Everyone knows I've been working , on what this has been - a huge project for me. Today I can report it was a successful journey!!
The old '86 Ranger ran solid as a rock. Only issue 2 issues I had along the way is the temp gauge stubbornly refused to show much if any heat ( I must have buggered up installing the T-Stat) - but we did have heat to keep the windows defogged and warm as it was a miserably rainy trip all the way up and back. Unusually cool for this time of year too - but that beats a hot exhausting drive anytime. The other is I just had to plug up the vacuum to the EGR valve again - every time I do this , as the engine idles , it'll die all the time. Runs just fine plugged up and I should know better and just leave it alone.
As I said it was rain on and off all the way up and back down. We started engine at 7:30 am and shut engine back off just after midnight. So it was a good 16 hour run. Distance was over 800 miles. ( Including a quick drive though Hershey Pennsylvania..... Just too curious!)
Highlight of the trip was meeting up with Mark and his Dad!! Just 2 Great Fellows and a Joy to spend some time with! Wish I hadn't been rushed to get on back down the road because I could have stayed there for hours!! Marks' Dad runs a body shop and he is really good at his craft , and we were treated to some really exciting special pieces of rolling stock you wont find anywhere else!! Even though the rain didn't want to give us a break, Mark and his Dad rolled back tarps and car covers to show us many hours of hard work and their stories of of their adventures. We also got to see Marks rare '84 J2000 Sunbird Wagon he is working on too!! Mark and his Dad have a real talant for doing unique things with vehicles and I have no doubt when they get this Pontiac finished it will be truly a 1 of a kind and put together right!
Sadly, Marks' Dad told me of how the Recession has ripped into his shops business. Personally I think the age of computers has allowed the wealthy and powerful in this country to consolidate these interests. Small Mom & Pop businesses all over this land are suffering terribly as the common folks struggle to make ends meet and cannot support local establishments like we used to - meanwhile large entities like the Insurance Companies and WalMart with large pockets seek out those that will sell goods or provide services at ridiculously tight margins so these big companies can stockpile hordes of cash. I Hope these 2 Guys can weather the storm and hopefully good times will once again provide people with the means to indulge in some extra work on their vehicles .
I want to Thank Mark for the Drive Train out of his Wagon , and to Him and his Dad helping load this beast in my old Ranger. Never was so glad I had a Camper Shell on it as I was on this trip!! Thank You Both!!
Altogether after all the work on the old Ranger and Food & Gas on the trip , this little adventure cost the old man about 1 Grand!! However, I now have a hauler that I can depend on and know it can do the job! ( I was surprised how well the little Pinto engine hauled this Brazil engine and Transaxle down the highway too) Got a very rare drive train that I am very grateful to get!! Had a great time and wonderful experience - and made some new Friends from across the Mason-Dixon line. My Sweetie and I got to travel a little together and make a some new memories. Sounds like a bargain to me. Beats a week on a Cruise - you come home with empty pockets and just some photos and probably a painful sunburn too boot.
So here are a few photos from Exeter Pa. It was raining so we didn't get nearly as many I'd loved to had gotten.
Here we are - Mark and yours truly...
...and of his Wagon
My Sweetie checkin' out the interior (she is such a trooper - - Baby, Your the Greatest!!) - mark has his work cut out in there - lots to do!! he is trying to decide what dash to install at this point. Anyone got any ideas to give him??
Here is Marks N-Body creation - Mark started dreaming this up when he was just 8 years old!! Wish I'd gotten a full photo shoot of it it is amazing!! the car was done 8 years ago and still looks Great!!
Remember I said unique? Check out this ride! Powered by a Corvair engine. The top comes off for you 'Vert fans!!
Finally a photo of Mark and his Dad!! If you ever up their way stop by and say "Hey!" 2 Great Guys!!
Will get some photos of the the drive train soon! In the next few weeks I'm going to get some oil in the cylinders and lubricate those pistons. While I am at it I am going to finally solve one great burning mystery I have had regarding these Brazil Engines. While I have the plugs out I'm going to slacken off the timing belt and ever so gently turn the crankshaft and see for myself if these engines are indeed interference or not. I have heard that they are, but have never read any print to back it up - even in the factory shop manual. It has been my experience that in the early years when interference designs came out there was lots of caution spelled out when an engine was, but the ones that was not didn't get much attention because there was no worry. One way or the other I will find out for sure and when i do I'll share this information with all of you on here!
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Congrats Orlen on a great trip and even better story. Cheers...
1st Drive train photos. Just like you would see it under the hood. Old Ranger had on in the front, one in the back last night...LoL
Just cleared top edge to go inside inside the Camper Shell.
This Drive Train is an exact match for my Coupe. Exactly the same Make Year and Model. Both had Power Steering, A/C and Automatic. Automatic is toast. Fluid is black as coal and has metallic flakes in it. I'd say the clutches and bands , if any...(do 125C's have bands?) ...are down to the backing plates.
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How long have you had that BII spare carrier on your truck? Did you have to reinforce the bed or have you had any problems with it?
Looks like you had some fun there Orlen. The chase is always fun and the road trips, both short and long to see cars or parts that you need are memories that you never forget. Also it is good to see a young guy like Mark going the extra mile to save that engine for you.
John - never pulled a stunt like this before....LoL. Maybe I'm refusing to grow too old too quickly . Oh Yes, I'll remember this way down the road when I'm no longer able to do so.
Wadus, I've had the BII rack hung off my truck at least since "09. Saw one at the salvage yard and just thought it would be cool. I know these things are something folks either Love or Hate....but it sure gave me piece of mind on my long trip because the Spare was easy to get to , and I had the 2nd spare down below if needed. I did use some large thick washers inside to spin the nuts over, but no special reinforcement. Have had no problems at all. In fact I've driven with the tailgate down, the Spare opened up and tied as closed as possible to the tailgate and had no worries. Everything has stayed right in place.
The bottom hanger was a direct bolt on, I simply used a block of wood the height I like to have the bracket to set up off the bumper and got my Sweetie to hold the tire mount in place while I drilled the bottom bracket holes. I believe I used the stock bolts and found some nuts and washers to use on the inside. Removed the Tail Light made access super easy.
The top bracket was a PIA. I had to cut & grind off a considerable amount of material to get the bracket to lay flush to the truck body. After I was satisfied, it was about the same as the bottom one.
The Latch Bracket I took off the Lift Gate of the BII and bolted onto the tailgate. Used a Dremel too cut 2 squares on the back side big enough to fit washers and nuts inside to the bolts and I was pretty much done. Oh, I found I had to take the Dremel tool and cut the area around the Latch Bracket the camper Shells Lift Gate interfered with.
This old Truck...like my Wagon and now the Coupe have become long time friends of mine. I have made all kinds of little mods here and there. I'd never find another one quite like it. Everyone 'round here knows it is me when I'm driving any of my vehicles...LoL.
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Nice story of your trip and extras to boot.As for the weather it has rained here the last 3 days.So no mowing(errr) my yard is getting out of control with the rain.So instead I did fix my old mtd ride mower clutch(yehhhh) had the parts since I bought that new husqvarna last yr and just said I will gett to it.Yesterday I broke down and bought a new power washer(my orig is 15yrs old and pump needs a kit) and a new echo 2cycle trimmer for bushes,and a 4gall backpack sprayer.Spent I did but very necessary for me to keep things up around here.The pw is a homelite with a honda engine 2.3gpm 2700psi.Enough of my stories see what you caused.Good trip for you I see and stay dry.
If you are a little like me , Ron , you probably expect things to last a very long time with a little maintenance and a lot of TLC. But sometimes parts are impossible to come by or cost so much that a new machine is in order. ( They are trying to do that with our J-Bodies...aren't they!) Hope the mower keeps on mowin' and with luck you'll get lots of use out of your power washer and trimmer. Too bad you can't know ahead of time what parts you would need for them as now they are new and parts are easy and even cheaper than they will become by the time you'll have to look for them when something goes wrong. I've kept our old cheapo push mower up and going since we got it new in '06. Got a handy nail on top of the clothes line post I hang it up onto and spray it out regularly. Even took the old rusted bolts for the handle out and replaced them with stainless steel ones. Each year take the wheels off and grease the axles. Silly little stuff like that. Ya know you used to get a cheapo push mower for right around a hundred bucks.....now that price is knockin' on about a buck fifty...
I thought about you as I was driving all those miles yesterday. I was a mighty tired puppy....yet you do this for a livin' day after day. I don't envy your workload!
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I miss PA :/ I used to work at Hershey Chocolate World and live in Lebanon. Glad you had a good trip!
"In Oldskool we trust"
Looks like a fun trip!
Love the mod on the tailgate!
Miss those years rangers here...
http://www.autotalk.com/pictures/data/1536/medium/2005_Chevrolet_Cavalier_Xtreme_002_autotalk_com_.jpg
That tray idea is actually pretty smart!I know when I got that spare engine and trans I separated mine before hand due to I soley wanted the trans initially.Then after a couple days made me think gee with the trans out of the car at the pull a part I should get that engine! It took me about 1hr to yank but,I got the entire engine harness too boot,plus already had the intake and tbi and ecm! As for driving yeah it can tire you out for sure.I did 394 miles today my easy day to charlottesville,va and back.I am still tired but sun and mon I go to fredricksburg,va drop/hook and that is 530 miles.My spare engine is in the back corner of garage and out of the way as yours is too.As for the MTD ride mower is just a back up but,has been maintained to the letter and restored alot two yrs ago on it being some items are discontinued on it at this point.I also can use my mother in laws john deere 185 hydro IF needed and yeah rebuilt the whole deck a year ago and new drive belt,pulleys etc.It has a kawasaki engine like my husqvarna main reason I went to a dealer for my new mower bc any NON dealer only sells the husqvarna with either a kohler or brigg/strat and those can't touch a kawasaki in terms of long term use and low cost to keep up really.
