I'd say the hurdle of getting it running is one worth relaxing for a bit. Carry on.
CK5
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The Great Smaug
- Thread starter campfire
- Start date
No, the truck is just as dead as it was 3 years ago. And it would be road worthy if I put in a few evenings. So it's a pretty crummy time to take a break.
I've just gotten distracted with homesteading things. Chainsaw, mowers, planting and killing things. Picking trees to save and turning the rest into alfalfa and clover pasture. Having heaps of fun. Oh, and gardening.
Short summary of my summer work:
Used to have a lot more of this brush. I'm slowly opening it up so oaks and pines can take over instead of the scrub trees and choke cherries. Also a lot of poplars, which will provide shade for the 20 years it will take for the oaks to fill in.
Turning that ^^^ into this VVV
Still plenty of scrub brush where I don't have poplars or willows handy. But I'd hate for this to look like Kansas.
Taming new ground. This was small trees and brambles. Soon it will be grass. Though I'm saving the raspberries and blackberries.
I was protecting the baby trees until I ran out of scrap tires. Then I started piling rocks. The good news is I have a bumper crop of rocks, so this should work for a while.
I'm slowly taking back this paddock. 2 weeks ago you couldn't see the barn. In a few more weeks I hope to be able to use the 2 barn doors hiding behind the weeds.
The former paddock on the other side. Now nicely controlled, but it used to match the other side.
The open side. No longer housing a stepside, I've taken to parking the trailer in there now.
More newly-cleared ground.
It's starting to look like a workable pasture now instead of an overgrown thicket. I knocked the nasty stuff down with a borrowed brush hog last fall and have been slowly beating it into submission as the season progresses. It's already different, and it'll be a bunch more different by the end of the season. I think this is a return to what this land was doing 20 years ago. It was a horse farm, after all...
Some perspective on when we started. It was truck-swallowingly overgrown. My buddy brought over a scythe to clear the front yard. The mower just wasn't cutting it. The kids piled up the grass into a 6' heap, which made a nice bonfire after it dried.
55-gallon drum for scale.
I remember wondering what I was going to hit as I inched my way through the overgrowth.
2015 ^^^ gave way to 2016 VVV
Which gave way to this:
In 2017 we pretty well tamed the section between the house and the barn This was with the old crummy push mower.
But things really got cooking when I bought a $100 rider in May of this year. Now I can cut grass soooo much faster, and it's a whole new place after 2 short months.
55-gallon drum for scale.
I remember wondering what I was going to hit as I inched my way through the overgrowth.
2015 ^^^ gave way to 2016 VVV
Which gave way to this:
In 2017 we pretty well tamed the section between the house and the barn This was with the old crummy push mower.
But things really got cooking when I bought a $100 rider in May of this year. Now I can cut grass soooo much faster, and it's a whole new place after 2 short months.
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Well you’ve definitely been busy lol.
And to kindof bring this thread back on track...the mower in question is a 1986 square-bodied Murray. At least, it was, until some previous owner took it into a tree.
Its carburetor was...rough. Rough enough I almost bought a new one. But, feeling adventurous, I decided to rebuild it. New needle, bowl, and gaskets, and it runs like a top. Didn't even change out the jet. Carb cleaner everywhere for good measure.
Then someone gifted me a worthless Snapper with almost zero ground clearance. That one was easier to fix, but it just doesn't have the ground clearance to mow this lumpy swamp without scalping. It is pretty good at taking out pencil-sized brush, though. It self-stops every time it hits a real stump, as the front axle is at about the same height as the deck. It's a bad design, but it has been a surprisingly good brush hog, even if it can't cut the grass that grows after the brush has been cleared.
Its carburetor was...rough. Rough enough I almost bought a new one. But, feeling adventurous, I decided to rebuild it. New needle, bowl, and gaskets, and it runs like a top. Didn't even change out the jet. Carb cleaner everywhere for good measure.
Then someone gifted me a worthless Snapper with almost zero ground clearance. That one was easier to fix, but it just doesn't have the ground clearance to mow this lumpy swamp without scalping. It is pretty good at taking out pencil-sized brush, though. It self-stops every time it hits a real stump, as the front axle is at about the same height as the deck. It's a bad design, but it has been a surprisingly good brush hog, even if it can't cut the grass that grows after the brush has been cleared.
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Naww. It's taken all summer to get this far. I could have finished several engine swaps in this much time.
Today I seeded red clover, yellow clover, milo, and timothy grass. The milo is just a fun experiment, but the other three are good for pasturing. I also have some alfalfa growing, but the farm store was out of alfalfa today.
Today I took 6 small steps forward and 2 steps back.
Spent some time studying the replacement throttle cable, and found that they are the same length. The pedal-end collet is in the wrong place, that is why it has not been returning to idle position.
The net effect at the IP is over half an inch. Plus the end being wrong. I bought the recommended cable from the Summit Racing catalog, and when it didn't match I bought a second one from a different brand. But I think they are identical.
Since I had a spare, I tried cutting the collet and did not like the result. This one goes into the scrap heap.
So instead I cut off the plastic nose of of the sheath, allowing the collet to slide further into the sheath.
This brought me within 1/4" of matching the stock cable, and I once again have full access to the wide range of power output options offered by this race car engine. Plus, being 1/4" short means the pedal doesn't have the 1/4" of slop that all 3 of my rigs came with. And the smooth-sliding cable means I don't need a lead brick to reach full throttle. So it's better than stock, IMO.
Then I torched out 3 of the driveshaft U-joints (the double cardan joints seem fine).
I thought I would be gentle this time and use my new shop press instead of the sledge hammer method. I don't think I put much force on it, but the cap blew apart.
So I went back to the the old hammer method. Much happier with these results.
So now I have a conversation piece.
I also installed the new Spectra radiator and buttoned up some little stuff. Oil sender, CDR plumbing, etc.
After verifying that the truck does idle properly, I dug up the air plenum and measured the mounting bolt offsets. Of course the kit didn't come with the special double-sided bolts, so I'll be making those up and hunting down a 6" O-ring gasket.
It's a pretty piece of machined casting.
Spent some time studying the replacement throttle cable, and found that they are the same length. The pedal-end collet is in the wrong place, that is why it has not been returning to idle position.
The net effect at the IP is over half an inch. Plus the end being wrong. I bought the recommended cable from the Summit Racing catalog, and when it didn't match I bought a second one from a different brand. But I think they are identical.
Since I had a spare, I tried cutting the collet and did not like the result. This one goes into the scrap heap.
So instead I cut off the plastic nose of of the sheath, allowing the collet to slide further into the sheath.
This brought me within 1/4" of matching the stock cable, and I once again have full access to the wide range of power output options offered by this race car engine. Plus, being 1/4" short means the pedal doesn't have the 1/4" of slop that all 3 of my rigs came with. And the smooth-sliding cable means I don't need a lead brick to reach full throttle. So it's better than stock, IMO.
Then I torched out 3 of the driveshaft U-joints (the double cardan joints seem fine).
I thought I would be gentle this time and use my new shop press instead of the sledge hammer method. I don't think I put much force on it, but the cap blew apart.
So I went back to the the old hammer method. Much happier with these results.
So now I have a conversation piece.
I also installed the new Spectra radiator and buttoned up some little stuff. Oil sender, CDR plumbing, etc.
After verifying that the truck does idle properly, I dug up the air plenum and measured the mounting bolt offsets. Of course the kit didn't come with the special double-sided bolts, so I'll be making those up and hunting down a 6" O-ring gasket.
It's a pretty piece of machined casting.
Little things, but the important part is that it's getting time & attention again after a 2 month hiatus.
The short list now reads:
Finish air cleaner/plenum.
Exhaust.
Install driveshafts.
Rebuild front axle.
Check fluids.
Test drive.
So...maybe this is the week?
The short list now reads:
Finish air cleaner/plenum.
Exhaust.
Install driveshafts.
Rebuild front axle.
Check fluids.
Test drive.
So...maybe this is the week?
Great progress!!!
Update...the other truck is down-n-out. Camping trip starts next Wednesday. It's showtime. 
Air plenum & air cleaner are mounted. It idles roughly right now as it tries to breathe through the turbocharger that is only fed by 2 or 3 cylinders. It's time to get that stuff hooked up.
Air plenum & air cleaner are mounted. It idles roughly right now as it tries to breathe through the turbocharger that is only fed by 2 or 3 cylinders. It's time to get that stuff hooked up.
Air plenum studs. Turns out I didn't need to weld up new ones, I could simply use extensions.
Plenum installed. Locktite on the coupling and anti-seize on the aluminum end. Be sure not to mix those up.
Air cleaner installed. Thanks again, @AgDieseler. Just like the shocks, I'm thinking this is too tall to fit on the truck.
The input hose (whenever I get around to installing one) will also hafta snake between the exhaust and CDR.
Plenum installed. Locktite on the coupling and anti-seize on the aluminum end. Be sure not to mix those up.
Air cleaner installed. Thanks again, @AgDieseler. Just like the shocks, I'm thinking this is too tall to fit on the truck.
The input hose (whenever I get around to installing one) will also hafta snake between the exhaust and CDR.
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I'm thinking I may need to tweak the tailpipe. It has quite a bit of vertical rise getting over the axle. With it shoved up against the bed floor it still hangs pretty low. I see that snagging on lots of things.
Test fitting with it tucked up against the ceiling.
No chance of the axle hitting in this configuration.
More tweaking to come.
Test fitting with it tucked up against the ceiling.
No chance of the axle hitting in this configuration.
More tweaking to come.
^^^ That was yesterday's stuff.
Today I accomplished nothing visible. But FutureMe needs to remember the importance of little things. So here goes anyways.
Chased my tail trying again to mount my U-joint. Broke the new one just like the old one. Spent some time staring at the pieces until I realized I had let a needle roller fall out of place and wedge against the cap. Probably did that last time, too. I'll go buy a third one and try it again, wiser for this experience.
Cleaned most of the junk out of the cargo area. Turns out I still have seats back there. Poked around under the bench seat and found cutouts in the carpet approximately where the bucket seats should mount. But did not find holes in the sheet metal, nor does the floor shape look familiar. @78K30, can you take a picture of the floor pan shape that those seats came out of? The seat rails appear to be at equal heights, but my floor drops away as it moves toward center line. And then the tub drops several more inches in the middle. The seat swap might have to wait. Which is a pity given how much foam is left on the bench seat.
Temporarily hooked up my politician gauge. At idle I have 0 psi and at faster idle (no tach yet) I have -5 psi (10 inHg) and a bit of a lope. Confirming my suspicions. I have the 2" tubing for the crossover pipe, but my 3"/4" main exhaust needs some figuring out. Once I have that done I'll take it to the shop and weld it together on the bench. On the plus side, it fires right up very strongly.
Checked a bunch of tiny things and made a new shopping list.
Hoping for more progress tomorrow. 6.5 days until liftoff.
Today I accomplished nothing visible. But FutureMe needs to remember the importance of little things. So here goes anyways.
Chased my tail trying again to mount my U-joint. Broke the new one just like the old one. Spent some time staring at the pieces until I realized I had let a needle roller fall out of place and wedge against the cap. Probably did that last time, too.
I'll go buy a third one and try it again, wiser for this experience. Cleaned most of the junk out of the cargo area. Turns out I still have seats back there. Poked around under the bench seat and found cutouts in the carpet approximately where the bucket seats should mount. But did not find holes in the sheet metal, nor does the floor shape look familiar. @78K30, can you take a picture of the floor pan shape that those seats came out of? The seat rails appear to be at equal heights, but my floor drops away as it moves toward center line. And then the tub drops several more inches in the middle. The seat swap might have to wait. Which is a pity given how much foam is left on the bench seat.
Temporarily hooked up my politician gauge. At idle I have 0 psi and at faster idle (no tach yet) I have -5 psi (10 inHg) and a bit of a lope. Confirming my suspicions. I have the 2" tubing for the crossover pipe, but my 3"/4" main exhaust needs some figuring out. Once I have that done I'll take it to the shop and weld it together on the bench. On the plus side, it fires right up very strongly.
Checked a bunch of tiny things and made a new shopping list.
Hoping for more progress tomorrow. 6.5 days until liftoff.
Several optional things have been pushed off the priority list to make room for the critical path items: Exhaust, clutch, driveshafts, steering arm, test drive. And fixing whatever the test drive turns up. So far I've already found 3 fluid leaks.
Important but optional stuff: install hood, longer brake lines (so I don't break the short ones), replace the fried ball joint, reseal rear end (and throw in the Detroit while I'm at it), install skid plate, install seats & head liner.
Lower priorities: sway bar (disconnects already installed), fixing wiper cowling, amenities, etc.
Important but optional stuff: install hood, longer brake lines (so I don't break the short ones), replace the fried ball joint, reseal rear end (and throw in the Detroit while I'm at it), install skid plate, install seats & head liner.
Lower priorities: sway bar (disconnects already installed), fixing wiper cowling, amenities, etc.
I’ll get a picture next time I’m over there
Log for today:
Bought & properly installed u-joint.
Installed driveshaft. We have the potential for movement now.
Bled clutch. This had been weighing on me a bunch thanks to some stuff I read on the internet. Not sure it's 100% done, but I can see movement at the pressure plate. So it's at least mostly there. Side note, the 5 large holes in the bottom of the NV3500 bell housing make inspections easier.
Figured out exhaust routing. By now I've spent a bit of time visualizing the precise exhaust routing. A bend here, a bend there. The 3" section next to the starter is tight, but I have pipe, an elbow, and a welder (off-site). No problem there, right? My wonderful wife comes out, looks at it for 5 minutes (maybe less?), and tells me it's not worth very much time cutting and welding this week. Too many other needs. "Throw a $6 flexible section at the starter end and get on with fitting the 4 inch stuff."
I had never dreamed of using a piece of dryer hose on this rig. But she's right. An extra evening of troubleshooting time could be spent in several other areas. So whether or not the hard pipe fits, my big goal for tomorrow is functional exhaust. Crossover will require a trip to the welding shop.
Also, I jacked up the left front corner and did not feel any play in the toasted ball joint. The rubber boot has charred away, but there is still grease in it. So it's not as bad as I thought. It's going to wait for the full axle rebuild (post-trip). Steering arm, 3/4-ton calipers, and longer brake hoses can all go on tomorrow. Oh yeah, and WHEELS.
Note to self - put fluid in the NP208 and tighten fuel pump couplings. Oil leak came from the oil filter. Yes, the same one that I lit on fire. The gasket is less than perfect at this point, but it's only there for the break-in period. Which is destined to be short this time.
I think that's all that stands between now and the first test drive. 5.5 days and counting.
After that - cowling, hood, skid plate, rear end. Wifey finished cleaning out the back and it's ready for the headliner installation. That one's probably a 2-man job to do it right.
Bought & properly installed u-joint.
Installed driveshaft. We have the potential for movement now.
Bled clutch. This had been weighing on me a bunch thanks to some stuff I read on the internet. Not sure it's 100% done, but I can see movement at the pressure plate. So it's at least mostly there. Side note, the 5 large holes in the bottom of the NV3500 bell housing make inspections easier.
Figured out exhaust routing. By now I've spent a bit of time visualizing the precise exhaust routing. A bend here, a bend there. The 3" section next to the starter is tight, but I have pipe, an elbow, and a welder (off-site). No problem there, right? My wonderful wife comes out, looks at it for 5 minutes (maybe less?), and tells me it's not worth very much time cutting and welding this week. Too many other needs. "Throw a $6 flexible section at the starter end and get on with fitting the 4 inch stuff."
I had never dreamed of using a piece of dryer hose on this rig. But she's right. An extra evening of troubleshooting time could be spent in several other areas. So whether or not the hard pipe fits, my big goal for tomorrow is functional exhaust. Crossover will require a trip to the welding shop.
Also, I jacked up the left front corner and did not feel any play in the toasted ball joint. The rubber boot has charred away, but there is still grease in it. So it's not as bad as I thought. It's going to wait for the full axle rebuild (post-trip). Steering arm, 3/4-ton calipers, and longer brake hoses can all go on tomorrow. Oh yeah, and WHEELS.
Note to self - put fluid in the NP208 and tighten fuel pump couplings. Oil leak came from the oil filter. Yes, the same one that I lit on fire. The gasket is less than perfect at this point, but it's only there for the break-in period. Which is destined to be short this time.
I think that's all that stands between now and the first test drive. 5.5 days and counting.
After that - cowling, hood, skid plate, rear end. Wifey finished cleaning out the back and it's ready for the headliner installation. That one's probably a 2-man job to do it right.
Thanks. I verified that my floorpan does not have either of the inboard holes for the bucket seat mounts. I only have the two outboard ones, the seat spans over the valley in the middle. So I'm at least that deep into them. But I suspect I'm making bracketry, too.
Today is the first time that this deadline feels possible. I've finally checked enough boxes that it might happen. Exhaust and clutch were the unknowns, and I've chipped away enough to be confident in my estimates.
Today's update:
Welded up the crossover pipe today, recycling scrap ends. It wasn't fun to weld, and it's not pretty. But the shape was perfect. More perfect, in fact, than the side I measured and cut. 
Before I welded it I observed that it had no vertical adjustability. Then I put it on the truck and it was 3/8" short. And then I realized that I could have clamped the lap joint at the reducer instead of welding it.
I had some incorrect 2" donuts lying around, so I used one as a spacer. This isn't going to last, but it proved the concept. I think a properly sized donut might do the trick. But really I just need a 2" x 3/8" spacer.
Tech note - the 2" manifold and 2" exhaust pipe are joined by an undersized donut with a 1.75" insert. And a few inches below that it jumps to 2.25". Looking through the Walker catalog this appears to be the stock configuration.
My blazer also adds a jump to 2.5" at the muffler.
I might redo the whole pipe after the trip. We'll see how well it holds up. It sounded great at the test fire, and the politician gauge no longer goes negative at high idle.
Welded up the crossover pipe today, recycling scrap ends. It wasn't fun to weld, and it's not pretty. But the shape was perfect. More perfect, in fact, than the side I measured and cut.
Before I welded it I observed that it had no vertical adjustability. Then I put it on the truck and it was 3/8" short. And then I realized that I could have clamped the lap joint at the reducer instead of welding it.
I had some incorrect 2" donuts lying around, so I used one as a spacer. This isn't going to last, but it proved the concept. I think a properly sized donut might do the trick. But really I just need a 2" x 3/8" spacer.
Tech note - the 2" manifold and 2" exhaust pipe are joined by an undersized donut with a 1.75" insert. And a few inches below that it jumps to 2.25". Looking through the Walker catalog this appears to be the stock configuration.
My blazer also adds a jump to 2.5" at the muffler.
I might redo the whole pipe after the trip. We'll see how well it holds up. It sounded great at the test fire, and the politician gauge no longer goes negative at high idle.
Other things buttoned up today:
Front brakes (after a run to the store for non-leaking copper washers).
Steering arm (torque spec is 90 ft lbs per the CUCV manual).
I finally put the WHEELS on, and I think it's a foot taller now. It's gonna take a while to get used to that.
I went through my stupid dance where I pour ATF into a gear oil bottle with the pointy nose, and then dump it into the transfer case. Repeat this 4.5 times. Pretty sure I'll find a better way to do this in the future. This method stinks. It also made a mess, as ATF poured out of the front of the case. Somehow I only installed one of the stubby bolts yesterday. I would have sworn I installed both of them.
I found a rubber radiator mount buried in the sand. Might explain why it's slightly loose. Add that to the list.
Front brakes (after a run to the store for non-leaking copper washers).
Steering arm (torque spec is 90 ft lbs per the CUCV manual).
I finally put the WHEELS on, and I think it's a foot taller now. It's gonna take a while to get used to that.
I went through my stupid dance where I pour ATF into a gear oil bottle with the pointy nose, and then dump it into the transfer case. Repeat this 4.5 times. Pretty sure I'll find a better way to do this in the future. This method stinks. It also made a mess, as ATF poured out of the front of the case. Somehow I only installed one of the stubby bolts yesterday. I would have sworn I installed both of them.
I found a rubber radiator mount buried in the sand. Might explain why it's slightly loose. Add that to the list.
