1970 Duster AlterKtion, 4 Link, LS/T56/Turbo and Minitub

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Updates and story time! Story time first.

There was a local parade this last Saturday in town so I took the Model T and my dad took the Duster. I live on the edge of town so in a normal car to down town is about 15 20 minutes, but in the Model T doing 20-30 it took us a bit longer, but drove awesome all the way there!

As the parade started, the T started right up and as I pulled out in the line I look back and see my dad get out of the car. He ran up to me and said there was electrical smoke coming up from under the dash, so I ran back, hit the disconnect and we pushed the car off the road into a parking lot. He hopped in the back of the Model T (it was his dads originally) and we made it 50 feet and the T died.... we got it running again quickly but only for about a minute and died again. So then we pushed THAT off the road into the highschool parking lot. It acted like it was running out of fuel, so I shut the tank off and pulled the bowl off the carb. There was some crud up in the main jet! Put it back together and fired right up! But at this time the parade was over. Drove the T back to the Duster and found that my dad pushed the clutch switch I had put in hard enough that it bent down and the screw on the lug on the switch was touching the firewall and creating smoke. I bent it back up and we were on the way home.

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Well, we only made it about 4 miles when the T died again. Back apart it came to clean it all out and then got about another 2 miles. Then 1 mile, then half a mile lol. Then out of nowhere it started downpouring on us. So at this point I'm all done trying to get it running to get it home, it needs an inline filter added and some other little stuff. My mom had come to watch the parade in my parents YJ so now we played musical cars. My dad took the jeep with a ratchet strap since the T weighs nothing and pulled me the rest of the way to where I store it, while my mom drove the Duster back all in the pouring rain. About a mile from home we drove right out of the rain as it never even touched that part of town, just where we were broke down lol. Anything with old cars surely is always an adventure!! My fiancé was like "That's it! Never doing a parade again!" Since we ran out of gas in the T on the fourth of July parade lmao.

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Noww update time, yesterday I got to tackle a few more things on the to do list. I had been driving the car around trying to use up all the gas so I could drop the tank easily to fix that grommet. Got it all apart and it was definitely wrecked. Got the new one in which was a pain by myself and a floor jack with blocks of wood holding the tank at certain angles, going back and forth between the trunk and under the car. BUT for the first time since I got the car in 2007 the tank doesn't leak a single drop!! Pretty STOKED about that!

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I also took the clutch switch all back out, cut down the screw that holds the connector on and added a piece of heat shrink over it all so there's no exposed metal to touch the firewall if that ever bends again. Changed the mount setup a little bit so it shouldn't be able to bend either. Fixed the boost gauge too, as the hose was bent and crimped under the dash and saw that even with my new air filter setup, it still builds the 13psi we setup on the dyno. So that means the filter isnt restricting too much! I might have lost a little power, but nothing like before causing the boost to be all wonky! I added about a quarter inch to the clutch pushrod too, which makes it work much better and engages in a much more comfortable spot.

Went to the gas station after getting it all back together and I had definitely cut it close! Put 15 gallons in a 16 gallon tank! haha

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Raised the front about 5/16" and lowered the rear 1/4" as well and it looks much better now! But still a little high in the back. I dont think I'll go up anymore in the front, but I'll keep dropping the rear down 1/4 at a time until it rubs with normal driving and entering/exiting driveways and then go back up that last 1/4.

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The last couple things I want to do tonight is extend my charge wire from the alternator to the kill switch in the back so it actually shuts the car down when its running. I got a big spool of 4 gauge wire as I figured that should be more than enough just for the charge wire. Anyone disagree?

Lastly I need to fix the reverse light wiring since they don't work. Then after the alignment this Friday, she should be ready for the 3 hour road trip this weekend! Todays the only day I could drive the car to work until Friday as it looks like rain all week.
 
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Life is an adventure as long as you make it one. Sounds like a great weekend to me.
 
Got the reverse lights figured out last night. Apparently putting the trans back in, I had pinched one of the wires for the lights, then doing so blew the fuse. When I put the new fuse in, it must have not made contact well because then it through me for a loop since they still didnt work. After reading the wiring schematic and following wires and checking voltages I rotated the glass fuse and bam.... everything worked again lol.

Also finally got the 4 gauge alternator charge wire run to the back of the car and it actually shuts off with the kill switch now! Just had to order a pack of the rubber wire clamps to hold the wire up in place along the subframe connector. Those should be here Wednesday, then the cars ready for the alignment and road trip!
 
Welp! Made it all the way to Hampton Beach and back with 0 issues! 2.5 hours each way. On the way down I cruised at 70 to 75 and got 18mpg! On the way home I pushed it at 80 to have a comparison with the new gears and got 16mph. Which both are pretty good for an almost 800whp car!

We ran to a little convenient shop at the end of the beach for some ice and the owner was a retired airforce mechanic probably in his 60s and was super excited to see the car. I ended up giving him a ride and did a full pull with him and he was shaking he was so excited haha. He was like "I've flown in helicopters, planes and all sorts of things but nothing was as exciting of a ride as this". It was pretty cool to make his day!

My fiancé even climbed over the roll bar so her myself and my cousin could go to lunch in the car. She snapped a pretty cool picture.

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All in all it was a great trip! The car goes down the road awesome, though I definitely can't wait for the 3.73 gears for trips like that. I wish I had taken some other pictures of the car at the beach but I didn't even think about it as my phone was not a thought really while we were gone lol.
 
Just bought a couple tools I didn't have to gear the axle myself. I've done them before, but they can be so time consuming especially without the right tools. Also bought some new setup bearings for the 60 so that should also really help. Probably wont do that until after the car is put away for the season though.

Anyone looking to do this, this is an incredible article to help.
BillaVista.com-Gear Setup Bible Tech Article by BillaVista

OTC Tools 4518 OTC 5-Ton Bar-Type Puller/Bearing Separator Sets | Summit Racing

DANA 60 SET UP CARRIER BEARINGS

SEAL & RACE DRIVER SET

Inch Pound Torque Wrench
 
Boy, you're right about Dana 60's being time consuming to setup. After building the D60 for my 66 Dart, I vowed never to do one again. I'm loving the progress on this build.
 
Oh! Found a picture from when we arrived to the beach last Friday night lol

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Also, I took a pic of the trunk all loaded up with our stuff for the weekend. But does anyone know if there are supposed to be panels that go in the trunk at the edges. I have a wicked fear of something in the trunk sliding and denting the quarter from the inside out. The battery box helps on the passenger side and I put a moving blanket there on the driver side for this trip so nothing hits. My one backpack is under Demi's beach towel lol.

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My falcon has some cardboardish panel that covers the quarter drops. Not sure if a duster ever did. I’ll say this I’ve found all kinds of tools, parts, etc down in the trunk drops in just about every old car I’ve ever had. It’s like Christmas going through a new trunk.
 
My falcon has some cardboardish panel that covers the quarter drops. Not sure if a duster ever did. I’ll say this I’ve found all kinds of tools, parts, etc down in the trunk drops in just about every old car I’ve ever had. It’s like Christmas going through a new trunk.

I actually don't remember what I found when I did quarters on this car. It was just a couple little things, but I was thinking about building a thin plywood piece that mounts to the seams with twist locks and is covered with headliner material or carpet or something. That way if I have a guitar case or anything else in the trunk and go around a corner, I don't have new body lines lol.
 
Finally made it to an actual car show Saturday! Not super huge but probably 60 cars or so! It was nice to get out and see some other local hot rods! Some beautiful cars were there! Its been nice to get some miles on the car finally. Though I pulled it back apart Sunday to get it ready for the dyno Friday. Got the 120# injectors in, new fresh plugs, new plug wires made that go around the headers, drained the fuel tank and pulled the whole 6an supply system to replace it with 8an once the parts come in Tuesday.

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first off, great car :thumbsup:
i don't know that i'd lower the back any more, i'd be more inclined to fit rear tyres with a slightly taller sidewall. in your last pic above it almost looks like the front's have taller sidewalls than the rear's. with a bit more sidewall at the rear it'd fill the arch more, visually lowering the car while also (imo) giving a better balance to the look of the tyres.
neil.
 
first off, great car :thumbsup:
i don't know that i'd lower the back any more, i'd be more inclined to fit rear tyres with a slightly taller sidewall. in your last pic above it almost looks like the front's have taller sidewalls than the rear's. with a bit more sidewall at the rear it'd fill the arch more, visually lowering the car while also (imo) giving a better balance to the look of the tyres.
neil.

I've thought about that as well. That was the only size that Nitto offered in the 315 (315/35/17). I can step down to a 305/45/17 which is a 28" tire vs my current 26", but I lose a little bit a width (like half an inch). Not the end of the world though, I can always step up to the Mickey Thompson street ET's in the same size too which are even stickier. Just only last about 10,000 miles lol.
 
I've thought about that as well. That was the only size that Nitto offered in the 315 (315/35/17). I can step down to a 305/45/17 which is a 28" tire vs my current 26", but I lose a little bit a width (like half an inch). Not the end of the world though, I can always step up to the Mickey Thompson street ET's in the same size too which are even stickier. Just only last about 10,000 miles lol.
10,000 miles? as much as that? cool :thumbsup:
 
Nope haha. After I posted that I looked into it again, it was the Nittos getting 10,000 the MT are half that lol
 
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So this time around at the dyno I had goods and bads. I had got a set of 120lb Holley injectors used and they gave us nothing but problems. The guys at the dyno really don't like Holley injectors to begin with, but we definitely had some interesting fuel issues going on. We also blew an exhaust manifold gasket out which was wild and I got it on video. I'll have to crop it and upload it. I thought we blew the motor lol. My fault for not having MLS gaskets.

Going down there my main goal was to fix some of the drive ability things like a weird jolt at 2000rpm like the car was being shut off for a second, the car would also hang at 2000rpm during deceleration and the IAC wasn't setup right which was causing the car to stall a lot at stops.

We fixed alllll of those problems which is fantastic, but the car was making less power with all the fuel upgrades than last time. Then when I unloaded the car to drive it, it now has an odd skip and weird stumble on acceleration. But no blow by or oil pressure issues like before when I'd blow a piston. Either way, I'm going to do a compression test while I have the headers off just to verify that everything's okay.

So when I got home I bit the bullet and ordered a set of Injector Dynamic 1050s as that's what Brad recommended and from reading they seem to be one of the best injectors out there. I also ordered the new Holley EV6 style harness for the new injectors so I don't have silly adapters for each injector. Even if the injectors aren't 100% of the issue (which I hope it is), I will feel better about not having to worry about an injector failure.

We did do one run pulling the air cleaner setup off and it only gained like 15hp. So that's worth it in my book. We left at end of the day putting down 766whp at 16psi.

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Any dyno session without parts on the floor is a success. As long as you learn something. Leaks on the hot side are killer and rob power fast, you might want to find some soft copper gaskets, they work well. I spent ALL day on the dyno yesterday with my big block. Lots and lots of carb tuning to get it right, and we made like 26 pulls on the poor thing. Beating on it hard. It did not care at all just kept chugging along. It came off the dyno with 70 psi of oil pressure and zero blowby so it was a win. One small water leak on the passenger side water log that needs to be welded up but that’s all. It was a good day.
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Any dyno session without parts on the floor is a success. As long as you learn something. Leaks on the hot side are killer and rob power fast, you might want to find some soft copper gaskets, they work well. I spent ALL day on the dyno yesterday with my big block. Lots and lots of carb tuning to get it right, and we made like 26 pulls on the poor thing. Beating on it hard. It did not care at all just kept chugging along. It came off the dyno with 70 psi of oil pressure and zero blowby so it was a win. One small water leak on the passenger side water log that needs to be welded up but that’s all. It was a good day.
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70psi at idle!? My motor is 50 when cold but like 37 when hot at idle. Always has been. And after a ton of pulls I get a few drips out of my PCV that is just routed to atmosphere. But its nothing crazy. That's awesome though! Glad yours went better than mine! haha This is for the boat right?

I'll try the GM MLS ones first. If they leak, I'll find a copper set.
 
No not at idle. It’s 40ish at hot idle. 70 psi through a run. It touches 80psi at the top of the pull. Yes this is the pump gas twin turbo deal for my boat.
I wasn’t aware of the gm mls exhaust gaskets that’s good to know. What their OE application?
 
No not at idle. It’s 40ish at hot idle. 70 psi through a run. It touches 80psi at the top of the pull. Yes this is the pump gas twin turbo deal for my boat.
I wasn’t aware of the gm mls exhaust gaskets that’s good to know. What their OE application?

All of the trucks I've taken apart like early 2000s are MLS. I think all of the LS exhaust manifold gaskets are MLS, but I could be wrong there.
 
So, yesterday I got the headers off, compression test done, new plugs in, new MLS manifold gaskets & headers back in and injectors changed. Car seems to be running much better now! It was raining yesterday and today so hopefully I can drive it tomorrow and see if its back to 100%! But it doesn't feel like it has the skip anymore just reving the car in the garage.

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Welp, greed is a wicked thing! As I had stated before I thought I had hurt the engine at the dyno because my hot idle oil pressure had dropped some which is my fault for asking to push the car more. We did address the drive ability issues while I was there and I should have left it at that, but who wouldn't want more!? haha.

Anyways, I took the things from the new tune that fixed the drive ability issues and loaded them into the tune I had run all summer that ran so good without hurting anything and brought the car to the drag strip Friday to see if there really was an issue with the engine or not. I passed tech with flying colors this time! But after 1 pass the hot idle oil pressure dropped another 15psi so I put the car back on the trailer. The car wasn't knocking or anything yet, so hopefully I caught it before any real damage was done. I also ordered a bore gauge and a new set of mic's to have 0-1", 1-2" and 2-3" so I can check bearing tolerances myself without bringing the block to a machine shop. If everything looks okay and measures out alright, I'll slap new bearings in the bottom end and put everything back together.

On the bright side now I can swap the SS2 (sloppy stage 2) cam out for the new cam that Matt designed called "The Best Cam" lol. Richard Holdener even did a video shootout between this new cam and the new BTR Truck Norris cam. It makes a little more power and is overall a better cam than the SS2 cam.



I also finally made it down the strip unassisted! So there's another plus! We're gaining! Slowly! But its progress lol. I had an awful launch, red lit, spun through the first 2 gears but still ran a 12.0! So now I have a time to beat for next year!

 
Nice positive attitude about things. I love it. That’s what this hobby should be about and you’re doing it right.
 
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