The Wanderers build

[superbuickguy]

the problem of getting the wrong parts.... explanation - the tie rod end was for the wrong truck, and smaller.... the bigger one is the right one, but now it interferes with the panhard mount...

at least the new parts work....

at least it turns..

time to weld up the other control arms

and assemble the other side now that it's cool - also note the panhard mount is much shorter.... which may be a problem later - the panhard should rotate on the same plane as the steering cross shaft. Because this kit is for a leaf spring, the angles are not the same. Fortunately it's not a high travel suspension so it should be fine.... but this is a reason why I haven't painted the parts yet.

 

[superbuickguy]

today's construction

time to reassemble the passenger side radius bar

and install

rotten picture, but now the panhard bar doesn't hit the differential or the cross bar

steering and panhard

key to all of this was buying the dies to bend 1 1/2 tube

 

[superbuickguy]

story time. .On ebay, these pedals are $395.00. I've paid less for a running/driving squarebody. Thankfully my new home is 2 miles from a wrecking yard - $40 and problem solved.

panhard in place

 

[superbuickguy]

if you're curious, this really isn't the right way to fix the threads in the cross shaft

but it works

I think I bought these springs for the back of the FJ40, and cut them because they were way too tall... now to find them again and get another set because I bet they work just fine for this application

 

[superbuickguy]

ugh, springs are 3 weeks out. The problem is this, I'd like the tallest spring possible and to do that would mean cutting a spring perch into the frame..... or maybe not. Probably tonight I'll put it on its own weight with some kind of temporary method of holding the spring in place.... wish me luck

 

[superbuickguy]

38 fits nicely

time to start welding

sitting on its own suspension

 

[superbuickguy]

Time to make the new pads permanent

align

level to the other pads.... I change pinion angle with the blocks

done, much better... even fixed the brake calipers so they're on correctly

Alignment time

suddenly I have 'help'

hmm... too long

welded

Luigi says it's balls-on now... and when the Lab results come back, you pay attention to it

 

[superbuickguy]

an update on the 94 Suburban.... it's fuel pump died, about stranded me but it didn't... thankfully I think the pump I'm not using off the H1 motor will work just fine as replacement.

I've had these tires/wheels for at least 30 years.... and one was flat! I want a refund

ice.... and yes, the bloodhound puppy thought it was tasty.

poor FJ40, I don't treat it well at all

first time sitting on tires....very, very old tires

cute, huh? 33s

it didn't fall apart, weird, that's what the san fran sailors say would happen

now time to get the tires swapped

first step, take the bead locks off

tomorrow I drag my tire machine into the shop and break the inner bead the 'easy' way.

 

[superbuickguy]

Ice is a pretty common theme right now - today's ice was it took a sledge to break this out of the ice outside....

why did I break it out?

in other news... I think I have a die to bend this, it's actually pretty close and if I got really creative, I could cut it and make it work

bend it down then step back up to get a bit more clearance for the steering cross shaft.... I really don't need much. The other way would be cut it, flip the bend and sleeve the cut - or use my divider and put splines on it.

the other side would be perfect with those changes

ready to go to the tire shop for a dismount, mount and balance for the Blazer

 

[superbuickguy]

FJ40 is back in the Search and Rescue business... just in time, it seems

I'll take it for a spin tomorrow... need to load up the rescue stuff (chainsaw, etc) that comes out in the summer... but ready to rock. This year it gets trailered to the trailhead.... so much faster.....

 

[superbuickguy]

hmmm... big tires

yes, there will be trimming

not bad, actually

baby's got back

 

[superbuickguy]

Okay, back to Blazers... or more specifically Diesels

finally got the motor pulled down. the tl;dr is I'm going to run it...
the not-so-clean under the turbo still worries me

Overall, it's not terrible, there's still cross hatching on the cylinder but it wasn't running right

bottom end looks good

number 8... yeah

somehow water got inside in August/September in San Diego....despite the seller's assurance that it was stored indoors.... the risk one takes when they buy on ebay. I probably would have been better off just rebuilding what I have - HOWEVER, let's not forget I do not have a qualified machine shop, so the hell this is may pale in comparison to that pandora's box.

an explanation. Usually the critics are point on right with GM's stuff. GM beta tests on its buyers - which is utter crap, but is what it is. The point is that over the years, the product becomes quite good for what it is. The heads

are a perfect case-in-point. My dad went to rebuild a 6.2 but gave up when, after 3 sets of heads, there were no heads without cracks. Strangely GM even suggests that there are 'run them' cracks and no-go cracks.... but, in the 20 years since the first 6.2, GM started developing better heads culminating in these aftermarket heads that fix everything wrong with the older heads. And they cost less then it costs to simply rebuild a set of heads... for new castings.
and that's a foretaste of what you'll see here.
Fluidampr makes a SFI certified balancer for these motors... they're the foundation of building a motor that can handle 30 psi of boost. Stock, 10 psi and you start lifting heads and blowing head gaskets.... that is if you don't break the crank because the balance ring spun on the balancer.... not cheap, but a lot cheaper then replacing a motor due to broken crank...

to this I add ARP studs. The 'right' way would be replace the pistons with lower compression pistons.... however, even with all the updates, these motors start coming apart after 725 lb torque. Then you need billet cranks (they have them).... in this case, I want 350 hp and 525 lb torque. For what I'm building - that should be sufficient.

what you won't see, though, is a cooling system update - because the 99 motor has it already. GM started with (by memory) 30 gpm cooling pump. The motor would hot spot at idle. They then came up with the 67 gpm pump for the turbo motors... with about the same result. Then came the mamma jamma, in 1997, they split the water system (to allow simultaneous cooling on both sides - effective dividing the cooling into 2 banks of 4) and put a 137 gpm pump on the motor. That pump solved the cooling problems - to the point that the uparmoured H1s didn't immediately melt down in the sands of the Middle east.

 

[superbuickguy]

a bit more work on the Blazer... more disassembly of the motor

parts motor

thankfully I have another oil pan

 

[superbuickguy]

went to move the injectors from the old heads to the new heads... they'll be making a stop at the injector shop

I also pulled the injectors from the parts motor.... the motor which came with the 94 Suburban... I found why it wasn't running right. Thankfully that stealership is dead. So the story - they brought the suburban in because it wasn't running right - knocking 'more' then normal

they pulled an injector (and lost it) - and 'determined' the motor was down on compression... there was nothing wrong with this motor... the problem was this injector was stuck... on the left is a good one, note the needle on the one on the left...

It's well known I loathe dealerships... here's yet more reasons why.

 

[superbuickguy]

interim update. All the injectors needed rebuilt... they were sticking. So that was an unwanted surprise, in the 'plus' column, though, the pump will work on my dead Suburban.... so spent money and saved about the same amount of money..

I'm also quite glad I didn't put the entire rig together and find this out.... that, literally, would be tear down the motor again - but this time, while in the Blazer. Listen to the inner voices folks... sometimes they are right