72 Duster Resurrection
Im still alive, sorry for going dark.
Insane weather swings in Houston have slowed all Duster work. We had a record week of sub-freezing temperatures followed by heavy rain. Weather is getting better, so I plan on making a big push on the project soon.
Additionally, there have been a few disappointing setbacks that have had an impact on project morale. Go ahead and pour an extra beer for the Captain, settle into your chair, and read on:
I hit the FOBA market and found a member who had a set of good condition LBJ UCA's for $100 shipped. Not bad.
However, I decided to try and press the old bushings out myself and rented a bushing press kit from the auto parts store. This thing:
I put the best fitting "socket" on each side of the UCA, put my impact wrench on the big c-clamp and fired. Long story short, the bushing started to move but the flat metal around the bushing on the UCA was deformed into a permanent cup shape which means the new UCA bushings would be mis-aligned. The UCA was junk. I will try and upload a pic later.
So at this point I had bought: UCA Pair 1 (not both LBJ) , and UCA Pair 2 (destroyed trying to press out the bushings at home).
Time for the big guns.
I made an executive decision and sprung for a set of tubular QA1 UCAs to the tune of around $300. Emotion was a factor on that purchase but I've moved on. They are awesome and have the bushings already installed.
Measured original front drums to be 9", assumed rear drums were also 9", and ordered everything for 9" drums.
Parts arrive and it turns out the existing rear drums are bigger than 9". Research told me that 9" and 10" drums are the size options.
I grab my tape and verify they are 10". I ordered 10" shoes and hardware, no big deal, its not expensive stuff.
The parts arrive......and are still not the right size.
Turns out there are 10" X 1-ish" and 10" X 2.5" drums....
I now have the 10"X2.5" hardware and shoes, 2 other sets of useless shoes and hardware, and I dont want to talk about it.
Anyways, the rear brakes are done:
Before:
After:
- Replace old LCA bushings with new ones (sure hopes this goes better than the UCAs)
- Get front disk rotors turned (I found a local shop who can do it)
- Re-install complete front suspension
- Put all wheels back on (might need new tires...sorry wallet)
- Install and hookup new brake master cylinder (apparently I have a shaft o-ring to find)
- Bleed and fill brake system
- Test drive (also ensure medical insurance is current)
- Big list of engine/electrical work after that (fluids, lights, fuel gage, etc)
Stay tuned, I'm still in this thing
-The Captain
Im still alive, sorry for going dark.
Insane weather swings in Houston have slowed all Duster work. We had a record week of sub-freezing temperatures followed by heavy rain. Weather is getting better, so I plan on making a big push on the project soon.
Additionally, there have been a few disappointing setbacks that have had an impact on project morale. Go ahead and pour an extra beer for the Captain, settle into your chair, and read on:
- Heartburn #1: Upper Control Arm Disaster-
The upper control arms I purchased from a local mopar guy (pic in post #134) were a mix of one LBJ and one SBJ. This was a problem because who is going to sell me just one LBJ UCA?
I hit the FOBA market and found a member who had a set of good condition LBJ UCA's for $100 shipped. Not bad.
However, I decided to try and press the old bushings out myself and rented a bushing press kit from the auto parts store. This thing:
I put the best fitting "socket" on each side of the UCA, put my impact wrench on the big c-clamp and fired. Long story short, the bushing started to move but the flat metal around the bushing on the UCA was deformed into a permanent cup shape which means the new UCA bushings would be mis-aligned. The UCA was junk. I will try and upload a pic later.
So at this point I had bought: UCA Pair 1 (not both LBJ) , and UCA Pair 2 (destroyed trying to press out the bushings at home).
Time for the big guns.
I made an executive decision and sprung for a set of tubular QA1 UCAs to the tune of around $300. Emotion was a factor on that purchase but I've moved on. They are awesome and have the bushings already installed.
-Heartburn #2: Rear Drum Brake Debacle-
I decided to rebuild the rear drum brakes because the parts are cheap and Im rebuilding the rest of the break system anyways.
Measured original front drums to be 9", assumed rear drums were also 9", and ordered everything for 9" drums.
Parts arrive and it turns out the existing rear drums are bigger than 9". Research told me that 9" and 10" drums are the size options.
I grab my tape and verify they are 10". I ordered 10" shoes and hardware, no big deal, its not expensive stuff.
The parts arrive......and are still not the right size.
Turns out there are 10" X 1-ish" and 10" X 2.5" drums....
I now have the 10"X2.5" hardware and shoes, 2 other sets of useless shoes and hardware, and I dont want to talk about it.
Anyways, the rear brakes are done:
Before:
After:
Next Steps:- Replace old LCA bushings with new ones (sure hopes this goes better than the UCAs)
- Get front disk rotors turned (I found a local shop who can do it)
- Re-install complete front suspension
- Put all wheels back on (might need new tires...sorry wallet)
- Install and hookup new brake master cylinder (apparently I have a shaft o-ring to find)
- Bleed and fill brake system
- Test drive (also ensure medical insurance is current)
- Big list of engine/electrical work after that (fluids, lights, fuel gage, etc)
Stay tuned, I'm still in this thing
-The Captain