70 duster: updating, and a no-dough pro-touring makeover
somehow my update and the replies were lost before i was able to see them.....
so im reposting
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/...n_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
somehow my update and the replies were lost before i was able to see them.....
so im reposting
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/...n_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
