Bandit240 Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 I love that old FM radio. Thats the same place i mounted my CB radio back when i was doing alot of travel from SC to TN. Quote Link to comment
mike Posted January 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 My brother is an unemployed student who needed transportation bad and I had seen this thing on Craigslist for a long time, nearly a month, and the price kept going down soooo... I called the guy and he said that it had a new motor but the carb needed adjusted and that he was selling it to pay for adoption fees. So I called my brother and we drove out to Post Falls to check it out and it ran like shite, popping out the carb and unresponsive throttle, body was pretty solid, its got some rust in the front fenders and the battery tray was rusted out. The bumpers got a mild tweak, valence is the same, and the hood has been replaced, other than the paint on the roof and the hood its all original paint. The lights worked and the brakes were solid but pulled a bit. It had an L20 with A87 head a POS header and a hitachi on a l16 pre smog intake. It also has a NICE toolbox in the back. I figured what the hell and the guy came down to $275. I didnt think that there was any way it was going to make it home as it was so I told him that I was going to come back and try and get it running better in the daylight and wed take it home in the morning, I paid him, he gave me the title and I thought it was good. I told my brother on the way home that the guy seemed a bit off and that something about him rubbed me the wrong way. The guy said that he knew nothing about cars... but he was planning on body dropping and 4 linking this thing... he also talked about fixing crap on other rigs... I should have checked it out a little more but Ive noticed that if you fix someones car before they sell it sometimes theyre tempted keep it and the price doesnt go down at all. Regardless I should have pulled the valve cover before paying for it. Next morning we transfer the title, load up the tools, and I robbed the weber and mani off of my KC/field truck project/headache just in case and roll out. We get there and I figured the first thing I would do is check out the cam timing to make sure that its all straight. I pulled the valve cover and got it to TDC and was trying to get my light on the marks to see it when my brother says "is all that shit supposed to be laying in there?" I look and 4 of the rocker arms are laying in the bottom of the head along with the keepers and the top pieces of the valves and springs... I about shit. Had a day to get this thing home and then I see that. By this time it is about 1:00 in the afternoon and the winter days are short so I run back to my place and grab my old A87 smog head off of my KC, it was the only thing on the old motor that was worth keeping and the only reason I did that was that it had a good L20 cam in it. It was dirty as hell though and I had hit outside in the back of the KC with the valve cover on it for about 6 months, I didnt care about it getting dirty or rusty since I wasnt going to use it anyways... I checked it out and wire wheeled the piss out of it and cleaned up the mating surface and figured that It was going to be a temp fix at best but it would work for now. Grabbed some gaskets I had laying around and headed back to Post Falls. The sun was on the horizon when we got there but I had remembered to grab a light and extension cords. It was also getting friggin cold and kind of drizzly... This was going to be fun. I tore it apart while my brother was asking the guys neighbor if he could run an extension cord out to the truck for light. The guys wife wouldnt answer the door... It took a little longer than expected because damn near every bolt was a different size on the intake and exhaust and I didnt have a wobbly to fit them but I got it. The guy came home while I was still taking the head off and walked up to the side of the truck and said about three words till I looked at him and told him what I had found in as conversational a tone as I could get at the time. I asked him if he had a drainpan or something unless he wanted antifreeze and oil all over the street. He went inside got a dishpan and didnt come outside at all after that. When I got it open the block and pistons looked BRAND NEW!!! but there was RTV all over the inside of the timing cover. It had a new chain too. The block didnt have the crack between 2 and 3 either. This made me feel a little better but I was kind of heated still... I slapped it back together and it fired right up, I found a fuel line and a coolant line that I forgot to tighten and after a couple minor adjustments on the carb (didnt need the weber, hitachi works pretty good except it doesnt have a functioning choke) we set out for home. I was going to do a burn out in the guys drive way but figured that it would be my luck that something would brake and there Id be looking like an ass. It made it home without a hitch, and I figured that it would be a good time to see if it was OK so I let her rip. Lit em up HARD through second but I couldnt grab third because the shifter was so sloppy and I didnt want to slam it in. These gears rock!!! A 5 speed may be in the future but Im not loaning him money so that I can make his truck cooler than mine. The best thing is that its a driver, Total cost for truck tax licensing and reg is a hair under $400. Thats about it for now, the pics are kind of shitty but Ill get more up later. Quote Link to comment
Bandit240 Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Damn, what a story. Quote Link to comment
Figbuck Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 That iz Ratsun as hell. Classic story. "he was planning on body dropping and 4 linking this thing" :rollseyes: Quote Link to comment
DatDoug Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Damn I just love stories like that!:D You are a true Ratsuner and 1 hell of a brother:cool: It also shows u how tuff these motors r and how easy they r to get running. Good work and I am looking forward to seeing more pics. Quote Link to comment
mike Posted January 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Ill try and get some pics of it in the daytime, its really a decent little truck and these pics do it little justice. Hes been driving it all over lately. It still needs a few little things and Ive had to fix a few things. It had been sitting for quite a while before the new motor and not run since, I think they tightened all the valves to spec on the cam without turning it to TDC on each piston. So far Ive done the hot start relay (THANK YOU SLODAT!!! This should be a mandatory upgrade), changed the starter and halfassed the top of the carb to stay on. It had an intermittent vacuum leak I couldnt figure out, I finally shook the carb to see if anything was really loose. Turns out all the bolts holding the top on were stripped out but everything else functioned. I stripped some fine speaker wire and put a couple of strands down the bolt hole and put the screw in, tightened it snug and its good to go. $11 bucks for all of it, starter was a freebie off of a parts motor. Still needs a choke (got a couple parts carbs), exhaust (Ive got a roundport mani off of the same motor) and I might put on my spare matchbox dizzy if the one thats on it craps out I might charge him for that though;) Its got a crack in the windshield, the shifter is still sloppy (trying to find time to fix it when hes not driving it and Im not busy is tough) and it needs the floor plate over the shifter replaced, which might cost 5 bucks at a yard. I dont mind helping him out, aside from being my brother hes had a hard string of luck for the past couple years starting with a 30 some foot fall at work (he was a steel worker) that should have killed him. Hes finally coming around and its worth it all to see him making progress. Quote Link to comment
Bandit240 Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Its great that your helping your bother out like that. My sisters would rather walk than drive a car that is older than them. I tend not to help family out anymore since a shitty dealing with my uncle. I sold him my Sentra for what i paid for it($350). Well he never paid for it and never titled it into his name either, just keep running on my expired tag. Well the timing belt popped and the car ended up sitting in the woods behind my house for almost a year. MY 240SX died, so i fixed the Sentra. Well as i was putting it back together, he walks back to the shop(lives 3 trailers down) and says thanks for fixing my car. I gave him this pissed off look that pretty much said, walk away or wear the wrench thats in my hand. Well needless to say he dug up the title from his mess of a house and tried to go get it transfered to his name. I had already filed for lost/stolen title so they took the one he had and shredded it. Hes been pissed at me ever since, but i say fuck him. Heres the car sitting next to the woods. Quote Link to comment
510er Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 hey mike we should have a spokane datto meet up... if there isnt one going on already that no one told me about :( There are atleast a dozen truck owners in the area. maybe a monthly get together and BS Quote Link to comment
420n620 Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 if you guys do have a meet, give me a heads up in advance and I'll see if I can make it up that way. I'm only a 2hr drive away from Spokane, one way that is.. :cool: Quote Link to comment
mike Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 A spokane/west side meet up would be pretty damn cool. When and where? Quote Link to comment
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