'72 Duster "AERO DUSTER"

[Bjkadron]

if you buy me a 4bbl throttle body, ill trade you a dual plane and 750 eddy carb.

assuming i ever get my dang maniofold back from the machine shop.

id also consider a modded magnum 2bbl throttle body.
so, decided nopt to run the spax now?

and good luck on the three link. looking forward to that.
what rear are you looking at using? if its an 8.8, ive got access to a few for about 150ish. just require a trip to somewhere in the middle to put it from my truck to yours.

michael

Really? What kind of cfm are you looking for? or what Mods on the Magnum? I'll see what I can find/do.

I am running the spax in the front... but I didn't really feel like cutting and welding on the shocks just to do a coilover... I also considered doing it like Nascar does with the separate springs... But in the end I decided it was already going to be a packaging nightmare and I could use the extra space the pushrods will give me. Plus it is cool and cheaper than any other way I've found and they are double adjustable.

And yes.. I'll be using the 8.8. The three link I can't really finish till I can get the duster up in the air and get some measurements.

Makes me want to pull my duster out of the field and start working on it.

I would vote do it. They are awesome cars.

[dusterbd13]

so, want me to score an 8.8? if so, 3.73, limited slip, rear disc right?

on the CFM, i was looking at the BBK setup. its like 1000CFM. also after i posted about the magnum TB, i figured out that to get what i want as far as CFM goes, the manifold im using would have to be machined in some funky ways to not shroud the bores. so that ones out. ill use a stock magnum TB thats been home ported to get it up and running, but have to step up to a 4bbl TB to really get it dialed in like i want it.

and i cant blame you on doing it the way you are. makes good sense.

by the way, my machinis called today, hes finally done. 2 months later.

michael

[Bjkadron]

so, want me to score an 8.8? if so, 3.73, limited slip, rear disc right?

on the CFM, i was looking at the BBK setup. its like 1000CFM. also after i posted about the magnum TB, i figured out that to get what i want as far as CFM goes, the manifold im using would have to be machined in some funky ways to not shroud the bores. so that ones out. ill use a stock magnum TB thats been home ported to get it up and running, but have to step up to a 4bbl TB to really get it dialed in like i want it.

and i cant blame you on doing it the way you are. makes good sense.

by the way, my machinis called today, hes finally done. 2 months later.

michael

You better wait on the 8.8 I can't work as much during the school year so the budget is getting thin... Do you know if the $150 would include all the brakes and stuff?

Would you have anything against a Round TB with an adapter? Because from what I just read when I looked it up a 75mm throttle body off something like a Camaro or Vortec truck should be a little over 900cfm. And I could machine an adapter so it would bolt on the stock 4bbl mount. I wasn't sure you had considered that as an option.

[ALLstrokedOUT]

Would you have anything against a Round TB with an adapter? Because from what I just read when I looked it up a 75mm throttle body off something like a Camaro or Vortec truck should be a little over 900cfm. And I could machine an adapter so it would bolt on the stock 4bbl mount. I wasn't sure you had considered that as an option.

Just throwing this out there for consideration too: im using a stock Q45 TB for now, which is "90mm" (thats external dia, more like ~87mm butterfly) but you can get true 90mm ones on ebay cheap too.

[Bjkadron]

Just throwing this out there for consideration too: im using a stock Q45 TB for now, which is "90mm" (thats external dia, more like ~87mm butterfly) but you can get true 90mm ones on ebay cheap too.

There you go.. Even better... Thanks.

[Bjkadron]

Well, This have actually changed quite a bit since I last updated this thread. I am getting married in July, so that probably won't help with the finances, but I might be getting a house with a garage so that will definately help with the workspace issues.

I have decided to just fix the engine in my Gold duster and drive it without any more big upgrades for now. I'll probably swap out the wheels but that is about it.

I have made a big leap forward on my original green duster project however. I found a really great deal on a dirt track racecar that is almost a full tube frame and included a full floating quick-change rear, all wide 5 hubs and a three link rear. It is LOOSLY based on a G-body frame but I'm going to be replacing most of that anyway. My plan is to sell all the spare parts and stuff that I don't need to mostly re-coup my costs and then convert it to pushrod suspension and skin it with my green duster. So far with my Duster included I have about $1400 total in parts and should be able to get a bunch of that back by selling parts.

Well, that is about it for now, I'll try to post pictures soon. Thanks again for following!

[dusterbd13]

mmmm..... tube frame duster track rat.........

that makes me giggle.

michael

[SPDMETL]

I just chewed through this whole thread, and it ends in 2012 ??? What happened?

[dusterbd13]

I know you resurfaced. Give us some updates man!!!

[Bjkadron]

I wish I had some updates. Project is totally stalled because of funds, and time and place to work on it. Currently just sitting and waiting. Which is frustrating since I know I have 90% of the parts I need. I'd really like to figure out somewhere I can do a full rotisserie build. I know I'm detail oriented enough that is the only way I'd be satisfied. The plan would be to do something like this: http://jalopnik.com/the-world-s-most...uil-1793638920 Just with a duster. I'm pretty sure I could get it down to 2700# fairly easily, and with a rev-happy 400+ Hp 318 or 360 and the 5spd it would be a riot. But unfortunately nothing to report right now or for the foreseeable future. Hopefully I will have better news in a couple months.

[qnitro]

You know what... after my Z/28, Im doing a duster... a LSA/t56 Duster...I think these bodies are a awesome shape.. and look forward to you continuing this one

[Bjkadron]

Well, here we go for dragging up a super old thread. I haven't made a real update to this thread since 2012. Life certainly gets in the way of our best laid plans but I wanted to provide an update as I hate it when threads just disappear.

So update: Both these cars have been essentially in cold storage since 2012. I ended up having to get rid of the Dirt track car I was going to use for the Green Duster. I have moved several times since I updated and lost parts etc over time. Late summer was the first time these cars have even been at the same location as me. After going over both and sitting down and realistically looking at the list of parts and time that would be required (Yes, I'm still an engineer so there was an excel sheet involved ) to get these going vs how much time I have with work and other commitments it was honestly depressing. I felt like I was never going to get anything going because my plans far outreached the budget and time I had to commit. I had to make some decisions about the direction I wanted to go with these. Do I keep building two cars? Do I rebuild the gold one stock-ish and use the green one as parts? Do I just cut my losses and sell both? A duster has always been my "achievable" dream car so how do I make this work? A lot of questions and very few good answers.

Well, after a couple months and going over the situation with my wife (buy-in is always important on stuff like this), there was a glimmer of hope. I found an 85 year old guy who, because of health reasons, was getting out of the hobby and he had a surprisingly good shape 1972 Plymouth Duster Drag car. It has been raced in various forms since almost new but was somehow in pretty good and largely original shape except for the drivetrain (more on that later). Well, we went back and forth for a little while but eventually a deal was struck that worked for everyone. Here is how it worked out. I now have a New to me Yellow 1972 Duster, The previous owner gets a fair price and the knowledge it is going to a good home, and my wife gets the promise that the two other Dusters (green and gold) will find new homes. So if anyone is looking for a a good project (or two) let me know as they will be listed soon.

So here is a quick overview of the new Yellow Duster and some pictures for those curious. I haven't decided If I'm going to start a new Thread for it or just continue with this existing one (open to input if you have any strong feelings on the matter). It is a 1972 Plymouth Duster in yellow, has 70 stripes currently and a sharktooth grille (I've always been a sucker for these). It is currently set up as a drag car which will change into a more streetable handling build over time. It has a stroked 360 Eagle crank & JE forged pistons with Edelbrock Performer rpm heads and a 750 proform race carb. It has a built 727 with a full manual valve body, somewhere around 3000 stall, 4:10 (?) 8 3/4", SBP all around and original Drum brakes (terrifying and will be the first thing to go). It's pretty rowdy currently and not particularly streetable. It will blow the 275/60R15 MT ET Street slicks off with just a punch of the throttle and it sounds amazing through a 2.5" X-pipe and Flowmasters with turndowns. I was told it did 10.80's with an 850 carb then they put the 750 on to slow it down so they wouldn't need a cage (I'll be honest, it is quick but I'm not sure I totally believe the 10:80s). Over the next couple weeks I'll be going through it to identify what exact parts it has and figuring out a plan to get it to where I want to be. I still want to manual swap it and make it handle pretty well but don't have exact performance targets currently.

I guess that is about all for now so enjoy the pictures. Excited to be back.

[Pedigry]

1980's time capsule. Super cool. Love the color.

[chunger]

WOW, that thing is CLEAN. I think you scored! Whats your vision for the car?

Thanks for coming back to update the thread. Too, too many of these threads just die off and we never find out what happened.

[ryeguy2006a]

Really cool story, and I think you made a great decision getting a car that (although rowdy) you can get in and drive now. A lot of the mechanical issues you can sort out in a weekend or two, but major restorations are extremely time consuming.

[Bjkadron]

1980's time capsule. Super cool. Love the color.

Thank you! I really like it. I don't think I would have picked a yellow car out of a list but I actually like it a lot.

WOW, that thing is CLEAN. I think you scored! Whats your vision for the car?

Thanks for coming back to update the thread. Too, too many of these threads just die off and we never find out what happened.

Thank you! A fun Duster has been my dream for so many years now that I'm glad it is finally progressing. Life can definitely throw some curveballs along the journey though.
My vision is pretty simple. A fun duster that I can do everything with. Not being a daily driver means I can be a bit more on the aggressive side with it, so I want it to be an experience when I drive it. Main plans are: Get the engine more responsive throughout the rev range since it is more of an on/off switch(I think I can do this with mostly fueling and intake stuff), Manual swap (for heat, gearing and fun), and upgrading the suspension and brakes to be more pro-touring then Drag biased ( I do want to keep a stock based system with Torsion bars/leafs for now, maybe a 3-link down the line). I'll probably keep the body pretty much stock other than rolling fenders for tire clearance, front and rear bolt spoilers but no crazy body cutting etc. Also probably add AC because it gets hot here in the summer. The main goal is just to keep all the upgrades to a relatively short downtime so I can keep driving it most times.

Really cool story, and I think you made a great decision getting a car that (although rowdy) you can get in and drive now. A lot of the mechanical issues you can sort out in a weekend or two, but major restorations are extremely time consuming.

Exactly, I'd love to do something crazy but my goal is to keep it on the road more than off the road. I like working on stuff but really the whole point is to drive it.

[Pedigry]

Really cool story, and I think you made a great decision getting a car that (although rowdy) you can get in and drive now. A lot of the mechanical issues you can sort out in a weekend or two, but major restorations are extremely time consuming.

Completely right. Don't get it right, just get it running.

[Bjkadron]

Not a lot of updates but I have a few. My first goal has been to find out what exactly I got myself into. Starting with the engine.

I did a compression test and got ~195 PSI cylinder pressure. Thinking that was pretty high for a pretty big cam I decided to break out my inspection camera and get a look at the inside. Found this:

Those are not flat tops like I was expecting, that is a pretty serious dome. So I confirmed my butt dyno readings, this thing is spicy.
Lets check out the lifters, I was told it was a roller cam but didn't have receipts or anything. Roller cam confirmed:

Anyone recognize these by this picture? I'm not sure what brand or really if they are solid or hydraulic. I'm thinking that looks like a retainer clip where the pushrod comes out but hard to tell for sure.

Heads were a bit harder to tell because I'm not finding a lot of marking and they were hard to get a picture of through the spark plug hole.


Hard to tell for sure but it looks like they are slightly open chamber. they just say "Performer RPM 6017" so I don't know if they are 60179 or 60175. My guess is 60175 since they are the roller lifters. Also has nice double springs and roller lifters. Intake is a Edelbrock torker 2. No idea what the oil pan is but it is kicked out and cad plated. Kinda looks like this one:

I have a line on a Kevco road race pan from another member here, which would probably be better for the intended usage.
Overall it is about what I figured going into it. A pretty spicy engine but should still run on pump premium if I watch the timing.

Also, I was prepping the duster for winter (fuel stabilizer etc) and while I was running it I figured I'd mess with the carb a little more. I ended up re-doing all the simple tuning: adjusting the idle, idle mixture, setting the accelerator pump linkage. It runs and idles a little better now but I think I need to look at the jetting because it is still smelling a little rich. Did end up making a short video of the exhaust sound. Enjoy! I didn't do a full cold start video because it was 40* out and I don't have a choke. The starts are a little rough haha.

[Bjkadron]

[Kowalski340]

Love the duster! Looks super clean man! We need more mopar guys!!!!