the duster

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

dont you just love threads like this!..

[dusterbd13]

if someone has a company in mind that could make those wheels for a REASONABLE price, let me know. thats the way im leaning heavily. 255/55/17 on the back, and the 17 inch equivilant of a 235/60/15.

still gotta figure out the backspacing, though.

anyway, thanks for the positive comments.
and Mr. Vengance, why do you love threads like this?

Michael

[Nate K]

Tubular uppers look cool but you can do the same thing with offset upper bushings. I get them from napa for about $40 and can easily get up to 6 degrees of positive caster. I run mine at 4degrees and it makes a huge difference in handling.

[quote=Krazed]If you're looking for Handling and steering stability, might I suggest something?

Tubular Upper control arms. The new ones have far better adjustability, including built in positive caster to help strait line stability.

[matdean]

Wheel Vintiques www.wheelvintiques.com/ Makes 17" Steelies, but they arent cheap. I am sure they do weigh a good bit too. (You can buy them through Summit.)

[molyorange 77]

I like the steelies idea they look great! And I like that you painted the aluminum heads and intake. I did the same thing on my chevy but the single plane gives the sleeper look away!! HEHE

[dusterbd13]

so i finished the FFI stage 3 box today, and all i can say is that i love it!! the car drives a thousand times better, and the steering feels much like my Mazdaspeed now. no on center dead spot any more. the car still has no initial turn in or steering wheel return, but thats all in the alignment. may go with tubulars, may not. havent decided yet, and wont until i see what i can get out of the stock uppers.

next step is to replace the fragged speedo, readjust the shifter, and get some more miles on it while tuning in the carb. by that point, maybe i can afford some 17's. anytone wanna buy a chrysler cirrus with a bad trans? that way i can get my wheels.

anyway, just wanted to gove the update, and the glowing results of my purchase.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

got the car dyno'd a couple of weeks ago, as well as fine tuned. much more drivable now. and it actually idles!! yay!!
we found that i had snapped a couple of pushrods, the parts store distributor never actually advanced, etc. i should have found these myself, but after it quit on me the last time i drove it, i got fed up and left it under the cover.

anyway, ater fixing and tuning, it made 386HP at 5500, and avereaged 350+ lb-ft from 1800-5500. peak was 399.

figured id give a small update. now that its driving again, maybe ill mess with it some more.

Michael

[blown9746]

Love this car. Would definitely go with the steelies. They just look right on this car.

[ALLstrokedOUT]

Nice! i must have looked at this build a couple dozen times over the past year as motivation or reference. Good numbers from the dyno too!

[dusterbd13]

thanks for the positive comments, guys. its not too often that a car with 15 inch eheels, a bench seat, and a 4 speed gets love on this board. im actually really enjoying driving this car now, and after playing with tire pressure some its handling a lot better.

Michael

[maldo]

Man you really did a nice job on your ride .... i would keep it as stealthy as possible .........

do you have any video sound clips of the car .....

[dusterbd13]

nah, no video or sound clips. i actually am not sure if my wife's digital camera takes them, and then wouldnt know how to post it. if i ever do get some, ill be sure to post it.

Michael

[The Stickman]

I'd actually try to avoid that if possible, the additional weight of a 17" steel wheel will be large enough to have a pronounced feel on acceleration, braking, and handling. They weigh a freakin ton.

Try Wheel Vintiques. They have some on 17 inch in steel and billet.

http://www.wheelvintiques.com/shopsi...tml/index.html

[icebird84]

good looking stock Duster

[Johnny C.]

Cool project. I like what you are doing with it.

[dusterbd13]

icebird84good looking stock Duster

thanks. its really not that stock though.
could go further, just havent. been having too much fun with the driveabeater.

right now, im just enjoying driving it. when the track opens back up, ill see what she'll run in the quarter.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

ive been driving it a lot lately. to work, to daycare, to my second job, to church, etc. almost a nice day daily.

that has uncovered teething problems, as well as things i just dont like and annoy me.

1. the speedo didnt work. after moving some wires around to eliminate the interference, and regrounding it, it works for the first time since the resto. its amazing what RPM i have to run to run the speed limits. which brings me to
2. the gears are just too stiff. at 3000RPM, with 28 inch tall tires, im doing 60 MPH. thats just rediculous. so i worked out a deal with hollis over at HP engines that im trading my 3.91's and 2.76 open diffs for a fresh 3.55 sure grip unit. clutch type. im excited. ill post pic when i get it from him.
3. i blew out another drivers side header gasket. ill be putting coppers in that side when i get the chance.
4. my alignemnt sucks. the pass side tire is rubbing the fender from where the last alignment tech lengthened the adjustable strut rod. i believe im going to try to align this thing myself. i do GM stuff all the time, as well as all my other cars, so i "should" be able to do this one.
5. ive had some electrical gremlins pop up. sub, drivers side brake light, and alternator all quit working at various times. alternator was a slipping pully from where the nut loosened. sub was a bad ground, and i havnt figured out the taillight yet. im thinking turn signal switch.
6. the shifter is vauge. its a hurts comp shifter, with the stops all set up, new bushings, shimmed for a good fit on the rids, etc. done right, just vauge. ill be looking for another solution at some point.
7. the hood prop rod needs reengineered. its a POS.


the only other real update is that i test fit a set of 17 inch mustang bullit wheels. i like them, and they fil really well without any spacers or anything. the rear will need a small spacer just for looks, as theyre a little too far in. as soon as i find a good set for a good price, ill be grabbing them. im also converting from manual to power brakes, as i jsut get tired of the leg effort required to stop this thing.

jsut wanted to let you know the car didnt slip into obscurity or get sold.

look for updates as i work on it.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

got the header asket done.

the TTI's have a known problem when they are bolted to heads that are ported to fel-pro gasket size. mine are. the current fix is to have the sealing bead welded in a different location and then milled back to flat. i really DON'T want to do that if i can help it. so my idea is (and we will see how it works) is to use a smaller sized copper gasket put in "wrong".

heres the carbon tracing on the head:



and the nuked gaskets i pulled out. i ran a set like these (fel-pro exhaust manifold gaskets for a 360) on my old blackjacks for years, as well as the hedmans in my old 84 ram. never leaked.
the ones off the TTI's



my idea on the undersized gaskets is that the embossed lip fits inside the port opening of the fel-pro gaskets. my theory is that the copper is thick enough to seal the header to the head withput the bead of weld. i turned the ebossed lip inwards so it would slip into the port on the head. on the initial fire up, is sealed. no carbon tracing yet. im going to heat cycle it a few more times before i put the locks back on and see how well it works. if it doesnt, i find another solution. next step is a 1/16 steel plate with the proper brading on one side, using the port opening dimensions of the TTI headers. use a pair of gaskets cemented to each side. it should theoreticaly be a bolt on soltion id the copper gasket doesnt work.

heres some pics showing the fit difference between the summit coppers and the fel-pro's.




michael

[dusterbd13]

spnt a few hours swapping in my new 3.55 suregrip unit.
id have taken pictures, but nothing visually changed.


i still have some noise from the rear that i cant find. ill keep working on it. im beginning to think pass side wheel bearing.


also working on a trade for an 800 CFM eddy carb with a choke to get rid of this crappy holley while i scrounge the rest of the parts i need for my sleeper EFI conversion.


have to gove feedback on the 3.55 though. cruise RPM at 70 is 3000, versus the same RPM at 60. the midrange feels much better, and the gears seem to match the sweetspots in the powerband better than the old 3.91 set.

the headers are still not leaking.

thats it for the update.