Updates it is then.
The truck itself is making slow but steady progress. She is 40 years old and spent a lot of that time on a ranch so everything is getting stripped, cleaned, overhauled and painted but is also being kept within a monthly budget. As of this week I have:
· Dismantled her down to the chassis, repaired the rear cross member and added new strengthened mounts.
· Wire wheeled the entire chassis down to bare metal, cut off the old engine mounts and unnecessary brackets, welded in a notch to one cross member for prop shaft clearance, repaired some slight rot on the frame horns and welded in some strengthening to mount a Saginaw PAS box from a Scout II. I then went through the full skiddle with POR15 to complete it.
· I rebuilt the front and rear axles to use 3.54 Range Rover diffs. This is temporary until I get a feel for the engine and gearing after which I expect to rebuild these into Rover/Toyota hybrid axles with front disc brakes.
· I repaired the cracks in the bulkhead and welded in new foot wells which were originally rotten.
· I took the original radiator panel and fabbed up a new duct and mounting for a big Howe aluminium cross flow radiator. This and the bulkhead are going to be galvanized this month.
· I took the old steering column and fabbed up a new mounting and support bearing to support a revised inner column that will now turn the PAS using Borgeson joints and collapsible shaft.
· I also sourced some doorposts but they are up in Wyoming. Does anyone know how to ship oversize parts cheaply? 55lbs 6’x4’x1’
I also have a set of very fine rock sliders, a front bumper and a gearbox adapter kit being made at Pangolin 4X4 who are Rover specialists in Oregon. The drivetrain is going to be a 292 mated up to a Ford NP435 with granny low 1st mated to the series Land Rover high ratio transfer case (.87 hi/2.35 Lo) which should be pretty bomb proof. This gearing should give me about a 3.08 ratio in top pushing along on 32” tyres which puts me at about 2400rpm at 65mph.
As for the important info for this forum concerning the engine the simple overhaul I was thinking of turned into a build. The spec is:
· Chevy 292 block acid dipped and bored .060. It also seems to have been decked at some time as the .040 pistons that were in there only measured .005 down the hole. This is at the machine shop.
· Stock crank with journals cleaned up. This is at the machine shop.
· Stock rods mounted with LPG pistons to bump the compression. I expect somewhere in the region of 9.5:1 or so. The rotating assembly is getting balanced. Summit has been dragging their heels getting these to me.
· A lump port from Tom Lowe featuring 1.8I and 1.6E valves. A fine piece of art it is too although, much against my wife’s better judgement, it is currently decorating our living room.
· She’ll breathe through a Clifford water heated intake and Langdon cast exhaust manifolds. I am currently trying to figure out how to do full duals to the back of the truck but off road clearance is more important to me than sound so we will see. I also know that an Offy intake would be better for low end torque but the Clifford is what I’ve got so we’ll see how she runs.
· 3 groove harmonic balancer that is being overhauled by Damper Doctors.
· 153 tooth flywheel.
· Comp cams 260H cam. This is actually a 250 part as they now tell me that all 292 cams are special grinds coming in at $300 as opposed to about $150 for the 250 item. I am using a ‘lecky fuel pump so I didn’t spend the extra money.
· Comp cams lifters, standard rockers, push rods and timing gears.
· Fueling will be by a 2 barrel TBI run using a Microsquirt. Can anyone comment if the Holley 670 (502-6S) would be beneficial here over a stock GM 5.7L TBI?
· Oh and a Felpro 1025 head gasket.
As a nod to the hot rodders I am looking for an Aluminium rocker cover but that is pure decoration. Anyone care to guess at a final HP and Tq rating?
I have about another 9 months to a year to go to get her on the road. Here’s a couple of piccies. The truck as she stands right now and also a shot of the engine and LR gearbox as they came out.
Cheers
Gregor