turdle's mounty moves on

[pufferfish]

ok, the good news is the truck runs well now. it just needed to get the MAF out of the air stream and get an air filter on there. its still got lots of issues, but it drives down the road. the bad news is my time is up. its not a functioning vehicle yet and life just threw me another curve ball. not only am i moving to a community that doesn't like loud vehicles that need lots of work, but i am also going to be a daddy again. i have been given the ultimatum from my wife. i had until april 1st to buy what i needed for the truck. now its time to save for baby stuff. the real problem i have here is i can't drag this dead weight with me to the new home.

so, it with deep regret that the project is now finished. i need to sell it or the parts from it. if anyone wants to carry on the project, let me know soon with your offer. i have only a few weeks to either get rid of it whole or part it out. expect parts to be listed on ebay next week if i don't get any interest in the whole thing by then.

 

[CDW6212R]

Well, congratulations for the new family addition. I hope you have a great family and new home to go to.

Hopefully someone here will take advantage of all of your hard work. That's a very special SUV to have the big V8 in it. Good luck,

 

[Turdle]

Congratulations on the positive life changes. Sounds like you are on he right path.

Someone needs to step up and take this over. It wold be sad indeed to se it all scrapped.

I'd buy it back in a heartbeat, but finances made me make a choice long ago, now I live with it.

Good luck Steve.

 

[tmsoko]

Wow - sorry to see the project end abrutly, but for a VERY good reason. I have not done much to my project in the last 5 years, (5 year old son and 2 year old daughter...), but don't miss it either. Sure, would be nice to have done, but better spent time with the fam.

Maybe these 351 swaps in 1995+ trucks are cursed??? Never finished mine, Tony from RPS never finished his, now yours... Seems like the only one that "made it" was truck SVE did back in 1998 or so.

If you can't find a new owner for the whole project, let me know. I may by interested in a few of the parts, depending how you part out. Especially interested in the cam sensor mod.

Good luck and congrats on the new one cooking!

 

[CDW6212R]

Go get it Todd, you can make it work, and then it's a DD for the family.

 

[tmsoko]

Nah, don't need a whole new truck. The wife has a 2011 Explorer, I have the 2010 STA and my 1999 Ranger toy WILL run again sometime before we exhaust the world of gas...

If I brought home a new project, I would quickly find myself living in an apartment - alone!

 

[CDW6212R]

I hear you, I have a two car garage, and room for four in the driveway. My Mercury is parked on the street, and my Ranchero is at my parent's house.

Extra space I don't have, and I keep finding more deals or projects.

Steve, I've mentioned your SUV on another forum I spend time on.

 

[pufferfish]

i appreciate any extra exposure. i am going to list the truck on ebay today. last night, my wife asked me how i am feeling about it. its hard. i hate unfinished projects and i really hate throwing money away. oh well, i learned alot from it.

 

[2000StreetRod]

congratulations on expectant family member!

It's too bad your project has to go but familiy duties always come first. I also learned a lot from your posts and I thank you for taking the time to generate them.

In looking at 1995 to 1997 advertised 5.8L engines I noticed that some state "AIR in manifold". Is that for a smog pump or something else?

Also, the Pacesetter exhaust headers (PN 70-1325) for the 96 Bronco, F-150 and F-250 look like they might have a chance of fitting in an Explorer.

And finally, did you search for a commercially available rear sump pan before deciding to custom make your own?

 

[pufferfish]

AIR is a smog pump that pumps air into the catylitic convertor to aid in efficiency. that isn't necessary for a 96+ explorer. i hadn't tried any off the shelf parts, but as a vetran of the 302 swap into the 91-94 x's, those swap headers won't fit. its the proximity of the steering shaft to the DS head that is the big issue. rear sump pans dont work with the front diff and where the DS exhaust runs past the diff.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Thanks

OK, thanks for the information. Did you get a chance to try the AEM engine position sensor? It sure would be nice to know if it works.

 

[pufferfish]

unfortunately no, i did not get a chance to try it out. i decided to return it to Summit.

 

[pufferfish]

well, the auction ended without a sale. not even an inquiry. its time to tear it apart. a long weekend is just what i needed! i have decided to delay the sale of the parts until i can decide what to do. i have not given up hope of a 351w blocked daily driven mounty. its not in the cards now, but without the body itself, the parts will fit in the corner of the garage indefinitely. if i do sell anything , it won't be any of the custom items. not doing that over again and they really have little street value anyhow.

as for the shell, i am going to take whatever could be useful for my mounty. i may take some extra time to pull items that might sell on ebay as well. no sense in scrapping good parts. got alot of work to do in a little time. closing on the house next friday.

 

[tmsoko]

I looked for the auction and didn't see it. I figured you hadn't listed yet. Post the link.

Probably the right decision anyhow. Pull the custom stuff and get rid of the big stuff. Would be good project for later on it either an Explorer or a Ranger.

 

[manaen]

Man really sucks about the project. But you are definitely doing the right thing. It may not feel that way when you are waking up in the middle of the night for those feedings. Hope everything goes well with the move and the pregnancy. This has been a fun project to watch and your work has all been top notch, a very clean setup. But you are now entering the next phase of your life and you will find little time to be messing with projects like this. Just know that in the future you will be able to jump back into these types of projects when your family is a little more developed. Also there are the occasions when the kids need something fixed, or maybe install a 24 volt system into their big wheel for more power bwhaahaaahaaa! You just need to shift your focus to other things.

Great Project, Great Work, Welcome to fatherhood!! It's the best project you will ever work on!

 

[techieman33]

if your pulling parts off of the body I would like to have the trim piece that goes between the rear bumper and the wheel well from the drivers side if it's in decent shape.

 

[pufferfish]

ok, the truck is dismantled and on the trailer and ready for the scrap yard. i tell ya, removing this was so much easier than installing it. i learned a few things in doing so.

1) with the oil pan being lowered to clear the rotating assembly and oil pump, it is necessary to drop the front axle down so the engine can angle back to come out or go in.

2) access to the passenger side 3&4 spark plugs, header bolts and valve cover bolts is REALLY difficult with the stock A/C box in place.

3) the firewall needs to be pounded in behind the heads to allow the engine to tilt back for removal and installation.

4) the removal of the trans dipstick tube prior to removing the engine is critical. mine got squished between the firewall and the head. but, unbolting the mount from the back of the head is impossible with the firewall clearances.


i came to the realization that to make a 351 block sit in the stock engine bay and be easily servicable, a 1" body lift would be the best thing to do. i believe that would clear up issues 2, 3 and 4.

 

[corkey]

too bad i couldn't get back the rear springs i built that are on the back.

 

[pufferfish]

too bad indeed, but rest assured my mounty thanks you for them! i am not sending those babies to the scrap yard! i swapped them out with my sagging stockers on saturday

 

[tmsoko]

i came to the realization that to make a 351 block sit in the stock engine bay and be easily servicable, a 1" body lift would be the best thing to do. i believe that would clear up issues 2, 3 and 4.

Yeah - I ended up with a 1" on the Ranger, but Raised the engine ~1/2" for more clearance from oil pump to steering rack. Regardless, the extra space was good!