New ride

[rmchrgr]

Yep... I was the same way when I used to race back in the day - Englishtown, Great Meadows, Atco, and the old National Speed way on Long Island. I stopped racing 35+ years ago.
Now, everything I own or buy MUST have air. I live in the "deep South", now, we (or at least I) us a/c about 9 month a year. If I consider buying a car without a/c it's because I'm planning to have it installed. lol

Believe me, I am a BIG proponent of A/C. I can't live without it during the summer whether in the car, in the house etc. My wife hates me because it's always on...

The only situation I can tolerate life without it is in my street machine. Kind of like paying a penance.

 

[ramcharger]

very, very nice Duster. Congratz!!

 

[rmchrgr]

Registered the car today.

Still smiling.

 

[rmchrgr]

Drove it in to work today, inspected it. Detailed the inside a little. Everything is really clean and nice in this car. All the guys at work were checking it out - "Fire it Up!". You should have seen their eyes when I goosed it a little. Sounds really mean!

Fires right up at the turn of the key, no real need to pump it or coax it. Drives great on the street, handles fine with the skinny fronts and manual steering. Have yet to hit the shift light. Idles a little high in neutral like 1,000-1,200 but drops when in gear. Little busy with the RMVB but I actually like it. Just can't space out and forget what you're driving. Shifts great when you're into it though, like butter.

Manual drum brakes in front are a little dicey. I'm used to my Mazdaspeed 3 which has 14" Brembos.

Just need to find a place that sells high octane gas. I know there's a Sunoco station in Malverne that has 100. A guy at work said there's a also place near Smith Haven Mall that sells Cam 2. I'm kind of in between both. SK sells VP but it's like $90 for 5 gallons. Any L.I. guys know of any where else close to Huntington?

 

[dodge freak]

Sounds like it needs a nice "tight" 10 inch converter and better brakes

I got a 3,000 stall with 3.91 gears and 27 inch tires in back, it drives nice in slow traffic--feels "tight" and moves the car easily at 1,500 rpm.

Still recall the old converters, those were so loose, 2,000 rpm just to creep the car along

 

[superchargeddrt]

Nice Car! Glad to see that your dream has come true. Cogratuations.

 

[rmchrgr]

Sounds like it needs a nice "tight" 10 inch converter and better brakes

I got a 3,000 stall with 3.91 gears and 27 inch tires in back, it drives nice in slow traffic--feels "tight" and moves the car easily at 1,500 rpm.

Still recall the old converters, those were so loose, 2,000 rpm just to creep the car along

Probably not going to mess with the combo at all, need to get it down the track to see what it does. It's a Hughes 10"(?) 3,500-3,800. I have not stall tested it, just going by what the p.o. said. I haven't even gone 10 miles in it yet. Might just need a carb adjustment for the idle.

Better brakes are in the works though, most definitely. I have an aluminum master cylinder and some nice performance stuff already on hand - Wilwood Dynalite calipers and pads with the AR brackets, Goodrich braided hoses, correct spindles and UCAs, all of it.

Front end might need a little work too. It's not loose or anything, just old.

 

[dodge freak]

If its old, its loose, I would replace the tie rods and pitman and idler arm, check ebay--or here for new old stock--1980's Moog stuff is great Ball joints at least check. Its not that much $ if you get a few good buys and change them yourself. I re did my whole front last spring and did notice a big difference

Sounds like a real sweet ride, it has a 3,500 converter, then yeah leave it alone

Just needs some fine tuning and make sure the plugs and wires are perfect

 

[rmchrgr]

I was also going to comment on how having good equipment makes it easier to accomplish your goals or vision. I can site a few pretty clear examples from my own experience.

I played guitar for several years before I got myself a 'real' guitar. I had all kinds of crappy ones before that. Well, not totally crappy but not a '79 Les Paul Standard. Once I got that thing, man, my playing really started to come together. You could genuinely hear the difference in the way notes, chords and distortion sounded and felt, just a profound sound beyond anything any of the previous guitars could produce.

It's also similar to the difference between professional tools and Craftsman, it's like night and day. Doimg stuff at home with my Craftsman stuff is like working with kiddie tools there's just no comparison.

Anyway, that's how I view this car. Now that I have the real deal it's like a whole new world has opened up, like this is what I have been envisioning for all those years. I'm already feeling at home in it.

 

[1969cuda]

Very nice!