The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
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.
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.