12:05 Garage- ’70 Duster build

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Here's the cluster in the dash. As you can see it is now centered over the column. I added a couple inches to the left side and took out the same amount on the right to accomplish this. You may also notice the radio and A/C control holes are now filled as well as where the dash pad used to reside. Eventually the A/C control will go where the the radio used to be.
 
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A little spare time for another update. I pulled the rear end out of the car to clean and paint it. I replaced the Caltracs with the Mopar circle track springs. I also changed the axles and upgraded to disc brakes. Threw the old KYBs on there for now, but they will eventually get replaced with QA1, Bilstiens, or Hotchkis.
 
I've been busy wiring the car lately. I'm using an American Autowire Highway 22 kit since a factory style harness wouldn't have served me very well considering I'm running wires in the front wheel well and using an EFI engine. It's a pretty good kit and comes with all the crimp connectors you need to get the job done. I installed the fuse box on the driver side kick panel and will be using a bulkhead connector in the door jamb/wheel well area for all of the headlight/horn/fan wiring. I'll also have a bulkhead directly behind the engine for the engine management wiring. This is a picture of the bulkhead that will be hidden behind the driver side splash shield.

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Here's a couple of recent pics. I ended up replacing the single 92mm throttle body on the elbow with a 4 barrel throttle body. The single 92mm wanted to occupy the same real estate as the A/c compressor.
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The highway 22 harness is great, but it didn't have enough relays for what I need, so I made this to accommodate everything I need. This is located on the driver side kick panel as far up as it would go. It won't be visible.
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Lastly, this is the custom engine harness. It has 46 wires going through the bulkhead connector. This is required for full sequential fuel and spark. I also added a couple pressure transducers for oil and fuel pressure. I also decided to use an electronic MAP instead of a vacuum line.
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I had never seen the Borgenson steering box in person to see how small it really is. I have to say, I was pretty shocked when I finally received it. I was able to drop that sucker in from the top without removing the header or PS pump. Yahoo!
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Wiring is 998% complete with only a few grounds, battery power cables, and tidying up. It's nice to see this finally coming together.
 
I'm very impressed with the looks of the TTI 2.5" full exhaust kit. Now let's see how well it fits...

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I guess it's time for an update. I haven't been working on anything that's visually appealing. The TTI exhaust went in pretty easy. It fits up nice and close to the floor. I ended up wending the X-Pipe instead of having 4 clamps before the mufflers. Since it fit so close to the floor I decided to wrap it with heat wrap. That was my first time messing with that stuff. It wasn't too bad, but I would lose my patience wrapping a set of headers!

After waiting about 3 months to get new door panels from Legendary I started putting them in. I will say they are very nice quality and fit very good.
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I also put a battery in and started testing my Highway 22 wiring harness installation. Everything worked first shot!
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Continuing on with the black theme, I decided to paint the outside mirror black. I completely disassembled the mirror and stripped the chrome. I had to drill out the folded over aluminum that held the swivel in place to take the two pieces apart. I drilled and threaded the posts to be able to put it back together and had a new mirror cut. This was a quick project that turned out really nice.
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This is my second version of the crank sensor required for the EFI. I thought the first spot was perfect, until I got the AC compressor mounted. The belts came into direct contact with the sensor. I do think this version is better than the first, but it was a pain in the a$$ to get lined up correctly. There just isn't an easy place on an engine with AC and PS. I have a few more details to wrap up and update some things on the ECU and I'll be ready to make some noise!
 
In keeping with the concealed wiring theme, I had to come up with a way to route the alternator charge wire. I bent up this "wire way" with 1/8" rod and welded a couple brackets to secure it to the engine. I then wrapped the wire in techflex for additional protection and tywrapped it to the rod. The last photo shows it installed.

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After testing all the inputs and outputs to the engine computer, I put gas in the car and it started up instantly. This was definitely an exciting moment for me. I guess my attention to detail all along made this a relatively uneventful process. No oil, water, or fuel leaks. I'm letting the megasquirt control the radiator fans. I have them set to come on a 160 and they worked perfectly. I had the engine idling for at least a half hour and it never got over 170. I have two fans, I may end up controlling them independently as they both come on at the same time right now. It's also around 60F here in South LA, so I'll be interested in seeing what the summer heat does to my cooling system. I have video of it running, but this site won't allow me to upload.
 
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I modified a factory auto console top plate to accept the shifter location of my TKO. It will now accept a non-console shifter boot from the bottom. While I was at it, I filled the ash tray hole. In keeping with the theme of using real wood to replace the factory plastic simulated wood (like the gauge cluster above), I whittled out some walnut veneer to fit the newly modified console cover. A keen eye will see some missing paint on the console door. I'm a dumbass and dropped it after I painted it! I'll repaint the grey, and clear coat over everything to seal up the wood. I'll post some pics when I'm done.
 
Quick small update. I've been knocking out small projects that aren't necessarily photogenic. Since I now have 8 coils mounted on the back side of the intake, there isn't room for the standard style throttle cable bracket. I wanted this piece to be as small as possible, so I drilled and tapped two small 10-32 holes in the throttle body so I could have something to keep the bracket from moving when only using a single bolt to hold it down. I made it in such a way that I could use the stock style hold down clamp. I think it came out pretty good.

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Just read the whole thread. Love the build, keep it up.

Wasn't the plan to do a G3 Hemi? What happened to there? Not complaining, I have gone back and forth on my car for some time, just wondering what your reasons were.

Did I miss info on wheels and tires? What's your plan there?
 
DionR said:
Just read the whole thread. Love the build, keep it up.

Wasn't the plan to do a G3 Hemi? What happened to there? Not complaining, I have gone back and forth on my car for some time, just wondering what your reasons were.

Did I miss info on wheels and tires? What's your plan there?
Click to expand...

This will be a long winded reply so bear with me...
When I first bought the G3 I was all about making the swap, but then I started comparing the pros and cons. This was a running/driving car when I took it apart and I had already purchased most of the parts to convert the 408 to EFI, so that makes the 408 a relatively easy way to go. I started doing some research on what it would take to actually get the G3 installed in terms of fitment. I realized that all of the commercially available engine mounts and headers had their challenges. I also wanted to keep the A/C and wanted to use the car accessory drive on the G3, meaning the A/C compressor would likely interfere with the K-member. Lastly, the car was already painted and knowing at minimum I would have to notch the frame rail for the G3 alternator, this was the final straw in my decision. Throw the cost of new headers and a new flywheel/clutch setup, it was an easy decision for me to make. I'm happy with my decision now that it is in the car and I've done a pretty decent job of making it look "factoryish". It isn't often you seen the LA small block converted to EFI. Now I have a G3 for another project one day....

Wheels and tires
This has probably been the most indecisive subject on this whole build. Wheels make of break the look of a car. I knew I wanted a larger diameter wheel (especially now that a 15" wheel won't clear my brake calipers), but the biggest problem is tires. There aren't many performance tires available in 17" range, which leaves 18"s to be my only choice. While I do like the look of modern appearing wheels, it isn't my personality and I don't think it matches the look I'm after. I want this car to be timeless and continue to look period correct. I recently found ET Wheels who make replicas of old school design wheels in modern sizes. I'm going to use their LT-III wheel, which is a replica of the old mini light wheel used in road racing in the early 70s. This is a photo from their website. This is an 18x12, I won't have a wheel that wide so it won't have the big lip on it.
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I'm going to paint the centers to match the charcoal grey I have elsewhere on the car and I'm going to have them brush the lips to match all the aluminum and stainless trim that I have brushed.

I should have some nice eye candy photos coming soon. My seats should arrive within the next couple weeks.
 
racerjoe said:
This will be a long winded reply so bear with me...
When I first bought the G3 I was all about making the swap, but then I started comparing the pros and cons.....
Click to expand...

Makes complete sense. Even more when you look at the stage you were at when you looked at changing directions.

I did up a spreadsheet one time comparing upgrading my current motor or swapping to a Gen 3, and in the end it looked like a wash. I figured that airflow was the key, so if I wanted the easy power a Gen 3 proposed, I would need aftermarket heads. So, with a new cam, Edelbrock heads and MS3 EFI, it looked like it would be around $5300. At the time, a used truck motor with all the used parts to swap it to a car intake/accesories, and depending on the method of running the EFI (OEM or MS3), it was between $4700-5500. If I dropped the heads and cam and just went EFI (MS3) on my 360, it was only about $2400. In the end, I decided to buy a 2015 Challenger R/T and leave the LA in the Duster. :)

racerjoe said:
...I'm going to use their LT-III wheel, which is a replica of the old mini light wheel used in road racing in the early 70s....
Click to expand...

Not sure if you have seen this thread, but might be of interest. Trans Am Race Engineering Superlite 17x8 - now available with a useful backspace?
 
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