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Presents... "Money Shot"By Master M |
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This is a '72 Duster with a '69 340 and four speed. It belonged to Master M for many years. The concept is a Duster as it might have been built in the early to mid eighties. There will be some updates though. The car is, PPG Clapton Green Metallic. It has a factory style stripe and black hood paint scheme, but instead of flat black, it's a semi gloss. Master M does not like "flat". It will have factory style vinyl interior, 6x9 speakers on the rear deck, a Hurst T-handle, and some Centerline ConvoPros. I know, the Convo Pro was not around back then and Auto Drag wheels would be more correct. But those are really flimsy. Great for straight lines, not much else. This car was partially done by Master M before coming to the S&M Shop for the full treatment. Here, we have the lower rear quarter panel patch welded in place. Like the '56, the Duster's patches are butt welded using a pencil tip gas torch. Master S is the wizard of the gas torch, and he did the honors on most of the seam. I took care of some areas, but stuck to spots that are somewhat hidden.
The spot in front of the rear wheel was patched too.
For a while, the fiberglass hood was the coolest part of the car. Very nice. It's from AAR Quality Fiberglass.
Our new employee wrote all kinds of crap all over the car, so we chained him up and threw him in the trunk. Anyway, the sandblasted area hides the seam somewhat, but there a three patches around the lower edge of the tail light. If you look close, you can see where the gas welds are.
The driver's side is almost ready for primer and filler.
Here's a view of the butt weld from the inside. This seam will not get ground flat, just a little urethane seam sealer, primer and paint.
The rear springs have sliders instead of shackles. They move freely, and should help the rear end rise somewhat. We at the S&M Shop like it when you nail it and the rear end lifts up. We like it so much, Master S needed a cigarette. The sliders position the spring eye as close as possible to the frame rail, lowering the rear of the car slightly. With the super stock springs, anything that lowers the car is good.
About this time, the engine was done. Tom at NVR did an outstanding job.
The 340 is in. The hood is no longer the coolest part of the car. Got a manual steering box and a quick-ratio worm gear. It's lighter and smaller than the power box. No more parallel parking.
The body is roughed in and in epoxy primer. It will stay like this while we do the mechanical work.
Checked the trans - all was well. Replaced the two ball bearings and seals as long as we were in there.
Checking the bell housing for concentricity and parallelism.
Then the Centerforce clutch and the trans went in.
The engine and trans are in the mounts. Master M likes this view so much, he wants a blanket so he can sleep under the car. Master M's wife does not object.
Body work
Filler primer
No, he's NOT alright.
Looking good in sealer. Maybe we should paint it black...
A moment of quiet reflection in the S&M Shop
This is the stuff.
After clear coat, wet sanding, and buffing. Did everything go smoothly? No, but it all works out in the end.
After vinyl stripes and black paint for hood and cowl
After trim, wheels, etc. The car is STILL not done.
Instead of "finishing" the car, we decided it was time for some of this.
Fall of 2010 - Master M decided the bog off the line was unacceptable. A 4.30:1 center section was put together. The usual suspects set off for Byron, Illinois on a rainy Saturday morning. The Hoosier slicks are not very good in the rain, so we put a pair of tires on from the Caliente, threw the slicks in the back seat and took off. On the way, it became apparent that the Money Shot doesn't like to cruise on the freeway with 4.30's. At the strip, with the slicks reinstalled, Master M blasted down the drag strip to... pretty much the same time he ran with the 3.91 gears. More runs, same result. For the last run of the day, Master M revved the 340 to RPM's unknown and dumped the clutch, spinning the slicks hard. This resulted in a best-to-date ET of 12.26 and Master M had his happy ending. For 2011, Master M borrowed some items from the generous driver of Max Wedgie. A pair of Caltrac 90/10 front shocks, an adjustable pinion snubber, and a pair of REAL slicks. These have yet to be tested at the drag strip, but preliminary tests at the S&M proving grounds are VERY positive. |
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