Nile Resurrection (3 Viewers)

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ewurt

ewurt

Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Threads
6
Messages
29
Location
Yakima, WA
Found this gem in the Nile Valley outside Yakima and there was no question it was coming home. Its a 73 with original F paired to the 3 spd, rust in the usual places and of course we couldn't get it started. Seller towed it out of its hole it had lived in for years and had great faith the brakes still worked bc he towed it down the hill in the background with his pickup.
PO had the seats redone and they look great, feel like i have to use the bench now. Milk crate is a solid plan C.
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Plan for the rig is to get what I have up and running, drive it and then modify to my use as I go. I'm mostly running logging roads and mild trails so I don't need a mud truck or a rock crawler. I'll keep the F if it runs again and 3 spd. Driving across the state would be nice but with the old drivetrain I'm not convinced that would be a fun trip. 4 hours at 70 mph is 5 at 55. Guess its not bad enough to drop in an R2.8.
I've read through some great builds Slow 71, Fly by night, and several others that have been a source of ideas and know how that I'm incredibly thankful for. When I bought two floor pans from bobm he told me to write up something, pretty sure it won't be nearly as innovative as the others, and I'm open to all advice.
 
In for a penny in for a pound, found a 72 parts rig a few hours away. My 16 yo son at the time drove me and the flatbed over to the west side through I5 traffic and got this home in a day. It has 5 factory rims, a disc brake front axel, the whole rig was full of 4x, 5x,and 6x parts, and most importantly it has the tailgate handle. From what I have read what I paid for the parts car would have been equal to the rear handle. The guy who sold it to me is a LC guy through and through. Used to race 40s in some fashion and has a show quality 45 in his shop. That was a fun tour.
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After charging the battery checking the oil etc, we got the 73 running. Blew out a mouse Hilton from the exhaust upon start, drove it a mile or so to pave spun around and made it home, that was about all she had. Sputtering pretty bad. Ran a compression test.
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Pulled the valve cover.
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Head to the machine shop. I'm lucky to have a legend of a machinist here in town. When I did my 40 I found him, and he has owned several himself. This guy is amazing.
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Every seal on this thing was wet, so it was an easy call at this point to yard the rest out, patch it closed with gaskets and see how far she goes.
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Too late. UPS knows me well. Thankfully my UPS guy is an old college football buddy so we catch up when he comes out, or he writes love notes or commentary on all my boxes. Plus hes into wheeling, works well.
 
On the first drive my son drove. I hopped in and found a slight problem. I guess being 6'6" wasn't in the original plan from Japan. On the 40 I flipped the bracket and my Corbeau seat is butted up to the wheel well in the back. I still have to roll the window down a touch to clear the handle.
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With the motor out of the way, a new axel to go in, and a questionable existing suspension I tore the front apart. Cleaned the frame, and went through the POR15 system to coat as far back as the rear bell housing mount.
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MudDauber said:
West Coast guys get all the choicest piglets...that "parts pig" looks like a keeper, jeeze...and it's oranch! Both are very nice finds, good work, moar pictures please :)
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Yeah I was pretty stoked to find that, all for $1000. No motor/trans but a great repower rig when I see whats left over.
I took my two teenage boys over to Lewiston to tour LCSC diesel tech program. My wifes cousin is one of three instructors, and during the tour my son pipes up "hey dad a 55!" Sure enough it was his, and we talked diesel swaps for quite awhile. Cost would likely be parts only and have the students do the labor. I did offer up any parts off the rig to him as he builds up his 72.
 
Went through the front knuckles, bearings, seals, etc. just in case, pretty sure they weren't leaking. POR 15, new discs, calipers, suspension, tie rods/ends. Went through the steering box and resealed it. Oil that came out was pretty bad. Seems like I got it back together ok, it turns lock to lock. I'm thinking of the electric power steering, but the price barrier is there. I added a hydraulic kit to the 40 and it works well, maybe I'll go that route. I haven't cracked open the front diff yet, the rear you'll see in the pictures that follow needs a pinion seal at a minimum. My 40 was making a mean sqeak/whine when under acceleration, I'll post those pictures here as I'm currently figuring out how to slap that back together and since they are the same as 55 I'll post them and let you know how I did.
I'm just getting to all this now bc I have some down time on vacation, but I have been saving up my pictures for about a year meaning to post this stuff.
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On to the rear suspension. The kit from Cruiser Outfitters gave me pause as I wanted to think through the rear hanger move. Turns out I was overthinking, it was pretty straight forward. I guess I'll see what the feedback is, but I thought it went well. I left the rivet stubs on the frame for reference of where they were for now. The rear hanger is just bolted on with Overland Metric hardware. I'd like to gusset the frame and run a bead of weld around it. I guess I just left it bolted until I made sure it was correct. Weld through primer is sealing it up for now.
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One of the boys brought home a free XJ, dead turd taking up one stall in a tight shop. At least I found a use for the sticker Cruiser Outfitters sent me. He still hasn't noticed it.
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Attention turned to the rear axel. Seals, axel bearings, wheel cylinders. When I opened the diff inspection cover it had sucked in some water so there is minor surface rust, and PO had hammered a mushroom on the pin. A little trickier to remove. I just put it back together as is for now so I can roll it around. I knew the 40 needed more attention on the rear diff and I want to get that rolling before summer is over. Start with one and see how I do. I really want to lock it up, but I'm unsure of what I want. I was thinking of doing a Lock Right by Powertrax. Any feedback?
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One issue I've had is that both the inspection cover and the diff studs come out when removing the nut. I was looking for new hardware, and haven't found much on a quick search. If not easy to find I'll just work through the crust and clean them up to reinstall.
 
Here is the stance right now.
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I want to get the firewall and inner fender coated with Lizard skin before I install the motor, but that means I need to get the cancer surgery done. Finding clean margins is tough. I'm going with 3x3 steel .125 wall tube for the lower. I've cut a 45 deg bevel on each end to give a little more tire space.
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The critters went crazy in this thing, and left the place a wreck.

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When I weld in the 3x3 tubing I was thinking of getting all the way back to the body support and weld to that? Not much left there anyway. The plates that are bolted in the picture above serve what purpose? Seems like they were there for assembly purposes but don't provide much function after that?
 
Here is the top side of the rust. I've got a rough cut out done of the floor pan, no pic, and the bobm pan ready to go. Just need to get the spot welds off the rear support piece. The body mount bolt is pretty thin from rust. Whats everyone doing? buying a whole kit from Cruiser Outfitters?
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Small pinion bearing out of the 40, loose as hell. Nut was not very tight.
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Pinion and inner bearing
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I took the pinion and the carrier to the machine shop and they pressed bearings for me. I need to finish fabbing the tool to hold the flange in place and see what the preload is.
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We headed over to Whidbey for the Fourth and crab opening and I happened to search up CL and found a gem of an 8274 in working order for $300. This will go on the 40.
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