Tow Tool

[hadfield4wd]

That’s what it is, a tool for towing.

I bought it from 3mco (Jason) on this board. Gave me a fair deal and told me the good and bad. Overall I'm happy with him as a seller and that I got exactly what was communicated.

So here it is in all its glory. 1985 Crew Cab Dually with 460 and 4 speed no OD. Pretty base truck. It’s got new seats, clutch, water pump, master cylinder. Following is the list of repairs. I’ve already bought/ordered most of the stuff I need. As far as the bed I don’t think I’ll be able to find a 26 year old bed around so I’ll either make a flat bed or buy a utility bed.

List of repairs
Fuel
Rebuild Carb
Replace all soft lines
Fuel Pump
Remove tanks, clean and reinstall
Exhaust
Headers
Dual Exhaust-H pipe and mufflers
Remove all EGR stuff
Under hood
Battery
Flush Rad
Change oil
Air filter
Plugs
Cap
Rotor
Chassis
Shocks
Go over steering ends
Go over brakes
Go over all U-Joints
Tires – Used
New Windshield
Body
Fix all rust
Build flat bed
Lights
Mud flaps


Future Mods
Bucket Seats
Intake
Cam
Wheel covers
A/C

Pretty sure there’s a big stinking engine under all that EGR crap. It’s all going away.

 

[hadfield4wd]

Rims are painted black with the new/used tires, I’ll be getting chrome domes for the lug nuts. I also have 2 spares I picked up. New Windshield. Fuel tanks are cleaned out. I had a hard time finding the pickup’s because apparently my truck is a mid year truck. They went to fuel injection in mid year and mines a carb. The FI pickups have a return line and an extra contact for 12v to the intank pump.

I have replaced all the fuel lines as well as the pump.

Took all the EGR stuff off.

Yep there is a motor under all that crap.

Rebuilt the carb.

Got the headers and installed the passenger side. The driver side manifold had 2 broken bolts in the head. I can’t get in with an angle drill so the head comes off.

 

[hadfield4wd]

I love these old trucks. I can really get into it.

Head off.

I got the exhaust welded up. Hedman headers into 2 ½” tubes. Running to a 2 into 1 magnaflow knock off, big body muffler with a 3" outlet. Should be pretty free flowing. Sounds decent without being too loud. The stock muffler was pretty restrictive.

Got the carb tuned and running decently.

Running video.\/ \/



Once I get it up and down the road a couple times my carb genius friend is going to check to see what kind of rejetting I'll need.

 

[hadfield4wd]

The local O’Reilly’s manager found the rear fuel sender and the tank selector vavle. I’ll have it today or tomorrow. It’s got a bad ujoint so I have the rear shaft out. I’ll get the joint in then the shaft back in.

Just need to work on a bed, rear wiring and hitch.

All the steel is home. The cross braces are cut. I have 2" spaces then individual shims. Since this truck was originally a pickup the frame rails are not flat like a chassis cab. So all the mounting locations are a different height. I drilled about 400 holes today.

Got alot more time on it yesterday.

Got the hitch on.

Left to do:
Stake pockets and steel "strap" for tieing down
1 more brace for the hitch area
Headache rack
1/8" on front and rear of the inside portion to sit the wood on and give it a place to screw it down
gas filler tubes
safety chain loops
mud flaps
stain and cut wood to fit
lights
paint

No it's not crooked. It's camera angle and the fact that the frame drops down lower in the front corner.

 

[hadfield4wd]

Updated pics. It was literally 100deg so I was a little warm welding.

Stake pockets and rub rails done.
The fuel fillers are in.
I added the brace for the hitch area.
The 1/8” on the front and rear for bolting the wood down to is on as well.
Lights are on but not wired.

I had to make access for the fuel filler. I had no other way to do it that wouldn’t make the pump shut off. I started looking at other beds and they have the cutouts as well. So I don’t feel all that about it.

 

[hadfield4wd]

Done and inspected.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGvTv0FNP1k

 

[DAWGTOY]

nice work there guy.
i like seeing old iron put to good use.
and your engine looks very clean on the inside.
should give you years of good service.



dawg

 

[nctom]

Nice job, man! I have been polishing turds for years, you have to give props to another turd polisher!

 

[hadfield4wd]

Um I don't think this is a turd. A turd is a piece of crap that you piece together for more than it's intended purpose. This is just old. It was purely a financial decision for me. Would I like to go buy a nice diesel? Yes, however this thing will see at the most 5000 miles a year. Towing. I can't use it as a DD. Nor can I use a pickup in general for a DD. I travel for sales and get an allowance with that come stipulations. Like no pickup trucks, and nothing over 5 years old.

I have $2300 into this. Yes it'll get 8mpg but at that price I can buy a lot of fuel.

 

[Jeremy1977]

Um I don't think this is a turd. A turd is a piece of crap that you piece together for more than it's intended purpose. This is just old. It was purely a financial decision for me. Would I like to go buy a nice diesel? Yes, however this thing will see at the most 5000 miles a year. Towing. I can't use it as a DD. Nor can I use a pickup in general for a DD. I travel for sales and get an allowance with that come stipulations. Like no pickup trucks, and nothing over 5 years old.

I have $2300 into this. Yes it'll get 8mpg but at that price I can buy a lot of fuel.

jeeeez matt... simple thx would suffice.

looks great!

 

[Caver Dave]

Amen brother!

I have <$2000 in my 3/4-ton Suburban for the same reason(s) you listed. It ain't new, it don't blow black smoke, and it only costs about $20/oil change... BUT, it is PAID FOR, parts are available anywhere, & I have a warm/dry place to sleep when wheeling or hunting.

 

[nctom]

Um I don't think this is a turd. A turd is a piece of crap that you piece together for more than it's intended purpose. This is just old. It was purely a financial decision for me. Would I like to go buy a nice diesel? Yes, however this thing will see at the most 5000 miles a year. Towing. I can't use it as a DD. Nor can I use a pickup in general for a DD. I travel for sales and get an allowance with that come stipulations. Like no pickup trucks, and nothing over 5 years old.

I have $2300 into this. Yes it'll get 8mpg but at that price I can buy a lot of fuel.

Yo! Captian thin skin. It was a compliment!

 

[hadfield4wd]

jeeeez matt... simple thx would suffice.
looks great!

Yo! Captian thin skin. It was a compliment!

OK maybe I took it a little personal. Sorry.


Thanks for the props.
Tuned the carb a little tonight and ran out of time. I'll finish it tomorrow night. It's been a long time since I tuned a carb. But a holley 4 barrel is fairly simple.

 

[hadfield4wd]

Been having a hard time with reliability. Mainly due to fuel delivery. I don't have strainers in the tanks. I have the external replaceable filter I'm using for get the big stuff. Well it keeps getting clogged. Starving the carb of fuel. So I've been replaceing them pretty regular. Last time it just ran like crap so I went to replace it and realized it had broken and all the trash got sucked into my newly rebuilt carb. So I pulled it all apart again to clean it out. I then got a sedimetn filter and added that along the frame rail so I hope this eleviates this problem.

I should have just bought a new single 38 gallon tank. Live and learn.

 

[jhowery]

You should have bought a diesel. (j/k)
Looks good Matt! :Rockon:

 

[hadfield4wd]

You should have bought a diesel. (j/k)
Looks good Matt! :Rockon:

Can't wait for the first towing trip. My wallet is already quivering.

Shouldn't you change your location?

 

[hadfield4wd]

So my plugs were fouled so I changed them and rejetted down 2 sizes from the #64, I had put in, to #62 (#61 was factory). As a result I had to go through the idle circuit again, set up floats etc etc. I think I've had the float bowls off this thing about 15 times for jetting etc.

Also while I had it off I made a block off plate for my EGR. For all I know the valve was leaking and exhaust was getting into the intake.

There is still a slight hesitation but it's easy to drive around. So I'm calling the motor done (for now). I need to put in my brake controller and continue to change out filters until all the crud is out of the tanks.

Also had to put a heater core in so I changed the hoses going to the heater core as well.

 

[1980CJ7]

Looks good man ...nice to see some older iron being repurposed.

About the flatbed ...that turned out sweet, but how close does the tire get to it if you put a couple thousand on the back ?

 

[hadfield4wd]

Looks good man ...nice to see some older iron being repurposed.
?

My daughter told me it was bad for the environment because of all the fuel it burns etc. I told her I'm being environmently responsible by recycling the old truck.

About the flatbed ...that turned out sweet, but how close does the tire get to it if you put a couple thousand on the back ?

Thanks. I have 4" to the tire. If I need, I can radius the steel for another 2". But truthfully I doubt this will have a couple thousand in the back and secondly if I ever do, that it'll squat much. Before I radius it though I lift it. I'd get springs or something for the front and flip the shackles in the rear. Or I may put a D50 with spacers on the front and make it 4wd but the price would have to be right for all this, so I doubt that'll happen. I'd rather, regear it, put in ac, build a better motor, redo the interior etc etc before I spend the money on 4wd.

 

[hadfield4wd]

Drove to harlan. Great trip. Truck did good. Got to work some minor kinks out kinks out. The front tank has some kind of pin hole in the line. It was sucking air but only after it was below half a tank and I only noticed it when we had a long hill to climb. I'm going to cut out the filler necks this week and raise them. Filling up sucks it's way to slow and I wouldn't loan the truck out like that. Fuel consumption (notice I didn't say economy) was 6mpg average. We were pretty heavy. Next time we will get the bikes on the trailer and that should help. Just didn't have time for the brackets before we left.

Thanksgiving morning.

The day after at one of our many fuel stops.

1000lbs of bikes
4500lbs of Jeep
1000lbs of gear (in the tarp Burrito and piled in the jeep.)
2000lbs of trailer
700lbs of people
5500lbs of truck

Total 14,700lbs

Cruising

Mostly did 60. 65 just felt like the motor was too fast. Pulled it fine.

 

[Clubbs]

how'd the inspection go since you took all the smog stuff off. In my neck of the woods I had to put it all back on when I tried to get my 85 inspected. Everyone says its just a safety inspection but the dot regs say its safety and emissions tampering inspection. The inspection station said it didn't have to work but it all had to be there. After a couple years of that nonsense and a big block swap I turned my tags in and bought a bigger trailer to haul it around on.

 

[hadfield4wd]

how'd the inspection go since you took all the smog stuff off. In my neck of the woods I had to put it all back on when I tried to get my 85 inspected. Everyone says its just a safety inspection but the dot regs say its safety and emissions tampering inspection. The inspection station said it didn't have to work but it all had to be there. After a couple years of that nonsense and a big block swap I turned my tags in and bought a bigger trailer to haul it around on.

No problems. The inspection mechanic even tried to buy it from me.

 

[hadfield4wd]

So I’ve been having some fueling issues. First when the front tank got below half it was sucking air into the line. I could see bubbles in the filter. Also I needed to drop and coat both tanks so I did that and found 2 pinhole leaks that were causing the bubbles. I also couldn’t get fuel in the tank. I was painfully slow. I had to hold the nozzle as slow as it would go. No even to the first click. So I raised the fillers. I had to make a filler piece to cover the big hole. In addition to cut out the sides. They do stick up however I can at least put the pump on the slowest click and not get gas all over my feet when the tanks are full. In addition I added some vent lines that come up the neck. The end result is better. I can only fill up on the slowest but that much better than before. Here are pictures of the new fillers.

Before:

After:

 

[JeepN1371]

That bed looks good! Let me know when you wanna sell


Sent from my microwave using a teleportation device.

 

[hadfield4wd]

That bed looks good! Let me know when you wanna sell

Thanks. Everything is for sale. Make an offer.