That's hilarious... I can see myself also just sitting talking to myself about the issues I have on the car I'm working on
Well, I had a little personal emergency come up, and had to take off quickly without letting the truck warm up........and this is what happens. Breaking the shaft is a pretty common issue on these once lift and spring pressure get up into the hefty side as the end rocker is just hanging out there floating unsupported. I knew I was borderline. On my way to the emergency, I could hear the lifter start ticking but kept going as I had to get where I was going, hoping it'd do the old self healing once I got there....No luck, as afterward sitting at a stoplight BOOM and started running on 7 and making all kinds of sweet racket. Oil pressure was good, so I hurried up and limped it home. Pulled the cover and found this loveliness.......Oh, well, the fix is cheap and relatively easy in the form of billet rocker stands on some spare shafts I had, plus I won't have to worry at high RPM anymore. Figured while I had it tore down, I might as well do the aluminum water pump, radiator, and oh, yeah, finally install the EFI.....this is where I'm at as of last night. This body style of pickup has a real nice shelf in front of the firewall seemingly made for a Fuel Command Center 2 to sit on .........so far so good, nice easy install.....Oh, and if it isn't obvious, I like aluminum. A lot.....It's funny to me that my $1500 beater has much more exotic and trick stuff than even my Mach 1 or Riviera........
The beater is fuel injected! Spent the weekend finishing up wiring and hose routing, then took it for a couple hundred mile drive to tune it in. So far, I'm extremely happy. Very easy to set up and fine tune with the controller. Very snappy on the bottom like it has a 500 cfm carb and screams on top like an 850 Double Pumper. Even though I was beating it like a rented mule, it still got 12 mpg, which before I could get 11 if I drove it gingerly. I expect 14 or 15 when driving like a normal person. Of course, the p/s pump blew out on the drive, so I got a new one of those and decided to install a remote p/s cooler that I put in-line with the factory cooler as the fluid was getting pretty hot during races last year. You can see it on the front of the radiator in the first pic on this post.....First race is this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Still have to put my new Detroit Tru-Trac in the rear diff and get my race belts installed. Going to be fairly busy after work this week, but that's always the way it goes.
Truetrac going in....should've been done but got the wrong carrier bearings. No biggie, just need to put those on, set side to side, and pop it back in tomorrow night. I don't drink on Mondays, so a beer will have to wait.....and yes, there are jackstands on the frame. The trans under the bumper is just a joke....
All done. Short test drive last night and all felt good. Trial by fire this weekend..... I've got a dentist appointment at 9 this morning for a root canal 45 miles away on the rez (I'm part native), so I think I'll take the truck. If we screwed something up, I'll miss my appointment.....and that'd be a shame......
Hey, thanks Jerry. This is my first major procedure since having the wisdom teeth pulled, but that was 23 years ago. Not nervous, but not excited either haha.
All good on both counts....Root canal really isn't nearly as bad as everybody makes it out to be. In and out in an hour and a half, truck ran good, no issues on the rear end or EFI....That Truetrac is AMAZING!!!! Has been sprinkling off and on, so I gave it a few roundy round burnout tests. Starting off around a corner, the inside wheel will slip just a few inches, then you'll feel the outside wheel start gripping and it actually pulls the truck around the corner. I had read these were the ticket for twisty type racing, and now I can see why....it's the cat's a$$. Can't wait to get it on the race course.
Lucas! You cracked me up with the picture of the rockers sitting on the kitchen counter, but then I remembered you're single. My wife would have killed me!!! Sounds like you are going to have a blast this weekend! I hope you have GREAT news to report to your sponsors.... Have fun! John
Thanks John! Yeah pretty funny, I actually put them together after measuring while sitting on the couch drinking a beer in front of the TV, and they were cleaned in the dishwasher in the pic. Hopefully all goes well this weekend, you just never know with new parts and a new set-up, but it sure feels like it's going to be good. The truck worked so well the last couple race seasons I was almost afraid to change anything but you can't go faster with the same stuff!
If I attempted sponsorship they’d probably send me Hefty Trash bags,a rake and a leaf blower for all the rust! Sweet lookin truck Lucas! Good luck buddy!
