70 duster: updating, and a no-dough pro-touring makeover
alright, final update for the week.
the car is back home from my dads shop.
i LOVE the new trans. 70 MPH at 2k is soooooo nice. shifts like butter, no popout anymore, good gear spacing.
was unable to drive it much due to sucking exhaust and fumes through the huge floor hole. i HAVE to fix that before even thinking about driving it. i was physically sick by the time i got home, light headed, and a little confused. pretty sure i would have blacked out before too much longer from sucking too much exhaust. this was with the drivers side window OPEN, by the way. so be careful. i did order TTI header and collector gaskets to replace the crappy, leaking coppers on the car now. im pretty sure the drivers side isnt song anything but adding weight at this point.
the shifter handle is also so long that its all but unusable. since i have it, and i likke the looks, im goping to cut it off, turn it down some, and rethread it. see if i can make a stick i like that fits me. and ill show you how i do it, when i do it.
clutch is bedding in nicely alrerady, and i got it adjusted today. set the base timing again, but forgot to tighten the distributor clamp, so it changed on the way home.
no oil pan drips. for teh first time since i built the car. sooooooooo nice.
the car has developed a slight miss. i think i cracked an insulator on a plug doing all that work. its my only guess. but again, safety is primary to me, so it will wait until theres a floor again. also need to tune the carb a bunch, as it was really unhappy at 2k in 5th gear.
all in all, im very, very pleased with the steps forward and backwards this swap has made to the car. will be even happier when it has a floor, and is not soo loud duer to exhaust leaks and engine noise.
my next project is actually due to this:
its my great grandfathers 1939 craftsaman wood lathe. i have a kink for old tools, and like to restore and use them. my granfather rebuilt this lathe, my father built the stand, and i built the riser blocks and installed the jackshaft assembly. i enhoy turining canes and bowls to give away. its stress relieving. but since i left my job at voc rehab, i have not turned. when my father gave this to me, i had no room. so now im making it. and getting my shop better organized in the process. to that end, im adding more light, building a BUNCH more storage and workspace, and discarding useless crap that i have laying around. also trying to make the shop more workflow friendly. working at my dads really reminded me how nice it is to have space, a clean workbench, and organization to the point where ypou can actually find what you need. i know his shop is 7x bigger than mine, but the same principles apply here.
first thing to be done is to add a large wall cabinet in the corner behind the garage door track, to get things off the floor, and make two floor standing shelves go away. then i can put my bandsaw and fridge away, and get my nut and bolt racks hung and filled. also getting rid of the gray shelves for a workbench with drawers, and a wall cabinet that uses every availible inch of space.
som heres shop pics of what ill be doing in a mad thrash to get ready for boills firebird
and if anyone wants to kow more about the shop rebuild, ill throw it in this thread, since it IS relevant to the car. the car will be parked beside/under the stuff im building for the shop.
michael
alright, final update for the week.
the car is back home from my dads shop.
i LOVE the new trans. 70 MPH at 2k is soooooo nice. shifts like butter, no popout anymore, good gear spacing.
was unable to drive it much due to sucking exhaust and fumes through the huge floor hole. i HAVE to fix that before even thinking about driving it. i was physically sick by the time i got home, light headed, and a little confused. pretty sure i would have blacked out before too much longer from sucking too much exhaust. this was with the drivers side window OPEN, by the way. so be careful. i did order TTI header and collector gaskets to replace the crappy, leaking coppers on the car now. im pretty sure the drivers side isnt song anything but adding weight at this point.
the shifter handle is also so long that its all but unusable. since i have it, and i likke the looks, im goping to cut it off, turn it down some, and rethread it. see if i can make a stick i like that fits me. and ill show you how i do it, when i do it.
clutch is bedding in nicely alrerady, and i got it adjusted today. set the base timing again, but forgot to tighten the distributor clamp, so it changed on the way home.
no oil pan drips. for teh first time since i built the car. sooooooooo nice.
the car has developed a slight miss. i think i cracked an insulator on a plug doing all that work. its my only guess. but again, safety is primary to me, so it will wait until theres a floor again. also need to tune the carb a bunch, as it was really unhappy at 2k in 5th gear.
all in all, im very, very pleased with the steps forward and backwards this swap has made to the car. will be even happier when it has a floor, and is not soo loud duer to exhaust leaks and engine noise.
my next project is actually due to this:
its my great grandfathers 1939 craftsaman wood lathe. i have a kink for old tools, and like to restore and use them. my granfather rebuilt this lathe, my father built the stand, and i built the riser blocks and installed the jackshaft assembly. i enhoy turining canes and bowls to give away. its stress relieving. but since i left my job at voc rehab, i have not turned. when my father gave this to me, i had no room. so now im making it. and getting my shop better organized in the process. to that end, im adding more light, building a BUNCH more storage and workspace, and discarding useless crap that i have laying around. also trying to make the shop more workflow friendly. working at my dads really reminded me how nice it is to have space, a clean workbench, and organization to the point where ypou can actually find what you need. i know his shop is 7x bigger than mine, but the same principles apply here.
first thing to be done is to add a large wall cabinet in the corner behind the garage door track, to get things off the floor, and make two floor standing shelves go away. then i can put my bandsaw and fridge away, and get my nut and bolt racks hung and filled. also getting rid of the gray shelves for a workbench with drawers, and a wall cabinet that uses every availible inch of space.
som heres shop pics of what ill be doing in a mad thrash to get ready for boills firebird
and if anyone wants to kow more about the shop rebuild, ill throw it in this thread, since it IS relevant to the car. the car will be parked beside/under the stuff im building for the shop.
michael
