72 duster resto

-
72smallairparticler said:
Couldn't get the extended studs in the front wheel hubs myself - screw in studs are a PITA - since the hub itself spins I was wracking my brain trying to figure out a way to remove them since it requires locking the spindles somehow and finding just the right angle to get access to the bolts to back them out...
Click to expand...

Did you try a prybar against 2 of the studs to lock the hub so you can unscrew a wheel stud? Kind of like turning a motor on an engine stand when there isn't a crank bolt in it; screw in a couple of flywheel bolts and use a prybar between them to turn the crank. On in this case you use 2 wheel studs that are side by side and a prybar to keep the hub from rotating.

But maybe I am misunderstanding something. Just an idea.
 
DionR said:
Did you try a prybar against 2 of the studs to lock the hub so you can unscrew a wheel stud? Kind of like turning a motor on an engine stand when there isn't a crank bolt in it; screw in a couple of flywheel bolts and use a prybar between them to turn the crank. On in this case you use 2 wheel studs that are side by side and a prybar to keep the hub from rotating.

But maybe I am misunderstanding something. Just an idea.
Click to expand...
It's a worthy idea. I did something similar where I "locked" up two wheel bolts against each other on the same bolt so that i could get a wrench on one and hold the hub in place. No dice though. The torque required to unscrew the studs was too great
 
What's the alternative? Take the whole thing apart so you can get the hub in a vise?

Is there going to be sufficient clearance behind the hub to get the new longer stud in straight to thread without having to take the hub off?
 
72smallairparticler said:
It's a worthy idea. I did something similar where I "locked" up two wheel bolts against each other on the same bolt so that i could get a wrench on one and hold the hub in place. No dice though. The torque required to unscrew the studs was too great
Click to expand...

I can see trying to lock a couple of nuts on a stud and holding that to be frustrating.

If you are worried about the threads, run a lug nut down a couple of studs next to each other and brace your pry bar against those. That will protect the threads. If you get a long enough pry bar, you could even set the end on the ground and not even have to hold it. Might take a little messing with it to get the bar on the proper side of the studs (one inside the other outside? Or reversed?) but should make some sense when trying it. I usually end up moving the bar around a couple of times to get it right, but never seems to take all that long.
 
rich_mc said:
What's the alternative? Take the whole thing apart so you can get the hub in a vise?

Is there going to be sufficient clearance behind the hub to get the new longer stud in straight to thread without having to take the hub off?
Click to expand...
Yeah, there's not many alternatives it seems. The hub with the stud positioned at the bottom of the knuckle is just barely at an angle to get it in, but wouldn't know til one of the studs is fully out to test fitment.
 
Small updates.
New fuel pump installed today. Read somewhere if your oil smells like gas it could be fuel pump related so I swapped in a new one from Napa.

New coil installed just because I had it from previous owner.

Also I’m now looking for a block off plate for this obnoxious tube. Doing a valve adjustment and it’s in the way a lot.

After inspecting the points I’m wondering if its worth upgrading to electronic ignition. Not urgent but not something I’m too familiar with.

New Carter bbs carb coming from rock auto in a week. Sick of dealing with the Holley 1920, and want to assure myself my fuel system is in tact.

Also did the upgrade to the vented fuel filter since I was getting vapor lock when the car heated up.

IMG_1490.jpeg


IMG_1489.jpeg


IMG_1483.jpeg


IMG_1485.jpeg
 
rich_mc said:
Did you get the wheel stud issue sorted?
Click to expand...
Not yet, I just got a new L-shaped hex wrench to try on the stud along with a longer extension arm so i can get some torque leverage. I think if i can get one stud out by rigging up the rotor to not spin without messing up the threads i'll do the rest. Still will be cheaper than getting a shop to do it for me, so i'll find out soon enough. ::fingers-crossed::
 
Small updates

Got a new Carter BBS and installing that today. *Exception - this nut has virtually zero clearance to tighten. Not enough vertical clearance for a ratchet (and i seem to have misplaced my multi-angle adapter), a wrench won't work either due to the tapering around the open ends bumping into the casting of the carb. It's basically just slightly tighter than finger-tight.

Gathering all the parts for a new electronic ignition with HEI conversion from my current points ignition setup. Have all the main components except for wiring fittings etc.

Hopefully those things cure my slant's VERY rough idle issues

If not, im ready to throw in the towel on this 6 and just get a 318 combo dropped in

Screen Shot 2023-05-21 at 1.38.02 PM.png
 
Last edited:
Well that's a bummer. Would one of those stubby short sockets fit?

Did the new wheels work out with the fitment issues?
 
Red Stripe said:
Well that's a bummer. Would one of those stubby short sockets fit?

Did the new wheels work out with the fitment issues?
Click to expand...
Yeah they did!
Gonna paint the spokes since the back ones are still the matte grey torq thrusts. These are gloss finish anthracite or something
IMG_1765.jpeg
 
Ended up taking the car (limping the car) to Ronnie’s cars and coffee. My wife made these custom badges for the kids jumpers and they were loving it. Fun times met some great people. Can’t wait to get the duster fully running well.

My home wheel alignment is actually pretty spot on. I think I will just tweak the toe a bit more and should be solid. Did the measuring tape front / back of tire trick that I used to do on my 68 charger and it moves in a straight line. The camber caster might be slightly off but honestly won’t know til I hit the freeway how that feels

Some pics from the meetup. Probably 80 cars there

IMG_1534.jpeg




IMG_1528.jpeg


IMG_1521.jpeg


IMG_1524.jpeg


IMG_1518.jpeg


IMG_1556.jpeg
 
About 80% done with the HEI conversion. It's a little more difficult than I expected. Multiple trips to the store to get random things like extra wire, fused in-line links, electrical connectors and random brackets to fabricate my own mounts for the coil, relay, and controller but almost there. Then time to fire it up again and see how she runs. If anyone is considering doing the mod, you should absolutely go to the local picking yard to get parts... The wiring connectors and brackets alone would make this so much simpler.

A little worried about replacing the carb and ignition at the same time since it makes troubleshooting harder but that's just the way things go. I also took the time to remove the metal o-rings on the spark plugs since I realized those were left on. My install definitely doesn't look pretty but right now just going for functional.

Screen Shot 2023-05-30 at 9.38.38 AM.png


Screen Shot 2023-05-30 at 9.38.30 AM.png
 
Well it fires right up! Very impressed by the upgrade. Almost instantaneous ignition, and fortunately I had the lead wires from my distributor in the right place by 50/50 chance :D

The car still has a rough idle and the engine shakes a bit also. I pulled off all the vacuum connections and plugged them from the carb and it smoothed out a bit so, I replaced all the hoses that connect to the carb with fresh ones. Unfortunately when I hooked them back up I didn't accidentally swapped the PCV and Carb Bowl outlets and that was not great... Sooooo

Going to replace my charcoal canister - thought about grabbing one off a 90's jeep for cheap since they have the same amount of connections and they're like $15-25 used.

I'm guessing here but the odometer reads 24k miles (most likely 124k ... ) but I would assume that the timing chain has never been replaced - considering doing that job just as a mental checklist item along with waterpump and then just see how she runs.
 
Did a compression test June 3rd
Cylinder 1 - 100
Cylinder 2 - 100
Cylinder 3 - 110
Cylinder 4 - 97
Cylinder 5 - 105
Cylinder 6 - 110

Also once I got the carb tweaked and vacuum hoses set up, it is running amazingly now. Very happy I'll be able to take it to the mopar alley show this weekend in Cupertino. Hope to see some of you fine folks there!

 
Welp like the see-saw of life, what goes up also goes down.

Tonight was my 10th year anniversary with my wife so we took the duster a short drive to a restaurant to celebrate. The car started up great, idled well, and accelerated with almost no power. the more I pushed down on the pedal the louder the air suction sounded but without any additional power. I thought we could make it there and back but once it was up to temp it just stalled and wouldn't turn over again. So we got stranded on the side of the road, I pushed the car to a safe spot for the night and ubered.

Gotta get up and head over to see if I can get the thing started again tomorrow morning. It definitely makes no sense.
 
Pulled the coil wire and let it dangle close to some metal while cranking and found it was a no fire spark condition. my guess is the control module died on me which explains why the car suddenly lost power and wouldn't start. That's actually more relieving than if it were a fuel issue. Towed it home so it's back in the garage. I'll take some photos of the wiring and share back later while I wait for a new control module
 
72smallairparticler said:
Pulled the coil wire and let it dangle close to some metal while cranking and found it was a no fire spark condition. my guess is the control module died on me which explains why the car suddenly lost power and wouldn't start. That's actually more relieving than if it were a fuel issue. Towed it home so it's back in the garage. I'll take some photos of the wiring and share back later while I wait for a new control module
Click to expand...

Glad it isn't anything worse and you got it home ok.
 
Yeah, perks of breaking down in a very affluent area, I think the house I left it in front of was probably a $4 million dollar house lol.
 
well didn’t bring the duster to the mopar alley show but I brought my 3 littles. They had fun for about 20 minutes

@Red Stripe saw your beautiful (aspirational twin) duster

Also lots of other amazing cars there

IMG_2050.jpeg


IMG_2049.jpeg






IMG_2020.jpeg


IMG_2018.jpeg


IMG_2053.jpeg


IMG_2038.jpeg


IMG_2030.jpeg


IMG_1992.jpeg




IMG_2047.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Bummer the Duster didn't make it to the show. Next year we'll have to park em side by side for and take over the slant category.

That 68 Charger looks awesome! The black and red stripe is one of my favorite combos.
 
Well i've been enjoying the occasional drive now that the car is up and running. I ended up swapping out the full HEI setup for the electronic ignition kit that came with the electronic distributor. Plugged it in, fired up right away, accelerated right away. So officially on the road now :) Will keep posting additional upgrades to the car here and there
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top