Builds 1995 80 series build- a rolling black hole where money disappears (2 Viewers)

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Got it all back together, and ready to install. Thankful for the help of my friends Lee and Stan, we got it all back where it belongs! A long day of reassembly finished with us noticing a drip of coolant from the rear freeze plug on the passenger side. Fawk. Me.


Decided to fire it and see what we get, hoping a few heat cycles would seal it up. Amazingly, she fired right up, and the rods stayed on the inside! A couple heat cycles and the coolant quit dripping. No oil leaks. No PS leaks. No trans fluid leaks. Its really weird having this thing not leak. I can parked on my paved driveway now, rather than just in the gravel by the shop!

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A couple days of driving revealed an extended crank that wasn't there before. Even with a compromised head gasket, this thing always fired right up.

I had sent the injectors from the donor engine out for a rebuild, and installed them while putting the engine together. I'd heard that donor engine running in a video the guy I bought it from showed me, but I didn't know anything about its condition otherwise. Turns out when hot, those freshly rebuilt injectors would bleed pressure down and cause a rich mix, resulting in an extended crank. I wasn't convinced another round of rebuilding and cleaning would fix them, and while the ones in the engine I pulled out seemed fine...they were of unknown condition too. Taking apart the intake in the vehicle is less than fun, and I only wanted to do it once, since I had to. Partsouq had NEW oem injectors in stock. No, they're not cheap, but they are perfect. It now fires up and runs beautifully. It's been about 800 miles now, no issues.

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Great job! now get out there and enjoy it!
 
Today's project was to install some more parts I've had sitting around for a while, now that the engine is in and it's back on the road.

Wolfbox video rear view got installed on a Wits' End modular rear view mirror arm, and I relocated my FTM-400 head unit up there too, on a RAM mount. Also squeezed in the Solvefunction overhead RAM mount in case I want more in the future. It needed a little love from the Dremel to clear the modular mirror mount- probably overkill but I like it. @Outsane makes such killer 3D printed parts!

Also got the Rosen sunvisors installed along with some Solvefunction visor clip block off plates.

All these new parts really make me want to get the headliner cleaned up. It's pretty gross from the previous owner.

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Finished the day by making a little trim panel to hide all the spaghetti in front of the main battery. With the Switchpros unit and the Redarc battery isolator up there it's hard to make it all look clean and be able to service/disassemble it. This piece of ABS hides all of #momsspaghetti and makes it look just a bit more professional.

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Nice work!! Now that intake is spotless on the inside it’s time for an oil catch can on the pcv valve, you will be amazed how much oil you collect between oil changes. I use an evil energy can and a bent piece of steel bolted to the power steering reservoir mount bolts. Just a suggestion to finish off that engine bay and keep the intake from building up oil residue.
 
Nice work!! Now that intake is spotless on the inside it’s time for an oil catch can on the pcv valve, you will be amazed how much oil you collect between oil changes. I use an evil energy can and a bent piece of steel bolted to the power steering reservoir mount bolts. Just a suggestion to finish off that engine bay and keep the intake from building up oil residue.
Thanks !
Catch can will come when I get the @Cruisers and Co turbo installed. Waiting on selling my other 80 to fund that adventure....
 
Amazing transformation !! Nice work
 
How are you liking that Wolfbox? I would love to have a back up camera as part of the radio or like this in the rear view mirror. When I get a rear bumper I am probably going to wire up some white lights that will run off the reverse circuit, illuminating when the car is in reverse so I can see behind her. Did this on my old 1st gen Xterra and worked great.

Love how the ABS plastic covered worked out too.
 
The AC dryer should not be mounted horizontally for best AC performance.
I mover mine up next the the battery like the 91-93s
 
The AC dryer should not be mounted horizontally for best AC performance.
I mover mine up next the the battery like the 91-93s
How did you do that? Did you use the plumbing from the 91-93? I have a trail gear front bumper and my AC dryer is in the OG position and left unprotected.
 
How are you liking that Wolfbox? I would love to have a back up camera as part of the radio or like this in the rear view mirror. When I get a rear bumper I am probably going to wire up some white lights that will run off the reverse circuit, illuminating when the car is in reverse so I can see behind her. Did this on my old 1st gen Xterra and worked great.

Love how the ABS plastic covered worked out too.
So far it's good. Could be a bit brighter in the daylight but I bought the camera that mounts inside the vehicle rather than outside, as my alpine head unit has an external camera. It's looking thru the windshield tint so it has room for improvement. I have a new to me hatch coming to replace mine, as it has some rust in it. Once it arrives and I get it painted, I'll transfer all the parts and make a 3D printed mount for the camera and cut the tint out of the way. For now, the camera is mounted to the inside of the hatch on the brake light with 3M tape. Otherwise the rear view mirror camera is as good as the OE one in my new Tundra and works well. It even has a forward facing camera too. For Amazon chineseium it's impressive.
 
The AC dryer should not be mounted horizontally for best AC performance.
I mover mine up next the the battery like the 91-93s
Having had it both ways, rotating the drier makes approximately zero difference. I was really worried about it, but so far it's been just fine. That's a brand new drier that I installed when I had the engine out.

I agree the 91-93 setup would be preferable- however this works just fine for me.
 
So far it's good. Could be a bit brighter in the daylight but I bought the camera that mounts inside the vehicle rather than outside, as my alpine head unit has an external camera. It's looking thru the windshield tint so it has room for improvement. I have a new to me hatch coming to replace mine, as it has some rust in it. Once it arrives and I get it painted, I'll transfer all the parts and make a 3D printed mount for the camera and cut the tint out of the way. For now, the camera is mounted to the inside of the hatch on the brake light with 3M tape. Otherwise the rear view mirror camera is as good as the OE one in my new Tundra and works well. It even has a forward facing camera too. For Amazon chineseium it's impressive.
Glad to hear this. I am closer to getting one based off your review.
 
Glad to hear this. I am closer to getting one based off your review.
Be advised- I absolutely would not do it without the modular mirror mount. You can get one from Delta now.

The rubber bands it uses to mount to the oem mirror are cheesy at best.
 
Be advised- I absolutely would not do it without the modular mirror mount. You can get one from Delta now.

The rubber bands it uses to mount to the oem mirror are cheesy at best.
What kit from Wolfbox did you get?
 
I used this mirror:


With this bracket:

WOLFBOX OEM Bracket for T10... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B53FTB6L?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

And this camera:

WOLFBOX D07 Original Rear... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Q84NBFN?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

And you'll need this mount to make it right:



I also used the solve function overhead mount from @Outsane this is optional.

Also, it should be noted that the mirror will interfere with factory visors when you lower them. Plan on the Rosen visors or be ready for your factory ones to hit the mirror.
 
I used this mirror:


With this bracket:

WOLFBOX OEM Bracket for T10... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B53FTB6L?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

And this camera:

WOLFBOX D07 Original Rear... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Q84NBFN?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

And you'll need this mount to make it right:



I also used the solve function overhead mount from @Outsane this is optional.
Thank you for the links. I will add this to the on going build/need list I have for my 80.
 

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