1980 Longbed Pickup Build - Epically Slow Style

[Sam Stewart]

THIS IS WHY I TAKE TEST DRIVES!

So somebody apparently tried to take the PS pump off, or apart, or something, and so the bolts were loose. When I had it running sitting still it was fine but when we started down the road it was leaking really badly. When the pressure increased inside the pump when the wheels turned the pump body actually separated slightly and fluid poured out. It's now fixed.

One of the clamps was not tightened all the way on one of the heater hoses (metal line attached to the block) so when we went down the road it started leaking badly. It's now fixed.

 

[Sam Stewart]

Also, it needs a condenser.

 

[jynx]

This reminds me of the day I drove all over Coal Creek with my Starter hanging on by one bolt.

 

[Sam Stewart]

This reminds me of the day I drove all over Coal Creek with my Starter hanging on by one bolt.

Starter bolts are overrated anyway.

 

[Sam Stewart]

So, I'm going to wait on the condenser and just sweat it out this weekend. I'm going for a test run at Durhamtown with a friend who has an 80. I'll take the good camera and see if I can get some pics and vids. Stay tuned!

 

[jynx]

Nothing like the shakedown run after a mod is finished. I hope it goes well. Is the in line fuel pump looking like it is going to work?

Looking forward of some seat of the pants comparison after the swap.

 

[Sam Stewart]

Nothing like the shakedown run after a mod is finished. I hope it goes well. Is the in line fuel pump looking like it is going to work?

Looking forward of some seat of the pants comparison after the swap.

I can tell just from driving around the parking lot it has a lot more power. It could barely get out of it's own way before. According to Wikipedia the 20R only had 90hp and 122 lb/ft when it was new. The RE has 112 and 142. Pretty good for a direct (sort of) bolt in. The fuel pump is working great! I didn't actually check the fuel pressure but even at WOT it doesn't hesitate at all. I really thought I would have an issue with the pickup since I was going from 1/4 to 5/16. We'll see this weekend. I promise I will fully test it!

(Not to mention now it starts every time as soon as you hit the key. No more messing with the choke!)

 

[Sam Stewart]

My truck is the motor mount killer!

 

[jynx]

I thought they were "Bomb Proof"? At least they are guaranteed forever. Or were these the old runner mounts?

 

[Sam Stewart]

I thought they were "Bomb Proof"? At least they are guaranteed forever. Or were these the old runner mounts?

Old ones. When I originally put the engine in I only put one bolt in each side. I was working by myself and was just trying to get everything lined up. One of the guys in the shop was supposed to put the other ones in for me. I guess it just got missed. Anyway I was bouncing it pretty hard on one trail and it broke. Oh well, I was going to put the bomb proof ones in anyway.

 

[Sam Stewart]

 

[Sam Stewart]

 

[jynx]

Looks like a pretty cool place. So aside from the motor mounts did everything else hold up well?

 

[Sam Stewart]

Looks like a pretty cool place. So aside from the motor mounts did everything else hold up well?

Yeah it's not bad. The area for trucks is pretty small. They have tons of tracks and trails for atvs and dirtbikes. Everything else did great. I'm really going to have to get used to the sensitivity of the throttle now. With the 20R you could put it to the floor. The RE throttle is super sensitive, it has a lot more power now, and I have the gas pedal in a different place. It's way better for sure, just going to take some getting used to. The only other thing that I'm concerned about is working out some sort of fan shroud or possibly an electric fan. There's not enough clearance to use the RE shroud. So I can remove the mechanical fan and just run a big electric or use the mechanical and put a pusher fan on the other side of the rad. The only problem with that is that there might not be room with the AC condenser. And I'm def not giving up my AC. I also need to better secure all the wiring, ECU, fuse panel, etc, and put the dash back together.

 

[Sam Stewart]

So I decided it was high time to get all my junk out of the shop at work. I loaded up all my extras and took them to the house. Now I'm in saving mode for stuff like parts for my suspension, dual cases, gears, tires, etc. I will still be working on: replacing the condenser (with a single row out of a mini) and getting the AC charged, working out a solution for the ducting for the AC vents, getting my AC controls in, reinstalling the Scion radio and some more speakers (gonna install at least one set of 4.5s in the doors), GPS back in the dash, and getting the dash buttoned up.

Future mods:
Tube front bumper with winch mount (build from scratch since nobody makes one)
Winch
Cage (4xInnovations? Anybody yay or nay?)
Tube doors? (they're cheap, so maybe)
Dual cases (already have a W56, 1 forward shift, and 2 top shift cases, plus my old 4 speed)
Rear springs up front, Tacoma springs in rear
Front end rebuild (leaking like crazy)
Gears front and rear
Bigger tires (prob in the 37 range)

 

[bryan89]

Congrats on getting some dirt underneath it bro!! looks good.
does it have a small exhaust leak or do the valves need adjustment? sounds like its got a good tick goin on in the video...


hey on a side note, how far is that from the shop in Warner Robins? my buddy lives right by there and was looking for places to take is new frontier with the locker to test it out...looks like some sort of OHV park or something?/

Later,
bryan

 

[Sam Stewart]

Congrats on getting some dirt underneath it bro!! looks good.
does it have a small exhaust leak or do the valves need adjustment? sounds like its got a good tick goin on in the video...


hey on a side note, how far is that from the shop in Warner Robins? my buddy lives right by there and was looking for places to take is new frontier with the locker to test it out...looks like some sort of OHV park or something?/

Later,
bryan

Yeah it does have an exhaust leak. One of the studs pulled the threads out of the head where the manifold bolts on. I got that one fixed but the manifold is also cracked in between the 2 chambers. I think it's just not making a good seal to the gaskets. Anyway, I can live with it for now. I'm sure the valves also need to be adjusted though. I haven't done anything to the motor. I swapped it out and put gas in it. That's it.

The place we were at is called Durhamtown. I've heard it called Durhamtown Plantantion/Resort as well. It's about a 1 hr 45 min drive from my house in Macon so I'd say a little over 2 hrs from WR. The city is Union Point. It's over off of I-20 on the east side near lake Oconee. It's like 25 bucks. The park area for trucks is not that big but there's plenty of stuff he could test on. They have hill climbs and some rocky areas. I would def recommend park 2. Park 1 is the older part and is really rutted and muddy.

 

[jynx]

Marlin has re-released their cage kit as another option.

On the head stud, I had something similar happen to my DD and I got a 10x1.25 tap and tapped the hole deeper into the head (it is a good bit deeper than the factory stud) then went and got some longer studs from the hardware store, worked pretty good. It probably would be a good upgrade to all the holes. More threads = more grip.

 

[Sam Stewart]

Marlin has re-released their cage kit as another option.

On the head stud, I had something similar happen to my DD and I got a 10x1.25 tap and tapped the hole deeper into the head (it is a good bit deeper than the factory stud) then went and got some longer studs from the hardware store, worked pretty good. It probably would be a good upgrade to all the holes. More threads = more grip.

That's a good idea on the stud. I actually ran a bolt in there on mine. It was the same thread pitch but it was a little longer. Hopefully that will hold it for now. It's not like I drive it that often anyway. Eventually I will have to pull it to replace the manifold so I'll address it at that time.

Any idea how much the Marlin cage is? I think the 4x kit was like 300ish plus shipping of course.

 

[Sam Stewart]

Looks like the Marlin cage is about 400 + ship.