Lol, sorry for that
@FJCRAWLER and before we go much farther, I did a terrible job with pictures, we were mostly just working our way thru the woods and the phone, was in the console and I didn't bother with it most of the day. Just grabbed a couple pics here and there.
So we started out good. I tightened my power steering belt, which had started to squeal and checked the fluid. And after a successful launch of the SS tinytanic, We took out and I noticed that the fan was buzzing the shroud. Pretty sure the drivers side motor mount is shot. This will become important in a few hours. Anyway, We had to head further south to the split to make our way out on the tracy city side. So as we made our way south we kept finding more and more mud holes with random bypasses. So at one point Towers in his hundy ends up in front of Rick and ends up staring at 2 big mud holes. He picks a line and...
So Rick picks the alternate line and...
So Rick pulls line and drags himself and that giant log out of the hole. With him thru, Dugan makes a run, and pulls cable. Then Brian pulled Towers out. So then I tried to avoid those holes, but put a giant dent in the drivers door, so not stuck, but dented door. Think I should've just took the cable.
So out of that mess, we eased along watching Gaia like a hawk. We had to cut some fallen trees and finally got to the split, only to miss the first turn, but just barely. I wish I had gotten a picture of all the random paths that the SxS crowds have cut thru the woods. It is maddening to be honest. Anyway we found the way and made our way thru to the church. At the church the map makes it look like there is a road out, never tried it, no logs on it, but it looks like it's there, so ready to get out of the woods we gave it a shot... IT IS NOT A ROAD... for the record. Might have been, but it ain't no MO. So after turning 4 trucks around about 3/4 way up the side of a mountain, we were back at the church and on our way out. Again, SxS bypasses, highcentering a log and a jack-knifed trailer which busted a tail light got us off trail. A little jockeying and we got back on the path. Then there was the next mud-hole checker game. We hit a stretch where it was about 10 holes in a row, just had to chose your line and make a run for it. Fortunately we all rolled thru and after a little while we were at the base of the climb out. Just as we made the turn to start up I glanced down only to notice my temp is pegged in the red.
So remember when I said my motor mount was bad and letting the fan contact the shroud, well it moved enough that it basically wedged the fan between the rad and shroud, so no air moving equals over heating. So in order to get it free I basically had to take a pair of pliers and destroy the top of the shroud... I'll have to get a pic of that carnage, and I hope I can find another shroud. So with that, Temps started down and we start the long climb out.
Then on a ledge, the truck walked and this happened.
The picture doesn't do it justice. I felt like I was about to flop, but the rear diff was planted on the ledge and I was turtled. Brian turned around and with a little smittybuilt assistance I was up. Then it was just the Slow chug to the top. 2nd gear low range for what felt like ages. We hit the gravel at around 5:30ish. We left camp at around 10ish. So roughly 8 hours of plugging and chugging.
Then while airing up Brian discovers this,
Something managed to basically break about 4" of the lip off his front drivers wheel. Quick change to the spare. It was amazing that it was still holding air. Towers also found half a log wedged in his front Passenger wheel so he swapped to his spare as well. And with everyone aired up we said our good-byes and everyone made a bee-line for home.
It was a great trip, but I think we were all ready to be out of the woods.
Carnage report included:
Rick's FJ- I think just a busted tail lense. He did find a loose starter lead, but I think that had been an issue previously, just found it. His trailer spare did give it up after being drug thru the mud and over a number of ledges.
Towers Hundy - I think he just had the tree in his tire. He did awesome. On basically street tires, he pointed that thing and it pretty well went up, over and thru everything he aimed it at. The hundy with some MTs and a winch will be a force to be recon'd with.
Brian's GX - he had the busted wheel and I think his rear e-locker wiring came loose, but since his last time, he made it a plug, so just had to plug it back in.
My 80 - actual trail damage is the massive dent in the drivers door. The fan shroud was a casualty of the bad motor mount, but it is trashed either way.
So what's next.
- New motor mounts. Got to keep all 67 of those horses at bay.
- New fan shroud. You know once I get the mounts fixed.
- New exhaust. It's total junk. Needs to be redone from the manifolds all the way to the tailpipe.
Once I get that stuff sorted I need to go thru and check all the bolts to make sure nothing else is loose. Towers noticed my wobble and diagnosed it as a loose Panhard. Simple fix, but need to check the rest of the bolts. Then I need to go thru the AC. It likely needs all the things. I'm pretty sure either it's still on R22, so I'll need to convert it. And then I need to get a winch and a rear swing out tire carrier. That kind of is the immediate and interim lists. Long term, I have more interesting plans.
Whilst sitting around the fire we got to talking. (And yes Rocky, it is a battery powered camp stove, and it is rather amazing. The battery actually powers a fan that keeps the fire stoked, kinda like an old forge). So the old 3FE is getting long in the tooth and finding injectors, MAFs and pretty much anything for the fuel injection is getting hard to do. We kicked the tires on rebuilding the 3FE, doing an LS swap, heck even a 1FZ out of a newer 80, but the thing that kind of caught my ear was to do a 3F carb manifold swap with a holley kit. So I am currently investigating sourcing a non-NA 3F carb head, with manifold and then topping it off with a sniper. Get rid of all the Toyota efi and go to a simple more modern system. Then have the trans rebuilt and add a wholesale automatic nomad valve body and back all that up with the part-time t-case I have. Seems counter intuitive to go back to a carb head, but the 3FE was kind of a bastard child for like 4 years, available in the US market and carb'd 3Fs were in 4 different models in the rest of the world for several years, so they are out there. I'm doing my research and we'll see how it goes.
Main thing now is to get mounts ordered and find a good, and I mean good exhaust shop that wants to tackle trying to build a complete exhaust for this thing.
I'll get a picture of the shroud and door tomorrow.
So now it runs and drives and I'll probably start driving it more and working out the kinks as I go.
All in all, to have sat for close to 6 years, have not moved from his spot in the corner for the last 2, to then be asked to do what we just did with basically a fresh axle, some new plugs and a tank of co-ops finest non-ethanol 87, I'm pretty damn proud of him.
He needs a bath and then I gotta get the thermostat swapped in the WarPig and get it ready for Crawl coming up in 2 weeks.
