Starting a BB Duster project
- Thread starter AndyF
- Start date
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stixx
Well-Known Member
Almost looks like a motorcycle battery!
SLOPAR72
Well-Known Member
Well Andy your decision on the cooling setup made me change directions on my Radiator setup. I tripped over a complete Volare in a Pull a Part junkyard and commenced to taking the rad/fan/shroud setup. Maybe 45.00 total investment and the radiator is clean as it appears the car was serviced well. If I can get the cooling needed without using my Afco and electric fan setup I am all for it. The 26" radiator falls right in only needing a little trimming. It's a 2 core also but we will have cooler weather when the car gets running so it's a good time to try it out....
Thanks for this thread,
JW
Thanks for this thread,
JW
Ur almost there Andy. Kim
I've never tried a Volare radiator but it might just work. Only way to find out is to slide it in and then see how it fits. You'll most likely need to have a radiator shop move the outlet so it lines up with your lower hose. The inlet location might be okay. You might need to play around with the fan spacer to get it in the right spot. Good luck, hope it works out for you.
SLOPAR72
Well-Known Member
Thanks. The shroud is narrower than yours and I suspect it will fit similar to yours. I will know in a few weeks. I may start a thread about my RB transplant as I am doing a few things that most people don't but is nothing like your efforts....
JW
I have the Holley Pro Dash up and running. Just sitting on the cowl at the moment while I double check everything. I need to send the housing bracket out for powder coating and then get the screen mounted into position. I keep plugging along. Took some time off during the summer but now I'm back working on the Duster.
That’s awesome. Kim
Latest article in Car Craft: https://www.hotrod.com/articles/dustbin-duster-tackle-big-block-body-swap/
Andy, I am thinking about the Holley Sniper for another project. I am curious as to how it controls timing, and what hardware you need to go along with it. I currently have a stock Chrysler ignition, but I also have an MSD Pro Billet distributor and 6A module, new in the box. I know you have gone a different direction with your project, but I figure you must have a pretty good understanding of how it works to do that.
Sell your MSD distributor and use the money to buy a Holley Hyperspark distributor. Then it is plug and play to control timing. You can use your 6A module or sell it and buy the Hyperspark ignition box. Either should work, just depends on your preference.
Thanks Andy. Does it just control centrifugal advance, or does it provide a type of vacuum advance as well?
Thanks again Andy, that sounds like a neat system.
If you're thinking about buying a Sniper you should download the instructions from the Holley website and read thru them a few times. That will help you understand the capabilities. The Sniper has full data logging capability that most people don't even know about. You can record your 1/4 runs and then play them back and watch all of the engine parameters. You get a lot of capability for $1000 with the Sniper.
I read an article about their distributor last night. I also watched a video about converting my MSD to work with a Fitech. Now I know where you were coming from with your recommendation. No comparison for the simplicity of set up. I love that cap fixture for indexing the distributor.
Yeah the MSD distributor is a bad match for EFI. It can be made to kind of work but it takes a bunch of effort and it requires some expert knowledge and even then it doesn't work really well. My advice is to sell the MSD to an old school guy who has a carb and move on. The Hyperspark distributor should be plug and play.
Getting a little closer to being ready to drive the car out of the shop. This car hasn't moved under it's own power for more than 10 years. The guy I bought the car from took it all apart back around 2007 and he never got it back together so this is the closest it has been in a long time.
Andy, I think you need to show over half these guys on here how to build a proper cooling system. You didn't even use a fancy schmancy electric fan. lol
Yeah the cooling system in the Duster looks stock but it required some very serious work to make it look that way. Most big block A body cars have cooling problems so when I started this project I decided to attack that issue head on. The trick was to redesign the core support and most guys are not willing to cut the core support out of their car. I think the only way to do it "right" is to redesign the core support and then put in a big radiator with a shroud and a big clutch fan. That is the way the factory engineers would've done it if they were stuffing 500+ hp into these cars. But I get it. Most guys aren't going to spend the money to redo the core support so what I did isn't really an option. I have a buddy who has a big block A body car with the typical thick aluminum radiator and electric fan crammed against the water pump and cooling problems and all that jazz. He comes over and looks at my Duster and just sighs. But his car is painted and he isn't going to pull it apart to cut out the core support so it is what it is.
I"m starting to finish up the electrical system. Came across this solid state relay bank from MSD. I haven't used it yet but it seems like a slick way to gang four relays together without a bunch of wires running all over the place.
Nice, u keep finding great parts. Kim
That’s putting the magazine to good use. Kim
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