Finally got the truck back to the house to clean it up and take inventory. Looks like its got a Rough Country Lift and an adapter plate from Downey. After inspecting the frame it appears to be solid - all surface rust. The truck spent most of its like in Texas.

I'm going to compare the cost of the crankshaft kit and rods for the 4.1 against the cost of a new 4.1 short block. We'll see.....

Here's a few before-and-after shots from tonight's cleanup:

(is the steering on this truck factory + dual dampeners or custom????)

 

Found what you are talking about. Thanks for the tip, Mouse4x4!

 

No prob that is what this placde is for man any other questions give me a shout

 

Easy there bro, 3.4's with the superchargers are great and all but domestic parts are cheaper and easier to get(in some places). My v8 4runner will blow your doors down in the right pedal department, and it all holds together fine. plus the small block has so much after market help you cant lose. bastardized is such a harsh word dont you think?

 

I know that I haven't updated the post since January.... but, I'm done. In the past 11 months I've:

swapped out the 4.1 with a 3.8 (new intake, 4bbl holley, alternator, battery, tons of little stuff)
swapped out the tranny
cleaned up the frame
fixed all the rust on the body and repainted in those areas

I took the truck out to Buchannan's Mud Fest for its inaugural thrashing and it did great! A few tweaks and bath afterword, and I have to say that I'm proud of her. Thanks for all your advice and input on my initial post! If money wasn't a concern I would have put a toyota drivetrain back in it, but bang for the buck...the 3.8 was the ticket.

I'll post a few pics soon!

 

I'm starting to amass the parts to swap a buick 3.8 in place of my 22r with a 20r head conversion. How well did the the engine clear the firewall? Also, did you adapt the toyota temp sensor to fit the buick block?

 

The engine had no trouble clearing the firewall at all. Let me know your email address and I'll send you a a few pictures. I couldn't get the Toyota temp sensor to work so I would up buying an $11 temp guage and sensor at Autozone that took about 20 minutes to install. Let me know if you have any more questions as I'm happy to help out!

-Eric
eric.humes@gmail.com

 

hey man did the buick have an adapter to the tranny and if possible do you still have the buick motor? you can pm me if thats easier....