12:05 Garage- ’70 Duster build

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I'm officially registered for the Holley Moparty Grand Champion event. For this event, I will auto cross, speed stop, and drag race. They have some type of point system for each event for scoring. I've never been on an autocross course, so it should be interesting. I found the results from last year and they had 30 attempts at the course. If I can't figure it out with that many tries, I might as well stop driving...
If anyone is going, stop by and say and hi and check out my junk in person...
 
I'm officially registered for the Holley Moparty Grand Champion event. For this event, I will auto cross, speed stop, and drag race. They have some type of point system for each event for scoring. I've never been on an autocross course, so it should be interesting. I found the results from last year and they had 30 attempts at the course. If I can't figure it out with that many tries, I might as well stop driving...
If anyone is going, stop by and say and hi and check out my junk in person...

Love to make it someday, but not this year.

Take lots of pictures!
 
In preparation for Holley Moparty, I decided to have the alignment checked/adjusted to a more aggressive setting. It was originally set to -1 degee of camber, and 5 degrees of caster. I did notice one of the tires wearing on the outside which was strange and what made me want to get it checked. Turns out one of my strut rods had come slightly loose. It's so frustrating to have stuff like that happen. I nut and bolt check many things on this car regularly since I beat on it often. I totally missed checking the strut rods. Oh well, add it to the list of things to check occasionally. Now I have -1.5 camber, and 6 caster. It's so much better! Yesterday I took a 90 degree turn at 40mph and the car just stays flat.
Oh, and the starter decided to take a **** while I was at the alignment shop too. I managed to get it cranked to make it home. I got it changed out at home without much issue. I did have to drop the drag link off the pitman arm to get the started past the TTI headers. I'm glad it failed when it did and not in the paddock at the track!
 
Here's some pictures from Moparty. Some of them were taken from facebook. I don't know who took them, otherwise I'd give them credit. I'll write up a summary of the weekend soon.
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Here's some pictures from Moparty. Some of them were taken from facebook. I don't know who took them, otherwise I'd give them credit. I'll write up a summary of the weekend soon.View attachment 1715794750 View attachment 1715794751 View attachment 1715794752 View attachment 1715794753 View attachment 1715794754 View attachment 1715794755 View attachment 1715794756 View attachment 1715794757 View attachment 1715794758 View attachment 1715794759

Sharp!! Man I like your car.
 
Moparty summary:

I'll start by saying the organizers of this event had very poor communication and information for participants prior to the event. It took about 3 weeks for me to get some questions answered regarding the schedule of events. I didn't know if I needed to be there Thursday or Friday since they didn't have a schedule posted anywhere. I needed to book a hotel room, so knowing when I needed to be there was slightly critical. I finally got some very vague info on start dates, but then as the even got closer, they had only posted the drag race schedule and nothing else. The week of the event, it was finally posted. Lastly, when I get there and I'm signing in, they give me an extra wrist band for my "crew". My friend that went with me bought a spectator entry. Again, poor communication. Had I known he would get entry with my entry fee, he could have save some money.

On Friday we had two auto cross sessions and a drag race session. Since this was my first time on an auto cross, it took a few laps for me to get comfortable with the car and the course. I had a blast out there. The asphalt course was terrible for traction, especially off the start. I ended up posting my best time of the weekend on the second session on the first day. At this point, everything with the car seemed good. After my first pass down the drag strip, it kicked the alternator/AC belt off. Fortunately, they were still hanging on the engine so a quick run to the trailer for tools and I was able to make another pass. This certainly wasn't my first time down a drag strip, but it was my first trip with this car set up with handling suspension and a 5 speed. Traction was an issue. I would just roll out and floor it. I would spin through just about all of first gear. I ended up running a 12.8 at 111. This car used to run 11.7 at that same speed years ago with a drag race type suspension and slicks.
It rained Friday night so everything was soaking wet Saturday morning. I also had a fairly large oil leak when I started the car. I found that the drag race not only kicked the belts off, but it also loosened the oil filter somehow. Thankfully it was an easy fix. I had also bought some new belts Friday night so I would have some spares if they decided to jump off again. Auto cross in the wet was fun, but I'd would have preferred the dry pavement. It ended up drying up a decent amount but not enough for me to push to get a better time than the previous day. I made two drag passes that afternoon that were exactly the same time, 12.8. Go figure, a car with handling suspension and a manual trans consistent enough to bracket race!
Sunday morning was damp again. They reset the cones for the speed stop challenge. This was a blast. Standing start, right turn (or left depending on the side you're on) and stop in a box without touching a cone. My recent brake upgrade proved to work very well and were very predictable. It was starting to drizzle so we loaded up early to get on the road. I didn't want to be soaking *** wet at a start of a 9 hour drive. It was a good decision because it started storming shortly after we pulled out of the track.
All in all, I had a great time and I'll be back next year. There's so much more to my experience, but I'm not writing all of it here. I'm hoping whoever organizes communications gets better going forward. They are hoping to grow it into the biggest mopar event in the states.
 
Moparty summary:

I'll start by saying the organizers of this event had very poor communication and information for participants prior to the event. It took about 3 weeks for me to get some questions answered regarding the schedule of events. I didn't know if I needed to be there Thursday or Friday since they didn't have a schedule posted anywhere. I needed to book a hotel room, so knowing when I needed to be there was slightly critical. I finally got some very vague info on start dates, but then as the even got closer, they had only posted the drag race schedule and nothing else. The week of the event, it was finally posted. Lastly, when I get there and I'm signing in, they give me an extra wrist band for my "crew". My friend that went with me bought a spectator entry. Again, poor communication. Had I known he would get entry with my entry fee, he could have save some money.

On Friday we had two auto cross sessions and a drag race session. Since this was my first time on an auto cross, it took a few laps for me to get comfortable with the car and the course. I had a blast out there. The asphalt course was terrible for traction, especially off the start. I ended up posting my best time of the weekend on the second session on the first day. At this point, everything with the car seemed good. After my first pass down the drag strip, it kicked the alternator/AC belt off. Fortunately, they were still hanging on the engine so a quick run to the trailer for tools and I was able to make another pass. This certainly wasn't my first time down a drag strip, but it was my first trip with this car set up with handling suspension and a 5 speed. Traction was an issue. I would just roll out and floor it. I would spin through just about all of first gear. I ended up running a 12.8 at 111. This car used to run 11.7 at that same speed years ago with a drag race type suspension and slicks.
It rained Friday night so everything was soaking wet Saturday morning. I also had a fairly large oil leak when I started the car. I found that the drag race not only kicked the belts off, but it also loosened the oil filter somehow. Thankfully it was an easy fix. I had also bought some new belts Friday night so I would have some spares if they decided to jump off again. Auto cross in the wet was fun, but I'd would have preferred the dry pavement. It ended up drying up a decent amount but not enough for me to push to get a better time than the previous day. I made two drag passes that afternoon that were exactly the same time, 12.8. Go figure, a car with handling suspension and a manual trans consistent enough to bracket race!
Sunday morning was damp again. They reset the cones for the speed stop challenge. This was a blast. Standing start, right turn (or left depending on the side you're on) and stop in a box without touching a cone. My recent brake upgrade proved to work very well and were very predictable. It was starting to drizzle so we loaded up early to get on the road. I didn't want to be soaking *** wet at a start of a 9 hour drive. It was a good decision because it started storming shortly after we pulled out of the track.
All in all, I had a great time and I'll be back next year. There's so much more to my experience, but I'm not writing all of it here. I'm hoping whoever organizes communications gets better going forward. They are hoping to grow it into the biggest mopar event in the states.

No pictures? :poke:

Nice review, sounds like fun.
 
No pictures? :poke:

Nice review, sounds like fun.
The best pics are above, because I didn’t take them! Ha! I posted some videos on my Instagram. Here’s a couple screen shots from a speed stop video. The RR has a big block (I think a big inch low deck block) and the super bee has a Gen 3 hemi. They were both really nice cars.
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Looking good!

what you got dangling? Electrical connector?

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Car is looking awesome and looks like fun out there.

I did an Optima challenge event a while back and the speed stop was a blast. Wish I was closer to these events, I've been itching to get back out there.
 
Car is looking awesome and looks like fun out there.

I did an Optima challenge event a while back and the speed stop was a blast. Wish I was closer to these events, I've been itching to get back out there.


There is an optima event very close to me. I'd love to do it, but I'm not sure I want to put this car on the road course without any real safety equipment. I've driven a stock Miata around that track, which was a blast, but it didn't have enough power to get me in trouble. I'm not sure I would be able to contain myself from getting stupid....lol. I'd also need to change the rear gear for a road course, not a big deal, it's more about the safety aspect for me.
 
Drove the car out to the somewhat local auto cross event. What was supposed to be a 40 mile drive there ended up being 75 miles because a bridge over the I had planned to cross the Mississippi river was closed. So, a 35 mile detour and I got to the track. We got 3 runs in the morning and 3 runs after lunch. Thankfully, they didn't have it set up as a super technical course, rather a fast course with a really long slalom and some nice sweeping turns with a couple challenging sharp turns. I'm still trying to figure out what tire pressure to run for best grip. I feel like I had it too low as it was understeering a bit in the 90 degree turns. I got second in the CAM T class because there were only two of us...lol. They other car was an 86 fox body Mustang, all out auto x car. He had full cage, racing seats, huge tires all around, and clearly an alignment that would wear tires on the street in 100 miles. It was also trailered there. Remind me how an 86 model car fits into the "classic american muscle - traditional class?? It doesn't matter to me if he beat me. I'm doing it for fun and enjoying the car I built to enjoy on the street and take to the track. I've already done the opposite with this car - make fast on the track and suck on the street....
So, rountrip was 115 miles with 6 autox laps and I didn't even open the toolbox! I also averaged about 14mpg including the time on the track. I'll take it!

FYI. The bridge in the photo below is 24 miles over water and no shoulder. You have to trust your **** to get on that thing!

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Remind me how an 86 model car fits into the "classic american muscle - traditional class??
It may be 16 years newer than your 1970, but it's still a 36 year old car. My grandmother became a grandmother at that age.
 
It may be 16 years newer than your 1970, but it's still a 36 year old car. My grandmother became a grandmother at that age.


LOL. I get it, but I just wonder if they are going to keep increasing the year model of the car every year. You prompted me to look up the rules. CAMT goes all the way to the year 2000. I just don't see a level playing field when you compare a 60s-70s era car to something in the built in the more modern era. However, if I really cared enough to spend the money on an old car that would be competitive against these "modern classics", I would build a purpose built CAMT car. The rules are very lenient. They can pretty much run a tube chassis car as long as the factory dimensions are present.
 
There was an A-Body Barracuda or something that was pretty competitive in CAM-T while ago and he was down on power and was running a stock type suspension with wide wheels and flared panels. TomsCuda or something? He didn't have to swap out his whole suspension to aftermarket stuff, but I bet that foxbody did. :)

Either way, I think you have the right spirit - make it work on the street and accept it as it is on the track.
 
Found it - [WANTED] - Clean A body wanted

It was a purple '67 Valiant, not a Barracuda. Way off. User name was @tomswheels. Missed both by a mile.

Based on his screenshots in the PT for sales thread, guessing the year range of CAM-T was much narrower 6 years ago.

I think not only was the year range smaller, the amount of participants was much smaller. Just like any form of motorsports, the people who strive to dominate will build a car to take advantage of the rules or lack there of rules. Take a look at all the competitive cars in the Optima series. They are insane, especially Mike Dusold's Camaro. It's an amazing car!

I'm going to continue on enjoying the heck out of the car. Now I'll wear out front tires prematurely just like rear tires...
 
I think not only was the year range smaller, the amount of participants was much smaller. Just like any form of motorsports, the people who strive to dominate will build a car to take advantage of the rules or lack there of rules. Take a look at all the competitive cars in the Optima series. They are insane, especially Mike Dusold's Camaro. It's an amazing car!

True. I've watched the Optima stuff and been amazed at the level of tech in the cars, but figured it was getting out of hand and almost turning into "racecars with tail lights". Certainly way above anything I would ever remotely dream of competing with. Not familiar with Mike Dusold's car, have to look it up. Probably a car I've seen but am not connecting it with the name.

I'm going to continue on enjoying the heck out of the car. Now I'll wear out front tires prematurely just like rear tires...

I like it!!!

I'm prematurely wearing about both sets myself, but only because my toe keeps changing for some unknown reason. Probably the fault of the guy running the tape measure and the wrenches (me).
 
The biggest problem I've had with autocross is wheel spin, particularly from the standing start. This was also a big problem at the speed stop and drag race at Moparty. I've decided to let the technology I have already installed in the car take over a little. I'm adding a front and rear wheel speed sensor for traction control. The Megasquirt already has the capability, it just needs the inputs. Basically all it does is retard timing when the wheel speeds deviate from one another. (I could also add fuel) The amount of timing (or fuel) and amount of deviation is 100% customizable. Once the wheels speed gets back within the max allowable slip, the time reverts back to the timing table. I'll will be putting a switch to turn it on or off. I don't want to make it too boring.
My plan is to have it off, data log a run from 0-80ish, the repeat with it on. I'll be able to see the amount of time it takes to get to that speed in the logs. I should be able to dial in the settings using this method. I'll also be able to prove, "spinnin ain't winnin"!

Below is the beginning stages of my bracket for the front wheel speed. This is a $40 hall effect sensor from DIY Autotune. I have it reading the back side of the lug studs. I'll do the same thing on the back. The late TKO500s have an extra hole for a speed sensor besides the speedometer hole. Unfortunately, I have an early one without this provision. There are hall effect sensors that take the place of the speedo, but I want a speedometer! If I was going with a digital dash, it would be a no brainer to use it, but that's not the case here.
So for $80, some scrap metal, and a little bit of time, I'll have traction control. Should be fun...

Having traction control is a building block of what I'd like to do within the coming year. I'm hoping for some fun upgrades before the next Moparty. I may not be the fastest driver around a course, but more horsepower should make me faster, right?

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