AAR Hood - 72 Duster

Hey a local! Battle Ground...? well I'll be. We'll have to tie-up some time, compare notes, share connections.:cheers:

Requests for more pics is quite a compliment in this crowd, I'm flattered. I don't have any good ones, but here's what I have on hand, besides the ones above. These pictures don't show the true color (Viper metalic blue), which is pretty sweet! Mayeb when I get a digital camera things will be easier (this weekend!).

Little history:
I purchased the Duster from a nice guy who'd basically sank a barrel of $$ into it, but was works oil-rigs and is constantly on the road, thus it simply sat, seldom driven. I will spare the details but suffice it to say it had/has a LOT of very nice new internal/external equipment. The engine was a nice 408 Stroker , 10.1 comp, Eagle forged crank, rods..etc, topped with a six-pack set-up. I noticed the air cleaner top was 'wrong' (aftermarket flat warped plastic job'r), but it did provide juuuust enough clearance to close the stock hood (see pic). The lid has since been replaced with the proper one, which was the impetus for the AAR hood ala no clearance at all, ha.. but I digress...

The engine & drive train had only 1600 miles after 2+ years. The puppy pulled really hard during the tests, and the one time it saw the track pull a low 12, but form follows function, and it needed a lot of detail, fine tuning...massaging. Even with the lumpy Comp cam could tell things weren't sounding exactly right in there. Shortly after these pictures were taken (Mar/2010), I decided to pull the engine. It had one of those 8 qt Moroso race pans (ugh!) which it didn't need, and I wanted to strip/clean-up/paint/detail the engine compartment anyway. Start with a clean palette and paint a MUCH prettier picture, ya know? So the hood came off, engine & trani were out, bumper off, both fenders off, grill off, wiring out...etc.. The intake was painted, so I pulled it to strip it and THAT's when I found one of the cam lobes was badly wiped...ie: the lobe was missing approx .270" and the lifter was missing .148"... DOH... So where all that metal go?! Flipped the engine, pulled a main cap....UGH!:sad11:.. anyway. Now months later: New/better cam, cam & main bearings, Eddy heads ported (better), stronger springs, pushrods, Kevco pan...etc..etc.. Anyway... the project is stalling abit, and will in-work for the winter. Once I get it all put back together, broken-in, dynoed.. I'll post proper pics.

Thanks much for the welcome. I'm nearly 52, and quite new to this forum thing, so if I break some rule or bylaw or whatever, please forgive & provide guidance.
Old Country :wave: