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This week: |  |
 The 85 S-10 Project |
Currently working on... |
85 photo gallery |
85 progress |
83 Blazer.....1 |
83 Blazer.....2 |
83 Blazer.....3 |
A little history |
| What's New with My Trucks? Jan '03 update--well, it's the end of January and we finally got the shop wired for electricity. My uncle picked up a large air compressor that should be perfect when it comes time to paint the truck. With the X-mas money I got, I picked up a Lincoln Elec ProMig 135 welder and can't wait to get started shaving body panels and notching frames. If all goes as scheduled, the 3.4 is going into the machine shop on Monday, Feb 3rd to get cleaned up, freeze plugs and bearings installed, and crack tested. Hope to finish the swap by my b-day on the 18th. All that remains is the engine work, gaskets, and misc swap parts, and it should finally be driveable again!!!! December update-well, I finally was able to get the shocks and steering column taken care of. Unfortunately, the steering column will need modded to fit the bolt holes in the firewall, and I'm having issues getting the shocks prepped to install. The damn pins won't go in the bushings. August update-well, the truck got loaded up and relocated this month due to us moving. It now sitting in a shop until I can afford to put some more effort into it and get some electricity out there. July 23 update...don't have much time, but the front clip is back on the 85 and the entire body is back in order. A few little things like the grille and front bumper still need put on and a few adjustments here and there, but it's basically one piece again!!!! Check out the picture at the bottom of the page :) July 22 update--tonight, Erin and I got the doors rehung, the seats in, and finally got an air freshener out of the bottom of the A/C vent that has been there since the summer of '98. July 16 Update--It's been a while since I did an update, so I figured I'd write up a summary of what's been done in the last few weeks. After coming back from the honeymoon, I placed an order with LMC truck for a bunch of odds and ends I'll need for the re-assembly. The only problem is the cab mount bushings appear to be the wrong set, so I have to call energy suspension and get this figured out. I've picked up a the new cam kit with lifters, and cam bearings at Autozone. Special thanks to Lilred Blazer again for hooking me up with an oil pan and flexplate, so I've about completed my shopping list for the engine. I think I just need a steering column, engine gaskets, and a few random items to complete my list. Last week I finally got my fuel tank re-mounted and got my first peek at the new stance when I got the bed back on for the first time since November! I've got about 2 weeks left, and about all that remains is to get the doors back on and complete the engine swap. MAY 18 UPDATE: The cam is out--a couple lobes were almost rounded out--also dumb engineering was the reason I couldn't pull it all the way, the cam bearings were shot--brass showing through, the lifters mushroomed and flat spots on the sides of all of them. (that's why I couldn't pull them out), the crank is out...appears in good shape, the main bearings looked like they were in good shape and worn evenly with a few gouges scratched in them from junk, oil pickup looked fine, rod endcaps in good shape and their bearings very clean, rather large carbon buildup on the valve stems--solvent or something else might be good to spray in there to dissolve the carbon. CYLINDERS ALL LOOK GOOD!!! The pistons aren't out, but slid all the way down the cylinder, and everything looks fine from what can be seen. I got Stan (my neighbor-who's built several hot rods and custom trucks) to stop in tonight and help me with a few things. We got the cam out after a LOT of cussing and yelling at it, but it took us close to an hour until we realized what was causing the holdup. The plug in the dist. cap area isn't a simple plug!! Anyways, the cam had a few lobes that were almost flat--actually almost completely round. After that, he tried pulling a lifter and found we'd have problems since you can't knock them through the bottom (the cam 'valley' isn't connected to the crank area) so we had to break out pliers and a prybar to get them all. They were mushroomed slightly and hanging up badly. While pulling the cam, a couple bearings started hanging up so we pulled them as well...good thing too, the brass/copper was showing through indicating they were worn out and need replaced. I turned the engine over to check the cylinders and decided to "Commit" to it and pull the crank. The end caps were stuck pretty good, and the main bearings had a few gouges from having something in there wearing, the rod bearings were in excellent condition. We lifted the crank out and pushed the pistons down in the cylinders to get a good look. Everything looks pretty good in the cylinders...the stuff I "thought I saw" earlier was at the bottom of the cylinder below where the rings would go and not an issue. A little oil in the outer side of the cylinder walls that I'm not sure about (didn't think about it until now), but wouldn't the rings clean the walls when pushed down? I guess they may need replaced if the oil isn't supposed to get past them, but I'm hoping to keep the pistons in unless this ends up needing addressed. Well, that's about it for now--pretty much everything is broken down except the exhaust manifolds and the heads. I hadn't intended to pull the heads, but I might need to so I can make sure they are clean and the valves clean in good shape. This is sounding more and more likely since I think I'll be replacing the head gaskets and might as well clean up the valves and heads while they are off. This is turning into a complete rebuild!! If anyone knows of a cam upgrade for the 3.4 SFI or TBI, e-mail me at eboehner@yahoo.com! Thnx!
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