Need help perfecting the budget build hemi swap

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So nothing caught a blaze. Once the fuel system was sorted, it was very uneventful. I know my new Quickfuel carburetor needs a bit more pump shot, some messing with the air bleeds, and larger secondary jets, but it's only a little off. The Carter fuel pump on the other hand, needs to be relabeled Cuisinart. It's so friggin' loud. The rear brakes are great, but when it came to the fronts, I never bothered to check the condition of the fluid in the master. I drove the car home with the slant 6, and the brakes worked. When I popped the cover over a year later, it was rusty. I'll have to see if I can flush the lines. The only gauge on the dash that works in the fuel level. The speedo is stuck at 25 MPH, has been since "before" I started the replacement engine/trans, but it worked with the old drivetrain. So I thinking somehow I broke the cable.
I don't want to beat the thing until I have a proper tune in the engine, but who wants to watch a video of a car idling.
[ame]http://youtu.be/ptTA6epYqlU[/ame]
 
toplscuda said:
Nice to see it up and running
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Thanks, I'm glad it's drivable too. I removed all the unnessasary wiring back when I started pulling the car apart. I remember removong the blinker, and horn relay. Than once I got everything running, I noticed I had no blinkers. I went " Oh yeah, I have the relays up stairs." Now I can't figure out where I unplugged the blinker relay from. It's in some odd location compared to the 73 Duster I had, and the 69 Barracuda, I'm hoping it's not under the kick panel on the passenger side. It takes like 15 minutes to get that dumb piece of plastic screwed back on.
So if that's the worst of my headaches in comparision to earlier disaster-pieces. WOOOOoo! HOOOooo!!!! we're good.
 
garyfish340 said:
That's a really sweet dart you got there, and if you think it sounds good, than it sounds good. Only a real car guy would drive something that cool.
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By the way I have the really unfair advantage of living between 2 seven hundred foot mountains, that's peaks are less than a thousand feet apart. If I squeeled the tires in my mini van the whole street would be notified.
 
Instrument gremlins.
I'm not exactly panicing, because I have a lot of time on my hands with winter. So I'm in no rush. Plus I wouldn't doubt a few issues are coincidental. ( Because my speedo is also stuck at 25, and it worked before the engine swap.)
I have hardly any instruments working on the dash of my 1975 duster. I swapped the engine for a gen 3 hemi, wired the headlights for H4 bulbs using relays, I also swapped the column shift, for a floor shift column ( Norm's). and removed the seatbelt interlock system.
The car runs perfect. The fuel level gauge works pefect. The brake warning light works, as do the rear brake lights, key buzzer, and the headlights. The windshield wipers seem are a bit slow, but the windshield wash works. The directionals don't work, ( the socket for the front drivers side blinker is broke, but will take the bulb, and hold into the back of the lamp) The bulb on the drivers side, side marker is dead, or doesn't work, and the horn is a joke, almost non audible. I wired the violet wire to the temp sending unit, but it's not responding. the grey wire is waiting for the correct oil pressure sending unit ( the one I have is wrong, and for a gauge. ) The dash doesn't light up at night, no matter how I play with the healight switch. And either the previous owner has bypassed the ammeter, or it's dead too. It looks like the blinker, and horn relays are in place, but the car came with a 3 prong relay in the glove box ( Chysler pn # 93596-A ) Don't know what, or where it came from . I know very little about wiring, but I almost suspect the little voltage regulator, on the back of the instument cluster.
I have a set of 2 1/4" autometer gauges ( volt, temp, and scratch the oil pressure, because I hate the idea of oil lines in my interior.) Can the volt, and temp be fitted into the dash, where the factory amp, and temp are, or is the headlight switch too bulky to allow that ? Is the circuit board a major hurdle for soldering ? This is a hot rod not a resto. When I look at pictures of cicuitboards on google images, it looks like there maybe more than one circuit board behind the instrument panel, is it one piece or several ? I guess I would like to fit an volt, and temp on the left, or the instrument cluster, and a electrical oil pressure gauge where the idiot lights are on the right.
I'd appreciate any ideas. I do think the right side bulkhead connector on the engine bay side of the firewall is in bad condition. I have better connectors that I could replace that with, if all I have to do is some soldering. thanks.
 

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You should cut and paste this post to the electrical forum. I'm not an electrical guru either and I think your year of cluster has some unique components compared to mine.
 
JoesEdge was asking how I got my front tires to not hit my tie rod ends. We both have Ford wheels with 5.72 backspacing. There must be some difference between the Cobra wheel, and the Mach 1. I can't really answer his question. I have wheels with the same back spacing as he does. Factory calipers, and ( sized ) rotors 11.79, and regular 1975 spindles. The fronts are 235 wide on 17" rims
 

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I think I've got a bad head gasket. There's no weird odor from the exhaust, milk in the oil, or smell in the radiator, no overheating, or lack of power. It's just a gut feeling.
This is the first real ride I've done in this car. So I was iffy on the transmission, and the brake could use a bleed. It's 50 degrees, and really humid. The engine has been running on, and off for an hour, or more. In the video, it looks like steam coming out the tail pipes.
This is the worst car I've ever worked on, it's like a conveyor belt of " fix this, and than something else comes down the line." Things get fixed, but it's the biggest junker ever.
Tell me if you notice something very wrong ? By the way, I was shifting weird like that because, this is the first mile on the rebuilt transmission. In the Cuda the transmission shifted so hard it would bust the tires loose even on a mild throttle.

[ame]http://youtu.be/iHxgz10a29Y[/ame]
 
If you noticed, there are no leaves on the trees. I think every leave on the street found it's way to the stone wall I park my car next to. Which leads to the new chapter in the epic saga of my omen. Every time I wear my work coveralls, stuff in my pockets ends up on the ground. I lost my van keys when I was shoveling snow, the snow plow burried them until thaw. Now I think I lost my spar in the leaves. They just vanished.
So I have no van, and needed to go to the store. Pitch black 9 pm. I know the car has to turn signals. I have to drive the untested car 6 miles. Basically down my road to a dirt road that goes through the forest, yields into a county road, and than into a parking lot. It can probably be done without directionals, because we live so rural.
My plan was to get the Duster's engine up, and tuned. I haven't even topped off the transmission yet. The suspension isn't aligned, not ever the headlights. If there's anything to say about the brakes, it's that there one inside each wheel. so I'm going to drive it ? I can down shift, and brake. Ya, what the hell.
Here's the good news. I've had cars fresh from an alignment shop that pulled more. It felt straight. The instrument panel lights work, as does the speedo, if you go over 25. " yeah! " The exhaust smoke is minimal, as in the video, and the engine ran okay, even good. For a car with a 4 link, coilovers, and 1" t bars, there's no rattling, it ride smooth. The heat/defrost motor is a joke, it blows like a fly farting. All this aside, I think we built a budget hemi Duster.If I bought this car in it's current condition. I wouldn't *****, I'd just work to finish off the things that need attention. I might even be excited to own a car like this.
 
Congrats on the driving car, it looks and sounds great! I feel your pain when you fee like its a junker, I had the engine in twice and the heads off in the car before it finally ran, and I really began to question wether the hemi was worth it. Once you get the car on the road more, you'll fix the little things and get to finally enjoy it! I have a loooong way to go on my car, but just driving it the last month or so has sorted a lot if issues out. Justin time for winter :/. Congrats on the hemi duster!
 
ralphie361 said:
Congrats on the driving car, it looks and sounds great! I feel your pain when you fee like its a junker, I had the engine in twice and the heads off in the car before it finally ran, and I really began to question wether the hemi was worth it. Once you get the car on the road more, you'll fix the little things and get to finally enjoy it! I have a loooong way to go on my car, but just driving it the last month or so has sorted a lot if issues out. Justin time for winter :/. Congrats on the hemi duster!
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Here's the thing though. I have experience with this particular engine. The first time, it was in, and running in 3 hours. This car has been a project for almost 2 years now. Yes there is a lot more to it than an engine, but this Duster has throw every obstacle in the world at me. Plus the accident damaged a lot of parts I wanted to use.
I think things might be okay now.
[ame]http://youtu.be/fpDb-whVwqw[/ame]
 
Believe it or not, I still feel apprehensive when I turn onto the road I live on. Between the mountainous terrain which causes the county road to go down hill, over a hump and down again, on each side of our valley, the speed at which people drive the road, their incessant tail gating, and the constant meth lab fires on the news. I am a slave to total defensive driving when turning down the road I live on. I drive with the rearview mirror, and the windsheild at the same time, because I'm paranoid. But only when I turn onto the road I live on.
One day I was turning in, and I hear a car behind me locking them up. It was a Crown Vic police car. Guess the anti locks don't work. It's aweful here.
 
The othe people on the road are a pain, I was rear ended I my belvedere once, and it does affect your driving style and confidence in others. I work in downtown Dayton and still drive my old cars, but it's a free for all when it comes to traffic lights. I try not to let others ruin my hobby, but it's hard when all of the work we put in them could be destroyed so quickly.
 
ralphie361 said:
The othe people on the road are a pain, I was rear ended I my belvedere once, and it does affect your driving style and confidence in others. I work in downtown Dayton and still drive my old cars, but it's a free for all when it comes to traffic lights. I try not to let others ruin my hobby, but it's hard when all of the work we put in them could be destroyed so quickly.
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It's freaking heart breaking. I've mentioned it here several times. The guy who hit me looked stoned, had no license, it wasn't his car, and was involved in an accident in 2001 that killed someone. He hit me so hard, that when he T boned me, it pushed me through a field for 100 ft. My first reaction upon impact was to cut the wheel against his car, to push back. While reaching my other arm across my wifes chest to pin her in her seat. ( the car did have simpson 4 pionts.) The weird thing is before I came across the mountain, about a 1/4 mile from my turn off. I notice him coming down another mountain about 1/2 mile behind me. I was thinking this guy is really making ground on me.
He told the police that he didn't know I was making a left onto my rd, and since I was moving slow he was trying to pass me. A passer by that called the police, was a soldier with a broken foot, just back from Afganistan. We both watched this guy taking things from his car, and stashing them in the trunk. Both of us were under the immpression he was hidding drugs. We told the police, but he didn't seem interested. The cop impounded the car, and let the guy walk home. When the flatbed arrived for my Barracuda, the guy asked the driver for a lift into town. I went ape ****.
I had that car for years, and had installed the hemi as soon as they were available to the public, and had just weld new quarters on the week before.
 

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I've built what I thought were some really cool projects over the years. But I was single, and had no resposiblities. So the cars were built, and amost immediately on the street driving.
This on the other hand has been a slow process, when I have the time to tinker. ( I posted a video, and had questions about exhaust smoke. ) I think when you get a car running, the worst thing you can do, is not drive it. I put new oil in this car, and within a week, it looks dingy, and has a slight oder of fuel. And even though the smoke out the exhaust looks like steam, I think it from running rich. A carb that isn't tuned right, and idling too much. I haven't figured out yet whether that can be tuned out, whether I need to drop idle fuel pressure below it's current 6.5 lbs, or if I need to go up one on the idle air bleed jets. I need to learn all this yet.
I don't know how to determine this, but I know where to acquire said knowledge. Being that I live 20 minutes north/east from Ray Barton Racing Engines. I try to avoid traveling South/west, because they have a giant vacuum that sucks up wallet out there. But ledgend has it that there lives a mad scientist deep in the forest just outside of town, and his name is Tim. I found him. He's from the old school, but that means there was a lot more tuning involved. ( And yes, if it doesn't have quad turbos, he didn't build it. This is a Duster, and believe it or not a Volve that the scientist built. I think he can teach me how to tune a carb. )
 

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garyfish340 said:
I've built what I thought were some really cool projects over the years. But I was single, and had no resposiblities. So the cars were built, and amost immediately on the street driving.
This on the other hand has been a slow process, when I have the time to tinker. ( I posted a video, and had questions about exhaust smoke. ) I think when you get a car running, the worst thing you can do, is not drive it. I put new oil in this car, and within a week, it looks dingy, and has a slight oder of fuel. And even though the smoke out the exhaust looks like steam, I think it from running rich. A carb that isn't tuned right, and idling too much. I haven't figured out yet whether that can be tuned out, whether I need to drop idle fuel pressure below it's current 6.5 lbs, or if I need to go up one on the idle air bleed jets. I need to learn all this yet.
I don't know how to determine this, but I know where to acquire said knowledge. Being that I live 20 minutes north/east from Ray Barton Racing Engines. I try to avoid traveling South/west, because they have a giant vacuum that sucks up wallet out there. But ledgend has it that there lives a mad scientist deep in the forest just outside of town, and his name is Tim. I found him. He's from the old school, but that means there was a lot more tuning involved. ( And yes, if it doesn't have quad turbos, he didn't build it. This is a Duster, and believe it or not a Volve that the scientist built. I think he can teach me how to tune a carb. )
Click to expand...

What I didn't know is these photos were taken in 1980, when Tim was 19 years old. He created a lot of the parts himself, and it's not carburated. That's Helley pro-jection from way back than. The holley computers in the truck control the whole thing, they're tandem in case one fails. From outward appearance it's a old school duster, but that would have been pretty state of the art in 1980.
 
Good news, and bad on the directionals. I think it has a short in the front wiring, and here's why. 5 minutes ago I went out, and started the car. It's cold outside ( 30 ), so the electric choke is in it's element in weather like this. Standing outside the car, I reached my leg in, pumped the gas pedal, and turned the key. It immediately fired right up. As I took my leg out, my knee hit the directional stalk, and the engine lost RPM's, and tried to die. Than I flipped the directional back to center, and the RPM's came back , and the engine went back to normal. So I'm thinking there must've been a big draw on the alternator. A big draw ! It's 138 amp alternator. Hopefully that's an indication of a short, and as soon as I hear a second opinion I'll start digging for it.
 
I don't even know that this is an actual instrument cluster for a Plymouth Duster, but if it is, and I intend to replace the ammeter, and temp gauge with a aftermarket set of Sun gauges. Is the wiring soldered to the circuitboard ?, and does the blue shell get chopped into to fit the gauge ? Is this hard to do ? What about the blank spot next to the headlight switch ?
 

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So the reason I posted the thing about the instrument cluster, is because that's where all my concentration is currently. I want to build a dash that's basically stock, budget, and gives better info than the factory built it with.
As I'm mopping up this battle field, one of the (hopefully) final battles is, what I think is a electrical short. I got every light in the car functioning, but if I try to use the left side blinker, the fuse blows out. ( Sorry it was 22 degrees when I made the video, and the car had ise on it. Hopefully there's some useful clue in there for diagnosis.)
I has my hands in the wiring harness, when I rewired for the H4 headlights. I split the harness into two seperate circuits. One with the relays for the headlights running off the alternator, with the old wiring controlling the relay, on/off. The other, a stand alone directional/parking light harness. Which consists of the old wiring, and a new ground wire. Also the left socket is broken, one of the 3 tangs that hold it into the parking light assembly is missing. If that info help anybody diagnose the problem, I'd love to hear what you have to say, before I rip all my nicely taped wiring apart again.
[ame]http://youtu.be/rBEfJN3_rk0[/ame]
 
I started a thread writng about instrument cluster, and gauges. Why some work, and others don't. The answer is probably that you really have no idea when you buy a used car.
I found a set of gauges at Summit Racing. Autogage ATM - 2391. They're 1.5" electrical gauges, with sending units. They're just a very basic - temp, volt, oil pressure set. That I think can probably be grafted into the stock dash, without having to worry whether the headlight switch will impede my attemps, and they're cheap. So I can remove the ammeter, and temp gauge that came with the Plymouth, but keep the dash panel. That's good enough for me.
 

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So here we go again. I swear that the first time I started this car, it had no instrument clucter lighting, but somebody told me, " That mopar lite the cluster so poorly that in the daylight it's not all that percievable." and the speedometer was stuck at 25 mph, I had one gauge that worked - the fuel level. Well, the speedometer fix itself, the dash lighting is now working, and today the tempeture gauge decided to join the band. I think I own Christine. Wacky !
 
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