BigMike's Big Project

[ifssucks]

im jealous. i cant even get time off work and do anything

[BigMike]

So here come the pics!

My truck was a bit taller in the rear + I wanted some more clearance under the oil pan, so for a quick fix I upgraded to some Marlin Crawler shackles- They are 2" longer than stock which equals 1" taller overall height.

Also here is a shot of the new tires I am using..

[BigMike]

Here are the air filter mounts I built. I compared it to a Downey open element kit one of our customer rigs has on it, and mine is wwaayyy stronger and more rigid than Downeys so im sure the refs will be happy. Two mounts one directly underneath and one to the side..

There's a shot of the 1.5" wheel spacer installed on my pass. rear.

There's a shot of the muffler with the wrap. Now the entire exhaust system is wrapped up, not something I was planning on doing, but its nice. I think I still need to build a heat shield around the battery, and also some kind of skid guard in case I get some rocks close to the frame rail there... Sorry about the crappy picture, I had my camera set up wrong in the morning 

Also there's a shot of both heater lines now mounted up on the fire wall. The left line (with the valve) needed a bolt to be welded onto the firewall but I was able to find a factory '81 bolt hole for the other line...

[BigMike]

And lastly,

Here is a pic of the nice 0.4mm Denso Iridium plugs that I've been found of ever since they came out last year and I put 'em in my 4A-GZE SC engine in my MR2..

Here is a pic of the purge valve that was not yet hooked up and was the cause of the computer code P0441. It's taken care of now.
Also here is a pic of the purge canister tank. It will need to be moved once I get my on board air setup, but for the smog refs, its gonna stay in the stock location for now..


So that's it for now. I seem to be about finished with the engine swap, so now I will start focusing on the drivetrain and suspension, but I gotta save up some serious before that can happen!

Cya
BigMike

[BigMike]

im jealous. i cant even get time off work and do anything

[BigMike]

Oh I forgot to mention that the 30" tires I got from Marlin are from an IFS truck, so the offset of the rims sucks major monkey balls. So the 1.5" wheel spacers just basically put the tires back to where they should be stock

And also I *finally* was able to check my speedo with my moms Tundra, and my gauge is about 1 MPH to slow. So wow its about nuts on which is great

And you know what? when I was putting my Optima back in after I let the paint on the tray dry, I was just tightening up the wires on it and I felt a pop, then a squeaky noise, and then some battery acid came out of the negative terminal (this was verified by tonge ), so I think I damaged my optima But come on? So no one tightens things up? I was even using a small wrench and I know not to over torque things!

So the battery was purchased from Costco only 2 months ago and I've got the receipt, and the battery looks just like new of course, so I am thinking about driving to Costco, pulling the battery off and carrying it in, try to exchange it as some factory defect *as it is I think*, and then walk back out to the truck and install a new one. So does Anyone have experience with batteries and warranties??

[reklund5]

I'd walk in to Costco first and make sure that A) they have another battery in stock, and B) they'll swap it out for you without hassle.  THEN go wrestle your battery out from under the truck and cram it down their throats!

[BigMike]

Good idea. Besides, the Costco store is between home and college, so its on the way

I didnt even try so hard when I was tightening it.. And actually when I felt the pop I thought it was just the lock washer and I kept going even. Then it started squeaking and bleeding.. whoops. But I've only taken the wires off about 3 times - only 3 times - so If I am supposed to have this battery last 48 months or whatever it is, then this cant be normal and im sure its a defect..

[iNfErNaL]

The project is coming along real nice Mike.Keep it up.

[79coyotefrg]

Good idea. Besides, the Costco store is between home and college, so its on the way

I didnt even try so hard when I was tightening it.. And actually when I felt the pop I thought it was just the lock washer and I kept going even. Then it started squeaking and bleeding.. whoops. But I've only taken the wires off about 3 times - only 3 times - so If I am supposed to have this battery last 48 months or whatever it is, then this cant be normal and im sure its a defect..

oh man  that optima is infected with the defective virus    assuming you didnt have a cheater pipe on the wrench, i dont see why they wouldnt replace it 

where did you have it mounted   hey  i got some worn out 31's on 15x8 white spokes

[BigMike]

how wide are they? The 30" tires I've got are ok but they are crap in the rain and with the 3RZ power.

Marlin told me I can borrow his 35" MTR's for the snow, so that's gonna be saa-weeeeeeeeet!

[brainlessfool]

Marlin told me I can borrow his 35" MTR's for the snow, so that's gonna be saa-weeeeeeeeet!

Teachers pet, teachers pet!     

[SWAMPER]

Spanking the monkey!!! 

[Mike D]

 

[ifssucks]

MIKE, what can i use for a cheap electric fan setup? i need something narrow. any ideas?

[dirtbag]

MIKE, what can i use for a cheap electric fan setup? i need something narrow. any ideas?

Ford Taurus' electric fans? 

[79coyotefrg]

how wide are they? The 30" tires I've got are ok but they are crap in the rain and with the 3RZ power.

Marlin told me I can borrow his 35" MTR's for the snow, so that's gonna be saa-weeeeeeeeet!

here take a peek

[dirtbag]

I have some junk lying around, also, I have my 33x9.50's for sale for $200, you'd have to open the center hole in the Chevy rims, though....

[BigMike]

Hey DB, I checked out Ford Taurus' fans and they are like 10-feet wide. All of the ford fans are HUGE.

I have less than 3.5 inches to play with, and I found a GREAT fan with a shroud from a 91 Mitsu Diamante. Try to look for those. They are only 3" wide and have a large shroud, it's not quite as wide as our rads, but its really good.

Right now I am using a Hayden that I got from my friend. He just told me to take it. It's pretty worn out and its hard to read the numbers. I think its a 14".


I just went outside and its really beautiful right now. Bright sunshine, so I took some pics of the engine and the fan for ya

Here you go

[BigMike]

 

[BigMike]

I still need to take some oven cleaner and clean up the engine, I forgot all about that..

Here's a couple more of the interior. I want to move the fuse box up a bit higher and out of view. Also I need to get the kill switches hooked up 


Oh and here's a pic of the clearance of the oil pan and diff. It's improved alot and I feel much better about it after installing the shackles. I'm now just hauling ass over rail road tracks and the like and its not hit at all 

The interior looks nice with the dash mat covering up the poor cracked dash.... All that's left is a couple more transfercase shifters and new seats and door panels.

[ifssucks]

that fan sits pretty snug in there. hopefully i can find one skinny enough to slide in there without having to move the motor back at all. i just got a hook up on a procomp kit. 300 bucks! that without shocks , but thats ok i got rancho 9000s already. its new from the factory too. now i can keep my front diff in and lower my tbars down and get a better ride out of this truck. ive sold alot of there product lately so the rep hooked it up for me. i still havent got the right oil pickup yet. i should probably get the motor running before i worry about putting that kit on

[BigMike]

Sounds good man,

someone in the Shoutbox turned me on to : http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/low-profile-electric.html
Less than 3" wide.

[dirtbag]

Sounds good man,

someone in the Shoutbox turned me on to : http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/low-profile-electric.html
Less than 3" wide.

Uhhh, someone? 

[brainlessfool]

That's the fan I'm useing on my junk. I have one in front (pusher) and one in the eng. compartment (puller)
one's on a themo and one's on a switch.

[TrackVino]

Really nice work Mike, thanks for all the pictures

[TrackVino]

Tried to read all replies to your project, but theres so many, I was wondering if your going to paint this bad boy, and if so, what color?

[BigMike]

Sounds good man,

someone in the Shoutbox turned me on to : http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/low-profile-electric.html
Less than 3" wide.

Uhhh, someone?

Uhhhhhh......... 

That's the fan I'm useing on my junk. I have one in front (pusher) and one in the eng. compartment (puller)
one's on a themo and one's on a switch.

Hey BLF, that must have costed ya a fortune!

Tried to read all replies to your project, but theres so many, I was wondering if your going to paint this bad boy, and if so, what color?

Yup, somewhere on Page 4 or so I was talking about it. I will have it painted at the end of November and I'm still undecided about the color..
I like Blue and white, my other car is a MR2 and it is all white with black wheels. But I think I want to keep the white/blue paint, use a mello white with a srrong blue..

Like this blue:


Of course I will get some black wheels whenever I get some tires, planning on running 37s with 4.88 diffs.

But the truck was originally all white I believe so I could always go all white like my MR2.
Here's a pic of my MR2 ramping it out


So, like 86runner said, it would be cool if I painted my rig all white and ran black wheels, then I would have twins.

[BigMike]

TrackVino: So you enjoy photoshop eh? 

[FIREBALL]

OOOO, OOOOOO, let me paint it. I'll fix it just right.