The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster

[rmchrgr]

So I have been trying to iron out some issues over the last week or two.

I got a new 15/16" bore master cylinder from Cass/Dr. Diff and put it in. Still not much change. Grrrr... So I called Cass and picked his brain some. I explained everything I had done to that point and we went back and forth for a bit. Then I mentioned that I still had the drum brake distribution block installed with an adjustable prop valve in the rear line and asked whether I should change it out from a disc brake metering valve. He said definitely because the drum brake block does not have the hold off action that the disc brake one has. He also suggested I should eliminate the adjustable one since it would be redundant. Even if it's backed off all the way, it still provides some proportioning so you would really be reducing the pressure to the rears with it installed.

Soooo, that meant I had to re-do some of the brake lines. Frankly, I was never 100% happy with some of the ones I had done originally so this time I took the opportunity to make them a little more sanitary. Making front to rear lines sucks, no two ways about it. There are so many complicated bends and angles to get around while trying to route it as safely as possible, it can be very time consuming to do right. The left front line is also kinda tricky to do especially coming off a line lock on the inner fender. Pre-bent lines would have been much easier to deal with but I like pain.

I probably mentioned earlier in the thread that I went with stainless fittings so they won't seize over time but they can be a bear when first installed and they leak. Pretty much every single flare I made leaked, even though the flares are good, it's just the nature of the stainless. You have to crank 'em down, loosen 'em and crank 'em down again until they stop leaking. Not fun.

So I got it all back together, stopped the leaks and gravity bled. Took it out for a quick spin and they're still not great but there is an improvement with the disc brake metering valve. The pedal does not really pump up so I don't believe there is air in the system but I think they probably need to bled with a helper next time. These brakes should be better than they are though, hoping I don't have to scrap these SSBC calipers for something else. Not sure what else it could be at this point.

Car seems to be running OK for now. At least it starts up and stays running without issue. I am starting to fiddle with timing, idle speed and idle screws. I had a vacuum gauge on it and it looks to have 10" of vacuum at 1,100 rpm, drops to 900 in gear. Throttle response is coming around but I have a ways to go. WOT seems OK for now but I've only matted the gas briefly.

There's a vibration on deceleration which was not there before I took the car apart. I have a feeling it might be pinion angle. I got myself a little digital angle finder from Sears to check it all out. There are 2 degree shims in there now. They were already there so I put them back in when I re-did the rear but I'm thinking they might have to come out. Won't know until I figure out where the angle is at.

I also noticed when I was under the car that the left side torsion bar was making contact with one of the header tubes where it wasn't before. I figured it was due to one of a few things; 1) the Shumacher torque strap was pulling on the motor; 2) the control arm socket and adjuster were bent or 3) the t-bar was clocked wrong. Took the T-bar back out and turned it around a few times to see if it gave some more clearance and indeed it did. Guess I must have installed it 180 degrees from where it was for 40 years. I also to the torque strap apart and loosened the motor mounts to see if I could shift the engine a little but it didn't do a whole lot. Not sure if that's the way to go about things but it's done. Ain't coming back out either unless there is an unsolvable issue that comes from it.

So after all that monkeying around, I did a driveway alignment to get it in the ballpark. I basically had to do it because it was almost undrivable. The steering wheel is mostly straight now and seems to track OK. It will be going to get aligned when I get the brakes working right but at lest I can sort of drive it normally.

No pics for now but I will try to post a few when I get a chance. More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

So all the recent work I've put in to this car has finally paid off and it's driving great. At this point I have just about everything sorted out. The brakes work, the vibration is gone, it's aligned, registered and inspected. The tuning is close but not quite there but that can only be nailed down by driving it. Other than that, it's good to go!

So the one major obstacle I had were the brakes and they are finally working right. I think the pads and shoes needed to be bedded in or something since they seem to stop a little better the more I drive it. Honestly they're likely never going to be like the brakes on my Mazdaspeed but they stop the car fine. The improvement over the worn out 10" drum brakes that were on the car when I got it is pretty significant so mission accomplished on that front. The Roll Control is working now as well where before it was not holding because of the low pressure in the front circuit. The combination of the 15/16 master cylinder and the disc brake metering valve seemed to solve the issue. Next time I will probably go with another caliper setup, something with a little more piston area. I definitely learned a lot about brakes.

The driveline vibration is gone now too. The cause was too much negative pinion angle. I ended up taking the rear apart several times trying to narrow down the cause. When I changed to the Calvert stuff from S/S springs I left out the pinion shims the P.O. installed since the rear of the car was sitting lower. I won't bore you with all the measurements and such but there was a lot of head scratching for a bit. After staring at it for a while it finally dawned on me that I should change the spring mounting point and put the shims back in. The front spring hangers I got from Cass/Dr. Diff have two holes for the spring eye bolts. Initially they were in the lower hole so I tried them in the top hole and took it for a ride. The vibration was still present on deceleration but not as violent so I knew I was on the right track. Since I had 2 degree pinion shims installed, I was hoping 4 would do the trick. The main thing I was concerned about was having to re-weld the spring perches to correct the angle. Went down to SK Speed and picked up a set of 4 degree shims and some new perches just in case the vibration was still there. I lucked out though because the 4 degree shims did the trick. Nice and smooth now on and off the gas.

The car is now aligned and driving straight. My driveway alignment was close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades but in reality it was pretty far out. I knew that though which is why I took it to a shop that had an alignment rack. The place I went to deals with a lot of older vehicles. They had the factory specs in their alignment machine so I went with those, even if the OE specs were for 14" bias ply tires all around and a different ride height. The right side caster was toughest to get in line but once that came in, everything else fell in right away. Steering wheel is straight, no wander or pull. When I first got it the steering wheel was off because the entire front end was shot, including the steering box which had a ton of play in it. The one that's in there now is nice and tight. The car responds well and actually drives OK with the large rear and skinny front tires. The suspension is a little harsh but I don't mind.

So as all this was being finished up, I was psyched to clean a year and a half worth of dust off the car. Took it out on Sunday afternoon and had my kids help me wash it. (bad idea) I stocked up on detailing supplies and have been doing some buffing/shining when I had free time this week. Car has a ton of imperfections but I love it the way it is. It shines up nice.

Here's a few pics.

This is a shot of the 4 degree pinion shim installed. I had a bad driveline vibration on deceleration at lower speeds caused by too much negative pinion angle. The shims help to point the pinion upwards (or down if needed) to get it more parallel in relation to the transmission output shaft.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_01812_zps485e5d6b.jpg

Here's the car being aligned. They didn't seem to mind me hanging out while they did their thing. I gave a nice tip.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_01802_zps53d05f03.jpg

The rear is square with negligible thrust angle. I was stoked to see that.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_01792_zps503fa207.jpg

All shined up, ready to roll.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_01903_zps02c659ad.jpg

More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

Took the car out to a cruise last night in Bellmore, NY, Long Island. Bellmore is on the South Shore and I live on the North Shore in Huntington. It's about a 40 mile round trip with some highway driving. Duster did pretty well, no real problems to speak of. Got a lot of approving looks and compliments. That was a good feeling.

Earlier in the day before I left I drove it around the 'hood to make sure it was good to go and noticed there was a lean surge at part throttle. I took the carb off to put a higher number power valve in it which ultimately seemed to help. While doing that though I stripped a bowl screw insert out of the main body. Doh! They take a special helicoil that you basically have to order from Holley or whatever parts place, you can't really find them at the hardware store. It was 5:00 on a Friday so no chance of getting what I needed right then but I was determined to get the car out. In grand Macyver tradition, I put a dab of RTV in the main body threads and put the bowl screw in. Seemed to work OK for the time being, no leaks or otherwise but it needs to be fixed properly.

On the way down to Bellmore from Huntington I get to drive a stretch of highway so I got to experience what it was like to cruise for a long period at part throttle in this car. The A/F seemed fairly consistent (14) but there were a few spikes either way. I need to get some air bleeds and jets to really start getting it fine tuned. It's in the ballpark I guess but throttle response could be a little crisper. Economy is non-existent at the moment, I hope to somehow improve it a little at some point.

The other thing I curious to see was where the RPMs were with the gear change to 4.10 down from the 4.30. Obviously there was a difference, probably a few hundred RPM less but nothing huge. 55 MPH was around 3,100-3,200. Not too bad I suppose for what it is.

One thing I also noticed was that the exhaust is pretty loud and droning (Flowmaster 40 series) which I am not a huge fan of. I'm thinking I might want something a little quieter at some point but that is a low priority at the moment. When it had the 4.30s in, I didn't really drive it on the highway so I didn't really know the extent of the drone until last night.

The cruise was crowded when I got there and it took a while to get into the lot and find a spot. And of course once I get in, the guy in front of me in the Viper seemed to know every gavone there and apparently needed to talk to all of them while I'm waiting behind him. I was starting to get concerned while sitting there idling, the temp gauge was at 200 and climbing. Fortunately I was able to find a spot and shut it off soon after.

So all this has led me to the obvious conclusion that the Duster is in no way, shape or form a highway car. Of course it was not built for highway driving but hey, it's a street car and you wonder if you can do it anyway. The answer is yes, but it sucks. It's fine for driving in town and to car shows around Long Island but not for anything longer. I had been considering driving it to ETown (drag racing) which is 80 miles one way through NYC traffic but I think that's out the window now, especially since it can get a little hot after driving for a while then idling or putt-putting in traffic. Guess I need to figure out a truck and trailer for this thing. Not sure how I'm going to get that done any time soon. :sad2:

So all in all, it was a good trip and I'm happy to say that everything performed as it should. More to come.

 

[Abodybomber]

Good story,thanks for sharing. It's an older style street/strip brawler,it's gonna have it's rough edges. Enjoy it,for what it is.

 

[rmchrgr]

So one of the major aspects of my buildup here was to remove weight from the car. I think I covered it previously in several posts but I will reiterate that I did a lot of work in this regard, trying to replace heavy parts with lighter pieces wherever possible.

Many OE and/or heavy steel parts got replaced with lighter aluminum pieces; the radiator, front bumper brackets, trans cooler lines, calipers, master cylinder, front seat brackets, differential center section and a few other odds and ends.

A bunch of other porky stuff got the heave ho as well - the bench seat was replaced with fixed, lightweight buckets from a Jeep, the extra parts for the column shift, the radio and speaker, the entire heater box and defroster, the Super Stock springs and snubber were replaced with Caltracs and split monos, plus all the extra wiring that led to nothing or was coiled up under the dash.

So after all that, I finally weighed the car today. There's a scrap metal place down the street from my house with a drive-on scale. I figure it has to has to be pretty accurate since there is money involved but in any event, I was pleasantly surprised at the weight - 3, 060! I weigh 180 so that's 3,240 with me in it. It was weighed with a full tank of gas which is around 60-70 lbs. so with half a tank it should be around 3,000. I'm pretty happy with that. I didn't think it was going to be under 3,100.

Obviously less weight means its easier for the car to overcome inertia and accelerate quicker. I mean, duhh. But its also easier on other parts including the engine that has to work less to do the same job. So all in all, I'm pretty stoked about the number.

More to come.

 

[AdamR]

Bellmore is a great cruise night. I drove my Barracuda from Ridge (LIE Exit 68) to Bellmore one night. 255-60-15s and 4.30 gears. 2 chambered Flowmasters. That was a long drive.

 

[rmchrgr]

Bellmore is a great cruise night. I drove my Barracuda from Ridge (LIE Exit 68) to Bellmore one night. 255-60-15s and 4.30 gears. 2 chambered Flowmasters. That was a long drive.

Yep. That's what we do with these cars. Bellmore is a lot of fun, I might go down again this week. I often see some of the usual suspects down there.

Couple weeks ago I went and I got screwed on the way back because the Route 135 North entrance off Sunrise was closed off for repair. I went on this detour and somehow missed the next entrance and ended up getting way off track. I swear, I must have gone through 50 towns to get home. What normally takes about 25 minutes took almost an hour. That too was a long ride.

And just before the detour I saw a crazy thing happen. Right off the 135 South exit going west on Sunrise there were a bunch of work trucks parked on one side of the road with yellow lights flashing. I guess they were waiting to take gravel or asphalt onto 135. So I was heading east on the other side and out of the corner of my eye I see a car driving pretty fast right towards the trucks. The driver must have been texting or drunk because he/she didn't see the trucks soon enough and basically drove right into the back of one. Only skidded a little then POW. Looked pretty bad.

Haven't done much with the car lately. It really is pretty much done, I can get in it and drive it anywhere which is a great feeling. Picked up a few things over the last couple weeks, like an old school Moroso 11" air cleaner to replace the crappy parts store black one I have on there now. Really, not much to write about other than getting it to run better.

I did run it down a back road the other day with my LM-1 and laptop hooked up and recorded some data. I have a nice lean spike right before I shift which likely indicates needing to go up a few jet sizes. Also may need to go back to the pink pump cam since it has a longer duration than the red one which is on there now. The a/f numbers climb steadily to almost 20:1 on the chart until it shifts. Its only for a second but it needs to be remedied.

Also noticed a little valve tick coming from the driver's side. I think I may have had the lash too tight so I backed it off a few thousandths. Seemed to go away for the most part. Or maybe I'm just pretending that I don't hear it. I'll keep driving it, hope it makes it through the summer.

On another note - I had planned to take the car to Englishtown for the Old Time Drags a few weeks back. I was all set. Gas was filled up, got my helmet etc. Bad thing was though, (besides the tick) the forecast on Sat. was for rain all day Sunday and heavy at times. Woke up at 6, checked the weather, no change. Went back to sleep for a bit, got back up, no change. Cloudy outside, few rain drops. Decided to stay home. Of course, it didn't rain a drop at Etown. :banghead:

I'm also gonna miss the Mopar Atlantic Nationals in two weeks because of a prior engagement. :banghead:

 

[rmchrgr]

So yeah, about that intake valve tick I mentioned in my last post. It didn't go away and was pretty loud last time I drove it which makes it hard to ignore. I ran a leak down test and it wasn't looking so hot. I guess I've known about it for a while. I did a compression check at some point in the last year and that cylinder (#5) was the lowest. The leak down confirmed it was the intake, I could hear the air coming through the intake runner and out the carb. Guess the head is coming off at some point soon. Not sure if I am going to pull the whole engine out - I might. Would be easier to check everything over, clean things up and re-seal it for next year.

Really though, the car seems to be running OK otherwise. I did address the lean spike I have at WOT by going 2 steps up on the carb jets and going back to the pink accelerator pump cam from the red one. I have not made any 'runs' since the changes but cruise A/F ratio did not seem to be affected much, maybe slightly richer but for the most part stayed the same. The pump shot was smoother with the red cam though, the pink one is kind of 'right now' then flat whereas the red one seemed to have better coverage. That's exactly how they are designed though so its good to have the experience under my belt and know the difference between the two different cam profiles. Might try a few others, I have a whole assortment of them.

So the valve tick issue got me thinking about the brand new (bare) RHS heads I have sitting on my shelf. Enough that I called Brian at IMM out in CA and talked with him for a bit about the potential of those heads and how putting them on would affect my current combo. I described my current situation and told him what I wanted to accomplish and he seemed to think it would be no problem with the RHS pieces. He even thought the LD 340 I have might work well and could potentially add some torque to the equation. It was good to talk to him, he was helpful and insightful.

I'm pretty much sold on having him prep a set for me but obviously that will entail changing some things around on the current engine. I have some of the parts on hand to do the job but I will need to get new head and intake gaskets, new intake rockers (have W2s now) and probably pushrods. IMM sends you the heads with valves, springs retainers and locks so that's all covered in the price. That also means I will have some checking to do - compression ratio and pushrods specifically. I can see a graduated burrete and a deck bridge in my future.

I'm actually really interested in making this change. I've seen guys with milder combos than mine go pretty deep in the 11s with RHS heads. W2s are great but mine are not ported which makes them sort of pedestrian. I don't zing the engine to 8 grand but that's where W2s really shine. What that means to me is that there's not much advantage to having heads with so much potential only to limit said potential by not porting them or running the rpms up where they make more power than conventional heads.

Thinking about selling some stuff off to finance this venture, namely one of my guitars that I rarely use. I could sell the W2s and probably come out ahead but I think I'm gonna hang on to 'em for now.

More to come.

 

[Abodybomber]

Brian does wonders with RHS heads,you won't be sorry.....

 

[rmchrgr]

Brian does wonders with RHS heads,you won't be sorry.....

Thanks for reading through that! I genuinely appreciate when guys read stuff I write about my junk. Makes it all worthwhile.

And yeah, the more I think about those heads, the better they seem. To me, it's somewhat inefficient to have a race style head (W2) that leaves horsepower on the table. Obviously W2s have their place. But why bother with those when you can have a conventional replacement type head make similar power?

Or, I could just fix the valve and bolt the head back on. That would be the most logical and cost-effective thing to do. But where's the excitement in that? Fix stuff? Bah!

 

[rmchrgr]

Couple updates.

Made an attempt to install a set of Cal Custom valve covers I got at Carlisle but they didn't work out. I went through a bunch of steps and got them on only to find out that the rockers were hitting the underside of the covers. I had a feeling that was gonna happen, it looked fairly tight under the filler cap hole but I forged ahead anyway. So on startup, I made sure to listen for it. Sure enough after a few seconds of run time I hear a really loud clackety clack and I shut it down. Luckily there was no damage but there were a few witness marks on the baffles. Oh well. Generic MP covers back on. There are valve cover spacers out there to raise the top of them up a little bit, may look into those at some point. Got a shiny new breather cap installed as a consolation prize.

When I got the car aligned a few months ago, I was standing along side of the rack and the guy doing the job noticed the wheel bearings were a tad loose. I finally took the time to tighten them up a little yesterday. The nuts were actually just beyond finger tight and there was a little wobble so yeah, they needed a little tightening up. No more wobble but not overtightened.

Did an oil change to see if it might help with the valve tick I mentioned in the last update. I have good pressure, but the oil was really black and thin. It didn't really smell like gas but it had to have been. I've been doing a lot of messing around with the carb, guess it must have been dumping gas down the cylinders even though my A/F meter was saying I was on the lean side. Sometimes this double pumper makes me want to try the old Thermoquad I have on the shelf. I'm learning there is an art to tuning a race carb for part throttle operation.

Made up some new fuel bowl feed lines. When I went to install the Cal Custom valve covers, they interfered with the regulator setup I had on there. I had wanted to make a new set for a while anyway because the line from the pump to the bottom of the regulator was just touching the intake runner which I never liked. The new ones have a more pronounced angle which raises the whole thing up higher thus moving everything away from the runner and valve cover.

Also, I got a new cool guy Simpson SFI rated lap belt. It's a latch link type that locks in when you pull down and opens with a velcro strap. AFAIK, you don't have to recertify lap belts every two years unless they are part of a harness that attaches to a roll bar. I figured these were a good upgrade from 43 year old seatbelts. NHRA says the OE belts are good though as long as they are in the original position and are fastened down properly. Call me a dork but it feels 'safer' with a 3" belt with an SFI rating though.

Last bit of maintenance/safety was getting new rear tires. Given the amount of time I spent under this car over the last year, I got up close and personal with the tires and knew that they needed to be replaced. I finally saved up enough pennies from my paper route to buy new ones. I just bought the same ones I had, M/T drag radials, 275/60/15. They're good tires and look like they were made for Dusters with offset springs. The old ones were seven years old and dry rotted badly. M/T says the effective service life of their tires is four years so they were WAY overdue. The front tires are probably just as old but they seem OK to me.o dry rot, checking or unusual wear. I needed to air them up a little but they look fine otherwise.

OK, here's some pics.

Ye Olde Cal Custom valve covers, straight from the swap meet. I hit 'em with Easy Off to get the baked on crud off the insides. Then some mild degreaser and scotch brite and a wire wheel for the tough spots. After they were clean I shined them up with some Mother's polish. Came out OK. I like 'em better than the Mopar ones. Too bad I can't use 'em without spacers.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_0471_zps422d189a.jpg

That's original crud you're looking at.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_0468_zpsc91204d4.jpg

After some elbow grease.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_0473_zps2e3f5af7.jpg


As is often the case with small block valve covers and aftermarket intake manifold runners, you have to grind a clearance notch in the lip to get them to seat properly over the lip of the runner. I tried to do it cleanly. The Mopar ones that are on the car look they they were done with a Sawzall.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_0477_zps2e38c54a.jpg

Shiny new breather cap. It's a Spectre brand if anyone cares.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_0485_zps27bd255a.jpg

Cool guy Simpson lap belt. Looks serious.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_0480_zps0a850681.jpg

And here are the new sticky Mickeys.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_0481_zpsaff24727.jpg

Check out these tire treads. Bad!
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/rmchrgr/IMG_0483_zps0a5410b1.jpg

More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

Wow, almost two months since the last update. Lot going on with the car since then but the biggest news is that I finally got the car down the track a few times and it's getting close to the 11s. Last time out it went 12.20 @ 106 letting off in a first round breakout. If I ran it out the back door, it probably would have gone a 12.1 or so. It's close, I can taste it!

First time out was at Lebanon Valley Dragway on September 20 for the annual Mopar Day. The best the car did that day was 12.4 @ 99, again letting off on a first round double breakout win. I was stoked to get the win on my first time out, that was a great feeling.

I got smoked at the tree in the second round though. While trying to make up ground, I forgot to shift out of first and the race was over. I kept my foot in it though just to see what would happen but I went 12.8.

At the end of the run, I thought I smelled something burning. Oil pressure was OK, no smoke behind me so I didn't really think it was me. When I got my time slip, the track official told me I had to go right back to the lanes because the tower had the race in the wrong category and we had to re-run right away. Second chance!

So I'm pulling in to the lanes and I just happen to glance at my temp gauge - it was pegged! Crap! I was overheated and couldn't make the call so I limped it back to my pit. I popped the hood and discovered I had tossed the belt sometime during the last run. Not sure when it happened but I guess it was when I forgot to shift. It was still intact but it was toast, there was belt material everywhere. I was able to put it back on to get the water pump working but I didn't have a spare so my day was done. Good thing my buddy volunteered his Ram CTD to tow me up there and back from the Island. Thanks Chris!

Just as an aside, the 60 foot times are not so much at 1.7. I would like to knock 2 tenths off the start but I have a long way to go. The first day at LVD I forgot to dial the Calvert shocks down to s a softer setting. I'm not sure how much it affects things at my performance level but I ran them way softer the next time and I guess it helped a few hundredths or so but it was hard to tell.

On the whole, it leaves pretty soft. Frankly, I have a hard time footbraking it much past 1,500 rpm so I am leaving just off idle. If I can get it to hold at a higher rpm at the line, it might help. This combo produces little in the way of torque. I played with the accelerator pump a little. I took a big swing at it and put the blue cam in it and found that it liked it. The car annihilates the tires from a dead stop now which it never did before but it didn't really translate at the track.

I also think the gear change from the 4.30 that was in it to the 4.10 it has now certainly has an effect. 4.10 is really the practical limit for me to drive it any distance though so it's stating for now. It defiitely needs a better converter. I'm thinking a Dynamic 9.5" should be good for at least 2 tenths, all else being equal. If I get a truck to tow the car, I am going back to a 4.30 for sure!

Here is a video of the event. My car appears 15 seconds into the video right in front of the camera. It's cool to see it launch right up close. I make another appearance at around 5:20 in the other lane during rounds. This was my round win.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVKEOlYvpqA"]MOPAR DAY - YouTube[/ame]

The next time out was at ETown on October 18. It was basically a T'N'T day and they had a diesel truck/Jeep meet as well. There were a few muscle/drag cars on hand, nothing wild. I went just to go and get some more runs under my belt. I drove 80 miles through NYC traffic to the track without much issue. It was a little nerve racking going through the city but the car made it fine.

I got 3 runs that day. The MPH picked up over the last outing, I was up around 110 the whole day. Again, the best time of the day was a 12.20 @ 106 letting off before the stripe. The car picked up every run too. I started the day at 12.30. I was trying to figure out how to dial for the first round and I kept telling myself to write 12.20 but I second guessed it and wrote my 2nd time shot run of 12.28. If I had written 12.20 would have run right on my dial. Doh!

So I was done and it was time to go. I had advance made plans to visit my friend afterwards who lives about 10 miles from the track. I was going to hang with him for the night and go see a band down in Asbury Park. On the way there, the car seemed to be OK but when I pulled in to his driveway, I smelled coolant. It wasn't overheated thankfully but when I pooped the hood, there was coolant everywhere. The water pump took a dump probably not two minutes before I got to his place. I had a few tools with me but not enough to do the water pump. (my friend is not a car guy, no tools) I wasn't sure if it was just the water pump and didn't want to risk doing more damage during the 80 mile return trip through stop and go city traffic, so I had to get it home on the hook. Glad I made plans with him or I woulda been stuck on the side of the road somewhere between ETown and Suffolk County.

Luckily I have AAA Plus (for this exact reason) which gets you 100 miles free towing. I had to pay for tolls both ways which ended up being over $120 but it was still way cheaper than it would have been without it. Really hoping I can figure out a way to get a truck soon to be able to tow this car and not worry about breaking. I'd like to find an old D series. Well see.

So between the first race and last, I did a few things in regards to the pulley system which failed me that first outing. The v belt pulleys were not aligned which likely was the ultimate cause of tossing the belt. I mean, repeated 7,000 rpm runs don't help but if the belt is crooked, it's gonna go. So I got a pulley spacer kit to help align things and it seemed to work. I took it out a few times around here to see if I could pitch it again and it stayed put.

But even after all that, I realized the v belt design is basically flawed. I kept reading about belt issues and it seems that there is no definitive cure for this malady with v belts. You can align the pulleys all you want but if there is any flex, run out or harmonics, it's gonna fly. I decided to get get some serp belt pulleys to cure the issue for good. The wider belt is basically the only answer. Plus, they re CNC machined with negligible run out.

I went with a set of March pulleys in powder coated black. I believe some of the water pump issue was directly related to the new serp pulleys being under driven. I think they actually freed up a few hp as evidenced by the better times but I think it ultimately killed the water pump. Was it on it's death bed from the last race? Probably. Plus, I thought I had smelled coolant once or twice during the last month when I installed the March stuff but there were no visible leaks. I loaned my tester to a friend so I had no way to check the system so I let it go.

Once the car was back in my garage from Jersey, I confirmed that the pump was the only issue through a pressure test after I got my tool back. When I took off the pump, I saw that it was an 8 blade impeller. I figured the previous owner installed it because it's a heavy duty part. However, I believe you want a 6 blade impeller in a higher rpm application because it's less prone to cavitation. A/C cars got the 6 blade impeller because the crank pulley on those cars made the pump spin faster to help with the increased load on the cooling system with the A/C on. I could be wrong but that's how I understand it. So based on that, I had the wrong pump.

Did some more research on this subject and decided on a Flow Kooler which actually has a 16 blade impeller but has an anti cavitation plate built into it. It looks like an old water wheel in a mill while the stock impeller looks more like a regular fan blade. Hey, it looks racy so I bought it. Would a stocker have been fine? Probably but for an extra couple bucks, I got the better mousetrap. Its wild to think of all these choices that are available these days.

I also got a new silicone-lined bypass hose kit on Ebay from Rick Ehrenberg, a new t-stat and a fancy Billet Specialties water neck with an o-ring seal. Yep, there's those better mousetraps again! Hopefully this stuff is bulletproof and worry free. I hope to make it out the track one more time before the end of the season, shooting for Nov. 16.

Took some pics of the pulleys which I will show below. Just a small note; I had to modify the Flow Kooler pump a little since I don't have a heater and therefore no need for a heater hose cluttering up the bay. The 8 blade pump I took out had the heater hose outlet tapped for a threaded plug. The new one was not threaded because it's a rebuilt OE housing with the fancy Flow Kooler impeller and bearing installed in it, so I had to tap it for the plug. I understand Edlebrock water pumps come tapped already. I used a 1/2-20 tap and got a plug from the hardware store. If you do this, make sure you don't get any aluminum chips into your new pump! Seal the threads with teflon paste and forget about it.

Ok, enough words on to some pics.

Here's the March pulleys before installing them. I sourced the alternator pulley from a place called KRC Power Steering since March does not make a pulley for the Denso 60 A alternator. Works perfect.

Here is the finished product.

Here is the Flow Kooler. Note the fancy purple impeller.

Here is the heater hose outlet, tapped for the plug.

...And with the plug installed for good with the thread sealer.

Here's the Billet Specialties water neck with the o-ring seal. Super light part.

New silicone bypass hose with smooth-inside clamps.

So I have not installed any of this stuff yet because in the midst of all the cooling system/pulley issues I decided to do an intake and carb swap from the Victor W2/750 dp to an old school Strip Dominator and a Thermoquad. I got both the intake and Thermoquad from members here. (thanks dartrunner and EL5DEMON340) I am waiting on intake gaskets before I take everything apart. I have to bend up some new fuel line as well which is easier to do with the accessories off. I will post pics of all this stuff next update.

More to come.

 

[Abodybomber]

Great cooling system upgrades, did March serpentine on my Rat El Camino. Got tired of chasing v belts at 6500 rpm shifts. Good to see you get some track time ,in before winter

 

[rmchrgr]

Great cooling system upgrades, did March serpentine on my Rat El Camino. Got tired of chasing v belts at 6500 rpm shifts. Good to see you get some track time ,in before winter

Thanks, always appreciate your replies!

 

[rmchrgr]

Soooo, looks like I am rebuilding the 340 in The Great Pumpkin. Lemme backtrack a little first...

Last time I went to the drags, I blew the water pump on the way home. Fixing it would require draining the coolant so I thought it was a good opportunity to make a change to the induction system. I had been wanting to try a Thermoquad and had been wanting to try one for a long time. I figured if I had to drain the coolant, it was good time to swap intakes and do the carb. The Proform 750 DP was fine, it ran OK but I guess I really wanted a Plastic Fantastic. I have no real explanation or justification. Maybe it was the NOS Strip Kit I got for it. Dunno.

I bought a W2 Strip Dominator from member dartrunner. I didn't want to run an adapter, I don't need the plenum volume with a small stroke and a single plane on a street car. I got the TQ from member EL5340Demon. He had run the carb on his car and had it set up pretty nicely. His combo was similar to mine and ran pretty close to what my car runs. Got some Superformance gaskets for the intake and made the change. My goal was to get it all back together and try to tune it enough to take it down the track one more time before the end of the season. Didn't happen.

I knew the engine was tired but I didn't realize the extent of it until I had the intake off. Once I popped it off, I looked down at the valves and saw they were badly caked up with carbon and the stems were burned. I doesn't smoke at all but from the way the valves look, I'd bet the valve seals are toast. I couldn't even make out the back of the valve face it was so thick. I knew the piston tops were black because I could see those down the spark plug holes with a light but I didn't think it was as bad as it turned out to be. It ran OK I suppose but I knew it was tired. I believe the engine was built a while ago and raced regularly.

The valley looked OK but some of the cam lobes looked pretty worn. Nothing blue or burned or anything, just normal wear I guess but enough to probably warrant a replacement.

The other indicator that things were not so much was performance. While 12.20 @ 110.8 in the 1/4 is respectable for a stock stroke 340, to me the car is at least a half second slower than what it should be, especially since it only weighs 3,000 lbs. without me. Generally speaking, most any W2 combo should theoretically be good for mid to low 11s if everything is sorted out. Of course ET is not all engine related and half of it is chassis/gearing/converter but I believe the car is down on power. It has to be!

But I digress.... so knowing full well what things looked like inside, I went ahead with the intake and carb thing anyway. I hit a snag when I went to put the intake on and failed to see the tops of the intake gaskets were sticking up past the valve cover rails on the heads. No good! Damn! Everything lined up OK but this was not right. So it was either take off the intake and install brand new gaskets or trim them on top and try to salvage the job.

I ended up taking the intake back off which was a big mistake because the silicone had set up on the china wall and the gaskets were glued in place. I had to see why the gasket was sticking up so far though and wanted to make sure there was nothing installed wrong. There wasn't. I put the intake back on and just trimmed the tops to be flush with the heads.

So after all that, the damn things leak. I re-did the silicone and made sure everything was hunky-dory before putting the intake back on. Clearly though, something must have gotten torn or disrupted when I took off the intake because after driving it around, there was a puddle of coolant on the timing cover. I could see it wicking through the gasket under the front of the intake. No good! Damn!

So either way, this all has to come apart again. With the knowledge of how everything looked inside I knew it was time to pull everything apart for a rebuild. It makes no sense to just re-do the intake gaskets, I can't leave the valves like they are, there is no way they are sealing effectively. I've had it in the back of my mind that I was going to need to do this sooner or later. Seems par for the course how when you fix things, other crap comes up and things snowball. Typical I guess.

I would like to build in a little stroke to help with torque. I really like the 372" combo, I believe it will be efficient. 3.58" stroke cranks with 340 mains are under $375. Some nice Scat rods and lighter 360 pistons will be part of the plan. Not looking to break the bank but I don't like to skimp on parts so it will be a quality rebuild with an eye towards blueprinting things as well as possible. Only other thing I am undecided about is whether to re-use the W2s or use the RHS/Indy heads I have.

Naturally, a new converter will also be something I plan on getting since the one that's in there now is not so great. It's a 10" that stalls around 3,800, I think I could use a little more to get it off the line better. Looking into a Dynamic 9.5".

So, I guess I am done driving the car for a while. Looks like a have a winter project! Wish me luck in getting back together before next summer.

Pics below of the failed intake/carb change.

Behold Ye Mighty Thermoquad. Thanks Mike!

Behold Ye Ancient Holley W2 Strip Dominator! Thanks Frank!

Side by side comparison of intakes/carbs. The Holley/TQ is slightly taller than the Victor/double pumper. It's enough where no air cleaner will fit with the TQ. I will have to remedy that somehow.

Here's the old intake off. Lot's of goo on the china walls. Note red Glyptal paint in the valley to help oil drain back.

New stuff installed and ready to leak coolant.

Closeup of coolant leaking from coolant passage, down the front of the intake.

Things are getting interesting. More to come!

 

[clinteg]

With the length of your write-ups, I don't think you left any details out! haha Sounds like you've had your ups and downs which I can understand. I would agree that those W2's should be getting you at least in the high 11's so maybe there is something left on the table there that's holding it back. Have you decided which heads you're gonna use now?

 

[rmchrgr]

With the length of your write-ups, I don't think you left any details out! haha Sounds like you've had your ups and downs which I can understand.

Yeah, I know I can be a little long winded and tend to overthink stuff. I like to write about it I guess. I appreciate details, specifics and whys when I read stuff on the interwebs, just doing the same.

I was an English major in college but was a mechanic by trade. Go figure.

I would agree that those W2's should be getting you at least in the high 11's so maybe there is something left on the table there that's holding it back. Have you decided which heads you're gonna use now?

Not sure yet, weighing the options. I have to research the various costs. W2 valves are expensive, plus machine work, valve springs etc. I know I can get the RHS heads done for under a grand but I need standard rockers. I have a NOS set of mechanical rockers, might get them bushed and get some good adjusters which would likely cost the same as a decent set. Decisions, decisions.

 

[clinteg]

I'm not beatin on ya for the writeups. Long writeups are always good imo. I was always at the other end of the spectrum with English. I usually keep to myself a lot and don't have much to say unless someone pries it out of me. Keep moving forward my friend. You'll get there!

 

[Abodybomber]

I like the longer tech write ups, the details , make the difference in the end. Sorry to hear, about the engine situation. Like your taste in manifolds, have had nothing but good luck with Holley Street,or Strip Dominator manifolds. FWIW : stroking it to 372( and a lighter rotator assembly), usually demands more airflow.( and usually drops shift points...) I like it. Will be curious on choices for cyl head , converter & gear choices . Best of luck

 

[rmchrgr]

Thanks for the encouraging words, boys.

It's all good, I'm not upset about the motor, I am actually looking forward to the next phase. Sure, I could just fix the leak and keep running it the way it is but that wouldn't be any fun!

I considered using some Combustion Chamber Cleaner to clean things up. We used it at the dealership sometimes, it actually works. However, it's hard to imagine a chemical cleaning will restore optimum performance in this situation. Besides, I'd still need to address the leaking coolant which means the intake has to come back off. It's cold here now, racing/cruise night season is over so it makes little sense to leave it.

Now, a new stroker short block is not cheap by any means. Last time I checked, we did not have a money tree in our backyard. Regardless, I can make it work. Luckily, I have stockpiled enough building block parts to make it a little less painful.

You know, it's a funny thing about discretionary income and hobbies. I always tell my wife I could be out drinkin' and whorin' but I'm usually just 15 feet away in the garage under the hood of an old orange Plymouth. Could be even worse too - one of her friends' husband racked up a $50 grand credit card bill on sneakers. Not kidding! The Duster provides tangible results and pride, not a room full of unworn shoes. But we're all on the same wavelength here, no need to justify anything to this crowd.

Anyway, I have some choices on engine blocks and heads at my disposal. I got two 340 blocks, an LA 360 and a pre-Mag hydraulic roller 360. At the moment, I am deciding between a 340 with a solid flat tappet and the 360 roller setup.

For the heads, I am leaning towards the W2s because A) I have them already and they are still one of the best choices for iron small block heads and B) I have the best rocker arms available. (HS) I mean, a 416" W2 sounds pretty stout, no? I'll probably be putting a roll bar in it if it performs any where near optimum.

Over the last few days I have been reading about small block stokers ad nauseum and have come to the conclusion that there is no reason not to go with a 4" stroke, especially for a street car. The torque on those things can be big block territory brutal! The 4.10 gear I have should be plenty for the 450+ft lbs of grunt these motors can produce. Conversely, the stock 3.31" stroke needs at least a 4.30-up gear, lots of rpm and a gnarly converter to really get going.

Truthfully, I enjoy driving my high-strung street machine. I thought about hard about sticking with the current combo and trying to wring as much out of it as I could but for the amount of work involved, it only makes sense to go stroker. It will be OK to have a more docile idle and the potential to run quicker ETs at less rpm.

Looking back at how I planned this out, I'm glad to have done this project in stages as kind of a rolling laboratory. I got to drive the car for a while and get it down the track to basically where it was before I took it apart 2 years ago. The engine is like the last step.

 

[clinteg]

For the heads, I am leaning towards the W2s because A) I have them already and they are still one of the best choices for iron small block heads and B) I have the best rocker arms available. (HS) I mean, a 416" W2 sounds pretty stout, no? I'll probably be putting a roll bar in it if it performs any where near optimum.

I can testify that a 416 W2 motor will flat out run. Took mine out for the first time to the track earlier this month and ran high 10's without even tuning it. It runs better than my buddies' 512 eddy headed challenger. Not bragging or boasting but just telling you that combo in an A Body will move!

 

[rmchrgr]

I can testify that a 416 W2 motor will flat out run. Took mine out for the first time to the track earlier this month and ran high 10's without even tuning it. It runs better than my buddies' 512 eddy headed challenger. Not bragging or boasting but just telling you that combo in an A Body will move!

I replied to your post and yes, that things hauls ***! Very impressive for a first outing.

Have you driven it on the street? Driving my car on the street was fine and around town, the 4.30 gears that I had before were fun. Putting the 4.10 gear in made it somewhat reasonable on the highway.

What is your support team like - gears, converter etc. As I stated previously, I'll probably be getting a new converter. It will be a no-brainer since the block will be coming out. I know you have a 4 link type chassis, I have stock suspension with Caltracs.

 

[COdartman]

That is some very nice work, I think you picked the right career path to journey down. Great write ups with excellent detail.

Dave,

 

[clinteg]

I replied to your post and yes, that things hauls ***! Very impressive for a first outing.

Have you driven it on the street? Driving my car on the street was fine and around town, the 4.30 gears that I had before were fun. Putting the 4.10 gear in made it somewhat reasonable on the highway.

What is your support team like - gears, converter etc. As I stated previously, I'll probably be getting a new converter. It will be a no-brainer since the block will be coming out. I know you have a 4 link type chassis, I have stock suspension with Caltracs.

Yes it has been 95% street driven since running (only around 150 miles). Some might say that the cam/converter/spool combo isn't street friendly but I don't mind it at all. The converter is an 8" 5500 stall (Dynamic) and 4.10 gears with 28" tire. At 60 it's sitting at 3000 rpm or so. Workout going back and looking I don't recall what converter you have but you'd be happy with a 9" or 9.5" 4000 stall built for your combo IMO.

 

[rmchrgr]

Just a quick update. Spent a few hours out in the garage today, started pulling the engine out of the Duster. Made some good headway, basically just have to undo the motor mounts and lift it out.

Ran into a few snags along the way but nothing major. Converter bolts were a little rounded off and really tight, smashed my knuckle bad breaking one loose. Couple of the lower bell bolts were kind of a ***** to get out too. Had to take the oil filter adapter off on the passenger side to get to that one and man, was it on there good. I think it was good to take the adapter off though, looked like it could have been in the way during pulling. The rest of the bell bolts came out pretty easily. Headers make it tough to get to those though, had to snake extensions through all kinds of obstructions.

Glad I am taking this thing out, seems like there is a thin film of oil on everything. The trans is a mess, there's oil all inside the bell, probably the rear main seal or could be the front pump seal. I was really dirty when I stopped. Looking forward to cleaning things up.

Will post pics when the job is done.

More to come!