72 duster resto

72smallairparticler said
Im in the bay area CA so prices are always high here. Cam looks great, cam bearings look like they need replacing though. The heads are in decent shape, could use some porting and valve work but theyll run as is.

On the crank im trying the shoestring sandpaper wd40 trick to see how they turn out. Hard to tell if the gouges are too deep.

do you know the way to san jose

might be worth a little day trip. but no shame it trying some backyard voodoo and seeing what transpires.

Its a coin toss since the cost of a full set of bearings, rings, gaskets etc could be totally wasted if I try to go cheap and it doesnt work out well... Plus sunk costs on time.

But honestly, I might be overthinking idealizing what the build needs to be. Easy to spiral seeking perfection.

true, true. it's hard to make a move when being wrong costs you that few hundo out of pocket and a big old chunk of time. aim for something that's just a good runner, if you invest the $$'s in the bottom end, and it's built well that's something that you can always improve upon down the line when you have more cash to play with. it doesn't need to be johnny kick *** right out of the gate. a mild street motor is more than enough and you'll likely be pleasantly surprised.

Probably safer and cheaper to build with a magnum block if I can find a decent one but I haven't given up on this LA yet

you're kind of in a tough spot. the good money says for the same effort you can get to the same place cheaper. but i'd see what a machine shop has to say-- maybe everything cleans up with minimal work and you're out the door under a grand. which wouldn't be bad all things considered.

Real question, if I did the local machine shop bore, is my hand held hone tool sub par for honing?

Running that scenario…
$400 bore
Say $200 for crank love
~$250 for overbore 030 pistons
Gaskets, rings, bearings $256 FM kit
Cam bearings $56
HV Oil pump $110
$1275ish for peace of mind
Or just $400 and send it with standard bore as is

man, that's a tough call. personally i say have the shop do the finish hone. each place is different with how much they take off and what they finish to. i think a hand held is fine for some backyard antics on a low risk build like where you're at now. but if you drop the coin for the bore, the risk in screwing up that isn't worth it to me.

i'd say, see how the billy back yard work turns out with the crank and the hone job. and if you think it's satisfactory, then get the bits and knock it together. but if it's looking ugly, then collect yourself and the stuff and see what you can suss out machine work wise in a affordable fashion. you don't need a race engine builder or some bespoke machine shop. just find some production joint that can get the stuff done in a reasonable manner.