rapom65
Well-Known Member
What year is your Duster and what type column is it, floor/column shift, manual or power steering? The pics Young Gun posted look like they're from his '65? Valiant, the columns differ on earlier cars.
What year is your Duster and what type column is it, floor/column shift, manual or power steering? The pics Young Gun posted look like they're from his '65? Valiant, the columns differ on earlier cars.
Your column tube should match 72bluNblu's and mine. I would think 2" would be safe if you want to cut the jacket back on your column, but, I don't think you would have to cut the column jacket at all for header clearance. I have TTI's on a 360, blu has TTI's (IIRC) on a 340 which clear the rear header tube with out issue. The tightest clearance point is usually the coupler area. This is a pic of mine with the bearing mod completed with the firewall plate installed.
I actually have Doug's headers on my 340, but it's not a big difference there. You can cut the column jacket back if you want, but it really doesn't buy much space and the clearance isn't needed there. The coupler is the closest to hitting the headers, although even the vibration damped coupler I used is plenty clear.
Thanks guys. Although the page views show plenty of interest it has pretty much just been me and the crickets... I thought there would be more questions?
I do have one observation though and that is there appears to be a good deal of weight being added to the car with all the fabrication. I don't see this as being a drag-oriented deal so it's probably not terribly relevant but I was just wondering if the extra mass was a concern or not. I am a weight reduction freak so that's what I notice. Do you have any idea what the car weighed before you took it apart? '73-up are generally heavier than the '70-'72 models.
What significant amount of weight? The subframe connectors and radiator support? Those are worth their weight in chassis stiffness. The 4 link is probably lighter than the old leaf springs, not to mention the Fox shocks are lighter than the old ones.
Adding the relays and additional wiring does add some weight, but I wouldn't say its a lot. And removing the rear shock mount bumper probably saved 150lbs. No kidding.
The column modifications don't add any weight, and the new master cylinder weighs half of what the old one does. Same with the aluminum radiator. The hydraulic clutch probably saves weight too vs all the linkage.
I thought about that as well when I was adding subframe connectors, J bars, radiator support brace, torque boxes etc to my car. The chassis stiffening is just plain worth the weight in improved handling. But a lot of the other modifications are actually removing weight, especially since a lot of the modern components are lighter than their original counterparts.
Yeah some times it feels like I'm writing a book that nobody will read, but with 5700 views so far some one is following along. I just though there would be more questions like yours, comments questioning my sanity or methods and perhaps suggestions on different approaches to what I'm doing. It's a bit cathartic to document the work and I enjoy the process so it really wouldn't matter if the page views were zero, I would still do it.
As far as weight is concerned the latter Dusters are definitely more porky than the earlier models. I believe mine started out between 3400-3600 lbs from the factory due to added "safety crap" like door beams, crash bumpers, 50 lbs (exaggeration) of wiring and such for things like seat belt interlocks, fuel evap systems ect., ect., ect... and power steering + brakes.
The car will never be a top contender in any form of racing as my goal is not competition. I want a very good handling, powerful, comfortable and streetable hot rod. One I can drive 2.5 hours to see my friends and go to a car show/event near Seattle and then the next week take down to Portland International and spend a Saturday/Sunday blasting around the road course on a track day or maybe go play at a local autocross. So a lot of compromises have & will take place on the build. An example is the iron cased OD 4 speed. I "could have" opted for the aluminum cased version but they have issues with counter shaft support the iron cased versions don't when higher doses of HP are put thru them.
As far as weight added (sub frame connectors, fuel cell cage, radiator cross bar, heavy gauge wiring, iron 4 speed/Lakewood bell/billet fly wheel, bigger B disks and rear drums) vs what weigh has been removed/repositioned (aluminum heads, intake manifold, master cylinder and radiator, headers, bench seat vs light buckets, rear fold down seat, crash bumpers and shocks, battery to trunk) I think it's going to be a wash and I'll still be in the same 3400-3600 lbs when she's done. It could be made lighter by deleting creacher features like power steering/brakes, heater/defroster but that won't increase the enjoyment factor of the car for me. I've done the race car thing on the street for too long now, looking for a more "civilized" ride. So no weight loss or gain in the end but what is there is much better distributed ie. moved off the ends and lower/more centered in the chassis. The chassis is way stiffer and provides a solid base for the suspension upgrades to work with and the added power and braking performance should make for a fun do it all car. It can always be modified for a more focused usage if that should occur in the future.
Yeah some times it feels like I'm writing a book that nobody will read, but with 5700 views so far some one is following along. I just though there would be more questions like yours, comments questioning my sanity or methods and perhaps suggestions on different approaches to what I'm doing. It's a bit cathartic to document the work and I enjoy the process so it really wouldn't matter if the page views were zero, I would still do it.
As far as weight is concerned the latter Dusters are definitely more porky than the earlier models. I believe mine started out between 3400-3600 lbs from the factory due to added "safety crap" like door beams, crash bumpers, 50 lbs (exaggeration) of wiring and such for things like seat belt interlocks, fuel evap systems ect., ect., ect... and power steering + brakes.
The car will never be a top contender in any form of racing as my goal is not competition. I want a very good handling, powerful, comfortable and streetable hot rod. One I can drive 2.5 hours to see my friends and go to a car show/event near Seattle and then the next week take down to Portland International and spend a Saturday/Sunday blasting around the road course on a track day or maybe go play at a local autocross. So a lot of compromises have & will take place on the build. An example is the iron cased OD 4 speed. I "could have" opted for the aluminum cased version but they have issues with counter shaft support the iron cased versions don't when higher doses of HP are put thru them.
As far as weight added (sub frame connectors, fuel cell cage, radiator cross bar, heavy gauge wiring, iron 4 speed/Lakewood bell/billet fly wheel, bigger B disks and rear drums) vs what weigh has been removed/repositioned (aluminum heads, intake manifold, master cylinder and radiator, headers, bench seat vs light buckets, rear fold down seat, crash bumpers and shocks, battery to trunk) I think it's going to be a wash and I'll still be in the same 3400-3600 lbs when she's done. It could be made lighter by deleting creacher features like power steering/brakes, heater/defroster but that won't increase the enjoyment factor of the car for me. I've done the race car thing on the street for too long now, looking for a more "civilized" ride. So no weight loss or gain in the end but what is there is much better distributed ie. moved off the ends and lower/more centered in the chassis. The chassis is way stiffer and provides a solid base for the suspension upgrades to work with and the added power and braking performance should make for a fun do it all car. It can always be modified for a more focused usage if that should occur in the future.