The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster

[rmchrgr]

Great update! It's come a long way. If it makes you feel any better, my '66 is going on 18 years since it last ran. I just keep reminding myself that it's the journey, not the destination.

18 years? Damn! You're a trooper.

I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel actually. It's faint but it's there. Right now I'm waiting on a new oil pump to arrive which should allow me to finish the engine. That will be a huge step. If I can get the wiring done that will also be a huge weight off my chest and I can really start putting stuff back together.

Patience, Grasshopper. Rome was not built in a day blah blah blah...

 

[mopowers]

18 years? Damn! You're a trooper.

I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel actually. It's faint but it's there. Right now I'm waiting on a new oil pump to arrive which should allow me to finish the engine. That will be a huge step. If I can get the wiring done that will also be a huge weight off my chest and I can really start putting stuff back together.

Patience, Grasshopper. Rome was not built in a day blah blah blah...

Luckily I've had various other running A-bodies to have fun with while the 18-yr build has been going on. I'm looking forward to wiring my '66. That'll be the last hurdle in my build and I'm definitely taking notes from following this thread. Keep it up!! I can't wait to see yours hit the road.

 

[abdywgn]

Thank-you for the explanation about your hip...gonna have to look that up and see what is all involved.

 

[rmchrgr]

Thank-you for the explanation about your hip...gonna have to look that up and see what is all involved.

To better put this in perspective, here are two images illustrating the two hip surgeries I've had.

To be clear, I completely shattered the hip. The way it happened was like when Charlie Brown goes to kick the football and Lucy pulls it away from him - he goes flying through the air horizontally and lands flat on his back. In my case, I lost concentration for a second when I saw some leaves in front of me coming down off a bowl wall. I stepped off the board awkwardly but my foot slipped on the leaves and the board shot out from under me. I was completely airborne sideways and when I came down I landed on my side with all my weight on concrete. Snap!

This pic is of the first repair from Nov. 2018. The idea behind this repair was to avoid replacement because the Dr. thought I was too young for it. (I was 48 at the time) It was actually an experimental procedure and I was one of only a handful of people in the world that had it done.

It was fine for a while but after a couple years it felt like I had pulled a muscle in the joint that wouldn't stretch out. Over time it became really uncomfortable and I was constantly aware of it - I knew there was something wrong. After limping around for almost a year, I went back to my Dr. and he confirmed the necrosis condition. The only way to fix it was replacement.

At one point I considered skipping the replacement but after watching my dad deteriorate into a limping, hunched over mess because of decades-old untreated injuries, I knew I had to get it taken care of.

This is the replacement joint. It's basically a ball joint. The ball is ceramic, the rest of it is Cobalt. That whole inner section of the hip bone is gone now. Kinda gives me the willies to think about that.

In any event, it's pretty much a non-issue now and I can do whatever I want physically. Frankly, I haven't had much drive to skate in the last few years but that's more due to the fact I'm out of shape than anything else.

 

[rmchrgr]

Late last week, my new 'blueprinted' HV oil pump arrived. Part of the blueprinting process is to enlarge and smooth the outlet port.

Pump outlet port.

Once I had the pump in hand, it was time to open up the port on the #5 main cap. I hemmed and hawed about this because I had already torqued it down and glued the rear main tabs in place. Unfortunately, it makes no sense to have an enlarged outlet port on the pump that meets a restriction at the main cap so I swallowed my fear of introducing metal debris into the engine and went for it. Opening up the port should ensure that whatever volume the pump can provide is actually what is in the system.

This is the stock #5 main cap. The black outline is the gasket opening. Note the step right below the surface.

I tried not to go nuts and make the opening too big. I mostly worked at smoothing the entry and any steps or rough parts of the passage. There was definitely some material removed from the step area as it was all bleneded smooth.

Here's the finished product. The opening does not match the gasket exactly but it's a far cry from the stock opening and should improve flow. I had to fight every fiber of my being not to take the cap back off and shave down that little area on the bottom right - it's good enough! Don't worry, I cleaned the crap out of it and it's spotless.

The bottom end can now go together for the final time. The pump, pickup and timing cover are on. Next I have to finish cleaning the oil pan out and set the pan gaskets in place. Oil pan gaskets are always nerve wracking for me and I strive to get them as perfect as possible to avoid leaks. I'm obviously using studs this time as well.

Note the marks on the front of the pan rail and bottom of the timing cover ears. The timing cover gasket sits a bit proud of the mating surfaces and it won't allow the pan rail gasket to sit flat. These little pieces of gasket will have to be carefully trimmed before the pan goes on.

Hope to have the motor buttoned up soon. After the oil pan, the damper goes on and the top end goes together. The valvetrain has to be set up but it's mostly just aligning the rocker rollers to the valve tips. Then it gets timed, primed and most likely dynoed.

More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

This morning a glass guy came to my house and took out the windshield and backlight. I'm glad I didn't attempt this job myself. It would have taken hours and likely resulted in destroyed trim and broken windows. The guy had the front and rear glass out (both in one piece) within about 30 minutes. Sometimes it's best to pay a pro and get the job done right. Cool guy too as he is a long-time, winning roundy round racer.

Thankfully, the window channel and surrounding areas are in really nice shape. The outer parts of the gaskets were faded and shrunk but they were still flexible inside, it was almost a shame to cut them out. Happy to report though there was no rust, rot or any suspect repairs found underneath. It will take a bit of effort to get all the old sealant and dum dum out but it seems to come off fairly easily. Having the rear glass out will make securing and finishing the package tray panel doable rather than nearly impossible.

The windshield came out just as easily as the rear glass. It appears that it had been out once before since one of the dash screws is missing. I was surprised to see that as I thought all the glass was 1971 factory installed.

I've stated previously the main reason to get the glass out was to help facilitate the dash wiring. The dash will come out easily now and the wiring can be done on the bench.

Once the glass was out, I ended up removing the headliner. Back in 2016 I put it in without taking the front and rear glass out and it wasn't right. It didn't sag but it had a lot of wrinkles, some spots were tight, some were loose and overall it was a sub par job. After the glass came out I tried to pull it tight but the existing holes would have ended up in different spots. Plus, the places I cut it to stuff it under the gaskets were tearing and would have eventually gotten worse. It was basically a lost cause. IMO this job really can't be done right without pulling the glass out. So I get to do it again now but the result will be better this time. The shag carpeting stuff is sound/heat insulation from H.D.

One thing to note is that the sail panels really took a beating doing the headliner since they have to come out. They also can't be fully secured in this car because the main hoop is now in the way of the front screw. Not sure how to solve that yet.

This type of interior resto stuff is tedious and adds more work/time to the project but that's what happens when you cut corners and try to fudge the install the first time. Truth be told, this car has never been this far apart. It is a bit intimidating to be at this point but there's nowhere to go but forward now.

More to come.

 

[rumblefish360]

My son in law has a hip replacement like yours. His Doc told him he’ll need it replaced when his great grand kid finishes up his Doctor degree and residency.

 

[bjkadron]

Lots of rain here this weekend so I made some progress on rebuilding the 416" yesterday. After looking at the box for almost a year, I finally hung my new set of higher compression pistons on to the rods. This was a big step that I was actually kind of dreading.

Like anyone who has dealt with them, I detest Spriolox. It took me about five pistons (two locks per piston) before I was able to get them in efficiently without gouging up the inside of the wrist pin bore with the screwdriver tip. There always seems to be a point around the circumference where the lock just kind of hangs. You have to position it so it will flex and then you can work it down into the slot but it's not easy to get it there consistently, it's like a 'feel' type thing. There is nothing I could physically recognize about the process that was helpful to decrease the effort and do-overs until I realized the outside tangent of the lock had to be at a very specific angle at the same point every time. If I did this all the time I'd be better at it but once a year does not provide the muscle memory needed. It went painfully slow and I hate marring new parts but I had a method that I stuck to and eventually got it done with a minimum of destruction.

So the new slugs (Diamond 51008) are almost the same as the previous ones (Diamond 51410) but the new ones are flat tops while the previous ones were -21.5cc dish. Same compression height of 1.457". I think the flat tops might weigh a few grams more but it's probably negligible. I've spoken to several knowledgeable people and they all said there was no need to rebalance the rotating assembly which saves me a lot of hassle and money. Theoretically they should be the same zero deck as the previous ones.

I am going to transfer the existing rings from the old pistons to the flat tops. I spoke to Total Seal about it directly and they said it was fine to do that since the engine was only broken in and ran a few times on the dyno. I am very happy not to have to file new rings. This piston swap worked out pretty well!

View attachment 1716145684

I'm not quite ready to put the pistons in yet though. The block will need to be thoroughly cleaned before the crank goes back in. I may have mentioned a few posts back about needing to change the rod bearings as they were fairly scuffed up when I took it apart. Thankfully the mains seemed OK.

Not sure where all the dirt came from between building it and putting it on the dyno eight years ago but let's just say I didn't have a clean room at my old house and then it sat for a long time without being perfectly sealed up. I am using a 5 gallon bucket of real-deal parts washing solvent to clean stuff this time around. I need to be careful with it and not splash on any painted surfaces, it is nasty. When each piston and rod assembly was done they went back in the plastic shipping bags until I am ready to install them.

To be clear, the reason for swapping pistons is because I have a fancy new set of aluminum heads. Not sure if I've mentioned that here yet. I started the process of acquiring these particular parts almost exactly a year ago. Due to a lack of availability of certain parts because of supply chain issues and then waiting to get them machined properly, it took the better part of eight months for them to be finished and delivered. Honestly, they are things of beauty though and it was worth the wait. I don't know the flow numbers off hand but let's just say it's enough to make the kind of power that could push the stock block to it's limit.

Once the choice was made to go that route, it no longer made sense to stay with the dished pistons since the aluminum will tolerate a higher compression ratio. That obviously created a snowball effect - more squeeze changes the combustion dynamics so I've upgraded the cam to a 263/268 @ .050" solid roller. It never ends.

The hope is that the new combination of almost one point higher compression, the solid roller cam, larger headers and a somewhat "better" intake (Victor vs. Holley Strip Dominator, the Victor has a bigger plenum) should easily net a significant power increase over the previous combo of parts. It remains to be seen what the changes will do exactly but I'm betting there should be at least a 50-60hp gain over the previous 500hp number, maybe even more. The guy that did the heads thinks the car should be in the 10.20-10.30 1/4 mile range when all is said and done. I think I've created a bit of a monster.

More to come.

Did I miss it somewhere or did you say what the new heads are? Also is it the W heads you are taking off or was there another iteration at some point?

 

[rmchrgr]

Did I miss it somewhere or did you say what the new heads are?

BPE.

Also is it the W heads you are taking off or was there another iteration at some point?

The BPE's are replacing my IMM CNC ported RHS/Indy-X heads.

When I bought the RHS heads back in 2013, I was against aluminum heads. It was similar to how people like to prove a point by building up a Slant 6 or 318 - sure it can be done but just doesn't make a whole lot of sense when looking at it from a cost/performance standpoint. In the end, you end up with something that's no better than an average build with a better foundation.

I have no reasonable explanation for why I held on to that idea and I've since come to believe that aluminum heads are superior. That choice did cost me time and money though since save for a few dyno runs in 2014, the heads just sat unused.

The IMM/RHS are awesome heads though. They flow just about 300cfm on the intake side and made 500hp/500lbft of torque in my 416" with a 251 @ .050" solid F.T. cam. Problem is they are HEAVY. Like, REALLY heavy. They will get used eventually so I'm going to hang onto them but that's a project for another day.

The W2s came off a long time ago, it’s been about ten years at this point. After I bought the RHS, I sold all my W2 stuff at Carlisle - heads (#810), valves, pushrods, two intakes, Harland Sharp rockers, shafts and hold downs… all of it. I made decent money but part of me regrets doing that since it would cost a small fortune to buy it all back now.

The W2s needed work though. They weren’t cracked or anything but they were old and worn. The bowls had been touched up a little but they were nowhere near their ultimate potential. I never flowed them but I have no doubt the RHS were much better. Sure, they could have been monsters had I chosen to get them worked on but at the time I just didn’t want to sink a bunch of money into them so down the road they went.

The aluminum heads I have now flow a LOT of air. The ports are works of art. Plus, they have to be 50lbs lighter than iron heads and allow for almost a point more compression. They also don't require offset rockers so I saved money transferring the rocker gear from the RHS heads. As they say, it was a win-win deal.

 

[bjkadron]

BPE.
View attachment 1716201382

The BPE's are replacing my IMM CNC ported RHS/Indy-X heads.

When I bought the RHS heads back in 2013, I was against aluminum heads. It was similar to how people like to prove a point by building up a Slant 6 or 318 - sure it can be done but just doesn't make a whole lot of sense when looking at it from a cost/performance standpoint. In the end, you end up with something that's no better than an average build with a better foundation.

I have no reasonable explanation for why I held on to that idea and I've since come to believe that aluminum heads are superior. That choice did cost me time and money though since save for a few dyno runs in 2014, the heads just sat unused.

The IMM/RHS are awesome heads though. They flow just about 300cfm on the intake side and made 500hp/500lbft of torque in my 416" with a 251 @ .050" solid F.T. cam. Problem is they are HEAVY. Like, REALLY heavy. They will get used eventually so I'm going to hang onto them but that's a project for another day.

The W2s came off a long time ago, it’s been about ten years at this point. After I bought the RHS, I sold all my W2 stuff at Carlisle - heads (#810), valves, pushrods, two intakes, Harland Sharp rockers, shafts and hold downs… all of it. I made decent money but part of me regrets doing that since it would cost a small fortune to buy it all back now.

The W2s needed work though. They weren’t cracked or anything but they were old and worn. The bowls had been touched up a little but they were nowhere near their ultimate potential. I never flowed them but I have no doubt the RHS were much better. Sure, they could have been monsters had I chosen to get them worked on but at the time I just didn’t want to sink a bunch of money into them so down the road they went.

The aluminum heads I have now flow a LOT of air. The ports are works of art. Plus, they have to be 50lbs lighter than iron heads and allow for almost a point more compression. They also don't require offset rockers so I saved money transferring the rocker gear from the RHS heads. As they say, it was a win-win deal.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I'm trying to figure out what I am going to do with my build. I have a 318 in the can, not sure it is worth rebuilding it or jumping right to a new hemi for cheaper for the same power output. There is a lot of extras you need to run the new hemi in an a-body but I'm basically starting over with my build currently. It would be fun to have an all iron stock painted engine that is actually a monster but there is a lot of concessions you have to make.

Those intake ports are pieces of art. Looks like it will be a lot of fun when you get it going.

 

[rmchrgr]

Wow, 4+ months since the last update, didn't realize it had been that long. I will admit there are times when I don't want to deal with taking pictures and write ups. By nature I am thorough and documenting all these details while making them into coherent posts can get tedious.

In any event, I have been making some decent progress on a few fronts. I will say that the wiring is 95% complete and almost ready to go back in the car. There are a few more connections to make which involve putting things in to the car to figure out the wire lengths and taking them back out to terminate them. Just have to git 'er done. The dash part is all wrapped though and ready though so I am glad to have cleared that hurdle.

Just want to mention that the EFI wiring is mostly separate from the 'regular' car wiring. On another car I went through a lot of trouble trying to integrate both into one harness and it was a mistake. It became unwieldy and made it hard to get at stuff. There's a few things that cross over but I feel like it's just as clean with two smaller harnesses. All unnecessary or excess wires have been removed from both branches. There's probably enough left over to never have to buy wire again.

Since the car has been sitting for a while, I started cleaning things up a bit. This project does dip into the restoration department so I've been dealing with trying to make things look presentable. The decklid was really dirty and I was tired of looking at it so I washed it off and buffed the paint. Original paint is awesome when it cleans up, there's just something about it that is hard to duplicate with modern paint.

I'm calling the package tray block off panel done. Spent some time trimming it down so it fits really nicely. I also decided to fasten it down with 3M double sided tape instead of drilling a bunch of holes for rivets. I may use a few in the corners of each panel but tape should be much easier to deal with overall. The rear firewall/package tray rule says it needs seal off the passenger compartment from the trunk but does not specify how the panel is to be fastened.

Several years ago after the roll bar was put in I ordered a new package tray from Legendary. Trying to modify and install it with the rear window in place proved to be the wrong move. I mis-measured everything and the rear bar cutouts were all messed up. I kept it though and I'm glad I did because I used it as a template to make one myself.

This one fits much better. It needs a second coat of flat black paint and I need to figure out how to trim it but I'm pretty happy with it. Sharp-eyed readers will notice the new window trim clips. The old window gasket glue residue was also cleaned off the flange to reveal more nice original paint underneath.

Same with the front. Check out how clean, like brand new!

And oh yeah, I put the headliner in. I was dreading it since it was a complete disaster last time but since the windows are out it went 1,000 times better this time. Couple not-so-perfect spots but they won't be too noticeable with the windows and trim installed. I'll always see it because I know where the flaws are but whatever, I'm not redoing it. Really glad to have this checked off the list.

Not bad if I don't say so myself.

It looks like there are wrinkles but they are really minimal and will be covered by trim.

Thanks for reading. More to come.

 

[mygasser]

re the rear firewall, don't forget to block off the rear roof pillars and behind the rear door cards too. a fire/blast can blow over the wheel wells up the rear pillars and forward to the 'b' posts.
neil.

 

[mopowers]

Great progress!

 

[rmchrgr]

Thanks all.

 

[rmchrgr]

Got something done yesterday that has been bugging me for a couple years - figuring out and executing an instrument cluster arrangement. This story is a perfect example of all the unnecessary and overwrought drama I put myself through on every last detail of this car. It's no wonder why it's taking me so long to finish it. But I digress.

I've never been a fan of OE gauges. They are somewhat accurate at best and the lighting is dim. In recent years 'digital' stepper motor gauges have risen in popularity. I've used them on other cars and liked them for their crisp action and bright LED lighting so I bought a complete set of Holley EFI digital "analog-style" gauges for the Duster.

Since this was going to be a 'custom' install, I bought a generic plastic bezel a few years ago to house the gauges. It was lightweight for sure but frankly that's because it was crappy. Whatever mold or model that was used to make them lost all the outer trim detail which makes them look super chintzy. After looking at it for several months and realizing there was nothing easy I could do to improve it, I sold it and started looking for alternatives.

No offense to the guy that bought it from me but this thing was a P.O.S. It's flimsy at best and retains none of the details from an original bezel whatsoever. I got mine cheaper a few years ago but these panels by themselves are generally over $250 now and IMO not even remotely worth the price.

Having seen them around for a couple years, I found and bought an aluminum panel that fits inside the OE bezel. I like it because it retains the outer part of the bezel which keeps the factory look. However, to install the panel the face of the OE bezel has to be completely removed.

Below is the aluminum panel I got from Speedway though it is available through a few random vendors. This part also had to be modified around the edges since it was slightly too big to fit the OE bezel opening. It made the upper left hand corner very narrow leaving very little room for the gauge collar.

Funny because after all these years of owning a '70's A Body I never realized the top of the bezel was slightly angled up to the right. It's subtle but it's there, probably about 3/8"-1/2" rise overall. Who knew?

Once the aluminum panel arrived though, I got cold feet about cutting out the face out of my nice, original bezel. I hemmed and hawed about it for weeks. Eventually I went and bought an extra bezel from a member relatively close to me in case I screwed something up. Turned out to be the right call because I ended up completely destroying it. Thankfully it was an extra so in a way it was worth the expense and time since I learned what not to do.

What I learned on the extra one is you need a small cutoff wheel (like a Dremel or air grinder) for this job. It can be tricky to tell where to cut from the backside so on the first one, I decided to drill holes around the perimeter of the face from the front side to locate the edges and then 'connect the dots' so to speak. Problem was the extra bezel was a little warped and the plastic on that particular one seemed really brittle. Drilling all those holes probably weakened it because once some dots were connected the outer edges just snapped. I tried to save it but it was a lost cause as it ended up breaking in two more spots. That was a couple months ago.

Connect the dots.

No, that's not buffing out.

That whole experience soured me on the aluminum panel for the time being and I started looking at other alternatives. Trust me when I say this, there really isn't much else out there for off-the-shelf gauge bezels besides the two things I described earlier in this post. I looked into getting one 3D printed and/or having one made from carbon fiber but neither of those methods are easy or quick.

I often make punch lists for project cars to make it easier to see what needs to be completed. After cleaning up my garage the other day, I made a new one for the Duster. The first thing I wrote was 'figure out dash bezel'. That got the wheels turning and put this whole silly saga into focus. I've been wasting valuable time agonizing over the 'perfect' solution but came to realize there isn't one. It finally became clear to me that the only way to do what I wanted was going to have to be cutting my original bezel.

I did some searching on the best way to approach cutting the bezel and found that member @dodge73dart did it and it turned out fine. Looking at his pictures made me realize I did the first one wrong by completely overthinking it. Live and learn. Again, it pains me to think how much time I've wasted on this car and in my life in general overthinking things and searching for perfection. Sounds corny but keeping it simple is always the best approach.

Actually turned out OK.

So the 'hard part' of the job is done but I do want to try and get the bezel looking a little better. I found some hobby chrome paint that got good reviews to try and replicate the vacuum plating. I also need to fasten the panel to the bezel somehow and make a few more holes for indicator lamps but that's operational stuff that does not require gut-wrenching, emotional decisions. I will post the finished product when it's done.

Getting the gauges done will clear a path to putting the entire dash back in the car since it ws my preference to not have to do it while it's in the car. That will also allow me to finalize the column and seat position and eventually get the glass re-installed. Progress!

Thanks for reading through my internal drama about the cluster bezel. More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

Did some intake port matching on the Victor 340.

This was how the intake started. Someone before me gasket matched it to a regular-size Fel Pro intake gasket.

The ports on the BPE heads are huge - 2.5" tall x 1.8" wide. The intake gasket had to be cut larger to match the opening as it hung over by almost 3/16" on the top and bottom. Too much to leave alone.

To match the opening from the head surface to the intake surface, the gasket was sprayed with sealant and glued/bolted to the head and then cut out with an Exacto knife. Made a mess.

It's really not easy to cut these gaskets.

Once the gasket was cut, the intake was bolted on and a line was scribed around the outside of it to indicate the position of it against the head. (The scribe line can be seen across the top) The intake was then taken off and the gasket was carefully removed from the head. Then it gets glued back on to the intake using the scribed line to reference the position from one surface to another. Honestly, the whole thing is a PITA. All in the name of horsepower.

I never know if I'm doing more harm than good when I start grinding on stuff. There's definitely no obstruction any longer. I just hope opening it up like this doesn't kill too much air speed.

The intake port opening now matches up to the head port. Mostly.

One side of the intake is done. Not sure how much I will do on the plenum. At the least, the runner dividers will get profiled down and the short turn under the carb pad will get smoothed out.

Pretty much finished the cluster bezel as well. Not my best finsihing job but I can't futz wih it any more so in it goes.

Bit by bit getting closer to the finish line.

More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

Still plugging away and got a couple things done recently.

So the Victor 340 intake I was working on in my last post was a fail. In all honesty, I trashed it. It's not really worth explaining in any great detail other than the fact that I learned what not to do. Essentially there is not enough material on the top of the runners to do the job right. The answer was to get a Super Victor.

Once that idea became clear the search was on for an intake. I lucked out pretty quickly and made a deal on an older, non-EFI version that had been ported by Hughes. Though it was gasket matched already, the ports still needed to be opened up further to match the BPE heads. I posted about the job here. As I said in that post, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and I believe it will work out fine.

The previous owner (member 1965fish) painted it 273 red because it's the correct color for an Early A but my preference is the natural finish. The paint was removed with a combination of paint stripping chemicals, elbow grease and my power washer. There's still some spots left in hard-to-reach areas but it's good enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.

Hard to see in this pic but I also ground down the cast-in bosses on the tops of the runners so the reverse-lip valve cover edges will clear. Not sure what purpose those bosses serve anyway other than possibly providing a spot to leverage a pry bar on the underside of the valve cover lip if it's stuck. Or maybe they are there to keep wires in place? Not sure but they're gone now.

At this point I can pretty much put the engine together. It needs to be timed and there's a few peripheral things that will need to be finalized before it can be fired up but the intake was the last major component that required some thought and effort.

I'm also happy to report that dash is ready to go back in the car. There are more connections that will need to be made after it's installed but those would not be possible without the dash being in place first. The plan was to make it easy to service if/when trouble arises and we'll see how that works out when I have to deal with the remaining wiring. Sorry, no pics this time but it will give you something to look forward to in the next post.

Thanks for following along. More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Fitting it's Halloween since I have a couple updates. I installed a Kirkey aluminum seat in the Duster today. With the cushion/cover the seat is about 13-14lbs. The seat floor brackets are probably a pound each? To finish the job I will need to install a seat back brace and then a harness. Should be around 20 lbs when all is said and done?

Unfortunately, I'm not saving a huge amount of weight with the Kirkey since the previous set of high-back bucket seats (out of an '80's Jeep Scrambler) I had were surprisingly light - 22lbs each mounted to '68 S/S seat brackets.

Jeep bucket seats from back around 2013.

Though they looked cool, the Jeep seats were not terribly safe which is mostly why I switched them out. The S/S brackets are bolted to the bottom of the seat frames with small bolts that would have instantly ripped out in a crash. With the Kirkey, the floor brackets are bolted to the sides of the seat in shear which is a safer method of installation. Plus, the seat back brace will tie it into the roll bar. I'll add another bolt or two to each bracket before the final install. Grade 8 fasteners only.

These brackets are made for GM G bodies but they fit the Duster OK.

Not sure if/when I will put another seat in. Can't imagine anyone wanting to ride around in this car now.

From the long-time-coming dept., I put the dash back in the car. If you've been following along, you know this is a huge accomplishment for me. I guess it looks alright with the new, warped(!) dash pad... My hope is that someday, someone somewhere will make an accurate and sturdy A body instrument cluster that houses aftermarket gauges. This is my OE one that I reluctantly cut apart which naturally cracked right down the middle on the install. (bottom of the dash got hung up on the column bracket studs) It's not coming out though, I'll deal with it at a later time.

With carpet mocked up. Not looking forward to fitting/trimming the carpet with the roll bar.

Now that the dash is in I am able to begin making the final electrical connections. I started from from the rear to make sure everything reaches and nothing will have to be re-routed. The EFI requires wires go directly to the battery terminals which is why there are several connections on the side post. After the wiring is finished the interior panels can go in but I want to drive the car some before that to make sure nothing has to be re-worked.

The battery tray has been slightly modified. I cut two pieces of angle iron and welded them to the outside of it to correspond with the exiting holes in the trunk floor. It comes unfinished so it got painted with textured bed liner-type paint after the welding.

Only thing left back here is to find a good spot on the rear frame for the ground wire. I'm a little uneasy about ruining the nice paint underneath but it's got to be done. I'll have to do the same in front with a ground wire running from the cylinder head to the frame.

And just for fun, I put the 'glass hood on loosely. It's likely going to require cutting a hole in it because the Super Victor intake is pretty tall. If I have to cut a hole I'll get a scoop which I wasn't planning on especially since it will need to be bonded to the exiting hood rather than being molded in during manufacturing.

For the time being, I need to come up with a way to raise the rear of the hood to the level of the cowl panel. Probably get some hard rubber tubing and large flat washers or some such caveman thing.

Making some good progress now. More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

Wow, can't believe it's been 6 months. I don't have much this time.

Rear-mount trans cooler lines are finally done. What a PITA. I really hope it works because I will be pissed if I have to do this crap over again.

After several attempts at getting the lines going backwards out of the cooler taps, this is what I came up with. It looks a bit convoluted but trust me when I say this was the best solution. It fits in the tunnel, stays away from the exhaust and is far enough away from the from the driveshaft to not be a concern. I started with flex hose but it was too bulky. The hard lines can be routed more precisely. The speedometer is GPS so there will be no cable which reminds me that I need to get a block off plate.

I chose to run the lines through the trans cross member because it's protected from the road and the fittings allow it to be kept up and away from the exhaust. It's also modular and can be taken apart at several different points without having to remove them entirely. If the trans has to come out, I can loosen the fittings where it passes through the cross member and detach and drain the lines right there without making a mess and then the trans will drop right out.

Looking towards the back.

Was hoping not to have to use another junction here but it was difficult route to the hard lines around the parking brake cable bracket without doing this.

One step closer. More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

Slowly but surely I am chipping away at this project. I really need to start knocking big stuff of the to-do list and put the car back together, it's been too long.

First and foremost, the most pressing thing that had to be taken care of was to clean my shop. Honestly, it had been a few years since I'd thoroughly de-cluttered all the work surfaces and floor and put everything away. It was literally at crisis level and it was making me depressed. Having two cars apart in a shop that looked like a tornado went through it is not a recipe for success. No lie, it took me the better part of two weeks to get through the job. I was running out of gas at the end.

There is a lot of stuff in this picture that you can't see but trust me, it was hard to walk around in here. I have to be mindful of having space.

There was a lot of re-shuffling and rearranging but once I got to a certain point things mercifully started to fall into place. One bench is still somewhat messy but it's mostly under control. Feels 100x better to be able to walk around without tripping over things every two feet.

In the future, I really have to learn how to A) finish what I'm working on before starting something else and B) force myself to put stuff away when I'm done with 2hatever I'm working on. I was never this bad when I was a tech so I chalk it up to not having to answer to anyone and having the luxury (or curse) of time and space.

So after cleaning up I decided I should finish my engine. Frankly, there was no good reason not to. The short block has been sitting on the stand since last year and the top end parts were in bins on the bench waiting to be put together. No time like the present.

You can sorta tell I cleaned up. Engine parts laid out, ready to assemble.

For various reasons, the plan is to dyno the engine before it goes in the car. A few things were re-used from the previous iteration of this engine - the crank, rods and piston rings but everything else is new so it's a big unknown. I'd also prefer to check for leaks and take care of any before installing it in the car because the headers are difficult to install. Lastly, I'd like to get a baseline tune for the EFI. Frankly, none of that happens if it's still in pieces...

Not much to see but here I am shimming the rocker arms to center them over the valve tips and checking the side clerances. Have to go slow when tightenting the shafts down to overcome very stiff valve springs.

Switching gears - I'm not going reveal too much about what you see below for now other than to say I've been working it in the background for a while. It's 95% done at this point. Next step is to make some final tweaks and send it off to be 3D printed as a single piece in a more durable material. I'm stoked, it's gonna super cool when it's all done and finished similarly to the OE part. Also weighs nothing and fits like the stock bezel.

Thanks for reading. More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

Couple updates today.

Number one, I got the valvetrain installed last week. First step in that process was to get the rollers centered over the valve tips. Some are not perfect (like below) but per Hughes' instructions they don't have to be. To do this properly you need to adjust the clearance between the rocker arm sets and spacers as best as you can using some combination of .015" and .030" shims. Sometimes swapping spacers can help even things out. Hughes says between .003"-.017" clearance per set is acceptable. Too little space you obviously get no oil/metal-to-metal contact and too loose you get noise and probably other maladies. After a couple rounds I ended up with approx. .010" total side clearance for all 8 sets. You can feel it when it's right, there's just a little play side to side and you can hear a slightly audible "clack".

I'm also happy to report the pushrods appear to be the correct length. I mean, they should be - I spent a lot of time measuring for them. Regardless, there's always that gnawing feeling you get after you order them that you screwed up somehow but thankfully not this time. As you can see I've got maybe 3/4 adjuster thread showing underneath the rocker arms which is just about perfect. After the shafts were torqued down I set the lash. The cam card called for .016" hot but since it's cold it's set to .010" to allow for heat expansion on first fire up.

After finishing the valvetrain, I started on the oil pan which did not go as well. Nothing really bad happened except for the fact that in a moment of severe brain fade I chose to use silicone under the end seals. It made a mess and I immediately regretted it. Like a dumb ***, I called Superformance after the fact and asked for their recommended procedure. They said the end seals go on dry (of course) save for some sort of lube on the inside part where the rubber meets the timing cover and end cap. They want a dab of silicone where the paper gaskets meet the end cap and bottom of the timing cover (block side) and then a 1/8" bead along the pan rail before placing it on the block. They say not to smooth it with your finger since tightening the pan down will allow the sealant to go where it wants.

Since I hadn't set the gaskets to the block yet, I started removing the silicone from the oil pan with acetone and it melted away easily but there was still a bunch on the underside of the end seals. I was able to wipe some off but most of it was not going anywhere. Acetone will destroy rubber so I used my fingers to rub it off. That took a while but eventually I was able to remove almost all of it.

Unfortunately, the first time I tried installing the end seals with the silicone, one of the small nipples ripped because the sealant made it too large to pull through the hole. (I use a needle nose or small duck bill plier) After it was clean I tried again but since there was very little to grab onto it ripped again and left just a little nub. I tried pulling it through with a pick tool and pushing it from behind but it wouldn't go. I've read where guys have cut them off and used a screw into the rubber but I'm a bit leery of that. At that point I threw in the towel and decided to just get a new set. Probably for the best anyway since these have been handled more than necessary. I'll keep any extra pieces for spares.

Grrrrr!!

Despite having to re-do the oil pan gaskets, I started mocking up the exhaust and accessories. Gotta look ahead sometimes to get an idea what things will look like.

No lie, these new headers are big. I'm not looking forward to installing them since the right T-bar and center link need to come out. They should help make some power though. I will need to make or find some shorter bolts for some tubes. If/when I dyno the engine I'll use my old 1 5/8" set first to make sure I don't ruin the coating on these. Yeah, I follow the rules... too expensive not to.

When I ordered this set, I had TTI put an 02 sensor bung in the collector. For whatever reason, they decided to put it at 9:00/3:00 facing out towards the frame rail. In general, whether it's facing in or out, you want the angle of the sensor to be at 10:00/2:00 so moisture drips out.

The diagram shows a variance of 10º but why put it at 9:00 with no room for adjustment?

I've never had the sensor facing outward either and there may not be enough room for it. I'll give it a try but I have my doubts it'll work. Thankfully I have an adapter with a correctly-placed, inward facing bung already in it.

Even if the sensor fits here, the angle is kinda wrong...

In my mind the bung in the adapter is where it should be placed. Only thing I can think of why they put it here is that it may be too close to some part of the transmission. We'll see what it looks like when it's in the car.

The accessories are the same from when I first built the motor back in 2016. Mostly I just wanted to make sure I still have the right fasteners on hand since this stuff has been scattered all over the place for several years. I also wasn't sure if the new damper would affect the crank pulley depth but it seems to line up fine. Might be able to get away with a shorter belt too since there is plenty of room in the alternator belt adjustment slot. Have to get a new crank bolt since a few of the threads on my OE one were stripped.

Nothing new to show on the dash cluster but I went back to the 3D printing place the other day and made some final tweaks to the file. There will be one more test piece and then if all is well it gets sent out for printing. The guy I am working with is into the project and has been very generous with making test prints. No way it would have turned right had I not been able to fine tune it. He is also making me some arm rest base covers to replace of the padded arm rests since they don't fit with the roll bar. Nothing on those yet but basically they will just be flat covers that screw into the face of the armrest base.

Thanks for reading. More to come.

 

[mygasser]

re the short header bolts for some holes, is that because you can't get a 'normal' one in at all or you can't once the header's against the head? if the latter maybe just prefit the bolts through the flange and start those first. if the former i'd dremel or similar the holes at an angle on the head side of the flange. then the stock bolts can be prefitted as above.
i'll add that i always add a light smear of silicon sealer to both sides of the gasket as well as on the bolt threads. i've never had a gasket leak since doing that and the bolts don't come loose as the silicon holds them in place.
neil.

 

[rmchrgr]

re the short header bolts for some holes, is that because you can't get a 'normal' one in at all or you can't once the header's against the head? if the latter maybe just prefit the bolts through the flange and start those first. if the former i'd dremel or similar the holes at an angle on the head side of the flange. then the stock bolts can be prefitted as above.
i'll add that i always add a light smear of silicon sealer to both sides of the gasket as well as on the bolt threads. i've never had a gasket leak since doing that and the bolts don't come loose as the silicon holds them in place.
neil.

You really can't get the bolts in, the turns out of the ports are too sharp. I've had to use shorter header bolts before, it goes with the territory. Don't need to be super short, just like 3/4" vs. 1". Not sure yet if I am going to use studs anywhere. I can see using them on the outermost points but it will depend on whether there is enough room to hang the header over them during the install.

In general, I am not a fan of using silicone on much of anything. The gasket is there to do it's job so if you don't trust it then just use silicone ("gasket maker") by itself. I will couch that by saying that I've had to use it on older header flanges that mate to iron heads. I try to make the flanges as flat as possible but I do believe the silicone is helpful in some extreme situations. All my stuff is new though and (presumably) flat so theoretically it should be fine.

Don't need sealer on the bolt/stud threads as they do not go into the coolant passages like production heads.

Thanks.

 

[mygasser]

i hope your confidence doesn't bite you on the header gaskets, lol. yes, they 'shouldn't' leak but.......
neil.

 

[rmchrgr]

i hope your confidence doesn't bite you on the header gaskets, lol. yes, they 'shouldn't' leak but.......
neil.

RTV (room temperature vulcanization) is "Gasket maker" and is used in place of traditional gaskets. When I worked at a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer and serviced differentials, we always used orange oil-resistant RTV to seal the covers - there was no paper gasket involved. Same with some transmission pans that did not have the reusable type. RTV is generally made of some sort of silicone and is color-coded for use in specific applications.

Conversely, "Gasket sealer" (based on my experience) is more of an adhesive and can be used on conventional gaskets. Sometimes I will use the red "Hi Tack" spray adhesive stuff on one side of a gasket to hold it in place and free up my hands but that's it. Most of the time that stuff doesn't even work anyway and falls off the part right when you're trying to thread the first bolt. And when it lands on the floor it inevitably picks up debris. Forget about reusing anything sprayed with that stuff.

RTV has it's place if used properly/judiciously but we're going to have to disagree on smearing it on both sides of an exhaust gasket before installation, especially if it's "gasket maker". Read my post above about the oil pan end seals and what a mess it turned out to be. No idea what I was thinking there since I'm generally against using silicone. Again, severe brain fade...

Fel-Pro Gaskets "How to Properly Use RTV".

And, from the Permatex web page "Common Gasketing Mistakes";

"10. Using a gasket maker as a dressing on a conventional gasket.
This might be the most common gasketing error of all. Many mechanics will use an RTV gasket maker to hold a conventional or cut gasket in place during assembly. Some mechanics will even use the RTV gasket maker as a dressing, coating both sides of the gasket. Gasket makers are the wrong product for these applications – their formulations are too thick for use as a dressing. If you’re installing a conventional gasket, use a gasket sealant – they’re available in sprays, liquids, and tubes, with specialized formulas for a variety of applications."