Meet Lucille - A '74 Crusty Back Road Cruiser - Turbo 3RZ W56 Swapped

[Fj moneypit]

Lovin this build

 

[cbmontgo]

Beautiful 40. What plate did you use to mount your 8274? Is that simply welded to the factory bumper or is there anything behind it and tied into the frame?

Thanks.

Actually, it is a JT Outfitters bumper, which comes with the mounting plate welded on.

An 8274 looks so natural on a 40. Lucille will look great.

 

[middlecalf]

Lovin’ the inventing in this build. That tailgate is great! What plasma cutter you using?

 

[yotadude520]

She's looking good!

And hey, don't beat yourself on the carb rebuild. Those holley's are not easy!

 

[bestfromnw]

That is one big project! I wish you luck

 

[Lucille]

Lovin’ the inventing in this build. That tailgate is great! What plasma cutter you using?

Thanks. It’s a Hypertherm Powermax 1000.

 

[Lucille]

I filled in the gaps of the tailgate yesterday and skinned the backside with a panel from another first gen mini truck tailgate. Notice the stamping almost matches the stamping along the tub. Now i just need to finish weld it all out.

 

[Lucille]

since i still cant get the gauges to work, i decided to run some temporary mechanical gauges that i picked up from Summit Racing cheap.

I drilled and tapped the block to receive the 1/8" NPT fitting and ran the oil line to the gauge. Temp reading is taken from the lower half of the thermostat housing in the factory provided hole.

As you can see Lucille has great oil pressure. It reads 45psi at warm idle and pushes 60 under acceleration. Temp was 150 after 15 minutes of idling. In the pic, this was taken after 10 minutes of spirited driving. It would almost hit 180, then quickly go back down to 170ish. If these numbers are correct, then i think i have my cooling issues solved. The mount is temporary and just shoved into the radio slot.

I also took apart my blinker/flasher. As you can see, its surprisingly very clean inside. Does anything look out of place to you? My turn signals still do not flash, but my flashers do when pulled. Im starting to think its the selector on the steering column.

In this pic, you can see the contact to the bottom left. Should they be touching? The other contact was when i pulled this thing.

Also, my new to me welded wheels finally came in and are headed to the powdercoater today.

 

[Honger]

This is a very cool build. I love seeing old crusty rigs reborn like this. Well done man.

 

[Lucille]

This is a very cool build. I love seeing old crusty rigs reborn like this. Well done man.

Thank you for the kind words. It’s been a very fun challenge.

 

[yotadude520]

since i still cant get the gauges to work, i decided to run some temporary mechanical gauges that i picked up from Summit Racing cheap.

I drilled and tapped the block to receive the 1/8" NPT fitting and ran the oil line to the gauge. Temp reading is taken from the lower half of the thermostat housing in the factory provided hole.

As you can see Lucille has great oil pressure. It reads 45psi at warm idle and pushes 60 under acceleration. Temp was 150 after 15 minutes of idling. In the pic, this was taken after 10 minutes of spirited driving. It would almost hit 180, then quickly go back down to 170ish. If these numbers are correct, then i think i have my cooling issues solved. The mount is temporary and just shoved into the radio slot.

I also took apart my blinker/flasher. As you can see, its surprisingly very clean inside. Does anything look out of place to you? My turn signals still do not flash, but my flashers do when pulled. Im starting to think its the selector on the steering column.

In this pic, you can see the contact to the bottom left. Should they be touching? The other contact was when i pulled this thing.

Also, my new to me welded wheels finally came in and are headed to the powdercoater today.

Always a great feeling to see good oil pressure on an old rig - especially one with Lucille's past! I think since you already went through the effort to tap the block with 1/8 thread just to permanently have a gauge cluster in there. Some people say they look tacky, but you can't beat accurate gauges.

I just installed some mechanical VDO gauges in my 85 Ford...and was blown away when I had 0 Oil pressure at idle! Put on my cheapie Bosch gauge and it read 15 PSI at idle...needless to say nowadays they're all cheap gauges so might as well go with what's cheap and works..I've got some SunPro gauges ready to go in now - they've always worked well for me!

 

[Lucille]

I’ll probably end up making a panel for them to go in the radio slot. I

Always a great feeling to see good oil pressure on an old rig - especially one with Lucille's past! I think since you already went through the effort to tap the block with 1/8 thread just to permanently have a gauge cluster in there. Some people say they look tacky, but you can't beat accurate gauges.

I just installed some mechanical VDO gauges in my 85 Ford...and was blown away when I had 0 Oil pressure at idle! Put on my cheapie Bosch gauge and it read 15 PSI at idle...needless to say nowadays they're all cheap gauges so might as well go with what's cheap and works..I've got some SunPro gauges ready to go in now - they've always worked well for me!

I will probably make a panel for them and stick them in the vacant radio slot. I’ll also get a Bluetooth mini amp from amazon and get some tunes in her before it’s all set and and done. I don’t want to cut the dash up.

 

[Dagha Boy]

Maybe... And I'm no expert you have low wattage globes in your indicators and insufficient draw to trigger the flasher unit when power goes to just one side. Plug it in and pull the flasher and you will be able to see it working. If not, just get a more modern replacement for less than a $.

 

[Lucille]

Maybe... And I'm no expert you have low wattage globes in your indicators and insufficient draw to trigger the flasher unit when power goes to just one side. Plug it in and pull the flasher and you will be able to see it working. If not, just get a more modern replacement for less than a $.

My flashers work fine. Indicators blink as they should when the flasher is pulled. Its the turn signals that dont do anything when i pull up or down on the stalk on the steering column. But yeah, Ill probably replace the flasher unit with a modern one to eliminate that as a potential issue.

 

[Lucille]

My new wheels were powder coated last week. I got back from offshore and had the tires changed out and took Lucille on a her farthest trip yet. About 30 miles round trip. Fasted speed was 63mph. Plenty of power but the front end still needs some work. I have a feeling its the lack of leaf spring bushings in the front. I ordered a new set from Cruiser Corps.

Shiner loved the ride.

I used Nolen's recipe to clean the years of filth and oxidation off the paint. I also used some GoofOff and took off some of the paint the previous owner laid down. You can see how much white is still under the red on the bezel. Notice the OG vintage 1974 license plates i bought on Ebay and had legally registered for Lucille. A nice touch IMO.

As i mentioned before, i am going to replace the front leaf spring bushing and see if that makes an improvement in the ride. At 50-55mph, it rides pretty smooth. Its just any faster than that and it shakes a little.

I also drove it yesterday to my parents house to take my mom for some lunch and as i stopped and cut it off, it backfired through the carb pretty bad. This has never happened before, and not it wont idle at all. I can give it some gas and keep it at 1500rpm and it will run, but as soon as i let off, it dies. Before it would idle all day long without issue. I changed the fuel filter with little improvement. I ordered a new OG (replica) fuel pump from Cruiser Corps as well to get rid of the cheap electric pump, which i fear is the problem. Not enough fuel pressure to supply fuel at idle, and only enough when pressing the gas. The carb is new so hopefully i didnt mess it up.

 

[Lucille]

To update the thread some. I replaced the bushings in the front leafs and still had the vibes at 55ish mph. Took the wheels off the front to get them balanced and my tire guy said both wheels are bent. Something like 20oz of weights to balance them. So i need to order two more for the front and them get them powdercoated to match. So if youre keeping count, thats 4 bent wheels and over $400 in wasted powder coating. Yay me.

I also got my 8274 mounted using my @powthief19 mounting kit. Went together rather smoothly. The 8274 is a finishing touch.

 

[pigmony]

That wheel situation is so frustrating!

 

[cbmontgo]

I am sure that you know this, but Super Swampers are damn near impossible to balance and vibrate badly at certain speeds (at least that's my take after running three different sets of them). Could be part of the issue. They are certainly an acquired taste.

 

[powthief19]

To update the thread some. I replaced the bushings in the front leafs and still had the vibes at 55ish mph. Took the wheels off the front to get them balanced and my tire guy said both wheels are bent. Something like 20oz of weights to balance them. So i need to order two more for the front and them get them powdercoated to match. So if youre keeping count, thats 4 bent wheels and over $400 in wasted powder coating. Yay me.

I also got my 8274 mounted using my @powthief19 mounting kit. Went together rather smoothly. The 8274 is a finishing touch.

Let’s see some more pics of how the bumper support went together!

 

[Lucille]

Been a while since i updated the thread. Over the weekend i took Lucille on her first over the road long distance test. A 100 mile round trip to Colorado Bend State park in Bend Texas. My buddy and his wife, along with their pups, took his vintage Cherokee Chief and CJ-5 out to the park. We camped, fished, cooked some red meat, made s'mores and ice cream around the fire. We did some mild wheeling. I actually put Lucille in low range and cruised around the park roads/trails. Fun was had by all.

I did have some issues though. My starter is on its way out. It sparks when i turn the key to start. I few ideal placed blows with a blunt object got it to turn over. Other than that Lucille ran and drove great. Top speed was 62 mph on the roads to the park. Cant wait to continue using the rig on future outings.

Pics.
The CJ was flat-towed behind the Chief.