Piddlin'

Since the last update, I have moved to the Northeastern corner of NC for work. Pretty much as far away from any resemblance of a crawlable rock as I've ever been. Sold the white 1984 truck, and bit the bullet on a new 5.29s for the rear diff. Still no 220 service in my shop, so had a new friend come over and weld on my transfer case mounting brackets with his Bobcat. Had about 10 leather gloves shieldin the gas lines on the passenger side frame rail. I was puckered to say the least. It's all gussetted 3/8 angle iron, which I think is just what I needed.
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Looks very similar to the skid mounts I did on the 85 4runner 5.0 AOD swap.

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Punched some holes in the dash for the winch control. Used an existing hole to mount the switch for my back up light.

This poor truck is smoking like crazy. Going to pick up the replacement motor this weekend.

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@skyhighZJ
Those things are no joke.


Near Ahoskie. Colerain to be precise. @NickMaul you know anywhere to wheel in your neck of the woods?

Nothing yet. I am slowly getting associated with a group of actual wheelers here. Hopefully they have access to private land close by. Time will tell.


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View attachment 290034
@skyhighZJ
Those things are no joke.


Near Ahoskie. Colerain to be precise. @NickMaul you know anywhere to wheel in your neck of the woods?

I had seen those ads and the amount of money they are asking but I didn’t see it happening nor do I remotely understand how they think those lights are worth that kind of dollhairs. I’m glad they work for you though I knew I’d probably never get around to using them.
 
No forward progress on the Toyote, but I did pick up this 1996 f-150 from @doc exactly a month ago. It would only run with the MAF unplugged, and run very rich. Took a bit of gamble, considering I already have an OBS Ford with too many sensors. Did some reading online and took a second gamble on a rockauto ECM to the tune of 130$ . The computer came in and the truck fired right up. Part of the deal was the truck came on rollers, so I coughed up another 292$ for some 16x8 steelies on eBay. I had a 1/2 tread set of 305/75/16s laying around that I got from @Kickdeez. Had to spacer the bumper 1.5" to clear the larger tire. Took it on a test drive and it seems to handle pretty darn good.
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Girlfriend is out of town so the mouse is at play. I cut a a 1.75" DOM cage off an old second gen Toyota parts truck in 2018. I had it stashed away in sc, until a recent parts run South. Hoping it will fit over the 3rd gen cab. It's gonna be close. Had to unbolt the flat bed, but that was easy enough.
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Got some time today, cut the bed mounts closest to the back of the cab off to get an idea of how the cage will sit. Really need to get rid of some of the space between the top of the cab and cage. I think i can shave another 3/4" off the back two frame tie ins to help close that gap some.

I'm starting to wonder just how much time and money I have wasted using crappy sawzall blades. I have a Lenox blade that I have bent in half and hammered straight at least half a dozen times and it still out performs a brand new dewalt yellow blade.
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Had just enough rustoleum pro to get a basecoat on the cage.
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The cage is 1.75" DOM. My plan is to mate it to the 1.5" sliders I got from @sam24th by inserting 1.5" into the 1.75" at the front two tie ins and welding it to the sliders. This should give me the least amount of tube bending to do (never bent tube).
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The front fenders that were on the truck made it look a little crappier than the truck actually is, so I'll be looking for some uncut fenders before paint this thing. Also looking for a good windshield. Planning to rattle can it with the same camo stencils that I used on my duck boat. Maybe even a coat of clear.
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I've got some brand new side marker lights I'll hook you up with if I don't use them in mine. I'll know in a week or two.

Also have some fenders but they might be too wrinkled compared to yours.

Great looking truck !
 
Just when things were going rather productively on the Toyote, I decided to pick up a project Samurai to distract me. It'll be a while before I'm in a region where I can wheel the way that I want, so I figured I would just tinker until then. At this point, I don't intend to change much on this Sami, so I'll just update its progress in this thread.

I have been out of a samurai for just long enough to have forgotten what I absorbed from my last Sami.
This one is pretty basic and basic is my speed.

1.3L on propane (need help identifying its origin)
5 speed
6.5 tcase
Toyota axles, 4.10s, welded rear, E Locker Front, 6 shooters, longfields
Yj springs and missing links
Cage
35x10.5 boggers
9.5k winch and calmini bumper

This thing came with a bunch of nice parts, yet to be installed so a lot of the updates will just be me finally getting things in running shape. Stay tuned, there will be pressure washing and black rustoleum as usual.
 
So, I got a little froggy with a pair of wire cutters, and ended up with this. There might be 3 feet of stock wiring left in the vehicle. I heard the motor run long enough to feel comfortable with the time investment to rewire it for propane. I hate wires. I was on a roll, so I went ahead and pulled the dash and removed everything behind it, grabbed some 5/8 heater hose and should have the heater core bypassed in the morning.
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This is what's left.
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I hope you leave it OD green. I’ve got a soft spot for that color.
 
Could go with a slightly more minty green!
Going to be a fun rig!


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Been working on this turd here and there. Got the motor running on the scratch made wiring. Used the LROR clicky starter fix (came with the Sami) wired to the original ignition for the starter, and a separate relay for "key on" power to the propane solenoid and coil. What you see in the picture is the entirety of what it takes to make the motor start, run, and stop running. And about 40 strategically placed and clipped zip ties.
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Been fooling with the gm alternator that came with the Sami, but after doing the "Year/make/model dance" with every parts store kid in town while hunting for a v belt pulley, I just opted to buy a reman 105 amp GM alternator. Also, the mounting tabs/ears were not in the ideal place for using the upper alt bracket.

I did round up a "country boy special" Hurst shifter handle from the parts hoard. Gotta say it compliments the twin sticks.
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Did grab what appears to be the correct 4 rib serpentine belt for that fancy TC (Tim Cameron) pump. Next order of business should be plumbing the hydro assist. Rumor has it, Jody Treadway once ran my steering box.
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Not much to see here. Hosed her down with purple power and pressure washed what what I could.

Installed the gm alternator ( not sure that the alternator is exciting) and threw a radiator back on in it. Ran it for a while. Radiator was leaking, so I'll either throw in a spare or order a new one.

The orange paint marker on the valve cover leads me to believe it's a junk yard motor. Never know.
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Like lots of moisture? Could it just be condensation buildup in the exhaust from setting up? its not like NC has exactly been a dry climate in the last how many months! And other leakage signs?
 
At first that's what I was hoping for. When I ran athe motor for a short time without water or coolant, It was smooth and quiet. When I filled it with coolant, no white smoke, but it did shake and there was a pretty steady drip from the tail pipe. @skyhighZJ
 
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