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sniper · Silver Status Member

so i can finally restore my first truck. Evil or Very Mad

it's been sitting for a year again and still starts
right up.

who wants to give me some $$$??? Laughing

1972 longbed. factory 4bbl quadrajet on top of a 350.
turbo 350 trans with factory rams head manifolds
with a nice throaty dynamax duel exhaust.
power disc brakes and power sterring.
my dad bought it in '77 used. i bought it in '94.
it only has 199000 original miles on it.

i want to drive my truck. Sad/Cry

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Hey! Sniper it must be worth more now than the Toyota parked in the garage. Mr. Green

Al

sniper · Silver Status Member

i'm sure it is. i'm never selling it. came close a couple times.
i have $10k into it. just 15 years ago. Rolling Eyes

cooling system/exhaust/complete suspension and front end.
it matches my sister's 67 RS camaro and mom's
75 chevy hippy van.

you don't sell the classics!

but my toyota is now a classic and i ain't letting it go either. Mr. Green

the thing runs too damn good. Mr. Green

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

I got some 24k in my wife's jewlery box... so I'm short 6k.... Twisted Evil

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Take the $30k, put 20 of it into body and suspension, take $10k and throw out the 350/Q-Jet/TH-350 and put in a new Mark VI bigblock with a 4L80E and an aftermarket fuel injection/ignition system. It's be the best 10 grand you ever spent on a truck.

Note: I say this having thrown many many thousands of dollars into the older blocks, transmissions and Q-Jets. In the modern world, it just isn't worth the time and expense unless you do the engine and carb rebuild work yourself or have some budget considerations and can get the work on the existing parts done for $2k and not the $10k required for the new stuff.

sniper · Silver Status Member

sniper · Silver Status Member

Jaxom · Senior Member

I'm facing simlar issues here. I have a beater '88 S-10 that has a 2.8L tbi'd engine that's automatic and 4x4. The trans is shot! Give myself whiplash everytime I have to run to store as it slips between gears.

Best price I've found to pull/rebuild/re-install trans is $800. This is the older 700R4 version (rebadged the 4L60).

Thing is, the 2.8L already has 125K on it. Eventually I'm gonna wanna swap that out for something bigger. But anything bigger (other then a 3.4L camero/firebird engine from '93-'95) will not match up to the trans I will have just paid $800 to fix.

kanyon · Silver Status Member

take the 30k and put on a house & kick the landlord
you b!tch about to the curb...

Idea

houses must be cheap at the moment... Question

buyers market... Exclamation

Then when the prise increases re-morgage it
to do the truck..
Idea

Or better still buy another house..& let some other
renter pay it off for yer/make yer rich...

Use other people money....not yer own...

Pete

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

hey Jax... toss that soft crank shaft 2.8L and swap in a 4.3L... IMHO as a former "Motor Works" employee... The GM 2.8L was destined for the scrap pile from the start... More Warranty work on that POS than any other that we sold... It got to the point that we would not sell extended warrantys on them... My dad went through 3 in his Malabo wagon...

Mark5043 · Silver Status Member

Jaxom · Senior Member

Joe,

Believe me, I've thought about different options. Including dumping the vehicle all together. Probelm is, the situation I'm in, I could't be financed for a paper clip let alone another vehicle.

I have no choice on doing the trans. But once I sink that kind of money into it, I'll never get that investment back, not on a vehicle this old. At least not unless I swap engines. I have seen guys dump ls's and lx's in these trucks. It's a tight (very tight) fit, but it can be done.

The issue comes back to spending the $800 on the trans. A rebuilt 2.8L or a new HT 3.4L from gm will bolt straight to this trans. Not withstanding all the parts from the 2.8L will bolt right on the 3.4L.

From there, I would have two more optons. A "mild" swap or a "wild" one. A mild one, uses the same intake manifold as the 2.8L, but you grind out the tib port so you can mount a 4.3L tbi unit. Also swap the cam out as well for an edlebock one.

A wild swap, you take the cast heads off the 3.4L and then use the aluminium heads, lower and plentium off a '99 grand am (3400) engine. But if I were to do that, I would have to trick the ecm into thinking I have an electronic trans and not the cable controlled one that I have now.

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

Back in the early 90's... I was going to trick out my 76 Chevy Luv step side with a 4.3L...

Great V6.. It's basically a 350 missing 2 cyls.. Same pistons, bearings, valves and so on... I was going to use a marine intake for a 2 barrel carb... for a nice blend of power and fuel eco... It was going to be a daily driver...

Prob was.. wife & kids are expensive...

sniper · Silver Status Member

Jaxom · Senior Member

joe said