We do! We drive her literally all the time. I do need to go ahead and get the engine back out and reseal the oil pan. That oil leak.....even as small and slow as it is is pissin me off. LOL
My Duster Adventures
- Thread starter 75slant6
- Start date
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More progress today! (Sorry, no photos)
This morning, I got the rear suspension put all together for the last time (until I decide to pull the springs and paint them)
I then jacked the car up and put it back on the wheel cribs and started greasing the frontend before I had to head off to work.
This evening the first thing I did when I got home was pop the hood and promptly knock a 555 piece cotter pin set off the car and onto the concrete.
Picked all those back up and sorted them by size, then my evening went much better from there! 
First thing I did was finish installing my heater box and controls. I’m excited to see how the heater works this winter now that the box has all new foam seals.
Next I finished greasing everything in the front suspension.
Then I filled the power steering pump with fluid and cycled the steering side to side several times to help bleed the system. Haven’t seen any leaks so that’s great!
I then got my wife to come out and help me set the toe.
I then installed the front sway bar. I’m super excited to see how the car drives and how much different it responds in the autox this weekend vs last year with no sway bar and the factory slow ratio manual steering!
After installing the sway bar, I decided “what the heck, let’s get the exhaust all hooked back up”.
After I had the exhaust buttoned up, I went ahead and drained the oil out of the transmission and put in fresh Redline MTL oil. The old stuff still had good viscosity but looked nasty! Kinda milky like.
HOPEFULLY my radiator hose coupler comes tomorrow and I’ll have to get a new heater hose and weld in one more bracket for the drivers seat, then I’ll be ready to take the car for a spin!! Definitely cutting it plenty close since Friday is the start of MoParty, but I’ll be ready!!
This morning, I got the rear suspension put all together for the last time (until I decide to pull the springs and paint them)
I then jacked the car up and put it back on the wheel cribs and started greasing the frontend before I had to head off to work.
This evening the first thing I did when I got home was pop the hood and promptly knock a 555 piece cotter pin set off the car and onto the concrete.
Picked all those back up and sorted them by size, then my evening went much better from there! First thing I did was finish installing my heater box and controls. I’m excited to see how the heater works this winter now that the box has all new foam seals.
Next I finished greasing everything in the front suspension.
Then I filled the power steering pump with fluid and cycled the steering side to side several times to help bleed the system. Haven’t seen any leaks so that’s great!
I then got my wife to come out and help me set the toe.
I then installed the front sway bar. I’m super excited to see how the car drives and how much different it responds in the autox this weekend vs last year with no sway bar and the factory slow ratio manual steering!
After installing the sway bar, I decided “what the heck, let’s get the exhaust all hooked back up”.
After I had the exhaust buttoned up, I went ahead and drained the oil out of the transmission and put in fresh Redline MTL oil. The old stuff still had good viscosity but looked nasty! Kinda milky like.
HOPEFULLY my radiator hose coupler comes tomorrow and I’ll have to get a new heater hose and weld in one more bracket for the drivers seat, then I’ll be ready to take the car for a spin!! Definitely cutting it plenty close since Friday is the start of MoParty, but I’ll be ready!!
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I hate when I knock bulk stuff off like that. I have to take a DEEP breath and plug forward. lolMore progress today! (Sorry, no photos)
This morning, I got the rear suspension out all together for the last time (until I decide to pull the springs and paint them)
I then jacked the car up and put it back on the wheel cribs and started greasing the frontend before I had to head off to work.
This evening the first thing I did when I got home was pop the hood and promptly knock a 555 piece cotter pin set off the car and onto the concrete.
First thing I did was finish installing my heater box and controls. I’m excited to see how the heater works this winter now that the box has all new foam seals.
Next I finished greasing everything in the front suspension.
Then I filled the power steering pump with fluid and cycled the steering side to side several times to help bleed the system. Haven’t seen any leaks so that’s great!
I then got my wife to come out and help me set the toe.
I then installed the front sway bar. I’m super excited to see how the car drives and how much different it responds in the autox this weekend vs last year with no sway bar and the factory slow ratio manual steering!
After installing the sway bar, I decided “what the heck, let’s get the exhaust all hooked back up”.
After I had the exhaust buttoned up, I went ahead and drained the oil out of the transmission and put in fresh Redline MTL oil. The old stuff still had hood viscosity but looked nasty! Kinda milky like.
HOPEFULLY my radiator hose coupler comes tomorrow and I’ll have to get a new heater hose and weld in one more bracket for the drivers seat, then I’ll be ready to take the car for a spin!! Definitely cutting it plenty close since Friday is the start of MoParty, but I’ll be ready!!
Yup. I may or may not have swore, then got down on my knees and made the best of it. (That didn’t sound too good)
DionR
Well-Known Member
So the rear springs worked out? The front segment is straight?
I found pictures of my MP springs in the car and out and they were deformed even after they were back out of the car. I'd forgotten how bad they were.
I found pictures of my MP springs in the car and out and they were deformed even after they were back out of the car. I'd forgotten how bad they were.
Yeah they look good as far as not being deformed. The only gripe I have of them currently is the fact that they currently aren’t anywhere close to a “zero arch” spring like they’re supposed to be. I bought the front spring hangers with the two sets of holes, installed the springs in the top hole and still had to run 3” drop blocks to get the car down where I wanted it. If the springs level out in the next few months, I’ll just pull some blocks out.
My old springs had settled to zero arch but they just didn’t have a high enough spring rate. My brother, his wife, my wife and I went on a 2hr roadtrip last Christmas and the bumps were BRUTAL with two people in the back.
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DionR
Well-Known Member
Yours do look better than mine did in the picture you posted awhile ago.
Here's how mine looked in the car:
Here is a picture of mine after I pulled them out and next to the original 6 leaf springs I put back in the car:
Don't remember for sure, but pretty sure they didn't look that flat before I put them in.
Sounds like they maybe fixed the springs? Other than maybe going too far with the arch.
Wow. Yeah those deformed bad! I’ll snap a pic of how mine look when I get home this evening.
Well, this evening I checked a few more things off the checklist! My radiator hose coupler finally came in so I installed my lower radiator hose and heater hoses, painted my coolant bottle bracket and got that bolted in and the hose hooked up, welded in the last of the seat brackets and welded a reinforcement plate to the bottom of another one of the seat bolt holes, welded some spots on the subframe connectors that I’d missed (probably when I ran out of wire a while back), painted the subframe connectors, transmission mount and bottom sides of the patch panels I put in, bolted the drivers seat in, filled the radiator with water (I’ll put coolant in after MoParty, in case it happens to puke on the track), dropped the car down off the wheel cribs, cleaned a bunch of tools out of it and then DROVE IT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE JANUARY!!!
It needs an alignment (pulls to the right) and the front brakes don’t feel like they’re grabbing like they should be so need to bleed those some more BUT the car rides and drives like a whole different car!! But I guess that should be expected, suspension wise it IS a whole new car! The steering is responsive, zero slop and the turning radius seems to be much tighter! Our road has some decent dips/bumps and it took them MUCH better than the 1.03 bars, worn out 5 leaf springs and Monroe shocks. It also just dawned on me that I don’t think I set the adjustment on the QA1 shocks at all. I’ll check that tomorrow.
I think the suspension got settled in a little bit on the drive. The drivers front is at 23 3/8”, passenger front is 23 1/4” rear is right at 25”.
I’m hoping to get the grille in tomorrow, and finally get y’all some good pictures of the car!
It needs an alignment (pulls to the right) and the front brakes don’t feel like they’re grabbing like they should be so need to bleed those some more BUT the car rides and drives like a whole different car!! But I guess that should be expected, suspension wise it IS a whole new car! The steering is responsive, zero slop and the turning radius seems to be much tighter! Our road has some decent dips/bumps and it took them MUCH better than the 1.03 bars, worn out 5 leaf springs and Monroe shocks. It also just dawned on me that I don’t think I set the adjustment on the QA1 shocks at all. I’ll check that tomorrow.
I think the suspension got settled in a little bit on the drive. The drivers front is at 23 3/8”, passenger front is 23 1/4” rear is right at 25”.
I’m hoping to get the grille in tomorrow, and finally get y’all some good pictures of the car!
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For the “list makers” out there who are curious, this is what my list has morphed into for this year down/round of upgrades. (I’m not naturally a list maker, but I knew I needed one on this set of upgrades)
The black check marks mean that the task is completed enough for the car to function but not done do the finished result that I want it to be.
“grease frontend” for example, I plan on driving the car some, then regressing the frontend to make sure everything is properly greased.
It also just dawned on me that the front pads and rotors are brand new… guess I shouldn’t judge the braking quality just yet, until those are properly broken in.
The black check marks mean that the task is completed enough for the car to function but not done do the finished result that I want it to be.
“grease frontend” for example, I plan on driving the car some, then regressing the frontend to make sure everything is properly greased.
It also just dawned on me that the front pads and rotors are brand new… guess I shouldn’t judge the braking quality just yet, until those are properly broken in.
Sounded kinda pervy. LOLYup. I may or may not have swore, then got down on my knees and made the best of it. (That didn’t sound too good)
It got someone into Vice Presidency, wonder what it could get me… hmm… I’ll shut up now before my build thread gets thrown in the N&P section…
mygasser
Well-Known Member
had you tried flipping the front spring hangers upside down and use the other hole. it places the spring eye close to the floor but will lower the car a bit more.
neil.
Hmm hadn’t thought about that. I think I’ve about got the car sitting where I want it now though, if the springs settle some, I might have to take the 1” block out and flip the hanger, depending how much it settles.
Well, I’ve been promising y’all pictures and keep forgetting to take some. But I drove the Duster to work today and took this picture just for y’all! 
I did get the car aligned yesterday. They said they couldn’t get more than 4* caster out of the drivers side, passenger side had 7* when I took it in. It drives real good so I’ll run it with 4* caster for now, this winter when I install my aluminum heads and cam, I’ll pull the control arms and adjust the rod ends to get more caster.
After I got it aligned, I filled up with gas and then just went and drove back roads awhile. LOVE how this thing drives!
I did get the car aligned yesterday. They said they couldn’t get more than 4* caster out of the drivers side, passenger side had 7* when I took it in. It drives real good so I’ll run it with 4* caster for now, this winter when I install my aluminum heads and cam, I’ll pull the control arms and adjust the rod ends to get more caster.
After I got it aligned, I filled up with gas and then just went and drove back roads awhile. LOVE how this thing drives!
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Stance is perfect! Well done Sir!
Well, I’ve been promising y’all pictures and keep forgetting to take some. But I drove the Duster to work today and took this picture just for y’all!
View attachment 1715791394
I did get the car aligned yesterday. They said they couldn’t get more than 4* caster out of the drivers side, passenger side had 7* when I took it in. It drives real good so I’ll run it with 4* caster for now, this winter when I install my aluminum heads and cam, I’ll pull the control arms and adjust the rod ends to get more caster.
After I got it aligned, I filled up with gas and then just went and drove back roads awhile. LOVE how this thing drives!
Because these (now 50 year old cars) were not built to the tight tolerances of todays cars, I often stack both front / rear spacers on the UCA poly ends (both) only on the front. That shifts the ball joint receiver further rearward (more caster) without putting the UCA in a bind. On my personal Duster, I only did that procedure / fix on the drivers side. The Butch Leal street Duster has the passenger side off. Just the way they are.
my favorite part is the way the fenders droop over your tucked in front wheels/ tires......and of course the patina.....hard to duplicate that!
Thanks Denny! I hadn’t thought of that at all. One thing I noticed and wanted to ask you about, it seems as if the wheels (drivers side anyway) are closer to the rear of the fender opening than they were. Would shortening the front “leg” of the LCA help bump the wheel forward some and also help with caster? Or am I completely off in left field on this?
I kept getting power steering pump whine today and every time I checked it it was low. Got it up on jack stands tonight and had Marge turn the wheels and discovered that I did EXACTLY what I’d read not to do… over tightened the o-ring to AN fittings that go in the rack the fittings I got from speedway have these janky little Teflon washers on the which, if over tightened, push out and cause a leak!!
So tomorrow morning, I’m going to go to the local Napa (they open at 6:30) and see if they have some actual o-rings that fit these fittings, like this…
If they don’t have them, there’s a hydraulic shop literally just down the road from me so I’ll check there. They open at 7.
Worked on the Duster for several hours again this evening. I had put the center console in last night but it had more wiggle play to it than I liked, so I take it out and triangulated the rear brackets and that stiffened it right up. I also installed a bunch of sound deadener, installed the passenger seat, then wired (temporarily, but it’s wired) the seat belt solenoids in the seats, so they allow the seatbelt to function.
it’s SO nice having a center console with cup holders!
the fittings I got from speedway have these janky little Teflon washers on the which, if over tightened, push out and cause a leak!! So tomorrow morning, I’m going to go to the local Napa (they open at 6:30) and see if they have some actual o-rings that fit these fittings, like this…
If they don’t have them, there’s a hydraulic shop literally just down the road from me so I’ll check there. They open at 7.
Worked on the Duster for several hours again this evening. I had put the center console in last night but it had more wiggle play to it than I liked, so I take it out and triangulated the rear brackets and that stiffened it right up. I also installed a bunch of sound deadener, installed the passenger seat, then wired (temporarily, but it’s wired) the seat belt solenoids in the seats, so they allow the seatbelt to function.
it’s SO nice having a center console with cup holders!
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I like your jack stand doohickies.
Looks really good, Caleb!Well, I’ve been promising y’all pictures and keep forgetting to take some. But I drove the Duster to work today and took this picture just for y’all!
View attachment 1715791394
I did get the car aligned yesterday. They said they couldn’t get more than 4* caster out of the drivers side, passenger side had 7* when I took it in. It drives real good so I’ll run it with 4* caster for now, this winter when I install my aluminum heads and cam, I’ll pull the control arms and adjust the rod ends to get more caster.
After I got it aligned, I filled up with gas and then just went and drove back roads awhile. LOVE how this thing drives!
mygasser
Well-Known Member
if you mean the 'tie rod' that goes forward to the front of the K member from the lca then yes it'd help with both wheel in arch positioning and castor.
neil.
I would leave the bottom alone, shortening one leg of the LCA more than a turn on the threads can / will bind the bushings in the LCA. I would use the UCA to adjust two degrees of caster out of the drivers side which will cause to tire to move forward slightly, and add 1 degree to the passenger side making the caster spec the same side to side.
then see what ya got.
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For clarification.....The HDK lower control arms are true A arms, not a single tube / arm with a strut rod.
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