1972 Duster Build with my Daughter

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Oil change and an underbody wash for a 5am breakfast!

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Jim, not sure if you missed my post on 21 May: with the engine running at 1500RPM, does the sight glass clear up? Or at least show minimal bubbles?
 
Jim, not sure if you missed my post on 21 May: with the engine running at 1500RPM, does the sight glass clear up? Or at least show minimal bubbles?

sorry. The dryer I bought did not have a sight glass.
 
@MaxPF so hot day and went for a drive. The clutch started slipping at stop... got home and looked at the pressures... they were high so I removed some R134A and now have about the 80% of the R12 value. Also the drop across the switches seems to also be part of the problem. I jumped straight to the battery and it engaged hard. Wired in a relay as a test and so far with the right level of freon and a full battery voltage on the coil it seems like it is working great. If this solves it I will wire in the relay a bit more stealthy and much more professionally.
 
sorry. The dryer I bought did not have a sight glass.

Hmm, curious. I'm guessing it isn't an NOS unit? Just out of curiosity, are the drier fittings o-ring or flare?

@MaxPF so hot day and went for a drive. The clutch started slipping at stop... got home and looked at the pressures... they were high so I removed some R134A and now have about the 80% of the R12 value.

What were the pressures before and after you removed refrigerant?

Also the drop across the switches seems to also be part of the problem. I jumped straight to the battery and it engaged hard. Wired in a relay as a test and so far with the right level of freon and a full battery voltage on the coil it seems like it is working great. If this solves it I will wire in the relay a bit more stealthy and much more professionally.

Good to hear! Yeah, voltage drops caused by multiple switches and small wiring are a common cause of clutch slippage. Again, make sure you are using 14ga. wire for all the power runs between the battery, relay, and coil. Make sure you're using a high quality 30A or 40A relay, preferably in a sealed socket. Don't forget a solid ground as well. And make sure there is a flyback diode reverse-biased across the coil. Also, don't forget to fuse the power lead at the battery. You don't want a short causing an under-hood fire!

Here's a complete 40A relay and sealed socket kit: Home » Shop » Relays / Fuses » Tyco MCP 6.3 (630) High Current Sealed Relay Kit SPDT 40 AMP

This is a new kit. It is actually cheaper than the Delphi (now Aptiv) 30A relay kit. The kit comes with a high quality relay, not cheap junk. Ive used it to run electric fans and blower motors, and havent had one die yet. Again, make sure you have a 3A flyback diode installed across the coil terminals, reverse-biased, to protect the relay contacts from arcing caused by the energy stored in the coil's magnetic field.

A nice sealed fuse holder for ATO (blade type) fuses: Home » Shop » Relays / Fuses » GM / Delphi - Sealed Fuse ATO Holder Kit - ( 18 - 14 gauge )

Mount the fuse holder as closely as possible to the battery terminal, with as short of a wire as possible on the battery side of the fuse holder. A 20A fuse should be sufficient for the clutch coil circuit.

FWIW, I've bought connectors from Ballenger many times with no issues. They're not the cheapest place, but they're not out of line either, and the convenience of their kits makes it worth the few extra bucks if you're buying one-sees or two-sees.
 
Hmm, curious. I'm guessing it isn't an NOS unit? Just out of curiosity, are the drier fittings o-ring or flare?



What were the pressures before and after you removed refrigerant?



Good to hear! Yeah, voltage drops caused by multiple switches and small wiring are a common cause of clutch slippage. Again, make sure you are using 14ga. wire for all the power runs between the battery, relay, and coil. Make sure you're using a high quality 30A or 40A relay, preferably in a sealed socket. Don't forget a solid ground as well. And make sure there is a flyback diode reverse-biased across the coil. Also, don't forget to fuse the power lead at the battery. You don't want a short causing an under-hood fire!

Here's a complete 40A relay and sealed socket kit: Home » Shop » Relays / Fuses » Tyco MCP 6.3 (630) High Current Sealed Relay Kit SPDT 40 AMP

This is a new kit. It is actually cheaper than the Delphi (now Aptiv) 30A relay kit. The kit comes with a high quality relay, not cheap junk. Ive used it to run electric fans and blower motors, and havent had one die yet. Again, make sure you have a 3A flyback diode installed across the coil terminals, reverse-biased, to protect the relay contacts from arcing caused by the energy stored in the coil's magnetic field.

A nice sealed fuse holder for ATO (blade type) fuses: Home » Shop » Relays / Fuses » GM / Delphi - Sealed Fuse ATO Holder Kit - ( 18 - 14 gauge )

Mount the fuse holder as closely as possible to the battery terminal, with as short of a wire as possible on the battery side of the fuse holder. A 20A fuse should be sufficient for the clutch coil circuit.

FWIW, I've bought connectors from Ballenger many times with no issues. They're not the cheapest place, but they're not out of line either, and the convenience of their kits makes it worth the few extra bucks if you're buying one-sees or two-sees.

It is not factory... I was replacing parts so much I started using cheap auto parts store ones. Once I get this this truly workings I need to move the drier to the correct '72 position and get a few lines made. When I do that I will find a real mopar one and have it restored. They are o-ring style dryers. This was after a 75 mile drive in 90 degree temps then heat soaking in the driveway for about 10 minutes. Low side was around 50 high was around 260, at idle. Reved it would drop down to around 35. The clutch would slip trying to get it started after a few seconds of off at idle (first clue it was likely voltage drop). I set it so it was about 32 low and 225 high at idle and let the low drop to the low 20s when reved up. Once I got there the refrigerant was about where it really should have been and the clutch would engage but you would tell it was on the edge of not wanted to quite grab hard. A jumper wire from the battery to the clutch made it clearly "snap in hard". Thanks for the links. I put a cheap auto parts relay (bought 2 for the trip this weekend just in case) and yes I need to replace it with quality parts if this ends of solving the problems.

Thanks,
Jim
 
We embark on a 500 mile round trip to a weekend and a show in the mountains in the morning. Coronet, Duster, Dart, 66 Hemi Satellite and a CRV heading out at 5:30 am! Wish us good fortune!
 
We embark on a 500 mile round trip to a weekend and a show in the mountains in the morning. Coronet, Duster, Dart, 66 Hemi Satellite and a CRV heading out at 5:30 am! Wish us good fortune!
Rookie, I'm 1200 miles out right now. :D


Alan
 
Gallon of Aircraft Stripper and a few hours with a the daughter and wire brushes we are getting closer to having the front clip completely stripped. This effort opens the door to weld in the left inner fender now (just setting in there right now)...

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Jim question after a good cleaning do you think the stripper would work on undercarriage? I was also told Off heavy duty oven. What I will be working with attached.

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I agree. ^^ Good brand of OvenOff does good job for grease and grime. Like said, needle scaler works well for undercoat and is cheap enough. A lot can be done at the car wash with the wand, with car sitting on the trailer.
 
I need to spend the next 2 weeks getting the other cars ready for the Tucson Classic... they are registered and it is one of the biggest shows of the year in Southern Az....
 
I agree. ^^ Good brand of OvenOff does good job for grease and grime. Like said, needle scaler works well for undercoat and is cheap enough. A lot can be done at the car wash with the wand, with car sitting on the trailer.
Yeah I saw a needle scaler I don't need the most expensive stuff just tools that work. I thought harbor freight had it. I also gotta get the punch/flange tool and a small mig. I have 220 ran and was looking at 120volt titanium mig with or without gas. Won't be doing very many panels. All the documentation helps out I did this a long time ago same tools except the mig. We used a body panel spot welder with flange and alot of mud. Thinking no flange and seam is going to look alot better and less mud
 
Lot of cleaning three cars. Will number four be it?

I was just bitching about the same thing! I cleaned up the garage so we could have a "cleaning stall" and the Valiant out of the way. We just washed the Duster and got the cover on it finally. Something has to give past 4!
 
Jim, I was in Arizona for 2 months, was going to get ahold of you and see your work and bs some. Dammit! Forgot, was way too busy riding cycle in the nice weather!!
 
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