Unfortunately, there WAS gas in the oil when we drained it.

We checked the oil religiously the whole way back and there was no indication of it then, so I'm really, really, really hoping that the gas just started getting in there toward the very end of the trip or once we were home and just putting around town...

We'll drive it around town a couple days and then do another oil/filter change. We'll also cut open the oil filter that was on there to see what evil lurks inside.

She still has a little bit of a hot idle issue. She's fine driving, but when you stop at a light she still has a tendency to want to sputter and die...

Carbs (and most other things ) are not my strong point, but I figure that's coming next.

We need to fix the exhaust leak and wrap the headers anyway, so we'll start collecting the parts for a carb upgrade from the 1945 on there.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

You will want to take careful stock of the bearings, and probably look into the timing set.

The cam bearings running in gasoline saturated oil can go, causing timing to go all over the place. Time for a serious exploratory. Probably should have added that to the "Replace before you drive across country" list. :shrug:

Been a while since I beat the cam bearings out of an engine from a failed fuel pump. Sorry I didn't think of it back during planning.

CJ

_________________
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

We'll see... So far so good...

I told Chase that if we wiped the bearings we'd pull the engine out of GodsRods Duster II for "Stella".

It's a fairly mild build with 9.4:1 compression and an Engle cam. Should wake his street ride right up.

I've still got the engine out of the Challenger that I haven't looked into yet... That one can go in GodsRods Duster II.

If all goes well with "Stella" this week I'm still planning to drive her to Elk Creek on Friday.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

I drove Stella to Elk Creek, VA for the rained out Slant 6 race this weekend.

She ran fine and averaged high 19 MPG on the trip.

Chase and I will find some time to give her a tune up soon.

I have noticed that occasionally the oil light takes a few seconds to go off after the initial start up... I'll get a gauge... Still keeping our fingers crossed on the "gas in the oil" thing...

Here are a few more pictures from the end of the trip and Stella's first trip to the "GodsRods Garage".

As we were cruising across Indiana on our last leg of the trip home we got to do a caravan with this very clean Mercury Cyclone with a 428 Cobra Jet! We "Hit it" and went head to head for a few miles, but this poor Furd just couldn't hang with the awesomeness of the Leaning Tower of Power and the top end charge of those 2.76 rear gears...







Once we got home Chase couldn't wait to take the air dam off and give Stella a much needed bath! His little brothers (Mike and CJ) gave him a hand.





Stella's in good company in the Simmons Clan driveway...





Here's Chase removing 38 years of accumulated love from Stella's engine compartment:



Here's all three Dusters at the GodsRods Garage: Stella, GodsRods Duster II (under the cover) and Street (Ruster) Duster in the background.



That made it a little nicer for him to change the fuel pump.



And the latest adventure. Stella at Elk Creek hoping to be able to race... We got rained out, but we got to do some good bench racin' and Stella and I had some good "bonding time" while Chase was away at Soccer Camp.





Eventually I'm going to get Chase to start posting here and take over "Stella's Story"...

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Chase gave Stella a tune up this weekend.

He also decided to replace the starter that has been going out since we bought her...

One thing lead to another and we wound up replacing the intake/exhaust gasket, intake manifold and starter.

Swapping to the aluminum 1 barrel intake saved a whopping 13 pounds!

We had buttoned up the intake/headers when we realized we had forgotten to re-install the starter... No way it was going in without loosening the headers back up again, so...

That mini starter I stold from the Challenger for GodsRods Duster II went in. That saved us another 6 pounds.

The next "Jenny Craig" diet plan will consist of the fiberglass six pack hood and lighter bumper brackets off of the Street "Ruster" Duster.

Eventually we'll either get around to installing the fenders Ceej gave Chase or getting the Dart/Demon front end pieces...

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Chase removing the steel 1 barrel intake so we can replace it with the aluminum one and replace the gasket.

I couldn't rotate the pictures correctly, so you can lay your head on the desk for proper viewing...



Filing down the aluminum intake to make it "more prettier"...



And, the all important aluminum paint.



He's a little OCD... Not sure where he gets that...



You can see "Turismo 225" way down the hill back there... Waiting....

(Not my tractor. I wish! )

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Yep, the Mater sees most things a bit different than the rest of us! Good job Chase! We know who has the brains of the operation!

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66 Lil' Red Piggie Valiant (Mater Crusher) - Thanks Zilla!!!!! 72 Demon (Number 1 Son's)

Those fenders originally came from Reed up in Washington.

Don't forget to give him a thank you!

CJ

_________________
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Thanks Reed!!

I'm in negotiations with Chase concerning the "way ahead" for Stella body-wise...

He sees his dream of the Demon front end and the car painted Lexus Amythist Pearl (I'm gonna call it Deep Purple instead )

I'm still trying to convince him that it's okay to spend some time and effort on an "intermediate stage" of improvement by putting on the better fenders and fiberglass hood for now. We don't know when we'll find the Dart/Demon pieces...

He'll come around... Maybe if we went the extra mile and painted them to match the body instead of painting them with primer or flat black it would convince him...

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

I made some progress on getting the tow hubs made and installing a tow hitch on Stella this weekend.

Chase had a soccer tournament in Lexington.

We will weld up the tow hubs and the hitch tomorrow evening.

While I was fiddling on her this evening I noticed a couple leaks that need some attention. Valve cover gasket and tranny pan gasket... I re-torqued them and cleaned them up real good. I'll drive her to work tomorrow and see what's what.

We may actually have two Dusters at Knoxville this weekend!

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Enjoying the thread.
Here ya go, Rob.

_________________
Sex, drags, and rock & roll.
Dick, 225% crazy.
Hobby (cars, that is) Photos link

Thanks for the help with the pics Dick!

I'm a bit of a "tech tard"...

I love what you've done with the "Flyin' Brick"!!

I would love to try building a HA/GR with a Slant 6 some day...

I missed something... When did "Barn Job #18" change names to "Flyin' Brick"...?

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Tow hubs and hitch are all welded up. Making progress!

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

When I Finally hauled the tub up from the back yard and fitted it to the car.
In the process I eliminated Barn Job's body work, changed several of'er systems, and added the weight of the body.
It all cost me about .400 seconds, and required me to re-learn the car.
Thus, I felt the new look & name should have its own thread & history.

ps. How 'bout some detail pictures of the towing thing when you get'er done?

_________________
Sex, drags, and rock & roll.
Dick, 225% crazy.
Hobby (cars, that is) Photos link

Nice!

I'll post some pics of the hubs today. I need to do a tad bit of clearance grinding. I didn't want to fire up the compressor and/or grinder at 10:00 last night and irritate the neighbors.

I'll be firing up GodsRods Duster II today. That will irritate them enough.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser