoring bolts. and their directions for threading the webbing suck. i still have to pull the seat back out, remove the belts, and adjust them a bit before its usable. i run out of adjustment before Mary's seat is fully tight. they blend in though, and i tuck them back into the gap between the seat back and seat bottom when not in use.







while i was installing the belt, i figured i would check out the noisy rear end. i found a couple of things that worry me.

1. a LOT of play in the rear u-joint (think 1/8 inch rotational)

2. debris build up on the fill plug in the hogshead



i haven't drained the hogshead yet, but am planning on doing the drain plug mod found here. http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/drivetrain/mopp_0912_installing_a_drain_plug_in_the_differential_housing/index.html

any opinions on this?



for the u-joint, i originally thought i could get away with just putting a new one in. last time i put joints in this car was the late 90's. 2 motors ago, 2 rears ago, and a lot of abuse ago.

the new ten dollar joint rotated in the yoke. a lot. so i called my drive shaft guy, who told me that its a common problem. he also informed me that i would need to bring the shaft down to have him re-balance it and weld on a new yoke. so 140 later, i have this:





i also spent 7 on new straps, figuring that its cheap insurance as they were done the last time i put a u-joint in the thing.







on the debris end, I'm going to change the fluid and keep an eye on it. hopefully my noise will go away. if it doesn't, I'm researching doing a ford explorer 8.8 with 3.55 trak lok, rear disc, etc. ill go that route before dumping a bunch of money in my 8.75



lastly, i got center caps. a guy at the mopar show on our last family trip said that chain link fence post caps would slide right in and look cool. he was only partly right. i had to cut about 3/8 inch off every one, and put seven wraps of vinyl tape on the flange for a good friction fit. but they do fit, and they do look good. at 1.37 ea, i was willing to try.









so all this work totals up to:

1228.34



man this adds up quick.....



next trip is in a couple of weeks to banner elk, NC, for the woolly worm festival and driving part of the blue ridge parkway during leaf season.

the weekend after that is out 10 year high school reunion. were taking the car. I'm looking forward to showing up to my old high school in the same car that i drove through those years, but it looking a lot better.



anyway, that's it for now. this weekend I'm working on readjusting the seat belt and getting our Subaru running again.



michael

looking good, love the post cap wheel center caps

haha, I would have never thought about using fence post caps for center caps!  brilliant idea!

well, another month and 600 miles (can you tell I'm really starting to enjoy driving this car?)

the weekend before the woolly worm festival, i had to go to Columbia SC and help a friend move. figured it was a nice day, and it would be a good shakedown run. (Columbia is 160 miles each way, all interstate). all things considered, it was a successful trip. the car hadn't left my state in over a decade, or really gone on any trips further than 50 miles each way since the resto. so, to put this into prospective: it was mostly untested, with a lot of used parts and "good enough" stuff.

i had some issues.

on the trip down, the wind whistle from the passengers side window about drove me nuts.
when i finally got there, one of my center caps popped off in the parking lot. just laying there by the car.
i lost left rear brake light, all exterior lighting, and charging system.
on the trip home, the axle got very, very, very noisy.
i figured out my trip odometer in the autometer speedo is not accurate. it changes anytime you turn the car off.

so, i was kinda bummed by all the problems my shakedown run revealed. left it parked for a couple of weeks while i went to the woolly worm festival, worked around the house, and went to my 10 year high school reunion.

When i diagnosed the rear axle noises, it became apparent that the wheel bearings were bad, and that the ring gear is what is making the router noises. i played with the idea of the 8.8 rear axle from the explorer. was actually starting to pull one down at pull-a-part. the truth of the matter is, i just couldn't bring myself to do it. i may have issues with my 8.75, but its the origonal axle housing to the car, and it actually has sentimental value to me.

the wheel bearings were the first thing to fix. i figured since they are the green type, if they fail i may have an axle come out of the car, with tire attached. no bueno.

after looking, and looking, and looking, i found jegs to have the cheapest price at 88.72 shipped. not bad.
spent a half day putting them in, and playing around in the ship.




the axle bearings alone reduced my noise by 60%. now all that's left is the pissed off router that appears any time its under acceleration load. gets really bad at highway speeds. so I'm saving my money to have that rebuilt.

also, i was able to find a spare from a charger. its a 17 inch donut, that clears everything perfectly. paid 28.34 from parker motors in oakboro.



to make my spare tire jack tray fit some better, I've started cutting on it. I'm hoping to get it to be a low enough profile to barely come above the trunk floor.



Ive readjusted the passengers side window, and it has reduced the whistling by 50%. also, i shimmed the weatherstripping using some double sided moulding tape i had left over from my s10. little 1/8 thick tape made an incredible difference.
i couldn't figure out how to take an interesting picture of an adjusted window, so i didn't.

the center cap issue happened because when the tape shrank when it got hot. pulled half of it right off the one side of the cap. to fix this issue, i bonded some small sections of mountain bike inner tube to the cap. took two layers to get a good fit.

I've already shortened Mary's seat belt as well. have i mentioned that the pep-boys belt is a PITA?

the car is now up for the electrical and body work. i have the front bench out, and the dash all torn apart. found a couple of my crimps had come loose on my dash lights, had a bad weatherpack terminal on my turn signal/brake light connector, and a bad headlight switch. still haven't figured out the charging system, ut I'm leaning towards a loose connection in the bulkhead connector.

next up, ill take pictures of this stuff, and finish it up.

current total is.....
1345.40

michael

pictures from this weekend.



Friday, i went over to a friend of mines place. he runs a body shop. I do all his electrical work on the street rods/hot rods, (wired a 50 new yorker convertible, just fixed a lot of hacks on a 57 chevy convertible, waiting on him  to drop off a 69 mach 1) and he sends me business.



well the 57 was warranty work. he had another guy wire it before him and i started working together, and needless to say it was a hack job. really quite scary. so i patched the worst of it, fixed the vintage air, and generally tidied and tightened everything up for him. in return, he helped me out some on the duster and put a back bumper on my Subaru. we both came out of this car happy.



on the duster, Bill cut my rear fender lips to keep them from rubbing, as well as touched up all my nicks and scratches. he also repainted all my under hood bolts from where they chipped when i assembled the car.

he cut a total of 1/2 inch from the fender lips by the way, leaving me about 1/4 between the tire sidewall and the fender. and it doesn't even look like it was cut at all.



pass side:



drivers side





fender bolt touch up:







i also spent most of the day working on the electrical.

pulled the bench, the e-brake lever, fuse panel, column cover, fresh air vent, and amp to get to the connections i need to re-do in the dash. also was able to swap my headlight switch out under warranty at advance. hopefully this week ill get some time to get all that back together, and start on figuring out my intermittent connection problems at the bulkhead.











and i didn't realize how bad my carpets were until now. i may pull them out soon and re-dye them.



budget remains the same.



michael

nice work man!  I wish my inner fenders looked that good.

nice work man!  I wish my inner fenders looked that good.

whats and inner fender? lol

looks good. i wish anythign of mine looked that good lol

so a month has gone by without an update. between the holidays, work, family, etc i haven't had much of a chance to mess with the car. o have gotten a little time here and there to tinker.



found the problem with my power brake conversion: something in the booster had gone bad, causing it to lock up when vacuum was applied. so 97 bones later, i had another one on order from my local advance. (they beat everyone else's price) shot some clear on it to keep that nice bare steel look it had going on.





also, notice the prop rod is finally gone! wound up pre-loading the hood hinge springs 1 full turn to get the right tension for the fiberglass hood.

once the brakes were working properly, i went to fire it up for a test drive. and smelled gas.

turned out that the regulator mount had vibrated one of the screws out that held the regulator on, causing the bracket to crack by the other screw. this allowed the brass fittings to smack against the block, causing them to leak. advance honored the one year warranty on the holley parts, and got me a new regulator, bracket, and screws under warranty. cool. also raided my coffee can of fitting to do away with the crush sleeve brass ones that were on there. i don't like having more rubber on the car, but for right now it works. maybe next fall when i pull the motor for the oil pan gasket and a fresh coat of color ill fix it.



so then i went on a test drive. the throttle hung on me, and i could not get it to idle at any LESS than 4500 RPM. couldn't get it fixed on the side of the road, so i limped it back home. pretty scary ride through the neighborhood....



what happened was that the 4 hole carb gasket used when i put the nitrous plate on was smaller than the throttle plates on the eddy carb. the butterflies went through the holes out, but wouldn't come back in. THAT one took me a while to figure out.



so today i had to run some errands for the wife (and decompress after a rough week at work) and decided to try it again. after adjusting the choke and setting the idle, she ran great. didn't leave my block until i KNEW it wouldn't hang up again. then i ran some errands, and went for some alone time at the top of morrow mountain. while i was up there, i snapped a couple of pictures. dont mind the car, its filthy.













gotta say the car ran and stopped great.



budget total is 1665.06



michael

awesome, I do enjoy getting out and doing some relaxing driving every now and then.

Life around my house can get a little hectic at times, not leaving me much time to play with cars. that, and sometimes id rather hang out with my wife and daughter that go down in my unheated shop.



but i do have an update. sort of.



a few weeks ago, Dustin and I went to the pull-a-part in Winston Salem for some much needed guy road trip time. we also needed a couple of parts for some various DD stuff.



whenever i go to a junkyard, i always eyeball the 2 door cars, looking for leather buckets in good shape that may look right and be comfortable for the duster. I've never found a set that really did it for me. usually i look for stuff in the import and GM sections (were i normally spend most my time at the boneyard, because of my dailys)

this time, i went to the ford section because of Dustin. spent WAY too much time in there stripping an early 80's courier. so i got bored, and started looking at ford seats. lo and behold, a clean black on black 1994 Lincoln mark VII was getting unload off the forklift as i was wondering around. looked in it, and it had a set of mint black leather seats. so i sat in it (and fell asleep). yup, comfortable. yup, power every which way. yup, fold forward. so we decided to pull them. If you do this as well, i will warn you, find a way to power them in the junkyard. it took us almost 4 hours to get them out with what hand tools we had due to the inside rear bolt location. you could only get 1/4 flat at a time.



but, they were only 46.72 for the pair.



these seats were also at the furthest point of pull-a-part from my truck, so i found out just how heavy they are.



tonight, we were rebuilding a carb for the next project (stay tuned, its an AMC), and decided while i had an extra set of hands to uncover the duster and pull the bench. we also threw the Lincoln buckets in, just to make sure i liked the size and shape in the car. remember, these are literally sitting on the floor, not even squared or shimmed. also with all the adjustments set wherever they were when the battery was pulled from the Lincoln. but i already dig them in the car.



heres pics, and will post more when the swap is finished. then, on to seat belts, alignment stuff, and autocrosses this summer.













budget total: 1711.78

seats look nice man, the thats a great price on them.

you gotta get the logos off of them somehow though.