1980 Longbed Pickup Build - Epically Slow Style

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I'm that superficial! :grinpimp:
 
Haha. I'm just messing with you guys. Its nice to have some progress pics once in a while tho.

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Well the welder ran out of gas so I'm going to go get the tank refilled tomorrow. The welds are probably plenty strong but Matt is going to grind them down and see if he can make them a little better. The only other issue is that we don't have a 220 welder so its a little more difficult to weld that thick plate. Looking good overall though. I'll try to snap some more pics tomorrow. I also had to order a different slave cylinder. The one I have is the old style where the shaft goes through the fork and I swapped everything over to the "new" style.

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Just a small update. Stayed at the shop with Matt until about 8:30 working on the truck. Here's where the truck stands:

Trans is in, holes are cut in the floor, and the shifters are in. Trans and transfers have fluid. The rear drive shaft is in (although I think it's a bit short) and the front drive shaft should be getting put together tomorrow. The rear springs and hardware are in. The rear shocks are in. The cross member is welded but will probably need to be checked since all we had was a 120 welder. Slave cylinder is in.

Now, just need to check some things off the list and see what else needs to be done. :hhmm:

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Apparently there is something wrong with my Marlin clutch. Pressure plate won't disengage the clutch even with everything adjusted and bled. I'm sure if it does have any kind of warranty it's long gone. I guess I'm going to just get an el cheapo from down the street.

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Damn, that sucks. It's not a ceramic clutch is it?

I was all excited for you and about to reply to the "driving around the shop" post and when I hit the "quote" button, the new and not-so-exciting post showed up.
 
Damn, that sucks. It's not a ceramic clutch is it?

I was all excited for you and about to reply to the "driving around the shop" post and when I hit the "quote" button, the new and not-so-exciting post showed up.

It's one of their HD replacement clutches. I'm not knocking them by any means. They make a lot of good products. It just REALLY sucks that after all this time it turns out that it was something wrong with their clutch to begin with. I've replaced the master once, slave twice, and the clutch line while chasing this problem too. So not only am I out that couple hundred for the clutch kit but a have another couple hundred in misc plus a ton of time trouble shooting. And now I'm going to end up putting a crappy cheap one from the parts store for another 75-100 bucks. Just sucks. I also really don't have much time to work on it so it's pretty much definite that I won't get a test run before GSMTR.

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What size clutch is it, I might take it off your hands if it will fit my truck.

I will also throw out that when I installed the marlin clutch and new flywheel in the v6 truck I rebuilt a few years ago, I had to adjust it WAAAYYYY out before I ever got it to disengage, and even then it had to be on the floor before it would come out. The only thing I could figure is the new flywheel and clutch had sooo much more material on it and the old clutch had been adjusted in so far that it just took that much to get it out.

I sold it before I got it just right, but I think a few more turns under the dash on the master and I would have gotten it.

I got everything together and it turned the wheels all the time. I was afraid I had put the disc in backwards and was ready to pull everything back out until I got into the FSM and started monkeying with the adjustment.
 
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jynx, it's an HD 8 7/8ths. Fits all 4 cyls from 79-92 except the turbos (according to Marlin). I think there is something wrong with the actual pressure plate. You're welcome to it if you want it. I'm going to contact Marlin first just to let them know what's going on with it.

Tapage, I'm not really looking to spend another couple hundred right now.

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Can you not just buy a pressure plate Sam?
I'd bet there's just something out of the ordinary going on since its a way heavier throw-out than before. Also, think about the throw-out fork too. I know you already went through a lot of this probably, but is there any chance that yours is too short or the slave is not pushing in the correct spot? Along those lines, if the throw-out bearing is too thin or possibly upside down, the same problem could occur if one side is "deeper" than the other. All things you've likely considered, but puttin it out there just in case.
 
Can you not just buy a pressure plate Sam?
I'd bet there's just something out of the ordinary going on since its a way heavier throw-out than before. Also, think about the throw-out fork too. I know you already went through a lot of this probably, but is there any chance that yours is too short or the slave is not pushing in the correct spot? Along those lines, if the throw-out bearing is too thin or possibly upside down, the same problem could occur if one side is "deeper" than the other. All things you've likely considered, but puttin it out there just in case.

New 5 speed fork, throw out bearing has been replaced with the 5 speed one with a new hub, everything is new. The clutch has had this problem since day one. It's been on 2 different engines now and had 2 different transmissions behind it and all had the same problem. Its like the spring is too strong or the teeth on the pressure plate are bent or something. When the fork is all the way in the clutch is still engaged. We even tried to push it farther back with a pry bar. It won't physically move any more.

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It's fixed. Shifts and engages like a dream now. It turns out that it was the pressure plate all along. The tines are nearly flat so it just couldn't disengage the clutch enough to let take the pressure off the disc. We swapped the pressure plate, and used the original clutch disc from Marlin. It works fine now.

The trans shifts beautifully by the way. Smoothest I have ever owned. Nice to have a fresh rebuild.

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Interesting, I wonder if that was what the problem was with the one I got. It is really odd... I guess if I order one from him I will make sure to check the pressure plate when it gets here.

Can you post a picture of the mashed one for reference?
 
Interesting, I wonder if that was what the problem was with the one I got. It is really odd... I guess if I order one from him I will make sure to check the pressure plate when it gets here.

Can you post a picture of the mashed one for reference?

Yeah it's in the box at work. I'll snap a pic tomorrow.

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Did you have to buy a whole setup or were you able to get just the pressure plate?

Since you got it back "on track" so quickly, are you gonna make the Roast for the planned pre-run?
 
Did you have to buy a whole setup or were you able to get just the pressure plate?

Since you got it back "on track" so quickly, are you gonna make the Roast for the planned pre-run?

I had to buy a kit but it was pretty cheap. I'm going to the Pig Roast regardless. Hopefully I can get the last few things buttoned up and take the mini with me.

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I keep remembering stuff that still needs to be done...

Fan shroud
Exhaust
Nuts for front spring pins
Front d/s (need to swap flange on front diff first)
Remove LEDs (will reinstall and wire after this weekend)
Pack recovery gear
Clear out bed and cab
Install passenger side mirror
....
I'm sure I'll think of something I forgot.

I still need to get all the camping stuff together too. So much to do and so little time.

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Front drive shaft is back. Between the long spline and getting someone to assemble it, it was not cheap. Let me just say if you're going to do duals, set aside about double what you think it's going to cost. That's probably a lot closer to what you are actually going to spend. AND, I did mine as cheaply as possible...

Anyway, it's coming together. It's going to be a last minute decision on taking it or not.

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