When I took a break from racing at the end of 2010 I ended up selling everything and about 4 years ago I built a big block Duster just for the street but the car runs so good I've been dying to take it to a track.

A couple weeks ago I went to Quaker City in Salem Ohio, I will be driving the car to the track but Moparts member and good friend 'Butch' let me use his truck and trailer for my first outing, just in case. Butch also made some passes after a 6 year break and he had great results also, maybe he'll mention it on this thread or make a thread.

This particular track is known for being a tenth slow and it was close to 90 degrees with a density altitude of over 2100 feet.

First(and only) pass the car went 10.88 at 122.55mph!!!
1.54 60 foot with the 275/60/15 drag radials that I bought used for $100. Track guys didn't say anything but I happily packed up and left until I get a bar in it.

It's a 10to1 compression 500" low deck with Eddy heads but I'm running 3.23 gears in the 8.75 rearend, street converter, small 557 purpleshaft cam I bought used for $60, small B-body 1.75" headers with 100 dings in them I bought used for $75, mechanical water pump and mechanical fan, 4150 style 950cfm carb, full interior all steel body with all factory glass windows, full exhaust with H-pipe and tailpipes but I did use the electric cutouts that are located a few feet after the headers. No ignition box, just a Pertronix distributor with built-in ignition and rev limiter.
Front and rear suspension are stock, I added one new leaf to the front segment of each leaf spring as they were wore out, no snubber. No tuning yet with jetting or timing.

I've owned a couple different 9 second street cars but they weren't anywhere near as streetable as this one, my wife and I drive this car almost every day.
I launched 1800-2000, shifted at 5800. Once I raise those numbers a little, and go to a different track along with some better air will put me in the 10.68-10.70 area, then I'll start tuning, but that will be after my buddy puts an 8-point chromoly bar in it, even though I've said for 4 years this car will never get a roll bar.

This car is not a purpose built over achiever, it is simply a ton of FUN for my family and I for the street, and an occasional day of driving to the track, run 10's and drive home.

AWESOME Bob!!!!!

I real torq monster.

Yep at Norwalk on a "good" night easily 10.60`s
Congrats!!
Long time coming

Dusters rock
I may build another one someday

Wow! Freakin' AWESOME!!! I wish my Dart Sport ran like that. Bada$$ car Prosport! Those drag radial tires are unbelievable, they work really good. I have a set of M/T's I bought used like you did and mounted them on some Weld Magnums. I think both rims and tires are lighter than one of the rally wheel and tire. Amazing how the sidewall wrinkles up like a slick. 1.54 short time is pretty stout for 3.23 gears. That thing is making some big torque!

Very nice and congratulations. I love those seats.

What a great run! You built yourself a real clean car, too. For a bunch of used parts, you put together a super combination. Congrats.

Thanks Dennis and Cab!

Thanks Dave Hall, it is a blast to drive, never runs hot, usually around 178 degrees on a hot day in traffic. It does seem to make a ton of torque, my friends get a kick out of my 50mph rolling burnouts with street tires. I really am impressed with how the drag radials handle and hook.

John, the seats are just Ebay specials(sport seats), $100 each new and that includes the slider brackets that I mounted directly to the floor since I'm 6'2". I wish the seats were an inch or so wider but they're fairly comfortable.

Pretty good times for a basic package!

Good to hear! I have liked your ride since you started puting pictures up of it.

Thanks guys, I will update this thread soon if I get the roll bar in and get to the track again before the snow falls.

Glad you had some fun with it.
ps:did you change the shock setting for the track?Tire psi?

I have Rancho single adjustables on the back that my friend gave me, the knob only seems to move 5 clicks and it's in the middle setting. I didn't change it for the track, it hooked and booked.
I tried 17 pounds in the drag radials, seemed to be perfect.

Here's the leaf springs, I spent $50 per side for the added leaf and new clamps. I also ordered a box of heavy duty clamps but haven't messed with them yet. These clamps that are on it currently look like a metal band with rubber under it, th place that did them does a lot of heavy duty truck stuff and said they will hold-up.

That is almost exactly what my Duster would run back when it was a street car. I think the best time was 10.90 @ 122 mph with street tires, full exhaust and complete interior. That was with a 400 low deck and a solid roller cam. The car got kicked off the track though after a guy who got beat complained to the track manager.

High 10's is really getting with the program for a street car, especially one that you can fire up and drive on a regular basis.

Thanks Andy, with a few more runs and tuning I'm sure it will go 10.60's with the 3.23 gears so I'm stoked about it! I might try some 26" tires next time out since the 3.23's have me trapping at only about 5000 RPM's.
Even though I'm used to cars that run 9.80's this one didn't feel slow or boring at all, I had a blast and wanted to make more runs.

I put on the 275/55/r15 and have 3.73 so it is interesting what your rpm was.Your rpm must not drop much on the shift.

Good job Bob
Glad you feel renegrized after that pass

Very nice run!!!!!!!

Thanks I am definitely hooked again! I even went to Dragway42 Friday night to help a friend with his car, it's nice to be hanging out at tracks again. Our son's sports took up our time for several years and that is perfectly fine, now he's headed towards college and has a job which free's up some car time for me unless I gotta sell it to pay for the college LOL!

I will not turn this particular car into a racecar though, we drive it way too much for that.

I run 93 octane in it.

That's great with some used slap together parts.Doing it with the car your cruze is is the best!
I'm just redid my dual purpose heap also.Congratz!!

Runs great! I was hoping to see some results from your combo for a long time. Pretty hard to beat them 500 cube street motors when it comes to the fun factor. Is that a standard port window?

Very nice Bob! Glad you are out having fun again!

No it's a MW port, I bought the heads and intake used and got a great deal on them along with a stroker kit, which is what made my decision to go with a big block. I originally planned a stroked small block for easier maintenance and header fitment.

Thanks Chris, and thanks for info you've helped me with.

great fast ride,taking a break from racing is alway hard,you get a withdraw and depress and sell everything,im kinda taking a break from racing not that i want to just dont have the money all the time,a local chevy guy always wins every race and has a 5 car team,kinda hard to be

Man I'm diggin that Duster
way cool

Mike

Congrats! Nice when everything works out. Maybe I should have tried your approach. I bought everything new and overkill and I'm 1/2 sec slower then you. Have fun with yours.

Nice car and congrats.

Congrats on the easy 10 second pass! My favorite combination - clean, simple and Fast. Man I love that Duster, and now we know it's as fast as it looks

Now you have a bunch of people that spent more and went slower scratching their heads. Congrats on a good combination.
Doug

Very nice runs w/that combo for sure..........

Way to go Bob and glad to see you getting back into the track scene too. You got another good combo going and I'm sure it will be getting better all the time.

What's the weight with driver.

Bad ass

Thats great Bob ! I was wondering what she weighs and how tall the rear tires are. But I see alot of strokers that seem to run fast and not need alot of gear. I really think my car will go faster if I drop the gear some and get more into the torque area. But thats great. I took my car for about a 20 mile run today to a local car show and it is fun driving a 10 second street car. And mine is not real loud with the full exh on it as many dont believe it runs in the 10's. I think you could be in the mid 10's if you get time to really mess around with it. Nice going. Ron

3275# with me in it, 28" tire, 275/60/15.
There was 3 cars in my pit area island that were tubbed with lexan windows, huge hood scoops and no exhaust system running in the 10.90-11.20 area so they got a huge kick out of the Duster. The next day I drove it to a car show and relaxed all day with a big goofy smile.

Very nice run! I bet it was pulling like a freight train the in back half.

Your stuff always runs to its potential...this is a well executed success. Congrats!

Very nice Bob!!! I wondered how long it was gonna take for you to get a timeslip on that car, lol. Runs REAL good and makes it even better that it's so streetable!

Congrats on a civil liberties package.
It's back to basics that keeps us laughing all the way to the boasting bank.
Good going on hauling the mail. I need an express package delivered to me overnight, can you deliver it for me? LOL.

That, right there...doesn't get much better! Congrats Bob, on a great first outing. Very well done car!

Way to go Bob!! That car rocks, love that it's drivable, can turn ten's with ease, AND looks bad ass as well!

Thanks for the positive compliments everyone, you guys have awesome rides so It's good to hear from you! Hopefully I can do some upgrades here and there to make it better but in the mean time I feel content and we're really enjoying the car. An overdrive with more gear would be nice for the street and the strip, along with some much better headers although I do want to stick with the budget build.

Our son is not really into cars and he asked if he could do one of his senior photos with the car last week, I was blown away. I drove it an hour away in traffic in 90 degree heat with no problems and we had a blast.

Wow that is fast! 3.23 gears and the battery isn't even in the trunk. I hear Dragway 42 is awesome, we should all get together there in the spring.

Well done Bob, it definitely performs well for the package.
Mick

Awesome job Bob! Gotta love a bad fast Duster.

Nice car Bob, and it runs super. You did a great job building it. Congrats!!!

Yea, Bob...you're doing it all wrong...

Battery up front

3.23's

Small beat up headers

MP .557 (No way, will that cam go 10's we have all heard before)

And I love it!!! Awesome combo.

Wow I did not think it was that light because it dont look like you have taken much weight out of it. I thought it was at least that much with out you in the car as I figured it would be 3500 or so with you in it. So thats great and all your cars always seem to run great. And this one is right there as it runs awesome for that combo. It is fun to sometimes run faster then some cars that are tubbed with open headers and all when you run a full exh and are not tubbed isn't it. Ron

Brad we will definitely plan on it!

Thanks again everyone, I love all the nice comments! It's not hard to make a fairly light weight A-body run good with a big motor but I've never had one this drivable, could easily be used as a daily driver and it is very quiet with an H-pipe, Jones stainless mufflers, and full tailpipes out the back.

I think I'm gonna make it a goal for next summer to drive 90 minutes each way to Thompson Raceway and run the 10.50 Renegade class at least once.

Bob I was really courious about your converter. Who is the manufacturer and what size. How's the drivability?

I know I was happy to run my husband's street car (Challenger) into the 11's with 3.23 gears. Congrats Bob! That Duster of yours is one of my favorite cars on here.

It is a 9.5" Dynamic that I bought used here on Moparts and it has been perfect! Great street manners even with the 3.23's and 28" tires, and flashes real nice at the track.

Thank you, much appreciated!

That's awesome bob I just saw this post, I'm happy for you ... that thing is really moving.. run even better at 42 wink wink lol...

Bob congrats on your great first track outing with the Duster. The 557 cam works pretty Damn good say. I ran a bunch of 10.55 in the 1/4 with it in my old 3500 pound 65 Plymouth B Body. Keep up the great work and can't wait to hear your next new best et.

Good Job that works for a mild combo......man its a looker too!!!

Thanks Bob. Awesome package.

That's what I'm hoping

Thanks Bobby, next year I might have to throw some gear in this thing just for one day

Best of luck Bob and better get a Dana 60 ready.lol I can't wait till I can get my car to wear I can make a pass down the track.lol

A double thumbs up on your ride! I wonder how it would run with the lash tightened up as far as you dare go,,,,

I'm at 22/22 cold right now, with stock iron block and aluminum Eddy heads. Might try 20/20 cold next time out.

I would go to .016 cold next

Congrats on your very impressive first outing !
Fast, good looking, and street driven!

Mark

Well the season is over now, time for a long boring winter.
I now have a grand total of 5 passes on the car with 3 trips to the track, added some weight with a mild steel 6point roll bar and harnesses. Still haven't had time or energy to do any real tuning but better air and dropping the jets down 2 numbers netted a nice time slip:

1.51 60 foot
6.78 at 100.99mph
10.69 at 124.65mph

Drove it to and from the track 50 min away, and yes I'm having a blast with it!

Still need to do more jetting, haven't touched the timing, and I have several things to do such as sealing the hood scoop, slightly tighten the converter that has 17.5% slip, and might try a good electric water pump. The 3.23 gears will stay forever.

That's a great REstart!

If the street manors are good might leave the converter be. It is going to be hard to get the slip race car efficient with that big ole lever you got on the end of it. Just a thought. The tighter converter would widen the shift extencion and lower your trap rpm.

That's exactly what I'm debating over the winter. Normally with an 8" converter and 4.30 gears I expect about 3% slip out of my converter, but with this car having 3.23 gears and a 9.5" converter, I'm wondering if a little slip is helping it..?

It drives great on the street and strip and the trans fluid is always red in color like new. I would not be very happy if I did all the work to remove the converter, pay to have it tightened up, and then the car slows down a tenth or two. Then again it might drive better on the street and it is 80% street driven.

That's awesome! Great running car.

I have not seen Butch in quite a few years now. Was thinking of him the other day - hope he is doing ok!

Thanks, and Butch is doing great! He even made some passes this year in his Duster, it's hard to pull him away from his RC airplanes though lol.

Wow you have that basic combo running great. We would be a good race of two street cars driven to the track. Its fun for me when I am done racing and all I have to do is put some air in my rear tires and drive home. And that while I watch most loading their cars on trailers. Its great as long as nothing breaks. Ron

The converter shows slip because of the 3.23 gear. The car is still acelerating at the stripe. Tightening it won't help in my opinion. Slip just means you don't have enough distance to allow it to couple up, not that it's too loose.
Doug

I agree Doug. I was not aware of this till I started modifying later model cars with 2.79-3.23. A lot of the time the 2.79 geared cars were nearly or as fast as the higher geared cars. That low numerical gear really makes the converter work. The shift rpm will tighten up and you get more flash out of a tighter converter.

Congratulations it's always nice when hard work pays off.. oh and by the way great looking car

Hey I thought you were going to come try my 26"s next time out after the cage install. Glad you got her out one last time.

Are you sure on the slip numbers?? Heres my math for your latest mph outing with the 28" tires and if you would of used my 26's.

124.65 x 3.23 x 336/28 = 4831 RPM.

124.65 x 3.23 x 336/26 = 5203 RPM

Not really that much different really but in the right direction. My combo at that MPH would be at 5998 RPM.

You stated you were crossing the stripe near 5000 RPM, I don't see any room for 17.5% slip.??

Yes we would be a fun race for sure Ron! I'm currently running cheapo radials on the street and changing to a different set of rear wheels at the track with M/T 275 Pro drag radials mounted on them. Next summer I may try some regular M/T drag radials so I can just leave them on the car for street and strip. My concern is that I drive this car so much, I might go through a set of drag radials too quickly on the street.

Ok thanks Doug, that's exactly the kind of info I needed. Also saves me from pulling the trans and converter and spending money.

Thank you also Dannysbee.

Thank you, it's not the fastest car around but it sure is fun.

Mike I should have text you, I replied to a thread on Moparts that you were on, and I mentioned that I want to just stick with the drag radials but you may not have seen it.

On my 3rd trip to the track I finally remembered to look down at the tach and to my surprise it's crossing at exactly 5800. I looked at it 3 passes in a row.