Monday, January 31, 2011
Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Duster
Another Duster with oversized rims that I dig... What's happening to me?...
Progress: Mind, Body, & Soul Music
A lot has happened in a week’s time, and my bank account is hating me for it.
It’s all for the greater good:
Previously, I had my entire front suspension, minus torsion bars and shocks, priced out to be Moog items through RockAuto, and all was well… Until I ran across a study done by the company Just Suspension.
Sure, one company is going to smear another, but this was pure fact and I was admittedly heartbroken. They tore down their own Ball Joint and Moog’s Ball Joint for a side-by-side comparison. At first glance, the Moog joint looks like the way to go: beefier, thicker, shinier (if that matters to anyone)--but once it was tore down the Moog joint clearly has inferior seals and grease passages (which is huge to me when it comes to a ball joint, as I want the grease reacting and shifting instantly with the road reaction the ball joint is surprised with) and to top it off the Just Suspension Ball Joint has a forged shank! Is the Moog Ball Joint an option now? Not even close.
Immediately I went to Just Suspension’s site and began pricing out ball joints for my 73 upper control arms and spindles. These ran $170, ‘Fuck it, buy em’ I told myself. Now, what about the rest of the suspension components? For the next ten minutes I was hunting through Just Suspension’s site seeing things like exuberantly priced performance tie rod ends and high-dollar adjusting sleeves that weren’t even solid steel. Pitman Arms for $160? I can‘t do it...
Well, I soon learned you have to draw a line in the sand with what you’re comfortable with. I went ahead and bought everything else Moog brand, including 11/16” Tie Rods, through RockAuto for $350 to my door.
You get what you pay for in this world; I guess I will take a gamble on my remaining suspension parts being Moog and their several decade-long track-record. I’ve always been a fan of Moog, don’t get me wrong, it’s just for this I am doing my best to pull out all stops to the best that I can afford.
Next to those parts I got a screaming deal on Performance Suspension Technology 1.03” Torsion bars, Poly Seals, and Clips for $250 to my door, which will round out nicely with a set of Hotchkis RCD Bilstein shocks for another $400 when I can afford it.
I also got bit by the bug for some new wheels. When going down the performance suspension route for my car, I completely ignored an integral part of the driving experience: what fucking rims am I going to use?
This came after a conversation with a vendor who politely let me know that I was wasting my money going this far with my suspension to slap on some shitty, chipped, rusted-out 15” Cragars. This left me in a quandary as I hadn’t budgeted for this, but since I was going to save $800 on my motor, why not get this bitch some dancing shoes?!
The problem was I hated anything over 15” rims on a Duster, until 2 days later when a patron on an A-Body Dodge/Plymouth forum suggest I take a look at a certain fellows thread… And sweet Aunt Jamima did I find the wheels I liked! They were 2005 Mustang Bullitt Edition 17x8’s. There was one little problem though, the backspacing. This option required wheel spacers, which I will never be comfortable doing any hard-cornering with. So I set out on the hunt for what I needed and succeeded. These rims were affordable, the perfect fit, and holy hell were they handsome!
These rims are Summit Racing 17x8 Legend 5’s in Gunmetal Finish. I buy them for $613 with shipping included. The next day I find out they are the generic version of a Foose wheel appropriately named ‘Legend’s’ that are supposedly very popular and retail at $249/each.
Moving on to other integral car upgrades, I recently visited a company’s website named XV Motorsports and came across their chassis stiffening systems. I watched their little 2 minute video showing how much flex this little red ’Cuda received under rigid conditions. Shocking.
Do I want all these chassis stiffening parts now? Yes. Can I afford them? No. Am I a good fabricator and can whip all of this up myself? Why absolutely!
I already have tubing and 10” steel pipe (cut for me by B569RR over at bigblockdart, thanks Tom!) for the subframe connectors and driveshaft loops, so I previously committed to doing those myself.
The lower radiator support brace, inner fender braces, and engine compartment brace I will tackle myself.
I suggest if you don’t have the resources to do these yourself, I highly recommend buying these through XV and have them installed on your A-Body Chrysler. Suddenly your car won’t ‘Drive like a Dodge Dart’ my made-up Grandpa* would always say.
*I may or may not have had a Grandfather who actually said that.
It’s all for the greater good:
Previously, I had my entire front suspension, minus torsion bars and shocks, priced out to be Moog items through RockAuto, and all was well… Until I ran across a study done by the company Just Suspension.
Sure, one company is going to smear another, but this was pure fact and I was admittedly heartbroken. They tore down their own Ball Joint and Moog’s Ball Joint for a side-by-side comparison. At first glance, the Moog joint looks like the way to go: beefier, thicker, shinier (if that matters to anyone)--but once it was tore down the Moog joint clearly has inferior seals and grease passages (which is huge to me when it comes to a ball joint, as I want the grease reacting and shifting instantly with the road reaction the ball joint is surprised with) and to top it off the Just Suspension Ball Joint has a forged shank! Is the Moog Ball Joint an option now? Not even close.
Immediately I went to Just Suspension’s site and began pricing out ball joints for my 73 upper control arms and spindles. These ran $170, ‘Fuck it, buy em’ I told myself. Now, what about the rest of the suspension components? For the next ten minutes I was hunting through Just Suspension’s site seeing things like exuberantly priced performance tie rod ends and high-dollar adjusting sleeves that weren’t even solid steel. Pitman Arms for $160? I can‘t do it...
Well, I soon learned you have to draw a line in the sand with what you’re comfortable with. I went ahead and bought everything else Moog brand, including 11/16” Tie Rods, through RockAuto for $350 to my door.
You get what you pay for in this world; I guess I will take a gamble on my remaining suspension parts being Moog and their several decade-long track-record. I’ve always been a fan of Moog, don’t get me wrong, it’s just for this I am doing my best to pull out all stops to the best that I can afford.
Next to those parts I got a screaming deal on Performance Suspension Technology 1.03” Torsion bars, Poly Seals, and Clips for $250 to my door, which will round out nicely with a set of Hotchkis RCD Bilstein shocks for another $400 when I can afford it.
I also got bit by the bug for some new wheels. When going down the performance suspension route for my car, I completely ignored an integral part of the driving experience: what fucking rims am I going to use?
This came after a conversation with a vendor who politely let me know that I was wasting my money going this far with my suspension to slap on some shitty, chipped, rusted-out 15” Cragars. This left me in a quandary as I hadn’t budgeted for this, but since I was going to save $800 on my motor, why not get this bitch some dancing shoes?!
The problem was I hated anything over 15” rims on a Duster, until 2 days later when a patron on an A-Body Dodge/Plymouth forum suggest I take a look at a certain fellows thread… And sweet Aunt Jamima did I find the wheels I liked! They were 2005 Mustang Bullitt Edition 17x8’s. There was one little problem though, the backspacing. This option required wheel spacers, which I will never be comfortable doing any hard-cornering with. So I set out on the hunt for what I needed and succeeded. These rims were affordable, the perfect fit, and holy hell were they handsome!
These rims are Summit Racing 17x8 Legend 5’s in Gunmetal Finish. I buy them for $613 with shipping included. The next day I find out they are the generic version of a Foose wheel appropriately named ‘Legend’s’ that are supposedly very popular and retail at $249/each.
Moving on to other integral car upgrades, I recently visited a company’s website named XV Motorsports and came across their chassis stiffening systems. I watched their little 2 minute video showing how much flex this little red ’Cuda received under rigid conditions. Shocking.
Do I want all these chassis stiffening parts now? Yes. Can I afford them? No. Am I a good fabricator and can whip all of this up myself? Why absolutely!
I already have tubing and 10” steel pipe (cut for me by B569RR over at bigblockdart, thanks Tom!) for the subframe connectors and driveshaft loops, so I previously committed to doing those myself.
The lower radiator support brace, inner fender braces, and engine compartment brace I will tackle myself.
I suggest if you don’t have the resources to do these yourself, I highly recommend buying these through XV and have them installed on your A-Body Chrysler. Suddenly your car won’t ‘Drive like a Dodge Dart’ my made-up Grandpa* would always say.
*I may or may not have had a Grandfather who actually said that.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
My Shirt Arrived
I designed and bought this shirt through Shirtmagic (see my 'I Made A Shirt' post last week).
I went with the 'digital printing' option instead of 'silk screened' which turned out okay I think. The color is much thinner than expected, but Silk screened shirts look cheese-dick, so regardless the outcome of the digital print I would have been happy.
I have made shirts through zazzle too; that site, even though has great options for design, is very fucking slow. It's the photobucket of t-shirt sites. I highly recommend Shirtmagic, it was a very smooth deal.
I went with the 'digital printing' option instead of 'silk screened' which turned out okay I think. The color is much thinner than expected, but Silk screened shirts look cheese-dick, so regardless the outcome of the digital print I would have been happy.
I have made shirts through zazzle too; that site, even though has great options for design, is very fucking slow. It's the photobucket of t-shirt sites. I highly recommend Shirtmagic, it was a very smooth deal.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
What? A Car?!
A very nice car. When 33 5w are done right they can be pure sex, pure auto sex that is. Just like when your mother got pregnant with you in the back of a 78 Z28 Camaro with promises of 'don't worry baby, you can't get knocked up after eating Burger King'... No! Wait?! That was my mom and dad?! I was an accident! Nooooo!
NOTE: I'm thinking every post about cars should start with an amazing vehicle and end with inner anguish...
NOTE: I'm thinking every post about cars should start with an amazing vehicle and end with inner anguish...
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Did You Know YELLOW Isn't Gay?
I hate yellow. With the exception of Big Nick's Truck and Milner's Coupe, I've never given a shitty rat-fuck about yellow cars.
The street rod phenomenon ruined a lot of things, one of them being this poor color that didn't do diddly shit to anyone but get it's reputation smeared like poor old Mary Jane Rotten Crotch as it was whored out to every 37 Ford and 56 Chevy with Billet Directional Wheels and painted matching bumpers in a 3,000 mile radius of Pamona, CA.
Even Billy Gibbons is sorry.
...But I love this Model A Coupe. It goes to show the right wheel/tire combo and stance go a long way people.
Pics taken from the HAMB.
The street rod phenomenon ruined a lot of things, one of them being this poor color that didn't do diddly shit to anyone but get it's reputation smeared like poor old Mary Jane Rotten Crotch as it was whored out to every 37 Ford and 56 Chevy with Billet Directional Wheels and painted matching bumpers in a 3,000 mile radius of Pamona, CA.
Even Billy Gibbons is sorry.
...But I love this Model A Coupe. It goes to show the right wheel/tire combo and stance go a long way people.
Pics taken from the HAMB.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Shifthead Stickers Might Cure AIDS
The stickers rock. Unfortunately they're a little too small to cover my black girlfriend's bologna-fadeout's or I'd show ya'll a pic... But that's okay, they make a great cat fashion accessory too.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Fuck... I Want, I Want...
I'm still torn on tires right now...
HURST 28 3/4"x8 1/2"x15" PIE CRUST
List $315.00 pair Slick
Capped on RADIAL 235/75/15
HURST 28 3/4"x8 1/2"x15" PIE CRUST
List $315.00 pair Slick
Capped on RADIAL 235/75/15
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The ULTIMATE Supercar
The short-lived, under-supported, cobra-klling CHEVROLET CHEETAH.
Conceived by Bill Thomas and compaigned in the 1964-65 race season with 11 First Place wins before Thomas' Anaheim, CA shop burned down, destroying the tooling to create these beautifully swoopy fiberglass bodies.
Many believe the fire was the end, but few knew the real truth that Chevrolet pulled the plug on it's racing involvement previous to the Arson, er, I mean tragic incident (many feel Ford had the building burned down to prevent any competition to their beloved Shelby Cobra, as Thomas continued to try and support the car after Chevy cut the imbilicle). The fire was simply the straw that broke the Camel's back. Several companies are producing kit versions.
Conceived by Bill Thomas and compaigned in the 1964-65 race season with 11 First Place wins before Thomas' Anaheim, CA shop burned down, destroying the tooling to create these beautifully swoopy fiberglass bodies.
Many believe the fire was the end, but few knew the real truth that Chevrolet pulled the plug on it's racing involvement previous to the Arson, er, I mean tragic incident (many feel Ford had the building burned down to prevent any competition to their beloved Shelby Cobra, as Thomas continued to try and support the car after Chevy cut the imbilicle). The fire was simply the straw that broke the Camel's back. Several companies are producing kit versions.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Vintage Tire Size Conversion Chart
This should be kinda self-explanatory, you just kinda need to read it left to right. Personally, I have been looking for one of these for two months.
The fucking chart didn't copy very well, so here's where I got it from: http://waywardgarage.com/2245/vintage-tire-size-conversion-chart/
5.90-13 600-13 165-13 A78-13 P165/75R13 P175/70R13
6.40-13 650-13 175-13 B78-13 P175/75R13 P185/70R13
7.25-13 700-13 185-13 D78-13 P185/75R13 P205/70R13
5.90-14 645-14 155-14 B78-14 P175/75R14 P185/70R14
6.50-14 695-14 175-14 C78-14 P185/75R14 P195/70R14
7.00-14 735-14 185-14 E78-14 P195/75R14 P205/70R14
7.50-14 775-14 195-14 F78-14 P205/75R14 P215/70R14
8.00-14 825-14 205-14 G78-14 P215/75R14 P225/70R14
8.50-14 855-14 215-14 H78-14 P225/75R14 P235/70R14
5.90-15 600-15 165-15 A78-15 P165/75R15 P175/70R15
6.50-15 685-15 175-15 C78-15 P175/75R15 P185/70R15
6.40-15 735-15 185-15 E78-15 P195/75R15 P205/70R15
6.70-15 775-15 195-15 F78-15 P205/75R15 P215/70R15
7.10-15 825-15 205-15 G78-15 P215/75R15 P225/70R15
7.60-15 855-15 215-15 H78-15 P225/75R15 P235/70R15
8.00-15 885-15 230-15 J78-15 P225/75R15 P235/70R15
8.20-15 900-15 235-15 L78-15 P235/75R15 P255/70R15
The fucking chart didn't copy very well, so here's where I got it from: http://waywardgarage.com/2245/vintage-tire-size-conversion-chart/
5.90-13 600-13 165-13 A78-13 P165/75R13 P175/70R13
6.40-13 650-13 175-13 B78-13 P175/75R13 P185/70R13
7.25-13 700-13 185-13 D78-13 P185/75R13 P205/70R13
5.90-14 645-14 155-14 B78-14 P175/75R14 P185/70R14
6.50-14 695-14 175-14 C78-14 P185/75R14 P195/70R14
7.00-14 735-14 185-14 E78-14 P195/75R14 P205/70R14
7.50-14 775-14 195-14 F78-14 P205/75R14 P215/70R14
8.00-14 825-14 205-14 G78-14 P215/75R14 P225/70R14
8.50-14 855-14 215-14 H78-14 P225/75R14 P235/70R14
5.90-15 600-15 165-15 A78-15 P165/75R15 P175/70R15
6.50-15 685-15 175-15 C78-15 P175/75R15 P185/70R15
6.40-15 735-15 185-15 E78-15 P195/75R15 P205/70R15
6.70-15 775-15 195-15 F78-15 P205/75R15 P215/70R15
7.10-15 825-15 205-15 G78-15 P215/75R15 P225/70R15
7.60-15 855-15 215-15 H78-15 P225/75R15 P235/70R15
8.00-15 885-15 230-15 J78-15 P225/75R15 P235/70R15
8.20-15 900-15 235-15 L78-15 P235/75R15 P255/70R15
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Grits Coupe - Update
I have been following this build on the HAMB for the last year and a half and I fuckin love it! She's damn near done there G-RITZ MAN!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Kiwi Kev's Backyard
Ventura, California's KIWI KEV has, hands-down, the hotrodding paradise in his backyard. It is my dream set-up ad now I have direction for what I want someday...
Also, my uncle told of having an Australian guy put the volare subframe under hs apache many, many years ago. I asked him if the guy was rather from New Zeandland and if his name was Kevin? "That's the guy!" My Uncle Kenny replied.
I sent KIWI KEV a PM on the HAMB and sure enough, he remembers my uncle's truck.
Enjoy a little bit of paradise...
Also, my uncle told of having an Australian guy put the volare subframe under hs apache many, many years ago. I asked him if the guy was rather from New Zeandland and if his name was Kevin? "That's the guy!" My Uncle Kenny replied.
I sent KIWI KEV a PM on the HAMB and sure enough, he remembers my uncle's truck.
Enjoy a little bit of paradise...
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