well dang! im actually in weaver..which is closer. i saw your southerners shirt and wandered if you go to jsu...have you ever been to choccolocco mountain? id love to go sometime, but im only 17 still..

 

anything new?

 

That is a bit closer indeed. I've been at JSU for a few years now, I'll get my Music Ed. degree sooner or later. I haven't been to Choccolocco yet, I need somebody to go with me in case I get stuck.

Yes sir! Body lift post coming right up!

 

A big thanks to my friends over at D&J Automotive for helping me out! Got this done last weekend. It took us about 5 hours to put on the lift, not because it was hard, we just had a few to many drinks before and during the process. Then it took us another 2 hours to get the sliders welded up on Saturday.

Here are the pics. I apologize for the lack of during pics but... Enjoy!

Taking the seats out and pulling the carpet back.





Close to the half way point here. Getting everything laid out and recaptured.



Lifting the left side.





Lifting the right side.



Radiator drop brackets in place. (Sorry for the fuzziness.)



Had to modify my stock bumper brackets a bit so they would bolt up properly. The supplied hardware for the bumper brackets didn't have the correct thread pitch. Nothing a torch cant fix though!



Afterwards the next morning.



Mocking up the sliders.



And Don doing what he does best!





The end result!

 

we should go check it out sometime! ive been wanting someone to come with my to in case i get stuck..i dont think my truck could make it on all the ones yours will, bc mines still pretty stock

 

nice truck realy coming along. like your dog to.

 

your truck is looking great, one of these days ima get a BL on mine

 

Most definitely! You'd be surprised at what a Yota can do stock.

Thanks guys! Its getting there little by little... if I could find that money tree I'd be set. He's a great dog! Here's one of the best pics that I have of him.

 

yea..and once i get my spartan installed..im sure i could tackle at least the 1 and 2's bc ive heard from friends that theyre not too bad

 

Going to pickup a set of 4.56 thirds courtesy of basr5 tonight! Gear swap pics coming tomorrow.

 

what salvage yard do you go to? ive been to the pull a part in birmingham..but is there a good one closer besides 431 auto?

 

I got all of that from a yard in Huntsville, can't remember the name of it off the top of my head. There aren't very many places around here that will let you pull your own stuff.

 

ive heard that riteway auto salvage in oxford will let you go out in the yard if theres a couple people working..i guess to follow you around, but im not sure what kind of selection they have back there..but ill look into the one in huntsville

 

anything new?

 

Yes sir! Lots to show and tell.... life hits ya hard, but ya just gotta keep on trucking.

First off I got my 4.56s in several months back. Thanks again to basr5 for the gears!

I had a lot of fun frankensteining these bad boys together. The front diff was nice and easy; swapped out the axle tubes, got to reuse all of the bearings, no problems what so ever. The rear diff on the other hand was a little .... the inner pinion bearing exploded when we tried to press her off. No biggie except for the three day delay trying to locate the correct bearing. The LPS kept sending me what was crossing over in their system as the inner, but it was to small... maybe it was for a 4 cylinder carrier? We never really figured that one out. Apparently there is something special about the 3.0v6 4x4 inner pinion bearing and she had to come straight from toyota for about $165. Even then the parts manager wasn't sure if she had it right till it showed up. Anywho, we got it all together and she drives great now. Still just a hair undergeared for 33s but much nicer than 33s with a 4.10.

New to me front diff:



New to me rear diff:



Front diff disassembly:



Front diff back together:



A handful of the left overs:



Rear diff guts:



Now this is where the 4Runner got put on hold.



I've wanted a boat for some time. I couldn't convince my wife to let me get a new one, so whats a man to do? ....get a 33 year old fixer-upper! Let me tell you, this has been one hell of a project so far... every time I get one problem fixed another arises shortly thereafter.

The Rundown:
1979 Baretta MH-186-R1-M65
18ft Bow Rider Ski Boat
Mercruiser 165 I6 (Chevy 250)

So far I have:
Rebuilt the outdrive, Rebuilt the entire motor (not all at the same time either... low compression, fixed the top end. good compression, spun a few bearings, then rebuilt the bottom end), Replaced the trim cylinders, Replaced the floor (stringers and all), New trailer tires (lost one on the way to the river one day), Replaced the carb and fuel pump after being towed off the water one afternoon, new prop, and most recently the steering cable snapped while I was cruising down the lake.

Lesson learned: B.O.A.T. - Bust out another thousand.

My parents were graced with mother nature's presence back in April too.

Here's the front of the house after a good bit of clean up:



A shot of the back:



Its hard to see in that last pic, but there used to be a second floor up there.

My step dad's pride and joy after we got her uncovered from the remains of his shop:

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T. 440 Six Pack. 4 on the Floor. Hand restored and painted all by himself in the mid 90s.


A shot from the second floor:



On a lighter note, my parents, brother, sister, and the family pets all made it through the storm safely! My parents new house is nearing completion and the Challenger is having a new top and windsheild being put on this week!

Now time to get back on topic!

This weekend a few of my buddies and I took a stroll around the street to Choccolocco Mountain ORV Park for the Southeast Side by Side Challenge. We had a blast. After the competition was over we met a handful of new friends and rode around the park for a bit. And that's when it happened... my trusty old girl decided that it was time for her to leave us... after 250k miles, she threw a rod. R.I.P 3.slow. Luckily one of our new acquaintances was nice enough to tow us back to the shop!

I figured I had about 5 options at that point:

1 - Sell her for parts.
2 - Put her under a tarp for the next 5-10 years.
3 - Rebuild the 3.0
4 - Buy a junkyard 3.0 and hope for the best.
5 - 3.4 SWAP!

I'm going to pick up my donor Taco Friday afternoon!

 

We got the 3.4 pulled out of the Taco tonight! and the 5 miles of wiring harness to go with it. Tomorrow we'll be pulling the 3.0 and cracking the pan open to see how bad she really is. I forgot the camera so no pics from tonight... but I'll snap a few before we get started tomorrow.

 

As promised here are the pics!

3.4 on the floor :





Empty engine compartment of the donor:



Assorted odds and ends:



The 5 miles of interconnected wiring harness:



What it took to get all 5 miles of the harness:

 

Yesterday we pulled the 3.0 out and got to see the real damage.



Intake is off:





The Lift begins:



Ended up pulling the hood for the last 2 inches of clearance and the she was out:



Awaiting a good scrubbing and a new motor:



Don went ahead and started swapping motor mounts while I pulled the oil pan. After pulling the A/C support bracket the first sign of trouble appeared...



Then the second sign in the bottom of the pan:





A look from underneath:





After seeing all of this I'd say it was a good call for the 3.4 swap! Once I get the 3.0 stripped and cleaned up I'll have plenty of parts to sell too.

I'll be in a small holding pattern for a week or two while I gather up the remaining parts I need for the swap. I plan to go ahead and replace the T-Belt and components, water pump and T-stat, valve cover gaskets, cam seals and main seal, plus a tune-up while the 3.4 is sitting on the motor stand.

 

Very interesting thread can't wait for the next posting.

Martin

 

very interesting thread just read from the beginning to end.