Builds Merl the Pearl Build (1 Viewer)

[Ecliff5]

That not the correct Grill for that year, It's a 91-94 grill you can see that it dose fit the lower valance correctly. You can see the gap on both sides.
If you decide to put your correct fitting grill in and want to sell it I have a 94 that it would fit in perfectly.

Yeah, that gap is a little annoying but the TWIN CAM badge makes up for it. Look how cool it is! Lol sometimes I pretend is says TURBO. Which helps because the stock exhaust whistles. I’m keeping the collectors edition grill with the black chrome emblem if I ever feel like switching it up.

 

[Ecliff5]

The first thing I needed to buy for Merl was a new set of keys and a fob. The key it came with was hardly a key anymore. Amazed that it still worked. Then I got to work swapping parts. I started with the tires, switched them over and then moved Shannon into her final resting place in the garage. I had put about 30k miles on Shannon before the new engine went in, then about 12k miles on the new engine and here she was, parked in the garage getting torn down. Sad moment. Pour one out for Shannon. The next day I swapped over some interior stuff, dash carpet and sleeping platform. Making Merl… Merl. Two tone grey brown interior starting to take shape lol.

 

[Ecliff5]

Next up was fixing the drivers window on Merl. Shannon officially become a parts rig at this point. I swapped over the window motor and the drivers switch panel. Then I got tired of looking at Merl without a rear bumper so I started cutting her up for the 4x4 labs bumper. Went with a much cleaner cut this time around, who reads the instructions anyway.

 

[Ecliff5]

Got the 4x4 labs bolted up and figured I would continue working on the rear end. Started swapping over the dobinsons upper control arms, land tank extended lowers, delta bracket. Taking each part off of Shannon and then installing it onto Merl. I also tossed in some new land tank swaybar links and fresh oem bushings. Then I went to town with fluid film. First I scrubbed the entire frame clean, inside and out and used 6+ cans of fluid film with the 360 degree nozzle for inside the frame rails. It’s February still, the roads are salty as ****, she hasn’t left my house. I refused to drive her on the roads until she was covered in fluid film.

 

[Ecliff5]

Once Merl was road worthy and protected from road salt I started putting some miles on her. She had 228k miles on her when I got her and she ran great. Leaks oil but that’s just more rust protection. Plus I wasn’t too worried about the engine since I had a brand new one sitting in Shannon. At that point I really started to dig into Shannon and just start putting parts on the shelf. I removed the diffs with the 4.88 and arbs, kept the front and rear axle shafts and driveshafts as spares. Removing the long side rear axle shaft was, let’s say fun. I had seen it in videos but then it happened to me. I was pulling the axle shaft out and then there was a wall that appeared. Shaft still in axle, and the flange hitting the wall, well s***. Had to put the tires back on and Jack up the truck from the axle and push it over enough to get the axle out. Then push it back so I could walk around both sides. Started stripping the arb compressor, dash switches, CDL switch and such.

 

[mudgudgeon]

As a fellow car guy, I feel your small garage pain!

I want to redo rear wheel bearings, but in an apartment garage, that means the garage wall is in the way for me too.

I'd grease and wrap those spare axles etc to keep damp air off raw steel parts.

 

[Ecliff5]

As a fellow car guy, I feel your small garage pain!

I want to redo rear wheel bearings, but in an apartment garage, that means the garage wall is in the way for me too.

I'd grease and wrap those spare axles etc to keep damp air off raw steel parts.

Yeah I’m just glad I had a garage that could fit the cruiser in. Had to bring the tires down to 2psi but made it work. My driveway is also very short and steep leading up to the garage. Neither ideal but can fit two 80s so I consider that a win. Each come with their struggles lol.

Yeah, not a bad idea. I left them greasy and oily for now. The garage is a mess and needs a good bit of organizing. I keep a dehumidifier going in the garage which makes a big difference.

 

[Ecliff5]

Now comes the engine removal. I had my mechanic build and install my new engine into Shannon. I didn’t have the space at the time when I lived in Brooklyn. So this was my first time ever tackling a job like this. I went with the slow and methodical method, which ended up happening pretty quickly. I would work for a couple hours after work disconnecting things like the radiator, fuel lines, starter, battery, air box, and such. I took apart the entire front end of the 80 to not have to raise the engine too high. My garage was filling up quick and turning into a cluttered mess. I had to stop, buy a wire rack shelf to organize and reset. I kept the engine fully intact with the wire harness attached, didn’t want to mess with anything since it is all new. I also pulled just the engine separate from the trans due to garage space. I pulled the harness through the firewall and once everything was disconnected it was just the trans bolts and the engine mounts. I removed the engine mounts and lowered the engine down onto the frame mounts to reach the upper trans bolts, those were a real pain. Once everything was unbolted I hooked up the engine hoist and went for it. I was by myself and had never removed an engine before but before I knew it, the engine was out and I was kind of in shock. Lol.

 

[Ecliff5]

One positive of not having AC was removing the compressor and condenser was easy peasy. Next was the exhaust. I had a magnaflow downpipe with single cat and a custom 2.5” stainless over the frame to some muffler I don’t remember. It was welded on the truck so for the moment the muffler was stuck, I didn’t want to cut it if I didn’t have to yet.

 

[Ecliff5]

Wire harness plugs at the ECU behind the glove box. I even left the heater hoses and heater control valve attached to the engine because that was new also lol. So she was heavy. Oh, I also didn’t even drain the oil haha. Since that had like 300 miles on it =)

 

[family80]

Pulling a motor isn’t terrible but it is a lot of work and can be intimidating for a first timer. But now you have it done it’s no big deal.

 

[Ecliff5]

The moment of separation. Anxiety was high at this point. I didn’t know if I had enough space to get this thing out. I didn’t take the hood off, I couldn’t roll the truck back by myself. I still had coils in which made the truck get taller when the weight of the engine came out. I dropped all the air out of the front tires and prayed that would be enough.

 

[Ecliff5]

She was coming out smoothly, it was tight at the hood, close to the oil pan. Then I ran out of space to pull the engine straight out. At this point it got sketchy. I had to rotate the engine hoist 90 degrees in a tight space with the engine as high as I could while fishing it out between the front clip. She was out! And I didn’t die in the process. Fun stuff!

 

[Ecliff5]

I couldn’t get the engine onto the stand without help. I needed more space so @PFRELENG & @GX DAVE came over to help me push Shannon backwards so we had some working space to get the engine onto the stand. Which felt more sketchy than pulling it. Then I removed the transmission and transfer case. I extended the engine hoist out all the way and hooked a chain to the bell housing, put a floor Jack under the tcase and slowly lowered each one a little bit at a time onto my creeper so I could roll it around. I had to Jack the truck up after to get it underneath the frame rails.

 

[Ecliff5]

Once the drivetrain was removed and I didn’t need to access anything from underneath anymore I pulled the coils and lowered her down onto bumpstops. Then I started pulling flares and all the collectors edition badges and molding. Merl didn’t come with flares so those may get painted and installed on Merl.

 

[Ecliff5]

Merl needed some love. She needed some new drive belts. The rear hatch lock wasn’t working and the rear wiper motor was acting funny. I gutted Shannon’s rear hatch and swapped over the guts. All good there now. Tossed in some new belts, got bored and decided to try on the collectors edition molding and ordered up some 4500 quarter panel decals from Australia. Also installed some Delta 3L radius arms with new bushings and hardware.

 

[Ecliff5]

Merls first camping trip to the Adirondacks. Then she got treated to a new windshield with oem gasket. Found a cool bridge.

 

[family80]

I see you used the 3l arms what is the lift they are paired with?

 

[Ecliff5]

I see you used the 3l arms what is the lift they are paired with?

Yep, Delta 3L arms paired with OME 2" Heavy 850X front 863X rear, Fox 2.0 shocks. Dobinsons front adjustable panhard. Landtank extended rear lowers, dobinsons adjustable uppers, Delta panhard bracket, front and rear swaybars with fresh bushings. I have not had an alignment done since the delta arms were installed so I don't know the caster numbers but it drives great now.

 

[family80]

Yep, Delta 3L arms paired with OME 2" Heavy 850X front 863X rear, Fox 2.0 shocks. Dobinsons front adjustable panhard. Landtank extended rear lowers, dobinsons adjustable uppers, Delta panhard bracket, front and rear swaybars with fresh bushings. I have not had an alignment done since the delta arms were installed so I don't know the caster numbers but it drives great now.

Thanks for the detailed info. I like the build I’m going to be starting on ours this winter. Following along on yours for inspiration