Rapom's Rocket - just another Duster build thread

Yeah some times it feels like I'm writing a book that nobody will read, but with 5700 views so far some one is following along. I just though there would be more questions like yours, comments questioning my sanity or methods and perhaps suggestions on different approaches to what I'm doing. It's a bit cathartic to document the work and I enjoy the process so it really wouldn't matter if the page views were zero, I would still do it.

As far as weight is concerned the latter Dusters are definitely more porky than the earlier models. I believe mine started out between 3400-3600 lbs from the factory due to added "safety crap" like door beams, crash bumpers, 50 lbs (exaggeration) of wiring and such for things like seat belt interlocks, fuel evap systems ect., ect., ect... and power steering + brakes.

The car will never be a top contender in any form of racing as my goal is not competition. I want a very good handling, powerful, comfortable and streetable hot rod. One I can drive 2.5 hours to see my friends and go to a car show/event near Seattle and then the next week take down to Portland International and spend a Saturday/Sunday blasting around the road course on a track day or maybe go play at a local autocross. So a lot of compromises have & will take place on the build. An example is the iron cased OD 4 speed. I "could have" opted for the aluminum cased version but they have issues with counter shaft support the iron cased versions don't when higher doses of HP are put thru them.

As far as weight added (sub frame connectors, fuel cell cage, radiator cross bar, heavy gauge wiring, iron 4 speed/Lakewood bell/billet fly wheel, bigger B disks and rear drums) vs what weight has been removed/repositioned (aluminum heads, intake manifold, master cylinder and radiator, headers, bench seat vs light buckets, rear fold down seat, crash bumpers and shocks, battery to trunk) I think it's going to be a wash and I'll still be in the same 3400-3600 lbs when she's done. It could be made lighter by deleting creacher features like power steering/brakes, heater/defroster but that won't increase the enjoyment factor of the car for me. I've done the race car thing on the street for too long now, looking for a more "civilized" ride. So no weight loss or gain in the end but what is there is much better distributed ie. moved off the ends and lower/more centered in the chassis. The chassis is way stiffer and provides a solid base for the suspension upgrades to work with and the added power and braking performance should make for a fun do it all car. It can always be modified for a more focused usage if that should occur in the future.