My Duster Adventures

[75slant6]

Well… it’s been a hectic past couple of months. In January/February we had someone approach us about buying out farm (165 acres, house with 1 car garage, 40x84 shop, 24x48 3 car shed/garage, 40x60 barn and two 50x520’ chicken barns), we named our price, they accepted and we had closing in April but leased the farm until the end of June. Our new place that we bought is 4 acres, a similar sized house with a 2 car garage and no outbuildings of any type. So as y’all can imagine, I moved a LOT of stuff over to my parents farm to store it until I can get a shop built (hopefully before winter). Also, in the midst of all this, we had our first baby on May 6th, so that alone has been a big change in our lives.
Oh, and did I mention that when we bought our new place, we decided to have the ceilings all retextured, repainted all the walls, put in all new flooring, completely redid the laundry room, and putting new vanity’s in both bathrooms… yeah. It’s been a hectic couple of months…
The house still isn’t completely finished, so it currently looks like a hoarders house, since neither bathroom, the laundry room or kitchen pantry isn’t done…
So with all that happening, the Duster has been on the back burner. But as a famous person once said, the past two days…

I ordered an adjustable hellwig rear sway bar to help insure that I kick @Kegan B butt on the autox at MoParty this year.
I also bought a set of used Doug’s long tube headers so I hope to install those before MoParty as well.
I was hoping to get my speedmaster heads and new cam installed before MoParty, but that likely won’t happen as I have a whole list of other upgrades I’d like to do while the engine is apart, including swapping the magnum serpentine setup back onto the engine which will require installing my tanks inc tank with the in-tank pump. Damn snowball effect…

But anyway, that’s the update on what’s been going on in my life.

 

[racerjoe]

Well… it’s been a hectic past couple of months. In January/February we had someone approach us about buying out farm (165 acres, house with 1 car garage, 40x84 shop, 24x48 3 car shed/garage, 40x60 barn and two 50x520’ chicken barns), we named our price, they accepted and we had closing in April but leased the farm until the end of June. Our new place that we bought is 4 acres, a similar sized house with a 2 car garage and no outbuildings of any type. So as y’all can imagine, I moved a LOT of stuff over to my parents farm to store it until I can get a shop built (hopefully before winter). Also, in the midst of all this, we had our first baby on May 6th, so that alone has been a big change in our lives.
Oh, and did I mention that when we bought our new place, we decided to have the ceilings all retextured, repainted all the walls, put in all new flooring, completely redid the laundry room, and putting new vanity’s in both bathrooms… yeah. It’s been a hectic couple of months…
The house still isn’t completely finished, so it currently looks like a hoarders house, since neither bathroom, the laundry room or kitchen pantry isn’t done…
So with all that happening, the Duster has been on the back burner. But as a famous person once said, the past two days…
View attachment 1715954793
I ordered an adjustable hellwig rear sway bar to help insure that I kick @Kegan B butt on the autox at MoParty this year.
I also bought a set of used Doug’s long tube headers so I hope to install those before MoParty as well.
I was hoping to get my speedmaster heads and new cam installed before MoParty, but that likely won’t happen as I have a whole list of other upgrades I’d like to do while the engine is apart, including swapping the magnum serpentine setup back onto the engine which will require installing my tanks inc tank with the in-tank pump. Damn snowball effect…

But anyway, that’s the update on what’s been going on in my life.

I missed that ya'll had a baby. Congrats! I hope to see you at Moparty again this year....

 

[MopaR&D]

Congrats on the baby! I think I saw your FB post about it, love the pic of you and the little one with the pizza shirts that was pretty great.

You might be spending a lot of money but it sounds like you'll be making some back on selling your farm too. I've had to put my automotive projects on hold as I can't really afford to buy parts right now. I got the front end alignment on my Duster dialed in so it's actually pretty neutral in corners now but going through slalom-type sections it's obvious I really need some good shocks... don't quite have the $800 to spend on a set of adjustable Foxes right now but that's what I have in mind. I'm sure Bilsteins would be an improvement but I want the adjustability.

That rear sway bar will make a massive difference btw, I think all classic Mopars need one if running any kind of half-decent modern tires. The risks people talk about of making the car oversteer are way overblown, might be true on skinny 1980s or older-spec tires but I found that to not be the case at all on my car.

 

[racerjoe]

Congrats on the baby! I think I saw your FB post about it, love the pic of you and the little one with the pizza shirts that was pretty great.

You might be spending a lot of money but it sounds like you'll be making some back on selling your farm too. I've had to put my automotive projects on hold as I can't really afford to buy parts right now. I got the front end alignment on my Duster dialed in so it's actually pretty neutral in corners now but going through slalom-type sections it's obvious I really need some good shocks... don't quite have the $800 to spend on a set of adjustable Foxes right now but that's what I have in mind. I'm sure Bilsteins would be an improvement but I want the adjustability.

That rear sway bar will make a massive difference btw, I think all classic Mopars need one if running any kind of half-decent modern tires. The risks people talk about of making the car oversteer are way overblown, might be true on skinny 1980s or older-spec tires but I found that to not be the case at all on my car.

I wasn't running a rear bar and had pretty bad understeer once I learned how much I can push my car. I'll admit I was worried about the oversteer being a problem, but installed a Hotchkiss rear bar. My first autocross outing I had it setup in the middle hole, then moved it to the firmest hole for the afternoon session. Unbelievable difference. This proves the internet wrong...

 

[MopaR&D]

I wasn't running a rear bar and had pretty bad understeer once I learned how much I can push my car. I'll admit I was worried about the oversteer being a problem, but installed a Hotchkiss rear bar. My first autocross outing I had it setup in the middle hole, then moved it to the firmest hole for the afternoon session. Unbelievable difference. This proves the internet wrong...

I had the same exact experience, also running mine on the stiffest setting after first trying the middle one. And it still won't oversteer unless I want it to.

 

[75slant6]

I missed that ya'll had a baby. Congrats! I hope to see you at Moparty again this year....

Thanks! And I definitely plan to be there again this year. Got my power steering leak fixed, so hopefully I won’t be running on intermittent power steering like I was last year.

Congrats on the baby! I think I saw your FB post about it, love the pic of you and the little one with the pizza shirts that was pretty great.

You might be spending a lot of money but it sounds like you'll be making some back on selling your farm too. I've had to put my automotive projects on hold as I can't really afford to buy parts right now. I got the front end alignment on my Duster dialed in so it's actually pretty neutral in corners now but going through slalom-type sections it's obvious I really need some good shocks... don't quite have the $800 to spend on a set of adjustable Foxes right now but that's what I have in mind. I'm sure Bilsteins would be an improvement but I want the adjustability.

That rear sway bar will make a massive difference btw, I think all classic Mopars need one if running any kind of half-decent modern tires. The risks people talk about of making the car oversteer are way overblown, might be true on skinny 1980s or older-spec tires but I found that to not be the case at all on my car.

Thank you! And yeah, my wife surprised me with those shirts on Father’s Day. I definitely got a kick out of them for sure!

As far as the farm, we didn’t make enough to retire off of just yet (unfortunately ) but we made enough off the sale that it definitely made the past 6 years well worth it! I wouldn’t want to go back and have to do it again, but definitely worth it now.

The plan is to take the Duster to an empty parking lot once I have the sway bar installed, and see how much a difference the different settings make. I also need to upgrade the rear shocks sometime. I’ve got single adjustable QA1’s on the front with the HDK but just running junk Monroe’s on the back right now.

Here’s that pizza shirt pic for the rest of y’all.

 

[racerjoe]

Thanks! And I definitely plan to be there again this year. Got my power steering leak fixed, so hopefully I won’t be running on intermittent power steering like I was last year.



Thank you! And yeah, my wife surprised me with those shirts on Father’s Day. I definitely got a kick out of them for sure!

As far the farm, we didn’t make enough to retire off of just yet (unfortunately ) but we made enough off the sale that it definitely made the past 6 years well worth it! I wouldn’t want to go back and have to do it again, but definitely worth it now.

The plan is to take the Duster to an empty parking lot once I have the sway bar installed, and see how much a difference the different settings make. I also need to upgrade the rear shocks sometime. I’ve got single adjustable QA1’s on the front with the HDK but just running junk Monroe’s on the back right now.

Here’s that pizza shirt pic for the rest of y’all.

View attachment 1715957652

That shirt is awesome!

 

[75slant6]

Finally got a chance to open up the Doug’s D-453 headers I bought that are very slightly used. They look much better than the hooker style headers I have on my car now. Need to order a set of gaskets, then hopefully I’ll have a chance to get these installed in the next few weeks!

 

[72bluNblu]

Finally got a chance to open up the Doug’s D-453 headers I bought that are very slightly used. They look much better than the hooker style headers I have on my car now. Need to order a set of gaskets, then hopefully I’ll have a chance to get these installed in the next few weeks!

View attachment 1715959081

Nice! Having bought Dougs and TTI's, I'd go with Doug's every time.

 

[75slant6]

Nice! Having bought Dougs and TTI's, I'd go with Doug's every time.

These were shipped in a TTI box, so best of both worlds maybe?

 

[ValerianMagnum]

love your car , love all these little stories , congrats on the baby girl mine is going on 4 in 3 months ,your duster is a big inspiration for my valiant , thx for all the infos in pm , i hope my green rat will look as cool and run as good as yours ! cheers buddy ! keep up the great work

 

[skep419]

39:00

 

[RustyRatRod]

Thanks! And I definitely plan to be there again this year. Got my power steering leak fixed, so hopefully I won’t be running on intermittent power steering like I was last year.



Thank you! And yeah, my wife surprised me with those shirts on Father’s Day. I definitely got a kick out of them for sure!

As far the farm, we didn’t make enough to retire off of just yet (unfortunately ) but we made enough off the sale that it definitely made the past 6 years well worth it! I wouldn’t want to go back and have to do it again, but definitely worth it now.

The plan is to take the Duster to an empty parking lot once I have the sway bar installed, and see how much a difference the different settings make. I also need to upgrade the rear shocks sometime. I’ve got single adjustable QA1’s on the front with the HDK but just running junk Monroe’s on the back right now.

Here’s that pizza shirt pic for the rest of y’all.

View attachment 1715957652

Love the shirts! Kitty hollered out loud! lol

 

[RustyRatRod]

Thanks! And I definitely plan to be there again this year. Got my power steering leak fixed, so hopefully I won’t be running on intermittent power steering like I was last year.



Thank you! And yeah, my wife surprised me with those shirts on Father’s Day. I definitely got a kick out of them for sure!

As far the farm, we didn’t make enough to retire off of just yet (unfortunately ) but we made enough off the sale that it definitely made the past 6 years well worth it! I wouldn’t want to go back and have to do it again, but definitely worth it now.

The plan is to take the Duster to an empty parking lot once I have the sway bar installed, and see how much a difference the different settings make. I also need to upgrade the rear shocks sometime. I’ve got single adjustable QA1’s on the front with the HDK but just running junk Monroe’s on the back right now.

Here’s that pizza shirt pic for the rest of y’all.

View attachment 1715957652

The look on her face says she doesn't know what the heck is goin on but somehow she's ok. lol That's a frame worthy picture man.

 

[HemiDenny]

let me tell ya' 'bout them boys 'round here....Holley MoParty 2022

 

[HemiDenny]

it was great to catch up...my wife loved your car. Thanks for taking time with us "also rans"

 

[dartfreak75]

Very cool! Congrats 75slant6! That's so awesome

 

[75slant6]

The look on her face says she doesn't know what the heck is goin on but somehow she's ok. lol That's a frame worthy picture man.

Yeah I’ll have to get a print made and frame it for my “office” once I get my shop up. She’s grown like a weed since then, still the cutest thing I’ve ever seen though!

 

[75slant6]

it was great to catch up...my wife loved your car. Thanks for taking time with us "also rans"

It was great to chat with y’all. You’re wife’s a sweet lady! But then she has to be to put up with you, huh?

 

[75slant6]

39:00

Highlight of my weekend right there! I knew Derek was gonna be there Sunday and I wanted to go meet him. But before I could, I was sitting in my Duster, getting ready to go out on the autox when a golf cart pulled up beside me and I heard “excuse me”, I look over and there’s Derek, Jessica and the three boys. I just couldn’t believe it but I guess I had to, I was lookin right at em! Lol He said he wanted to watch me run it. I may have had a grin on my face that entire run.

 

[bkd]

Just got done watchin it and I said to myself I know that car....SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! excited for you! FANTASTIC!!!!
I saw it before you commented about it. CONGRATS!!!!

Brad

 

[racerjoe]

Highlight of my weekend right there! I knew Derek was gonna be there Sunday and I wanted to go meet him. But before I could, I was sitting in my Duster, getting ready to go out on the autox when a golf cart pulled up beside me and I heard “excuse me”, I look over and there’s Derek, Jessica and the three boys. I just couldn’t believe it but I guess I had to, I was lookin right at em! Lol He said he wanted to watch me run it. I may have had a grin on my face that entire run.

I just watched it this morning and was surprised and happy for you. I saw him when I went to drop my drag slip off Sunday morning, but he was chatting with a few guys so I didn't bother going to talk to him. Seems like a cool guy. He cracks me up with his silly words.

 

[75slant6]

Well, only a small update on actual work done on the car since MoParty.
The car was running like crap the last two days at MoParty, bogging and sputtering on the autox. After MoParty, I bought an Edelbrock 1405 to replace the 1404 that was on it and it didn’t seem to make a difference. So next, I “attempted” to take apart the ready-to-run Hei distributor to recurve it… I ended up braking the distributor beyond repair. So I ordered an Fbo limiter plate and springs, new Reluctor and a 4 pin Hei module and put it all in a factory electronic distributor.
Here’s a picture of my original R2R distributor curve (yellow) and the new distributor curve (red)

The car definitely runs MUCH better now and has more power than it’s ever had, but still needs some tweaking since it still has a bog/stumble as I ease out the clutch, until the timing starts advancing.

Also, I tried to drive the car this week and when I pushed the pedal, it went straight to the floor. I suspect a wheel cylinder. I ordered a Motive power bleeder yesterday so I’ll check it out once that comes in.

In other news, the car has made several media appearances as well that I just discovered yesterday. One is this YouTube video by Mopar Connection


The other is this months issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines magazine. I’m definitely gonna have to pick up an issue!

 

[DionR]

Small update. I rolled the car outside yesterday to get a look at the ride height and to get the garage organized a bit and give the floor a MUCH needed sweeping. As stated in the photo, if I actually get the suspension set as low as it’s mocked up here, I’m going to be in need of new rear springs to get the backend down at least 2, maybe 3 inches.
View attachment 1715711821 Then this evening, I started building a set of wooden wheel cribs. I used went off of the design on restocar.com but I modified it a little bit. The guy on restocar made his wheel cribs as “one piece” units that were 10”w x 14”L x 12”H. I made mine 12”w x 18”L x 12”H but I also made them as a “two piece” design. The reason for this: in order to get the car up on the “one piece” wheel cribs, here are the steps needed to get the car up high enough. 1. Jack up the rear and place jack stands under rear axle. 2. Jack up front and place on jack stands. 3. Add a block/spacer to your jack to extend the reach. 4. Jack front end up with the block and place front wheel cribs under wheels. 5. Jack up rear with jack and block and place rear wheel cribs under wheels. Now, my “two piece” design will essentially follow the same steps, just without the jack stands.
Here’s how they look at full height.
View attachment 1715711822
here’s the set broke down

View attachment 1715711823
here’s a shot showing how the two halves fit together. The bottom half is on the right.View attachment 1715711824
And here’s the two halves stacked.View attachment 1715711825

I only had time to get two of them built tonight but so hopefully I can get the others built soon, so I can get the car back in the garage and get it up on the cribs in order to get the subframe connectors installed and get the front suspension buttoned up for good.

I'm looking at building some cribbing and found your post here. Thanks for the info!

Question though. I set some 2x4's next to my tires to verify the cribbing length and got a little over 20" long overall. You said you made yours 18" long. Pretty sure we are running the same size tires (245/45R17) and I have seen pictures where it looks like your cribbing works well with your tire. So just curious if maybe I am doing something wrong?

 

[75slant6]

I'm looking at building some cribbing and found your post here. Thanks for the info!

Question though. I set some 2x4's next to my tires to verify the cribbing length and got a little over 20" long overall. You said you made yours 18" long. Pretty sure we are running the same size tires (245/45R17) and I have seen pictures where it looks like your cribbing works well with your tire. So just curious if maybe I am doing something wrong?

I don’t know why I didn’t include a picture of the car sitting on the cribs in that post, but here’s one. If I remember correctly, I think I jammed a 2x4 front and back of the tires, measured that, then made it a little tighter yet so I’d for sure not get any movement.