1990 Montero V8 project

[Toasty]

Man tons of talent, cool to see. Did you replace the starter in the 2UZ? I assume you the timing belt and valve cover gaskets. Love the pics!

Yeah, new Denso starter and alternator and completely resealed, all new timing, water pump. Everything has been gone through top to bottom, only thing not done was removing the heads. Should be good for a log while.

 

[EpicPlanet]

Any plans to address the rust?

 

[Toasty]

Any plans to address the rust?

Yeah, most of it grinds right off and for as scaly as it looks it's not terrible. On the frame it just needs a grind/wire wheel'ing and some paint. There are a few spots on the body that need actual repair, again nothing major. I got a product called "Rust Mort", I used it on my fuel tank and it's skid plate and it worked pretty well. I'll get it all treated and painted once it's running.

 

[Toasty]

Got the coil buckets modified for the Wrangler coils, this was simple and could be done a couple ways. Either a smaller diameter ring to locate the isolator or a large dowel to run through the center of the isolator. I chose the dowel because it was easier to weld and really easy to center, it literally centers in the existing hole dead center of the Montero bucket. The down side to this method is that I can't now install a lift spacer unless the spacer ID was the same and reached the dowel height. A ring around the OD wouldn't have this issue, I plan to adjust height via lift coils once it's all settled in.



The 5-link is basically finished, I had to cut a hole through the frame and sleeve it for bolt access.
I did check for flex and it has a ton but being a short arm the arc is pretty tight so I'll have to limit based on tire clearances in the wheel well. No biggie.

 

[Toasty]

The ride height is 1.5" lower in the rear, I got some Mopar 2" lift coils for $100 shipped. I'll get those installed and then adjust the front accordingly.



Not the greatest picture but I got the power steering system buttoned up as well.




Not real exciting but it's coming along, the list is getting shorter. Up next...

Radiator, fan and coolant plumbing
Permanent transmission crossmember
Weld air box mounting tabs
A/T cooler and lines
Pinion conversion and drivelines
All fluids
Test drive
Stereo and interior completion
A/C lines and service.