Build 80 series where to start! Again....

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Haha yeah I guess so! I always assume wrong when I think I have something people would be interested in. This shimless bucket is kind of a big deal? It eliminates quite a bit of weight in the valvetrain, will likely wear forever in most cases with the DLC coating, and is just plain badass when compared to the shim on bucket of old. But no love. Well stay subscribed to see the cupholder and arm rest tech coming :-p
 
I just read through 11 pages of your build thread and you don't have the truck yet?:flipoff2: Seriously, after all you are planning plus removing cladding and welding holes what is the big deal with painting the truck? You're going to be having to paint and blend all the repaired holes anyway. Also, the dropped black look begs for all the badging to be removed, the cladding will be gone, suspension is going to be gone as a lot of other parts so why clinging to an LX450 versus a TLC?
I know, I know it's your build and I am free to start my own....:popcorn:
 
Haha yeah I started this project kind of backwards, but I knew that ordering the parts would be easier than finding the right truck.

My reason for wanting a clean black LX450. Well I suppose I could start with a different color and paint it but the engine bay wouldn't be the right color, the door jambs would be wrong, interior color would be wrong, etc. The other part of wanting an LX is because that is what I currently have. By buying a second clean LX that I am going to strip the interior out of I have just given myself a nice parts stash for my other truck. My current LX is going to stay mostly stock interior as long as I can keep it that way, but many of the small parts are now impossible to get. Like the plastic trim surround around the sunroof. They are available in grey but no longer oak, etc

So yeah I could go out and grab any old truck and get moving but I knew this would be a long haul kind of project and with the announcement that I am starting school in 13 days, it has become an even much more long haul project. lol.

Oh and btw, my current parts total is more than my first LX cost :flipoff2::flipoff2:
 
Last edited:
When you do find the right truck you should paint it a matte black shade. that would be bad assery.
BTY, you are exploring areas that most of us cruiser heads never would dare venture. Don't feel too bad if we have no feelings on shimless buckets and other cool as heck performance modifications you are planning.
Most of us wouldn’t even know where to start on installing a turbo on our own trucks. Although, many of us would love to do so.
Please continue to keep us involved in your thought process and development of both of your trucks. Keep up the good work!
 
I for one think this is awesome. I did something similar in my youth- built a raging 900 hp big block Chevy engine and then went looking for something to put it in. Ended up with a '76 Chevy Laguna Type S-3. Ugliest thing you ever saw. But, it would run 10 sec 1/4 miles all day long, on street tires, with quiet mufflers. :)

The shimless bucket thing is pretty cool too. I'll be cataloging these tricks for my eventual engine (re?)build. I doubt I'll turbo my mill, but ya never know...

:cheers:
 
When I win the lottery, I'm calling Ryan and pulling up this thread so I can get all the right P/N and details so I can be a "ME TOO". I'm OK with that.

I dig the whistle of a turbo and love the power.

Lb for Lb and typically $ for $, turbocharging is the cheapest "bolt-on" hp an engine can get.

I need to figure out how to turbocharge my 59 Studebaker (non-computer controlled) with the factory Stude engine. Just to be different, not the fact that owning a Studebaker doesn't already make me "different".
 
Got the completed drawing back from www.elmerracing.com for the CNC turbo merge collector. Looks pretty awesome to me so I think it is going to have to get ordered even though it's just going to storage. Lol.

image.webp
 
So the CNC merge collector is a go. I worked with Elmer Racing to get it just the way I think I want it. Axel was very accommodating. The price seems quite reasonable given the size junk of stainless it is going to have to be!

He said about 2 weeks to get it on a machine and then who knows how long it will take to ship from Finland lol.

The intake manifold seems like it might be a bust :-/. Hypertune keeps telling me a month, but it has been many months, and the owner of Titan Motorsports told me they were telling him a month 5 years ago. No rush since this is distant back burner project but we will see.

image.webp

image.webp
 
Last edited:
So Titan is building your transmission? Cool place, I live about 10 minutes away.
 
No Titan has the $80,000 destroked 3.5L 1FZ-FE that they built for racing and I contacted them to try and see if they had files for cutting exhaust manifold flanges. They did not. But in our discussions I told them my plans they thought it was cool and said they were thinking about getting back into the 1FZ game. The Hypertune intake came up and he told me he liked them a lot but don't hold my breath.

The transmission was supposed to be done by ATF Speed but they are swamped and with this being a very spare time project for me I told them just not to worry about it.

image.webp
 
a 12 injector intake with custom headers and turbo? This is going to be sick.
 
I often forget how slow things move on these kinds of projects.

Still waiting on the custom cut kelford cams that's going past 7 weeks. Still no rods or Pistons. The turbo flange that was going to be a week or two is going into week 4. Oh yeah and Hypertune has said nothing about the manifold I keep hearing 1 month, 1 month, 1 month. haha.

I did say I wasn't in a hurry and still trying to track down the right LX so I guess it is no big deal.

I might just buy the LX once I find it and drive it stock for a while since I have forgotten what that is like. Lol

image.webp
 
Last edited:
I don't know too much about building an engine, but that shimless valvetrain is intriguing. Would there be any benefit running something like that in an otherwise stock motor? Other than no shims to change? Or would the added benefit only be noticed at high RPMs?

I love this build. It is so out of the box for an 80. I can't wait until you find your rig.
 
The shimeless bucket idea really only has big benefits if you go to a much higher spring pressure, much higher lift and duration or high rpms, as it keeps the on-bucket shims from getting thrown off. You could probably see minor benefits simply from the reduced friction with the DLC coating and the big weight reduction in the valve train, but I don't think it would be enough to warrant all the work.

Sorry I noticed I didn't change my location. Yes I am still in Richmond and will likely be for the next 4-4.5 years. I am not sure I want a mechanics special and I really don't want a totalled truck, but I went ahead and texted Lenny from that ad to see if he could send me some photos so we will see. Thanks for looking out.


BlueCruiser84 said:
I don't know too much about building an engine, but that shimless valvetrain is intriguing. Would there be any benefit running something like that in an otherwise stock motor? Other than no shims to change? Or would the added benefit only be noticed at high RPMs?

I love this build. It is so out of the box for an 80. I can't wait until you find your rig.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom