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got a chevy half ton for free!!!

J

jjzcp

Experienced Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2005
Messages
123
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on the bald a$$ prarie
a while back, i talked about fixing up a old dodge d-50, but once i got the motor out, and took out the oil pan, i found chunks of metal in it, so i decided to move on...(sob). On our farm, we had an old 89 chev that was sitting for a couple of years, and was thought to be trash. I'de decided to fix it up, because i knew that there was nothing too damaged on the motor. First thing i had to do was asses what was rong with it. The only visible damage i could see was the steering column on it was toast, besause when ever i turned the steering wheel the column moved, not the wheels! I then took off the steeriing wheel, and steering cloumn, and drug it home with the tractor.( you may be wondering how i towed it home with no steering wheel on it. If you are, i just conected a chain to the tow hooks in the front of the truck, then conected the other end of the chain to the front end loader of the tractor, and lifted the front end of the truck up, and backed it home.) Once home, i welded an extender rod to the steering wheel, and then welded the other end of the extender rod to the steering shaft. In order to stop the steering shaft from moving side to side, i welded a bearing to the steering shaft, and then to a mount. Once my steering system was in place, i tried to start it up, and sure enough it did, but it only ran for about a week. The fuel pump decided to crap out on me, and in this truck, chevy (the idots), designed the fuel pump in the tank! i don't know if it's like this in all types of truck, and if it is it's very stupid! I say it is stupid because in order to get at the pump, you have to drop the whole fuel tank. Another stupid feature is that the pump is wired inside the tank, and if the uninsulated parts of the posative and negative wires were to touch....BOOM!!! and instantly my A$$ would be GRASS. Fainly, after lowering the fuel tank and fixing/ replacing the fuel pump THREE times, it works, and i have my own truck.
one unique thing about this truck is it has EFI, but also has a carbourator(spelt incorrect). The two fuel injectors sit on top of the two barels of the carbourator!
 
Ah yes, I remember now why I sold my dune buggy. I was always fixing something on it. Granted, driving down dry washes at 80 mph tends to break stuff.
 
It's called 'Throttle Body' fuel injection (TBI), and it's been a standard for many years. I'm s'prized you never saw one before. The 'carb' is really just a throttle body with a butterfly that controls the amount of air entering the engine, so that the computer can determine how much fuel to squirt out from the injectors.
Anyways, do you have any pix of the steering column mod? I'd like to see it.

--T
 
Terry Yager said:
It's called 'Throttle Body' fuel injection (TBI), and it's been a standard for many years. I'm s'prized you never saw one before. The 'carb' is really just a throttle body with a butterfly that controls the amount of air entering the engine, so that the computer can determine how much fuel to squirt out from the injectors.
Anyways, do you have any pix of the steering column mod? I'd like to see it.

--T
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No doubt! I'd like to see the truck as well as the Steering column. When I lived in the country there were plenty of cars that people would give away, but they were obviously done for. And NONE of them were as new as an '89! Good save!

Nathan
 
Growing up onna farm does have it's perks...like access to such things as sh!t-loaders, welding equipment, etc, as well as a few old hulks out in the back-fourty to restore (or just practice on)...

As for the steering column, your description doesn't give me any idea what you're talking 'bout (but I am thinking 'rag-joint')...

--T
 
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Onna Chebby, when they start tearing-up the steering columns, it's usually a symptom, not the root of the problem. What happens is that the front cab-mounts rust-out, and the full weight of the cab drops down onto the steering column. You can usually 'cure' this problem (for a few yearz) by jacking-up the cab from the frame, and shoving in a chunk of 4 x 4 between the cab & the frame, to carry the weight of the cab, without interfering with the steering column.

--T
 
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You know, rebuilding an engine is easy.
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Building an engine iz eazy (if ya have access to the right toolz). It's buying all daPartz that's prohibitive (especially when 'chunks' of daMotor are found in daOilPan...NotAGoodThing...ever)!

--T
 
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All the special tools I needed are:
Motor lift: $70 at harbor freight.
Motor stand: $40 at harbor freight.
Piston ring compressor: $10 at advanced auto.
Ring expander: $12 at advanced auto.
Spring compressor: $20 at advanced auto

I think we have found Terry's sweet spot, motors..lol
 
A bit unrelated, but I'm currently watching a rerun of Pimp My Ride. A girl with a worn-out 1991 Ford Escort gets the revamp. Since I used to own a 1988 Ford Escort, it warms my heart. The team put on a BMW M3 (!) front and tails, but with a different emblem, new Mercedes back lights and of course a lot of other luxury. It looks very much different, and probably confuses a lot of people what kind of car it really is. I always liked the general shape of the old Escort.

Too bad they put a lot of sound system and other luxury into the back seat. It makes the car unusable for transporting large stuff. I remember folding the back seat, and the car would swallow incredible amounts of goods for its general size.
 
alexkerhead said:
All the special tools I needed are:
Motor lift: $70 at harbor freight.
Motor stand: $40 at harbor freight.
Piston ring compressor: $10 at advanced auto.
Ring expander: $12 at advanced auto.
Spring compressor: $20 at advanced auto

I think we have found Terry's sweet spot, motors..lol
Click to expand...

That's no secret. Machinez are still my first love...vintage computin is a secondary substitute for what my body is no longer up to doing...wrenchin'!

Oh, yeah...ya forgot to mention ring groove reamer, cylindar bore ridge remover, cylinder hone, assorted micrometerz, depth guagez, roundness testerz, other precision measurement toolz, etc... (I mean, a good crank mic f'rinstance, can easily run to a C-note or more).

Most of what ya need can usually be rented at your local auto parts emporium for occaisional use, but for doing it wholsale, ya really wanna have your own toolz.

--T
 
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Depending on what the 'chunks' consist of, extensive investment in parts and/or machine-shop expenses are usually called for. Better to overhaul before that becomes necessary.

--T
 
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