After a little prodding from my friend cwalstad on the board, here is my buildup. he named his truck Ivory, so in response, I named mine Ebony.

I bought this truck back in march '10 and it was in quite a sorry state. It was sitting on a trailer, and while trying to turn the engine over, coolant came pouring out of the exhaust. I had to have it.

Here's what it looked like when we finally got it in the backyard





Totally sweet 80's roll bar

more to come!

 

I slaved away in the rain, and finally pulled the head off the engine. The cylinder walls were pitted with rust, and there were some noticeable gouges in the cylinders too.




This was not a happy engine


So I pulled it


somethings missing...


And, like an idiot, I never took any pictures of me putting the engine back in. I ended up getting a reman long block from davez offroad performance, with the 261 crawler cam. It took a little bit for the engine to be assembled, due to waiting on parts. However, I was able to get by by making vroom vroom noises in the drivers seat.

The engine went back in the truck without a hitch, until I tried to start it. It would turn over, but not fire. Note to self-check your grounds! one wasnt hooked up.

more to come

 

I got the truck running and traded the 28s for some used 33s. The tires rubbed something fierce, so I took a sawsall to the fenders and cut off 1.5 inches, and hammered back the seam with a sledge.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64260023@N02/5890640111/

I went to Sierra Trek for the first time 2 years ago, and really got a good idea of what I wanted to do with the truck thaks to these guys

 

 

Plans are as follows
-dana 60/70
-duel cases
-42"pbrs on 17" wheels
-flat belly skid plate
-interior cage
-sliders and bumpers
-winch

I have some of this stuff, however since I am on a college budget there will be slow progress to reach this goal. In the meanwhile, I am just going to weld the rearend and have fun with what I have!

 

Heyo. Looking good man. I'll go ahead and post the horn and efi wires tomorrow.

 

i got a 86 also, your wheel set looks great! i noticed u have power windows in there, im lookin to put them in my truck, anybdy know if theres any kits?

 

Thanks Chris.

Thanks, its not too hard to get the 33s to fit if your not afraid of a little sawsall action. As for the windows, I dont know off the top of my head, but I will tell you that mine are sloooooooow if you roll up both at the same time.

So a while back, the alternator shorted out and caught fire on the truck. Luckily, it only burned up part of the wiring harness. Im replacing it with a Davez offroad high output 120 amp alt.

 

ahh ok nice, ive heard that the power windows are slow but it sucks having to lean over to roll down passenger side window haha, i have a set of 35" Wrangler MT/R's on my 86 12.5" wide with bushwackers, looks very nice, but i really like how those 33's sit on your truck great choice!