Finally getting to it!!! 1970 Duster 340

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I doubt it John. I think that my car came back from the blaster in April of 2013. Keith has been working on my car for a looooong time.
 
FJRdoc said:
Hi Paul
Thanks for the compliments. I'm very happy with how my car is coming along. Keith did tell me that he used Seiferts in Elizabethtown for media blasting. I hope that Keith gets moving along on the back half of the Duster. I really don't have much more to do until the body is complete.
How's the Road Runner coming along?
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I got the Roadrunner back in early Nov. I have installed the vinyl top, headliner, side glass, fuel & break line. Hope to have done buy spring. Drive line is done.

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Looking good Paul. I'm really getting anxious to get color on the body and start the assembly process. Keep me posted on your progress.
 
It was a good day in my man cave today.....a little cold but still good. I purchased a Harbor Freight electric impact wrench yesterday with the intent of using it for replacing my differential pinion seal. It was on sale for $49.99 and ended up getting it for $39.99 with a 20% off coupon. Since I don't have a compressor, it seemed the best way to go. This model had very good reviews so I thought I would give it a try.
I did my homework ahead of time. Marked the pinion nut and shaft to help get pre-load back to where it was before disassembly. I also decided ahead of time to install a Speedi-sleeve on the pinion yoke just in case there was grooving on the shaft.
The HF impact wrench worked great for this job. No problems with teardown or assembly. It will be a handy tool to have around.
The shaft had minor grooving. I'm glad that I had the Speepi-sleeve ahead of time to get the job done.

Tomorrow, I will be tearing down my original Moog idler arm and installing a Firm Feel rebuild kit.

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Finished rebuilding my Moog idler arm with Firm Feels roller bearing rebuild kit. It was a pretty easy process. I did need to grind a little bit of metal out of the lower opening in order to allow the new inner sleeve to pass through without binding. Once the idler was bolted onto the K-member, there is no slop either up or down or side to side. I don't know how much seat-of-the -pants improvement it will make with handling but I'm hoping that all the upgrades combined will help to make a huge difference.

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Quarters and trunk floor will be AMD. I have a NOS tail panel and trunk drop offs.
 
It's been tough working on car things in my unheated garage. A friend helped me drop on my intake manifold because there was a small coolant leak from the right front corner during the dyno test. I placed a little Hylomar around the coolant passages and used a new set of Superperformance side intake gaskets to help prevent leaking again. I hope to get my valve covers back in place this weekend. I wish the temps were warmer. I'm anxious to get some orange paint back on the block so that I can finish assembling the engine.
 
Did a couple quick projects on the Duster this weekend. Got the valve covers back on after fixing the intake manifold coolant leak. Just waiting for warmer weather to get the engine fully cleaned and prepped for painting.
I also installed new front leaf spring hangers yesterday. My originals were pretty pitted and rough looking. I found a pair of original style hangers from Mega parts.
 
Engine sounds good and will perform well in the car. Nice job.
 
Thanks crackedback. I am very happy witrh the engine performance considering I stuck with stock carb, intake manifold, heads and exhaust manifold. I'm happy with the numbers and I'm looking forward to driving her once she's finished.
 
I worked on installing a drain plug on my 8 3/4 today. Drilled the hole, tapped it and inserted the drain plug. Filled the differential with gear oil and limited slip lube. Everything went as planned.

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Finished painting and installing my Firm Feel Stage 3 steering box and a sector support bearing on my K-frame today. I painted the steering box with Eastwood 2K aerosol paint.It was easy to apply and looks good. I thoroughly degreased the box and applied an etching solution. Time will tell how durable the finish is.
I know that the sector support isn't a stock item but I thought that I would go ahead with the upgrade anyway. It was an easy install and I figured it can only help with handling.

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That's looking good Kevin. How's the body coming along?
My Demon should be in paint by the end of the month or sooner.
 
The body is coming along slowly John. The left door pillar is removed and the body man is fixing some rust on the inner rear rocker.
 
Did some odds and ends on the steering assembly this weekend. I couldn't stand the blue color of the sector support bearing from Firm Feel (must be my OCD kicking in) so I decided to paint it black like the rest of the power steering components.
I also ordered a poly idler arm boot from Springs and Things before I tightened up the center link, Pitman arm and idler arm.
I picked up some 15x7 inch SBP Rallye wheels from Bill Cooper (aka The Wheeler Dealer) in Holtwood, PA. I got them back from the powder coater the other week. Scuffed up the back surfaces and painted them semi-gloss black. I have repro brushed trim rings coming from Vans to complete the project. I understand that the lip profile isn't 100% correct, but I refuse to pay an obscene amount of money for used original trim rings.

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