New '73 Duster, need some help!

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danielb927

danielb927

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Hey everyone,

I just bought a new 73 Duster about a month ago. It's in pretty good shape for the 5200 bucks I paid for it, but I do want to get it running a little better and fix up a couple of problems it had or has developed.

First off, I can't start it from inside the car anymore. If I short across the starter relay (which I have replaced) with a screwdriver, with the ignition in ON, it starts and runs. What I had found before was the big wire from positive battery directly to the starter had been worn through by the steering shaft in the engine compartment and was shorting out and grounding directly to the steering shaft. Found it, replaced it, and the thing no longer starts from inside the car. Additionally, a bit later, i noticed the fuel and temp gauges and oil and parking brake lights don't work anymore. The 6 fuse (which I have read goes to the instrument cluster) blows every time I turn the ignition to ON. The battery does not seem to discharge if left connected with the car off.

I really hate electrical work so any help here is much appreciated.

The second thing I'd like to work on is tuning the engine. This is my first muscle car so I don't have much experience except a bit of playing with my friend's 72 'Stang. It's a 360 (I'm told its out of a 75 duster) and was just rebuilt by the previous owner less than a year ago. He dropped in a Comp Cams 280H magnum (280 degrees, 230 degrees at .050, .480 lift and exhaust). It runs fine for cruising, but I can usually smell gas and if i try to really get on it it will stutter once the rpm's get up, almost like it is flooding or something. Carb is a Thermoquad (750 cfm I believe). I haven't yet set the timing except by feel but I'm planning to get a timing light and do that soon, setting to 6-8 degrees BTDC. I've also read I should get a vacuum gauge to set the mixture screws on the front of the carb. Anything else I should be looking at here?
 
well start with the starting issue first, check to see if the ign. terminal is getting power when you try to crank it. if you don't its further back, like the ignition switch. if you are getting power then next remove the brown wire to the neutral safety switch and connect it directly to a ground. if it cranks then you know you need a neutral safety switch. if it does nothing then you know the relay is bad.

next get the motor running good. I would get an advanced timing light and set the total with the vacuum disconnected to about 36 degrees. your initial will probably be around 14 to 16 or so. as long as there is no starter kickback your ok. then set you idle speed and mixture screws with the vacuum gauge for the highest reading on the gauge.

last to look for the short, I would check the wires running to that circuit and all the connections. If it blows the fuse as soon as you hit the key then it probably has a bad or loose connection or some bare contact touching to a ground. my 2 cents.
 
also check to see if the neutral safety switch is hooked up on the trans and goes back to the starter relay switch.
 
I have tried bypassing the neutral safety switch and it still doesn't start. So I am thinking it must be either the ignition switch or another problem related to the short that blows the gauge fuse. I'll put a new ignition switch in as soon as I get my steering wheel puller (had to order one, since it's a grant wheel). But I'll try bypassing that part of the circuit and see if it works.

Does anyone here have a good wiring diagram of the car, or know what else might be on the gauge circuit or where those wires would go? It doesn't seem like I can take the top piece of the dash, but that would help a ton in terms of looking at things.

Just a question, when you talk about total timing vs. initial what exactly does that mean? And since the timing marks only go up to 10 (I think) do I just need to guesstimate where 14-16 is? Thanks
 
I dont know if there is one ont the 73 dust but when i ripped the stock bench seat out of my 74 dust i saw a couple of wires. a little reserch later back side of sun visor lol the is a sticker that says if the seatbelt is not coneted the car wont start.
 
Today I was able to crank the engine by jumping the positive battery terminal straight to the ign. terminal and it worked. So, the relay is fine, I will try changing the ignition switch and see if that works. If not, I will truly be stumped. I don't believe it is related to the seatbelts, I started it before without being belted in I'm almost certain, but if need be I'll give it a try. The fuse blowing is what's really going to be a pain to fix, unless it is somehow in the ignition switch too!
 
on your distributor there is initial timing (timing degrees at idle) and total timing (how much the distributor advances initial, total mechanical, and if you run it vacuum advance). you need to get your hands on an advanced timing light and set it to about 36 degrees all in between 2500 to 3000 rpm's. with the vacuum line disconnected and plugged. all you have to do is hook up the timing light and set it to 36 and loosen the distributor holdown then rotate it slowly till the mark lines up on your balancer with the 0 mark on the timing cover. check your initial next by letting it idle and turn the advance down until the mark again lines up with the 0 and read what your at on the light. it will be somewhere around say 14-?. take it for a test drive and shut it off and re-start it and see how it acts. I would leave the vacuum disconnected. it might decrease your fuel mileage but with a 360 I don't think it really matters anyway. LOL. one thing I almost forgot is about the all in by 2500 to 3000 rpm's is that you need to set the 36 degrees with the motor running at about that speed and that you shouldn't have the motor advance any more past that rpm speed. so if you then rev the motor to 3500 and the timing goes up to 39 degrees then you need to adjust it back down.
 
Thanks guys. As for changing the ignition switch, I am trying to do so now. What I don't know is how to get at it. I have the wheel off, the turn signal and hazard switch unscrewed and as far out as I can pull it (wires won't let me pull it any further), and the casing around the turn signal stuff and ignition lock cylinder/switch split. I can take some pictures if that would help. It doesn't look much like the haynes manual I have (which is 71-89 v-8 mopars, very specific I know). The ignition switch appears to be in this housing and not down on the column. So, question is, what do I need to do to get at it? I can pull the front half of this housing out about a half inch, and the steering shaft pulls out with it.
 
I just bought an advance timing light, will be working on the timing soon. Friends and I tried to time it but his timing light was really old and not working, we ended up just getting it back to running condition and it is a little better, but we forgot to disconnect the vacuum advance (oops!). So, it won't start without the vacuum advance hooked up, and I realize that it is hooked up to the manifold instead of the right port on the carb.

Anyways, I will time it as instructed and get back with results! I was happily able to trace the starting problem to a short above the instrument cluster where I had screwed one of the cluster screws in too far and into the wiring harness.
 
I would doubt the ignition switch is bad. You should test it before you go needlessly swapping it out. Your short needs to found first. A good place to look is at or near the fuse box. Pull it down and have a good look at it to see if something didn't fall on it causing a short or that wires are out of place, pulled or stretched where they should not be. Getting a good wiring diagram and troubleshooting with a meter is the best way to go about it. Whatever you do don't short the blowing fuse with a tin wrapper.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, I actually figured out the electrical problems. I had screwed one of the upper gauge cluster screws too far and into the electrical harness. I left them out for now. I got an advance timing light and vacuum gauge and going out to tune the engine now!
 
Got it timed up and I have a few questions. I have about 12 degrees initial timing (closest to 14 I could get without having the special distributor hold down bolt wrench). Around 30 at 2500 rpm. I played with the mixture screws too but forgot to keep the idle steady so I think they may be too rich.

It runs a lot better now. When i first put the timing light on it, it was idling with 50 degrees of advance with the vacuum advance on! I didn't know a car could even run with that much. Without the vacuum advance on it idled about 30.

When I try to floor it, it still dies on me, or at the least it stutters a little. What could be causing this? Fuel pump not keeping up?
Also, it always takes a while to get it started, any ideas on why?
 
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