Whew....it was so tough keeping that secret.
Congrats to everyone that contributed!!'
Congrats to everyone that contributed!!'
Logan's Cruiser - and Now The Rest of the Story
- Thread starter fourtrax
- Start date
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Big Sigh... So glad this secret is out. This was such an awesome act of kindness and teamwork from this club. Hate that we weren't able to help with the work on Logan's truck. Thank you Team for all your hard work!!!
- Thread starter
- #143
The rest of the Story....
All was going well just about everything I was needing to do was finished. I took off Thursday the 10 and headed up to Henry;s Muffler to get the leaks fixed and replaced the o2/bungs that were leaking pretty bad. Other then driving the cruiser around my block once, after I finished the transfer case, I think this was the first time I had driven Logan’s cruiser. Once I got above 45 the tires smoothed out, I was tooling along about 55mph It was tracking pretty straight, Temperature and oil pressure were good, A/c was working, it was driving nice. it was a steady 20 miles to the shop. they pulled it in and spent about 2.5 hours replacing the O2 bungs and redoing the tailpipe. after the work was done i drove a couple miles stopped and ate some lunch. again everything was fine. I got back on the belt line and was again tooling along at about 55-60, all gauges were where they should be, the exhaust leaks were gone, life was good, was heading to Johnny's so he could start on the “bumper”. about 9 miles down the road. i noticed it wasn't holding the 55 anymore as i climbing a short grade for a bridge. once i got over it made its way back up to 55 for about a 1/2 mile then it just started fading away, the gauges were all looking OK, might have been a hint of some black smoke (running rich) in the rear view but could really tell due to the vibration. after about 1/2 mile i was barely doing 40, i happened to be at an exit so i got off and as i coasted down to the end the cruiser stalled. I tried to start it back up, after a couple stumbles it started but was running rough i put it in gear and it stalled. i let it sit about 10 minutes, put it in low started it again and just made it across the street to a parking lot. first thought was maybe the battery was going. called for some support from the Kids, They arrived battery was 12.7v, but the compression was about 20psi in the 1st cylinder and the plug was real sooty. I called Johnny and asked him to help my out and he towed me back to his house. (in low range gas pedal on the floor, it almost didn’t make it onto the trailer). We pulled all the plugs and ran a compression check, motor seemed to be spinning a little slow and #1, #2, #5and #6 were about 20 PSI, i added a teaspoon of oil and the compression jumped up to 40 psi after about 5 compression cycles. all the fluids look good, no oil in the antifreeze or vice versa. Not much else to do at this point, we were shouldering a major bummer about this time. Anyways we started looking for another 3FE. After several calls we had a couple possibilities. Still bummed we changed gears and decided to go ahead and build the rear bumper, we needed to make some progress. Friday evening and Saturday Johnny, Jonathan, Garrett and I completed the bumper (that the bumper fairies magically provided) and Johnny painted it the follow day. All this while we were waiting on some compression #'s to come back. The following week we were making calls and had no known options locally. We started reaching out to contacts and companies that might have a good engine following leads and finding dead ends. Sure we found parts, but nothing that was known good. Even though people were willing to donate parts it wasn’t known if they were good, and they might not be any better then what we had, which was still sort of unknown at this time. We didn’t want to worry Kenny and Lydia, and we didn’t want word getting back to them, so we kept this very close one way or another we were determined to make this happen.
Then I remembered a toyota guy on nc4x4 who sold me some Tacoma parts a year or so ago talking about an 3FE engine that he pulled for buddy from a cruiser that had an electrical fire several years back. (he still has a transmission and T-case for a 90 fj80 if anyone has a need) His buddy had paid for the engine to put it in his FJ60, but never got around to it, in fact he had never gotten around to even picking up the engine. So it sat on a pallet under a tarp for several years in a field in Sanford. I called him up and he said it was still there, his friend still hadn’t picked it up. I asked if was good and would he buddy part with it. He said he would check and see of the engine would turn and if I wanted compression #’s I could come one down and get them. The next day he called and said the engine turned over. Garrett and I headed out the next morning. We removed the plugs which looked like they had maybe 10 miles ion them. The motor was clean and even the air filter looked great. We put a bore scope in the spark plug holes and the internals were clean with no rust and almost fresh cross hatching. We bolted a starter to it and installed a couple compression gauges to it. It spun free and sounded smooth, pressure was 135# Had some mixed numbers on his gauge it was pretty high. So we dropped back to just one gauge and the compression was less then 10psi difference between cylinders 1-5. cylinder 6 was a little lower, we put a little Kroil oil in #6 let it sit about 10 minutes then tried it again, #6 was now showing good. We figured maybe a stuck ring. After talking for about an hour we left with a good engine ( with the needed pulleys I needed to replace on Logan’s cruiser,
) it was an awesome deal. Dropped it off at Johnny’s and made a parts list. That Sunday Johnny and Allen started unbolting and prepping the engine to come out of the cruiser and Jonathan, Garrett and I got there just in time to help (wink, wink) actually pull it out. Now we just needed some part to put it back in. we decided to take the engine apart and figure what really happened. The #2 piston was eating the side wall of the cylinder and #5 was close behind it. The head gasket was blown out between #1 and #2, as well as #5 and #6. basically it was trying to run on two cylinders. we were kind of surprised the parts of the engine almost fell apart, a small little 1/4" impact driver removed the the rod and main caps along with any other bolt with minimal effort. Johnny placed the parts order online with Fred Anderson Toyota hoping to have them Tuesday morning. Most of the part came in and while Johnny was picking up the parts he was telling Phil the story and next thing Johnny knew he was getting a refund. This was pretty much the spirit of anyone we talked to during this “BaseLine” everyone wanted to help in some manner or fashion. ONSC ROCKS. Ok back to my book. The Parts came in, we put the engine back together, and started the reinstall. We only had 4 of the 8 transmission cross member bolt break off on it. Johnny was able to weld a nut to the stub and extract 3 of them, leaving only 1 for me to drill out and retap. “we got lucky”. Next, made sure everything was connected and tightened. Added fluids and all the other what-nots. Turned the key, after about 20 seconds we heard a shutter of life, then a rumble from the glasspack, then a beautiful PURRRRRRRRRRRRR. It was spot on. I tell you those last 10 days were a blur, but it was running again, and it was a great feeling.
I can’t thank everyone enough who pitched in to help with the labor or contributions through parts or donations, this was truly a club effort.
Waiting on the tow !!
ready to head home !!!!
All was going well just about everything I was needing to do was finished. I took off Thursday the 10 and headed up to Henry;s Muffler to get the leaks fixed and replaced the o2/bungs that were leaking pretty bad. Other then driving the cruiser around my block once, after I finished the transfer case, I think this was the first time I had driven Logan’s cruiser. Once I got above 45 the tires smoothed out, I was tooling along about 55mph It was tracking pretty straight, Temperature and oil pressure were good, A/c was working, it was driving nice. it was a steady 20 miles to the shop. they pulled it in and spent about 2.5 hours replacing the O2 bungs and redoing the tailpipe. after the work was done i drove a couple miles stopped and ate some lunch. again everything was fine. I got back on the belt line and was again tooling along at about 55-60, all gauges were where they should be, the exhaust leaks were gone, life was good, was heading to Johnny's so he could start on the “bumper”. about 9 miles down the road. i noticed it wasn't holding the 55 anymore as i climbing a short grade for a bridge. once i got over it made its way back up to 55 for about a 1/2 mile then it just started fading away, the gauges were all looking OK, might have been a hint of some black smoke (running rich) in the rear view but could really tell due to the vibration. after about 1/2 mile i was barely doing 40, i happened to be at an exit so i got off and as i coasted down to the end the cruiser stalled. I tried to start it back up, after a couple stumbles it started but was running rough i put it in gear and it stalled. i let it sit about 10 minutes, put it in low started it again and just made it across the street to a parking lot. first thought was maybe the battery was going. called for some support from the Kids, They arrived battery was 12.7v, but the compression was about 20psi in the 1st cylinder and the plug was real sooty. I called Johnny and asked him to help my out and he towed me back to his house. (in low range gas pedal on the floor, it almost didn’t make it onto the trailer). We pulled all the plugs and ran a compression check, motor seemed to be spinning a little slow and #1, #2, #5and #6 were about 20 PSI, i added a teaspoon of oil and the compression jumped up to 40 psi after about 5 compression cycles. all the fluids look good, no oil in the antifreeze or vice versa. Not much else to do at this point, we were shouldering a major bummer about this time. Anyways we started looking for another 3FE. After several calls we had a couple possibilities. Still bummed we changed gears and decided to go ahead and build the rear bumper, we needed to make some progress. Friday evening and Saturday Johnny, Jonathan, Garrett and I completed the bumper (that the bumper fairies magically provided) and Johnny painted it the follow day. All this while we were waiting on some compression #'s to come back. The following week we were making calls and had no known options locally. We started reaching out to contacts and companies that might have a good engine following leads and finding dead ends. Sure we found parts, but nothing that was known good. Even though people were willing to donate parts it wasn’t known if they were good, and they might not be any better then what we had, which was still sort of unknown at this time. We didn’t want to worry Kenny and Lydia, and we didn’t want word getting back to them, so we kept this very close one way or another we were determined to make this happen.
Then I remembered a toyota guy on nc4x4 who sold me some Tacoma parts a year or so ago talking about an 3FE engine that he pulled for buddy from a cruiser that had an electrical fire several years back. (he still has a transmission and T-case for a 90 fj80 if anyone has a need) His buddy had paid for the engine to put it in his FJ60, but never got around to it, in fact he had never gotten around to even picking up the engine. So it sat on a pallet under a tarp for several years in a field in Sanford. I called him up and he said it was still there, his friend still hadn’t picked it up. I asked if was good and would he buddy part with it. He said he would check and see of the engine would turn and if I wanted compression #’s I could come one down and get them. The next day he called and said the engine turned over. Garrett and I headed out the next morning. We removed the plugs which looked like they had maybe 10 miles ion them. The motor was clean and even the air filter looked great. We put a bore scope in the spark plug holes and the internals were clean with no rust and almost fresh cross hatching. We bolted a starter to it and installed a couple compression gauges to it. It spun free and sounded smooth, pressure was 135# Had some mixed numbers on his gauge it was pretty high. So we dropped back to just one gauge and the compression was less then 10psi difference between cylinders 1-5. cylinder 6 was a little lower, we put a little Kroil oil in #6 let it sit about 10 minutes then tried it again, #6 was now showing good. We figured maybe a stuck ring. After talking for about an hour we left with a good engine ( with the needed pulleys I needed to replace on Logan’s cruiser,
) it was an awesome deal. Dropped it off at Johnny’s and made a parts list. That Sunday Johnny and Allen started unbolting and prepping the engine to come out of the cruiser and Jonathan, Garrett and I got there just in time to help (wink, wink) actually pull it out. Now we just needed some part to put it back in. we decided to take the engine apart and figure what really happened. The #2 piston was eating the side wall of the cylinder and #5 was close behind it. The head gasket was blown out between #1 and #2, as well as #5 and #6. basically it was trying to run on two cylinders. we were kind of surprised the parts of the engine almost fell apart, a small little 1/4" impact driver removed the the rod and main caps along with any other bolt with minimal effort. Johnny placed the parts order online with Fred Anderson Toyota hoping to have them Tuesday morning. Most of the part came in and while Johnny was picking up the parts he was telling Phil the story and next thing Johnny knew he was getting a refund. This was pretty much the spirit of anyone we talked to during this “BaseLine” everyone wanted to help in some manner or fashion. ONSC ROCKS. Ok back to my book. The Parts came in, we put the engine back together, and started the reinstall. We only had 4 of the 8 transmission cross member bolt break off on it. Johnny was able to weld a nut to the stub and extract 3 of them, leaving only 1 for me to drill out and retap. “we got lucky”. Next, made sure everything was connected and tightened. Added fluids and all the other what-nots. Turned the key, after about 20 seconds we heard a shutter of life, then a rumble from the glasspack, then a beautiful PURRRRRRRRRRRRR. It was spot on. I tell you those last 10 days were a blur, but it was running again, and it was a great feeling.I can’t thank everyone enough who pitched in to help with the labor or contributions through parts or donations, this was truly a club effort.
Waiting on the tow !!
ready to head home !!!!
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I could not have said it better. Amazing work guys and gals. The Monks are truly wonderful people.
I'm so proud to be apart of this amazing club! Great job guys! Can I leave the hundy with y'all when I'm in San Diego? lol
Awesome job guys. Wish one of my motors would have been in better shape. If parts are needed in the future let me know as I just parted an entire 80.
I was excited this morning to finally get to drive Logan's 80. The steering and handling was so much tighter than before. I am ready to find some good tires and start going to places with the club that I never thought I could go. Hurricane Creek and STR are first on my list. Thank you guys for all you did.
Thought I would bring to work to show off how nice the 80 looks...and brag about what a great club I am associated with.
I know the tank was not full when they came to pick the cruiser up. Thank you Eric!
Thought I would bring to work to show off how nice the 80 looks...and brag about what a great club I am associated with.
I know the tank was not full when they came to pick the cruiser up. Thank you Eric!
What size tires? I'll keep my eyes open.
The 94 80 series we ran this year got a new set of BFGs before the 36 hour race. The old set may still be available in hickory. I am checking now. 37's. KM2's.
update - Tires are already sold.
update - Tires are already sold.
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HUGE props to everybody involved, but especially Eric and Johnny for their efforts and contributions here. Both of those guys are beyond generous, in every way. Super stoked to have been a small part of this.
Didn't take a ton of pictures of the bumper build, but it was fun, as usual. Plasma cutter makes quick work of the decon. Grinder to clean up the plasma cuts.
Bumper took Friday night, Saturday and an hour Sunday. Not too bad, definitely the fastest yet. Motor blew up the day before doing the bumper on that Thursday, three weeks ago today.
Super glad Eric found the engine at Junkyarddog's place. I used every contact I had, from Albany, NY all the way to Orlando, FL to find an engine. Couldn't find a used 3FE with good compression anywhere, plenty of rebuildable cores though.
Decon of old and busted engine:
We were shocked, but at the same time relieved, to see the headgasket blown in two places, with two fried pistons. It was relieving to see the carnage, at least we were pulling the engine for a good reason!!
New engine went in on the 24th:
Friday we had to weld/drill out 4 of the 8 transmission crossmember bolts, bolt that in, bolt the torque converter along with a few odds and ends. Saturday we did everything else. Painted the valve cover, installed the manifolds:
Bumper took Friday night, Saturday and an hour Sunday. Not too bad, definitely the fastest yet. Motor blew up the day before doing the bumper on that Thursday, three weeks ago today.
Super glad Eric found the engine at Junkyarddog's place. I used every contact I had, from Albany, NY all the way to Orlando, FL to find an engine. Couldn't find a used 3FE with good compression anywhere, plenty of rebuildable cores though.
Decon of old and busted engine:
We were shocked, but at the same time relieved, to see the headgasket blown in two places, with two fried pistons. It was relieving to see the carnage, at least we were pulling the engine for a good reason!!
New engine went in on the 24th:
Friday we had to weld/drill out 4 of the 8 transmission crossmember bolts, bolt that in, bolt the torque converter along with a few odds and ends. Saturday we did everything else. Painted the valve cover, installed the manifolds:
Starting to feel good:
Plugged away till we got it all the rest hooked up and fluids changed:
At that point, we were ready to start it:
Once we knew it was running well, Eric and Garret took it for a lap around the street. Always have to do the inagural hoodless trip after a motor swap
100% done. By this point we were feeling real good.
It was a lot of work, but it was a pleasure. Kenny and Lydia have many more years of trail riding ahead of them with this new engine
:
Plugged away till we got it all the rest hooked up and fluids changed:
At that point, we were ready to start it:
Once we knew it was running well, Eric and Garret took it for a lap around the street. Always have to do the inagural hoodless trip after a motor swap
100% done. By this point we were feeling real good.
It was a lot of work, but it was a pleasure. Kenny and Lydia have many more years of trail riding ahead of them with this new engine
:
Good idea. Just a teaser for attendees......Mickey Thompson is on board as a sponsor and we have a nice gift card in hand for one lucky raffle winner.
What an absolutely amazing story, moreso considering the work put in by you guys in such a short timeframe. TBH this should be immortalized in TT, not just on the forum....
Eric and Johnny will have to add to the list but here is what I know.
Photos:
First drive after baseline.
Custom modifications to the bumper wing.
- Front calipers have been replaced.
- New EBC green pads up front.
- Brakes bled multiple times
- Air conditioning is working
- White primer spots covered in paint
- LED lights installed in the interior
- Alignment done on the front wheels
- New steering tie rod ends
- New exhaust
- Wheel bearing adjustment
- Attempted to fix the shifter solenoid
- New spark plugs
Photos:
First drive after baseline.
Custom modifications to the bumper wing.
I'm so proud of these guys. They all did so much. But I have to take credit for cleaning the seats and fixing the rust on the rear windshield wiper and painting it. Obviously two of the most important things ever. Lol.
Kinda miss having the truck in our driveway.
Kinda miss having the truck in our driveway.
- Thread starter
- #160
- You did the front wipers too didn't you