Well by now I was very disgruntled and figured either the pig gods were angry at me for some reason or the Mormons hated me. I ended up going with it was just Salt Lake City. The city just didn't like me or pigs or chose me to be the destroyer of pigs.
So my search continued....I obviously got fed up with traveling anywhere to pick up a pig so I really hammered the local listings. Well come Aug of 2006 I found a Craigslisting for a FJ55 right here in Longmont. I drove down to check it out and wouldn't you know it. It wasn't too bad. Who knew I could find a decent pig right here in CO as opposed to driving 8 hours to find one.
It was a 1976 completely stock pig. The only mod was that it was sitting on 31x10.5 ATs. I took the piggie for a test drive around town and it stalled out on me.
I couldn't get it started again. I get that feeling in my stomach again that I had in SLC with the last one. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, well.....your a fooler. Turns out it had a rusty gas tank and the fuel filter and carburetor were clogged with rust. I talked him down to $1150 and towed the piggie home.
Once home I started the process of getting her road worthy as a DD. I pulled the gas tank and took it up to the only shop north of Colorado Springs that has a tub that can boil a gas tank. I also sent the carburetor off to Jim C for a complete over haul. Once I got the tank back I lined it and reinstalled it with no problems. Jim did a rush job on my carburetor and got it back to ASAP and the pig fired up after only a few cranks of the starter. She was alive!!!
The next thing was to get a new hood. The 2F hood that came with the pig had come loose while the PO was driving down the highway at 70 mph. It flew up hit the roof edge and dented teh crap out of it. So badly taht it no longer shut properly. So I found a new 2F hood and had it shipped to my house. It had some rust on the front but it closed and looked better than what was there.
Other than that I haven't done anything to my pig. Due to lack of time and funds. She is so stock that she still has the chrome along the drip rail and the original owners manual. Once my 40 is built and ready to roll, the pig will be converted into a tow rig. Cummins, 6 speed auto, dana 70 rear, dana 60 front, etc. But for now she is my DD and wheeler and I love every second of it. I have done a little damage to the passenger side rocker pannel. I crushed it going up left hand canyon just west of boulder. She wheels great, especially for being stock and open diffs.
usmcruiser
This piggie was a 1974 that had a 3bt swapped into it. So was super excited about the potential for better fuel economy and a little more power. I agreed to purchase this pig and this time instead of flying out to SLC I was able to hitch a ride with a fellow mudder that was driving out there for a business meeting. PabloCruise (TJ) and I bonded for several hours on that drive out to SLC. His sister was nice enough to put me up for the night and I would leave very early Sunday morning. So Saturday night TJ and I drove up and picked up the pig. I had a funny feeling in my stomach when I was handed the keys to the pig but I dismissed it as too much adrenaline. The next morning I awoke early to start up and drive home. But thankfully TJ's nephew loved pigs and wanted to go for a quick ride. Having a young cruiser head at home my self I was happy to oblige. Well on our quick trip around the block the transmission starts screaming at us. It was almost deafening. We pull back into the drive way and check the transmission for lubricant. It's bone dry. Not even residue. So TJ and I then start our search for an open parts store in SLC on a Sunday. Not so easy. We eventually find one and purchase then necessary oil and then some. just in case anything else rears its ugly head. After filling the tranny and taking it for a nice quiet spin. I leave for CO (about 6 hours later than I wanted to).
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