1970 Duster, Trans-Am-inspired "Pro Touring" build

[MopaR&D]

I also made some new friends, met a couple of cool guys around my age with Dusters.

I haven't been a fan of the 2-3 shift in the 904 since I moved to sea-level altitude and picked up a bunch of power. I did some DIY mods to the valve body a couple years ago which made a noticable difference but it's time to make it legit; I got a Transgo TF-2 shift kit to install over the next couple weeks, hopefully less.

Also on the list is putting back in a 180° thermostat as it doesn't really like the 195° one now that I'm living in a warmer climate with much denser air. It tends to diesel a bit on shutdown after cruising for a while and there's just a lot of extra heat in the engine bay. I did the same with my D200 a couple months back and it runs happier for sure.

After that I want to put the factory front leaf spring hangers back in and take out the wedges to get the pinion angle back to stock as it sits a little too low in the back and has a bit of driveline vibes at higher speeds. I'm also going to take a close look at the u-joints and check the driveshaft angles again.

 

[MopaR&D]

1-2 shift is nice and solid, your might consider 3:91 gears.

It is, it's the 2-3 shift that could be better hence why I'm just going to put a proper shift kit in there.

This isn't a drag car, it's built for road racing and autocross stuff so 3.55s are the shortest it'll get. I need to get the old 2.94:1 ring and pinion back into my old 741 case so I can swap that back in for cruising, I made an impromptu trip up to Columbia, SC (about 1.5-hour freeway drive each way) to meet up with my cousin who was visiting the area and it was painful. 70-75 mph at 3200-3500 RPM got old REAL quick, I got ~12 MPG and burned almost a pint of oil on that trip alone. Still fantasizing about having a 5-speed manual with overdrive in this car, man that'll make it SO much better.

 

[belmateo]

I hear that, maybe try some shorter tires next time you have to urge to go down the 1/4 mile. Overdirve is a great idea.

 

[DionR]

Getting back here with a general update. I have a few hundred miles on the new front brakes and they're working great now that the pads are bedded in. I went to a Cars & Coffee event about a month ago held at Carolina Dragway and ran the car down the 1/4-mile for the first time since having the current engine and 3.55 gears. Track prep is killer there so there was zero tire spin off the line, impressive considering this car isn't set up for drag racing at all with high performance street all-seasons, Hotchkis rear leaves, stiff-*** torsion bars and zero traction aids but makes about 450 hp at the crank. I only did one pass but it ran a 12.65 ET at 108.15 mph. I'm happy with that and it should still get better once I finally get around to swapping the shorty headers and dinky 2 1/4” head pipes for Doug's long tubes and 3" pipes back to the mufflers and a more performance-oriented carb. Here's an in-car video of the pass:



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Very cool!

I'd be more than happy with that time. For a non-drag specific setup, seems like a great result.

 

[MopaR&D]

Very cool!

I'd be more than happy with that time. For a non-drag specific setup, seems like a great result.

I'm happy with it for sure. It'll be nice to get some extra HP with better headers and carb but it's a pretty nicely balanced package overall. I'm not looking for a significant power increase anytime soon, what I really need to spend money on is adjustable shocks, aftermarket upper control arms and lots of seat time at the track!