My Duster Adventures
Got home late again tonight but I got the passenger seat track welded up good enough that it’s not gonna move, then I pulled out the seat and stuck it in a corner to finish welding and paint later.
Next, I worked in installing the k-frame. I got it up into place, anti-seized the 4 bolts and cinched them into place!! Milestone completed!!!
(Fun fact: I started this post while waiting for my wife to get out of the shower. When I noticed I didn’t have a pic of the engine installed, I went out and took a pic. So I thought y’all would be happy to know that I took this pic buck *** nude!)
:lol:
But then.... another step back... :(
This k-member is the HDK Slammer version, which raises the engine by 1” in order to gain more ground clearance to run a lower ride height. Well, as can be seen here, with my current transmission mount height, the wiper motor, firewall and distributor are all trying to occupy the same area. :BangHead:
In the first photo, you can see the boot that the wrench is against, is smushed against the wiper bolt and the boot next to it is smushed against the firewall. The one against the firewall (and possibly the one against the wiper motor) can be remedied by raising the transmission mount. What CAN’T be seen in the pics is the fact that the bell housing is dang near against the tunnel, so I’m going to have to cut out and redo the transmission tunnel to give ample room to raise the transmission. This is actually a blessing in disguise, other than the fact that it adds more to my already ever cramping timeline. The reason I say it’s a blessing in disguise is, 1. I never was real happy with how my tunnel turned out last time. And 2. As can be seen in this pic, the shifter tower on my trans is DANG close to the crossmember, by that bottom, left bolt. I can get a piece of card stock between them and that’s it.
I did have a vibration in the trans at cruising rpms and I’m wondering if the trans wasn’t touching the crossmember there and causing that, too.
So I guess tomorrow night, I’ll be breaking out the cutoff wheel, and hacking out the tunnel again! I think I’ll make a tunnel template out of 1/8” steel rods, then maybe take that to a local welding shop and see what they’d charge me to roll a tunnel out for me. If it’s too much, well, I guess I’ll be giving it try number two! :D
Got home late again tonight but I got the passenger seat track welded up good enough that it’s not gonna move, then I pulled out the seat and stuck it in a corner to finish welding and paint later.
Next, I worked in installing the k-frame. I got it up into place, anti-seized the 4 bolts and cinched them into place!! Milestone completed!!!
(Fun fact: I started this post while waiting for my wife to get out of the shower. When I noticed I didn’t have a pic of the engine installed, I went out and took a pic. So I thought y’all would be happy to know that I took this pic buck *** nude!)
:lol:
But then.... another step back... :(
This k-member is the HDK Slammer version, which raises the engine by 1” in order to gain more ground clearance to run a lower ride height. Well, as can be seen here, with my current transmission mount height, the wiper motor, firewall and distributor are all trying to occupy the same area. :BangHead:
In the first photo, you can see the boot that the wrench is against, is smushed against the wiper bolt and the boot next to it is smushed against the firewall. The one against the firewall (and possibly the one against the wiper motor) can be remedied by raising the transmission mount. What CAN’T be seen in the pics is the fact that the bell housing is dang near against the tunnel, so I’m going to have to cut out and redo the transmission tunnel to give ample room to raise the transmission. This is actually a blessing in disguise, other than the fact that it adds more to my already ever cramping timeline. The reason I say it’s a blessing in disguise is, 1. I never was real happy with how my tunnel turned out last time. And 2. As can be seen in this pic, the shifter tower on my trans is DANG close to the crossmember, by that bottom, left bolt. I can get a piece of card stock between them and that’s it.
I did have a vibration in the trans at cruising rpms and I’m wondering if the trans wasn’t touching the crossmember there and causing that, too.
So I guess tomorrow night, I’ll be breaking out the cutoff wheel, and hacking out the tunnel again! I think I’ll make a tunnel template out of 1/8” steel rods, then maybe take that to a local welding shop and see what they’d charge me to roll a tunnel out for me. If it’s too much, well, I guess I’ll be giving it try number two! :D
