Bought this truck a month or so ago, Its a 78 2wd 4 speed and it had the 21r-u in it....Truck needed much love, But the little thing drove itself 8 hours home to my garage. ( trip usually takes 4 hours, but all i could get was 45-55mph)

started off as an ugly child and still is, but i'll tackle the cosmetics once its mechanically sound.






given the 21r-u is hard to find a rebuild kit for, and is the smallest of them all, I went and bought a junked 22r and went for a total rebuild



I named this project the green giant so it was fitting for the engine block to go along with it.




while The 21 was out and changing bolt ons from it to the new 22r, I decided to fog the engine bay and clean it up.



And set the fresh build back on in.


blocked off every emissions port i could find. I diddnt take any pics of the exhaust ports, but its just a plate I made like the one on the intake manifold for the EGR.


Got it all ready today and tried starting it, but the ignitor seems to have gotten damaged. Was able to use a GM ign control module and spare coil and could get spark from that, but not enough daylight to get the engine fired up. The carb installation took to long this morning. Its a webber 32/36 with a manual choke.



Also while it was sittin for the past 2 weeks I lined the interior with truck bed liner just as added protection for when I carpet the inside next.



Transmission is Next on my list for End of December/January. If anyone has a 5 speed laying around and wants it gone, shoot me a pm.

Where I'm going with this truck I dont know yet. I definatly do NOT want it lower than it already is, But I'm not exactly sure i'd want to convert it to 4wd and raise it either. This forum seems to be a more 4x4 directed place, but its active with topics and posts, so I figured i'd share what i got and what i'm doin. Advice, tips, suggestion, and comments welcome. Glad to join here.

 

Looks nice! I just bought a 78 myself, but luckily mine came with the 20R. Whoever worked on that 22R before it was junked sure liked rtv..! No wonder it was "junked".

Good luck with the project. Looks really nice so far. My 78 also came with a 5 speed, so that's really nice. I found what transmission it is at one point...but I don't remember now. Too old, and since it's not a 4wd, so people don't really care , I couldn't find any reliability information on it.

 

I'm DIGGIN' it man!!! Love the project so far...NICE work! {subscribed}

edit: Oh, and I have a couple 5spds "layin' around" in the shed.

 

Thank you for the comments fellas. I'm loving this forum A lot more than the first I joined. Much nor activity. I got it running today, turned out to be no ground to the ignitor which was the no sparkie issue. It holds a steady idle speed but I can't get the timing adjusted far enough advanced before I bottom out the distributor. I've pulled and re stabbed atleast 6xs now trying to see if I can jump 1 tooth advanced, but it seems to always go in way off or not enough. I'll get it right tomorrow. And pm sent on a 5 speed in a few. See if we can't help eachother out. Thanks again
-Zach-

 

Its looking good, good luck on the project

 

Thankyou. It's now starting instantly, got timing set, clutch adjusted, ill drive it home from work tonight and flush out the current oil, check for leaks, and then start on interior!! I feel heat by my feet from the heater core, but no fan to blow it through the vents. I'm really gonna need atleast defrost. It's got AC system under the dash board, but I'm going to pull all that out. Don't want, don't need.

 

Spoke too soon, 20 minutes later I'm test driving it around town and keep blowing a fuse. I havenot identified whhat fuse this is for, but I lose my fuel/ coolant temp gauge, and all my idiot lights on the dash board telling me charge, brake, high beam. (brake and high idiot light is always normally on )But I have normal charging from the alternator, head lights blinkers etc. So because of this I chickened out driving it home. Id prefer a coolant temp on a fresh rebuild.

I hate shorts and fuse blowigs.

 

Killer work man! Engine bay looks killer

 

Love the work you did on the engine bay! Keep up the good work!

 

Thanks for comments everyone.

 

Time for an update on the project. It was about a week before Christmas I was headed to a friends house and just happened to hit a Deer. I was able to get my truck to their house and shut off before any damage could have happened but I did lose my grill and radiator. Heres a pic of what I found the next day when I shoved a hose in the radiator to look for the hole




Ill admit that this pic now looking back is kinda funny how bad it was, But being december I had to wait till January 1st to order a new radiator. I went with an all aluminum one.




I got a new used grill from Jims and its on but forgot to mention I needed the center piece so that will be next month. Some good news was I got a great hookup on xmas presents from the fam and fiance,



Glow shift Oil pressure, Tach, and Water temp gauge. I dont trust the idiot lights on the dashboard and want to know exactly whats going on with the truck than a glitching light telling me I have no oil pressure (if that ever happened). And today During my lunch I went and upgraded the whole exhaust to 2" all the way back with the cherry bomb.



I still need a tip but it sounds way better than the 1" rust and muffler that was on it. I wish it was more loud or had a growl to it, But i guess it is just a 2.4L. I'll be getting the gauges mounted this weekend hopefully, and then start on the body repairs.