Zjohnsonua
SILVER Star
Build as of June '22:
-60 body and frame
-80 full float rear axle, 80 rear discs, Detroit locker, 4.88s
-Rear springs = 5 leaf Chevy 63s with overloads, frenched shackle hangers
-Rear shocks = 10" short body remote reservoir Bilstein 7100s w/ 400 valving
-Cut and turned 60 front axle housing, 5th gen 4rnr discs, ARB locker, 4.88s, longfields and chromo hubs
-Front springs = flipped 60 rears w/ AAL, two shortest leaves deleted, third shortest is reversed, chevy 1500 overloads, frenched shackle hangers
-Front shocks = Bilstein 4600s for a 2nd gen Ram 2500
-2UZ/A750F/HF2A w/ part time
-37x12.50R17 KM3 Sidetracked Offroad BLs w/ same size Yokohama XMT (moved to these in Spring '23)
I'd seen this truck in the sale ads for a long time, but never could seem to get a hold of the owner. Heck, I'm sure several of us in the South have. Then a couple weeks ago I was making plans to pick a few pieces from a 470 at LKQ Nashville and things happened to line up. I'd just sold some stuff and had some cash burning a hole in my pocket, and he happened to answer a few messages, so we took the long way home from Nashville to check this old girl out.
Several things were going against it mechanically to keep it from being test driven but we poured some gas down the carb, gave the battery a jump and it ran just long enough to not hear any weird noises. As I pondered just where in the hell I was gonna store it, how much explaining I'd have to do to the gf about another cruiser showing up, and why I would pick up another frigging project, solutions came up for all of these problems and we cut a deal with plans for pickup the following weekend.
I'd made a list of failures that kept it from moving under it's own power and got parts ordered or pulled from the spares bin. I recruited @ufg8r to help with the field repairs (thanks again, Chris!) and the owner pitched in to get a fresh battery charge and air up the flattened 35.
Once we returned, the workload got lighter as the "seized" clutch broke free after I gave it a few whacks with a pry bar to break mud/rock clods and dauber nests out of the clutch slave/fork works. Chris replaced the fuel pump, and I replaced a few fuel lines and rigged up a gas can to keep it fed. A little more gas down the carb to replace the varnish and she drove up the trailer.
Got it home, and tore into the carb. Varnish and debris everywhere. Nothing a can of carb cleaner and a sewing pin couldn't fix though. Half an hour of cleaning jets and checking linkages, and the thing fires right up on two hits of the pedal and half choke. Sounds mean through headers and a flowmaster! Neighbor lady gave me the you-must-be-a-redneck look. Truck 1 - Neighbor Lady 0.
Power steering pump is toast, so it'll get a Saginaw this week. Alternator looks dodgy as well, so it'll get a GM 10si unit out of the spares bin. The list of needs hits pretty much every system on the truck (except the seats...these PT Cruiser seats are COMFY **edit - they SUCK on long drives - replacements will happen**), but all in due time. Deadline is September. This thing was bought for trails and Fall is gonna be busy! The goal is to have it be able to drive to these events.
From what I can gather, this rig has been around TN for a while. If any of y'all know some history on it, send me a message, I'd like to hear it!
More to come as work progresses.
-60 body and frame
-80 full float rear axle, 80 rear discs, Detroit locker, 4.88s
-Rear springs = 5 leaf Chevy 63s with overloads, frenched shackle hangers
-Rear shocks = 10" short body remote reservoir Bilstein 7100s w/ 400 valving
-Cut and turned 60 front axle housing, 5th gen 4rnr discs, ARB locker, 4.88s, longfields and chromo hubs
-Front springs = flipped 60 rears w/ AAL, two shortest leaves deleted, third shortest is reversed, chevy 1500 overloads, frenched shackle hangers
-Front shocks = Bilstein 4600s for a 2nd gen Ram 2500
-2UZ/A750F/HF2A w/ part time
-
I'd seen this truck in the sale ads for a long time, but never could seem to get a hold of the owner. Heck, I'm sure several of us in the South have. Then a couple weeks ago I was making plans to pick a few pieces from a 470 at LKQ Nashville and things happened to line up. I'd just sold some stuff and had some cash burning a hole in my pocket, and he happened to answer a few messages, so we took the long way home from Nashville to check this old girl out.
Several things were going against it mechanically to keep it from being test driven but we poured some gas down the carb, gave the battery a jump and it ran just long enough to not hear any weird noises. As I pondered just where in the hell I was gonna store it, how much explaining I'd have to do to the gf about another cruiser showing up, and why I would pick up another frigging project, solutions came up for all of these problems and we cut a deal with plans for pickup the following weekend.
I'd made a list of failures that kept it from moving under it's own power and got parts ordered or pulled from the spares bin. I recruited @ufg8r to help with the field repairs (thanks again, Chris!) and the owner pitched in to get a fresh battery charge and air up the flattened 35.
Once we returned, the workload got lighter as the "seized" clutch broke free after I gave it a few whacks with a pry bar to break mud/rock clods and dauber nests out of the clutch slave/fork works. Chris replaced the fuel pump, and I replaced a few fuel lines and rigged up a gas can to keep it fed. A little more gas down the carb to replace the varnish and she drove up the trailer.
Got it home, and tore into the carb. Varnish and debris everywhere. Nothing a can of carb cleaner and a sewing pin couldn't fix though. Half an hour of cleaning jets and checking linkages, and the thing fires right up on two hits of the pedal and half choke. Sounds mean through headers and a flowmaster! Neighbor lady gave me the you-must-be-a-redneck look. Truck 1 - Neighbor Lady 0.
Power steering pump is toast, so it'll get a Saginaw this week. Alternator looks dodgy as well, so it'll get a GM 10si unit out of the spares bin. The list of needs hits pretty much every system on the truck (except the seats...these PT Cruiser seats are COMFY **edit - they SUCK on long drives - replacements will happen**), but all in due time. Deadline is September. This thing was bought for trails and Fall is gonna be busy! The goal is to have it be able to drive to these events.
From what I can gather, this rig has been around TN for a while. If any of y'all know some history on it, send me a message, I'd like to hear it!
More to come as work progresses.
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