I say adopted rather than purchased because, well... I've only had it for a a bit over a month, but I've already fallen in love with it.
To give you a good idea of what I'm dealing with, it's a silver/grey maroon trimmed '82 (haven't VIN verified but that's what the title says), with 85,000mi... I bought it from the original owner who did routine maintenance, but is now 80 years old and doesn't have time to keep it going.
It starts, it runs, it drives, and it's, honestly, in great shape for it's age.
I've been told the engine was recently (relative to what?) rebuilt, the transfer case redone (I have two big heavy cardboard boxes full of stuff that relates to that, came with the car), and the front suspension recently replaced.
It has a bit of a sag in the rear, and the exhaust is also about to fall off, so I'm not at anywhere near 10" ground clearance. More like 7".
It has the optional gauge cluster, and I think I have some loose grounds I've yet to investigate. The battery and vacuum gauges only work if you tap on them.
The gas gauge is terrible, bounces around like crazy, but I've learned to read it, and will likely ignore it until I have to, if necessary, replace the tank, if that's where the problem is located.
I've been reading and reading and reading some more, this place is amazing... but now I have a few questions:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
First, I have a very bad oil leak, a quart every two days... that I think is either entirely, or at least mostly, just the plastic valve cover and or the gasket (which has been replaced twice with OEM replacement in the past, apparently).
Moments ago I ordered an aluminum replacement one that comes with gaskets and everything, by the looks of it.
It looks just like all of the ones everyone was talking about... I got it for $138, including shipping to Alaska.
I hope it's the right one, and I'm not looking forward to tapping holes if I have to, which seems quite likely... Although, from a precursory examination of it, cover on, I don't see where the guide rods that need to be replaced with bolts would be, I might have tapped holes all the way around.... I don't even know that it's the original head.
It's sort of... bluish green, is that fairly standard?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
If I'm correct, and I'll take pictures for you guys later, I have a holley remanufactured carb... and I want to do the ECM Test bypass, because I've checked, and it's not been done.
Is there anything I need to know involving the carburetor during/after the bypass? Does the part about removing the stepper motor and setting the needles apply to me? I've never owned a carbureted vehicle and I'm a bit lost... and frustrated that I can't identify the one I have, if that even matters.
I'm going to set the timing at the same time, since if I'm understanding correctly, the bypass is likely to have a drastic change in the way my fuel and ignition systems function, by routing the ignition module directly to the distributor and removing the carb from the equation, correct?
This is going to allow the carburetor to work like a carburetor is supposed to, correct?
I've never seen my rpms go above 2.5k, is this normal? I stall sometimes leaving my driveway, and feel very little throttle response up hills... feels like it's flooding or choking on the fuel, I'm hoping bypassing the computerized stuff and tuning the carb will help a bit.
I believe I have successfully located the correct wires to splice, and I don't see any issues with that part of the concept at this point.
Are there vacuum lines that can be/will need to be removed at this point?
I'd like to sort out this... "nest".
I've never owned a vehicle with so many vacuum lines, but I'm trying to figure it all out.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
I live in Alaska, and we have very lenient regulations here... I'm not planning on removing the EGR, and I'm going to keep the catalytic convertor (lots of exhaust work needs to be done, leaks everywhere, but it's going to be a daily driver and I have a conscience.), but are there any other cali smog related items I can delete? I'd like to simplify the vacuum stuff down to the minimum necessary, mostly because I'm unfamiliar with it and it all scares the heck out of me, honestly.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
I've heard tell of "add a leaf" modications to the rear, but there is this thing on is it the same, functionally?
LINKS TO ONLINE AUCTION SITES ARE NOT ALLOWED
If I do decide to go higher than stock ride height, it won't be more than an inch or two, this thing will be a snow beast... If I understand correctly, I shouldn't run into any major issues with the rear, correct?
The front, I think, is sitting right about where it should...
Also, I know this question is probably asked all the time, but I can't find much for solid answers...
What is the max tire size I can squeeze in without losing much turn radius or having to cut the wheel wells?
Max size for the 15"? 16"? Let me know what you're running.
I'm thinking about going for a bit more positive offset, so the wheelbase is just a bit wider.... it would be winter tires, I'm not worried about the caps fitting.
I'm looking at used Jeep rims with the same bolt pattern, I might go 16's if I can find some tires that will fit well.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
I've heard about or maybe ran across a post about using some bailing wire or some such thing, externally, to bypass the vacuum controlled select drive and make it no longer "stop to engage" so it can be shift on the fly by forcing a flywheel permanently out or some such thing , is this simple? Is this a terrible idea?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm in love with the front winch bumper that eaglefreek fabbed up, did he ever relinquish measurements of any sort?
My dad used to build boats, and he says he'll help me weld one together...
I guess I need to get the winch first and build it up around that, but I was wondering if he ever let any measurements slip.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
This model is a roof rack delete, I'm looking into permanently mounting rails to the roof, has anyone else done this?
The four corners are quite solid, and I think it will hold up well, I don't like the clamp on racks.
I want to get a large basket, and keep a full size spare and a few other things up there, nothing too heavy though.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
At this point, I'm going to tackle the valve cover as soon as it arrives, and the bypass directly afterwards...
What's next?
Topic: I've adopted an Eagle (Read 2455 times)