Builds Golden Boy / was 'an as-yet unnamed gulf spec diesel 1991 HZJ pickup' (3 Viewers)

[John Young]

After getting the corrected title I met D21FJ60 and his young son to hand off the rims.

There is something very gratifying about using Golden Boy for his intended purpose. The truck is of a very nice size. Not big. Not small.

As D21FJ60 mentioned above, he and his son took a little drive in Golden Boy. And then there was a little shooting the breeze and so on. Really nice.

Then I went to old town Warrenton for a bit of lunch.

I'm not the only one in the area that likes old trucks...

It's a Dodge in case you cant tell. Here's the owner, Matthew:

This old truck has been his daily driver for the past 40 years, he told me. Had a nice conversation. Currently he has a 350 he bought as a crate in the 80s that is getting a bit tired. I suggested he look at the Cummins 2.8 crate as a replacement.

I drove back to Arlington without incident. I had initially intended to drive on back roads, but the day was getting on and I was getting a bit tired so I went back on 66.

These drives in Golden Boy have raised some issues and questions--

• The fuel gauge only sort-of works. I filled up the tank at a Sheets and the gauge only indicated about 1/3 full. It does move up and down based on how full the tank is. The rear tank gauge does not work at all. Where to start on this...?
• The rear fuel tank does not seem to work. When you push the push button the green light goes into kind of a slow flicker mode. Not clear if it is actually switching tanks, or if it is meant to refill the front tank, like on the 80. Have to do some reading on this.
• The oil idiot light flickers. Now it seems to be just very dimly lit. I checked the oil level and it was fine, albeit kind of dirty looking. I presume the idiot light is for pressure rather than level.
• I really need to fixt the hand throttle. With no cruise control it does get tiring after a half hour or so. I have a little tendonitis and it does get to me over time.
• I need to put in a cheap android head unit for these long drives.

 

[coldtaco]

After getting the corrected title I met D21FJ60 and his young son to hand off the rims.
View attachment 2561994
There is something very gratifying about using Golden Boy for his intended purpose. The truck is of a very nice size. Not big. Not small.

As D21FJ60 mentioned above, he and his son took a little drive in Golden Boy. And then there was a little shooting the breeze and so on. Really nice.
View attachment 2561998
Then I went to old town Warrenton for a bit of lunch.
View attachment 2562006
I'm not the only one in the area that likes old trucks...
View attachment 2562009
It's a Dodge in case you cant tell. Here's the owner, Matthew:
View attachment 2562010
This old truck has been his daily driver for the past 40 years, he told me. Had a nice conversation. Currently he has a 350 he bought as a crate in the 80s that is getting a bit tired. I suggested he look at the Cummins 2.8 crate as a replacement.

I drove back to Arlington without incident. I had initially intended to drive on back roads, but the day was getting on and I was getting a bit tired so I went back on 66.

These drives in Golden Boy have raised some issues and questions--

• The fuel gauge only sort-of works. I filled up the tank at a Sheets and the gauge only indicated about 1/3 full. It does move up and down based on how full the tank is. The rear tank gauge does not work at all. Where to start on this...?
• The rear fuel tank does not seem to work. When you push the push button the green light goes into kind of a slow flicker mode. Not clear if it is actually switching tanks, or if it is meant to refill the front tank, like on the 80. Have to do some reading on this.
• The oil idiot light flickers. Now it seems to be just very dimly lit. I checked the oil level and it was fine, albeit kind of dirty looking. I presume the idiot light is for pressure rather than level.
• I really need to fixt the hand throttle. With no cruise control it does get tiring after a half hour or so. I have a little tendonitis and it does get to me over time.
• I need to put in a cheap android head unit for these long drives.

glad you got to stretch it's legs.

hand throttle is not designed to be used as a cruise control, but you probably already knew that. guys in Australia have been using aftermarket cruise controls.

have someone upstairs turn the rear tank on?off and see if you can hear/feel a clicking/moving. if not probably have to replace, off course our vintage ones are N/A. I used a newer type but had to modify the mount some since it was designed for the drivers side rail. PO had a aftermarket Chevy type when I purchased it from him.

rear tank gauge, probably need a new one. chase wires first if you want.

oil light most likely is a pressure light. you could look on the side of the oil pan and see if a oil level switch is installed. don't know what models this came standard on. probably find a mechanic that can install a mechanical stand alone oil pressure switch to test the pressure. could also replace the oil pressure switch.

 

[John Young]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, ColdTaco.

I did not know that about the hand throttle. I guess it is used for slow-speed crawling?

I had not considered an aftermarket cruise control, but now that you mentioned it, I do see that there are some options out there.

Or I could just take a couple of aspirin before long drives.

 

[coldtaco]

the hand throttle is not a hand throttle, technically. it is a idle up for cold starts. I drove mine from southern Georgia to Anchorage, AK and didn't need any aspirin and it was still rhd which didn't give much room for the dead foot.

 

[John Young]

the hand throttle is not a hand throttle, technically. it is a idle up for cold starts. I drove mine from southern Georgia to Anchorage, AK and didn't need any aspirin and it was still rhd which didn't give much room for the dead foot.

Quite some time ago I developed some tendonitis that really only bothers me when I drive for long periods of time with my foot in a rigid position. Asprin helps a lot when I remember to bring it along. Hence, I really like cruise control, which is in conflict with also really liking old, standard transmission vehicles.

Golden Boy ("GB" from now on, I think) has an addition little challenge in that the power take off lever for the manual winch sticks up just enough to jab lightly in the side of my shin. Just a little annoying. GB did not come with a mechanical winch, but when I found it in the wreckers yard all with a good bumper and bull bar, I had to have it.

Incidently, as long as I'm talking about controls, when I changed out the transmission and transfer case I used an Australian unit and the gear shift lever is suited to RHD--it kind of is a just a bit further away from the driver than is natural. I gave back the old transmission. I wish I had thought to swap the lever when I did so. I'm going to have to look for a LHD lever. Or maybe just heat it up and bend it a bit.

 

[coldtaco]

Ah...thanks for the explanation
I never thought about the pto shifter possibly being in the way as I never had a rig with one. Always thought one would be neat to have.
When I did the rhd to lhd swap I bought a new lhd shifter.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

The hand throttle is also for a PTO winch...........

 

[coldtaco]

The hand throttle is also for a PTO winch...........

That would make sense

 

[AirheadNut]

Or electric winch, it helps to keep the batteries charging. It is also handy to use if you have suspension seats, when in low range driving over bumpy terrain. I have used the hand throttle as a cruise control a couple of times as well, but it's really not a safe thing to do.

 

[John Young]

Thanks all for those comments re the hand throttle. I better get it fixed. Adding it to the list.

When I was younger I had an alfa romeo alfetta as my only vehicle, which was a hoot to drive, but a nightmare to maintain. It did not have a cruise control and it was manual. I took a 24 volt DC military surplus servo and installed it under the hood on the throttle linkage and connected it to two buttons I added to the dash. One for up and one for down. I used it quite a bit and never really worried about it.

I was thinking about doing something similar for GB, but now that I look I see there are some fairly elaborate systems out there for generic manual transmission cruise controls.

 

[John Young]

Today the boy and I put GB to his intended use: hauling s**t. I found a pair of sofas I liked on Craigslist and purchased them. GB handled it like a champ:

I now can confirm that the 5 figures I've put into GB have been well worth it!

 

[JuanJ]

These drives in Golden Boy have raised some issues and questions--

• The fuel gauge only sort-of works. I filled up the tank at a Sheets and the gauge only indicated about 1/3 full. It does move up and down based on how full the tank is. The rear tank gauge does not work at all. Where to start on this...?
• The rear fuel tank does not seem to work. When you push the push button the green light goes into kind of a slow flicker mode. Not clear if it is actually switching tanks, or if it is meant to refill the front tank, like on the 80. Have to do some reading on this.
• The oil idiot light flickers. Now it seems to be just very dimly lit. I checked the oil level and it was fine, albeit kind of dirty looking. I presume the idiot light is for pressure rather than level.
• I really need to fixt the hand throttle. With no cruise control it does get tiring after a half hour or so. I have a little tendonitis and it does get to me over time.
• I need to put in a cheap android head unit for these long drives.

Hello,

The PO may have messed with the fuel tanks' piping. A loose pipe can cause the behavior you describe with the main tank. Worth checking.

As for the rear tank, you can check the circuit's continuity when the transfer switch is on and off.

Then you can check the fuel transfer valve. The valve has three ports arranged in a T. A diagram is below.

A -----|----- B
C

Blow into the valve. Air should only flow from B to C. There should be no flow between a nd B.

Now apply battery voltage across the terminals and blow again. Air should flow from A to B. If this is not the case, replace the valve.

Apparently your oil sender needs replacement. Not surprising given your truck's age.

As mentioned above, the hand throttle is intended for cold days and winch operation. Extra idle speed keeps the PTO winch spooling uniformly (thus saving your safety pin) or the battery charged while using your electrical winch.

If memory serves, someone here on MUD developed an cruise control system for a BJ42. You can search the Diesel section for this, as it might be useful for your truck.

The radio connector in your truck may or may not be compatible with current head units. You should have a 10 pin connector: it serves the radio and two speakers. If you do, you can plug in a modern radio. If you have an additional 6 pin connector, or an additional (and smaller) 10 pin connector, then these are intended for the tape deck.

Last but not least, I thought I was the only one with sore tendons from long drives. Aside from aspirin (or ibuprofen in my case,) this is a good excuse to stop every, say, 50 or so km, to stretch a little and have a look at the scenery.

Hope this helps.





Juan

 

[c2dfj45]

Pretty easy to add cruise with parts from these guys. My 1HZ 79 runs this setup.

Universal add-on electronic cruise control system by Rostra

A universal electronic cruise control system from Rostra allows you to add cruise control functionality to almost any vehicle with a mechanical throttle control linkage on its carburetor or throttle body.

www.rostra.com

 

[John Young]

Pretty easy to add cruise with parts from these guys. My 1HZ 79 runs this setup.

Universal add-on electronic cruise control system by Rostra

A universal electronic cruise control system from Rostra allows you to add cruise control functionality to almost any vehicle with a mechanical throttle control linkage on its carburetor or throttle body.

www.rostra.com

Thanks C2. Does you 79 have a 'clutch in' switch already installed? I've been reading about some of these universals and that is one thing that seems to come up. I doubt Golden Boy has anything so fancy!

 

[c2dfj45]

Thanks C2. Does you 79 have a 'clutch in' switch already installed? I've been reading about some of these universals and that is one thing that seems to come up. I doubt Golden Boy has anything so fancy!

Nope....no clutch switch of any kind on the 79.

 

[John Young]

Hello,

The PO may have messed with the fuel tanks' piping. A loose pipe can cause the behavior you describe with the main tank. Worth checking.

Juan

Thank you for all this valuable information, Juan. Greatly appreciated.
What I can't figure out is the erratically blinking LED that occurs when I push the rear tank switch. I can't see anything in the circuit that would result in blinking. I guess I will just tear into it when the weather is a bit warmer!

 

[John Young]

Today Golden Boy's plates came

 

[John Young]

I suspect that GB's glow plugs are not working. It is snowing today in Virginia and the engine really did not want to start. Ran down the battery a bit. Adding that to the list of things to check. I did spot that the idiot light wire to the oil pressure switch was not plugged in. I am going to reinsert that as soon as things dry up a bit.

Had a little fun in a parking lot this morning.


Almost picture perfect!

 

[cruiserdan]

Crop circle

 

[John Young]

Our fearless moderator, CruiserDan, queried on the import duties for Golden Boy. I thought I might as well lay out the entire cost of export, shipping and import as it might be of more general interest. I do want to add the caveat that I did this as a person who held title first in the UAE before shipping--that is, this was not an international sale of a vehicle--it was just me bringing into the US my own personal property. Your mileage may vary.

Here was my shipping company's original quote:

Option 1 – In sharing container/ groupage container – WAREHOUSE TO WAREHOUSE​

​

Car combined with other cargo from Leader warehouse to NEW YORK warehouse (inclusive of shipping & customs clearance) - Dhs 11,950 (car collect at destination warehouse Pennsylvania after customs clearance)​

​

Delivery of vehicle to Virginia on car recovery US$695 / Dhs 2,572​

​

POA processing and RTA cancelation LC Pick-up 1991 (breakdown in separate email) = Dhs3,737.30 (that's about 1025 USD)​

​

Transit Time 45-48 days;​

​

Sailing: Once load list of container is complete. First book first load.​

The POA fee was unusual and required because I was here in the US and doing this all remotely.

When the truck finally made it into the US, the Amercian-side logistics company sent me an additional invoice for "Formal Entry (Customs Duty)" in the amount of 234.21 USD. They originally said that it was because I had owned the truck less then a year. But when I showed evidence I had owned it for more than a year in the UAE, the logistics company dispatcher (a very nice guy, BTW) said this:

I had a look at the customs declaration form and although there were some fees on it, there was no actual duty. I believe this is because the truck was my personal property being repatriated to the US. EDIT: I think they must have used some kind of blue book value for the truck because the number on the customs document was a couple of thousand USD lower than what I put on the import forms.