How streetable is this 1970 Duster?

-
Looks like to short a tire with that gear. Needs a 275-60-15 28" tall looks to have something like 26 maybe 27 tall. Car sits way to high. Might have air shocks poor choice and may have torn shock mounts.
The rest was covered above. The 508 cam s close to 250 @50 and needs 373-391
Like states above poor choice for 318. Hiw was compression calculated? Some guys wild guess that sounds good? Paper work on engine work done?
Not being a Debbie Downers here. Could be a stock 318, with 340-360 heads, large cam, lots of gear
 
Last edited:
Icetech said:
BTW... since you don't know mopar... the main thing to check on that will be the transmission crossmember.. you will see 2 bars going from it to the front suspension.. on salt belt/northern cars the crossmember likes to rust out there and will be a major problem.. all fixable but just the 1 thing you really wanna look at...

Also.. if you ever take it apart do not paint the engine bay black.... always body color. And a clean/pretty engine bay matters more than the outside of the car :)
Click to expand...
For the torsion bars? This is the photo I have of that.

3237084D-7F13-4D4F-9F86-5AF06C4B2994.jpeg
 
340six said:
Looks like to short a tire with that gear. Needs a 275-60-15 28" tall looks to have something like 26 maybe 27 tall. Car sits way to high. Might have air shocks poor choice and may have torn shock mounts.
The rest was covered above. The 508 cm.is close to 250 @50 and needs 373-391
Like states above poor choice for 318. Hiw was compression calculated? Some guys wild guess that sounds good? Paper work on engine work done?
Not being a Debbie Downers here. Could be a stock 318, with 340-360 heads, large cam, lots of gear
Click to expand...
I attached some photos for you.
This is what the current owner is telling me from the guy he bought it from. That's all I have to go by. The car is 2 hours away. I haven't gone to see it yet.

A1101E96-8ED0-4B10-A052-5BBE45A1D387.png


6-BC4011-A-C482-427-C-8845-2-CCE62-A991-AA-1-201-a.jpg


C58-E8-E67-3516-4-EC3-B01-C-C047-DFCC588-F-1-201-a.jpg
 
Last edited:
NC Engine Builder said:
It looks like a nice car. That cam is a really poor choice for a 318, but with compression and gear, it will certainly be rowdy. You will probably be completely happy with it the way you plan to drive.
Click to expand...
Is it still a 318 ? It’s got an aftermarket crank so possibly a stroker.
 
If you wanted to keep the rowdy fun and be able to tame it down on the highway cruising, you could always add a Gear Vendors Overdrive unit behind the tranny. That would drop the cruise ratio down to around 3.35. I run one with my 4.10 gears and it's one of the best upgrades I've done to my car. it's a little spendy but worth it, in my own opinion.
 
Things I'd be curious about is how ladder bars do on the street and what cooling fan is in there (must be electric?)
 

NC Engine Builder said:
I dunno, nobody mentioned a stroker. Eagle does make a 3.31 stroke steel crank
Click to expand...
I’m not saying it is, but bet there’s a good chance if someone went to the expense of new rotating assembly.

Not expecting you to know :) figured the OP might chime in.
 
Didn’t see anything about what heads the engine got either.
 
There are things i would have to change but it doesn't look bad at all...
 
Ladder bars will be fun on the street. Curious how the upper shock mounts are attached.

Wonder if it has a stroker crank in it. If so, the cam is going to be a non issue. 4 spd helps a bunch with a rowdy cam.
 
yeah.. those upper shock mounts aren't meant to hold the weight of the car.. if they didn't beef them up, it would be high on my list..
 
This is slowly looking like a "walk away car" personally!
I didn't even notice the rear end had redone suspension until looking closer after posting. I was so concern about the engine.
 
Did you test drive it? I wouldn't buy a car without doing that unless your ok with spending more money on it to make it what you want or drivable at all.
 
Are you kidding? I'd drive the wheels off that SOB. Get some!

Who cares if it's winding out on the highway. I promise you, on your deathbed, you ain't gonna be remembering the MPG you got in your classic car. There's a time to be conservative, and this ain't one of those times.

Go have fun! Enjoy your life. Just put some high octane in it and keep an eye on your gauges.

Edit: Just saw the rear suspension photos. That'd be a concern.
 
Last edited:
Icetech said:
well.... you haven't had any of the meaner guys respond yet is all :)

BTW... Radial T/A's are horrific tires... with that gear and limit on the tire size get some ET Streets on the back of it or you will be pretty much driving on ice...
Click to expand...
Kinda disagree. T/As are garbage, but it's still a 318 with too much cam. I don't think the limited life of a drag radial will be required. ( from a guy with quick time pro's and slicks on his street/strip hotrods. But the weakest motor is 500hp)
 
fernando. said:
I'm not looking for a daily driver at all. Just something FUN to roast the tires, go to church in, head over to my shop, everything is within 15-20min - stoplight to stoplight - there's almost no cruising.
Click to expand...


Ignore the…I’ll leave it there. Just ignore them.

If you actually have 10.9:1 compression, which I doubt but if you do you are pooping in tall cotton.

The cam will love it. It will absolutely run on pump gas all day long IF you get your tune up in shape.

I run 4.56’s on the street and have since 1981.

Put your foot in, smoke some ricers and have a blast.

Screw the nattering naybobs.
 
Like icetech said, I'd go thru the rear suspension, check out upper shock mount, and the ladder bar ends. IF it checks out okay, it can sure hook up a lot more motor than it's got now. The ladders would NOT queer the deal for me if I liked the rest.
 
fernando. said:
This is slowly looking like a "walk away car" personally!
I didn't even notice the rear end had redone suspension until looking closer after posting. I was so concern about the engine.
Click to expand...

SCREW THAT. Go look at the car. Drive it.

Don’t let the ladder bars make you nervous. It’s a stick so put the bar in the bottom hole.

Figure out what shock it has and see if Viking makes a double adjustable shock for that mount.

Like I said, ignore the wet blankets.

Fear is a bad influence on decision making. Your first post you KNEW what YOU wanted and the same guys who want their muscle car to feel and drive like the Prius they have in the driveway are the very same guys telling you not to do it.

Screw them.

I’ll be 62 in September. My car has a 4 speed, with a “racing” clutch and flywheel and now it has 4.88 gears and 28 inch tall tires. I had 4.56’s and 26’s.

Don’t let people who won’t or can’t do something convince you to do something you want.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-
Back
Top Bottom