rattle_snake
Well-known member
Man I am jealous of that **** beast of a motor. Contemplated the crate option for my 72 pickup but wasn't quite available yet. Good luck with integration and have fun.
Above 1200 Sq/FT The Warthog Hidey Hole
- Thread starter jbmatth
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
@rattle_snake After two weeks working on trying to get it in I'd have hopped to make more progress, but this is going to be a big project. It has been a ton of fun and I'm really looking forward to getting everything working eventually.
JB
JB
Grizz1963
Well-known member
It is so funny how we build stuff, then start all over again.
my Rezin Rockit is a similar exercise, obviously completely different, but I am already changing it and it has not even got a motor or trans.
my Rezin Rockit is a similar exercise, obviously completely different, but I am already changing it and it has not even got a motor or trans.
MrPink
Well-known member
This is the truth. I was originally not going to engine swap my truck and just get the 350 running good enough and then worry about all the other things. but I started thinking why go through all that and "waste" the $ on an engine that wont do what I want it too. So now I am at the point of no return lol.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Looks like you’ve put a good portion of all that overtime pay to good use. A sports car and a back up is what every family man needs or will they each go to the girls when they turn 16? In any case nice work!!
@Grizz1963 you are completely right, I have changed a few odds and ends on this car in the first few (5) years of ownership but 5 years ago put the new axle in the car along with brakes and coil over suspension. Last year I rebuilt the engine and wasted a good chunk of money doing that only to pull it out for this one. Now this may lead to a complete change on the suspension as well. Idle hands as they say.
But you will have a great running truck when it is done and one you will truly enjoy playing with.
Well the "new" BMW was a "free" car, I won it in a raffle off of $100 worth of tickets. I certainly wouldn't have paid retail for it as it doesn't really fit into my long term plan. It'll get sold if the 4th wheel/tire ever shows up, it is showing as finely making it to OKC but hasn't arrived at it's next location. No the girls will not get either of these cars, the BMW will be long gone by then and it way too nice for a 16 year old, and the cobra is WAY beyond what anyone needs especially a 16 year old. Thanks for the cudos.
JB
I continued working on the engine install, I first had to attach the dust shield before the bell housing and ran into a clearance issue for the crank position sensor:
Problem solved in short order:
The next series of events I didn't get photos of but I put bellhousing on with the offset dowel pins and verified the alignment, it was off by .0025" (.064mm) which is within the allowable offset of .005" (.127mm). Next I put the trans on a trans jack under the car, lowered the car, installed the engine from the top and struggled for over an hour to get them to mate up and get them snugged down.
After that it was getting the engine in the right location front to back, side to side, top to bottom, and angle with the trans bolted in place. Once it was in a good spot I started making the engine mounts play nice, cardboard, marker, scissors, and finely transfer that to metal, tack on, test fit again, and finely weld:
Not perfect, but plenty good for what I need, sadly one of the ears moved on me when welding it out so will take some re-adjustment. However, for now the engine is in the car:
For the most part it looks like it'll fit other than the oil dipstick tube, throttle body, and maybe fuel crossover pipe, but all of that is easy enough to solve. I may not have to modify the hood after all.
I spent about 10 hours total on the tractor getting stuff ready for winter, but I'm happy with where I am for the time being. Next up will likely be building the headers. Woo Hoo.
JB
Problem solved in short order:
The next series of events I didn't get photos of but I put bellhousing on with the offset dowel pins and verified the alignment, it was off by .0025" (.064mm) which is within the allowable offset of .005" (.127mm). Next I put the trans on a trans jack under the car, lowered the car, installed the engine from the top and struggled for over an hour to get them to mate up and get them snugged down.
After that it was getting the engine in the right location front to back, side to side, top to bottom, and angle with the trans bolted in place. Once it was in a good spot I started making the engine mounts play nice, cardboard, marker, scissors, and finely transfer that to metal, tack on, test fit again, and finely weld:
Not perfect, but plenty good for what I need, sadly one of the ears moved on me when welding it out so will take some re-adjustment. However, for now the engine is in the car:
For the most part it looks like it'll fit other than the oil dipstick tube, throttle body, and maybe fuel crossover pipe, but all of that is easy enough to solve. I may not have to modify the hood after all.
I spent about 10 hours total on the tractor getting stuff ready for winter, but I'm happy with where I am for the time being. Next up will likely be building the headers. Woo Hoo.
JB
drivesitfar
Well-known member
You and engines seem to bond well. Keep up the great work.
I was kidding about giving your cool cobra and the beemer (sounds like you’re the lucky guy this month) to the girls. Yep no sort cars or vans fir daughters. I gave our kids Honda CR-V’s and Honda Civic and made payments and insurance payments if they kept grades above 3.0 in private school or they had to make payments and one of my sons had to pay a couple quarters before he started getting all A’s.
sorry I haven’t been around much but looks like you’ve been busy or maybe busier than usual so keep up the great work and posts.
I was kidding about giving your cool cobra and the beemer (sounds like you’re the lucky guy this month) to the girls. Yep no sort cars or vans fir daughters. I gave our kids Honda CR-V’s and Honda Civic and made payments and insurance payments if they kept grades above 3.0 in private school or they had to make payments and one of my sons had to pay a couple quarters before he started getting all A’s.
sorry I haven’t been around much but looks like you’ve been busy or maybe busier than usual so keep up the great work and posts.
Thank you Drives, I do seem to get along with them...most of the time. I haven't decided what to do about cars for them, my parents didn't have an option for vehicles for my brothers or me, too many of us and not nearly enough money for even $500 cars. I had to get my own and pay for repairs as well as insurance and gas. Luckily I'm in a different situation and could get them something but want them to earn it too. We have time to figure that out though.
I assure you I never get bored, I don't seem to make much progress on projects anymore but constantly doing something even if it was like this past weekend pulling doors and roof off of the old pink Jeep to take them for a little backroad cruise.
JB
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Yep even though I made $1.65 an hour I bought my own car (63 mercury comet for $300 and insurance was $100 a year but still had to pay gas (.29 per gallon or maybe that was what I remember).
I’m sure you’ll figure out something to help cause damn near need a printing press to make money these days to keep up with inflation. (BTW these were 7-10 year old Hondas with 100k on them)
getting up and doing something (anything) is great and it would be awesome if everyone did so.
have a great day while I also try to get something done.
I’m sure you’ll figure out something to help cause damn near need a printing press to make money these days to keep up with inflation. (BTW these were 7-10 year old Hondas with 100k on them)
getting up and doing something (anything) is great and it would be awesome if everyone did so.
have a great day while I also try to get something done.
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If the Cobra is way beyond what anyone needs then why do You need it.....
Sorry I just had to ask....
LynnW
My first was in import pickup with 96 hp 4 cylinder and 5 speed trans, it wasn't fast, but would still do some pretty good burnouts.
Funny to think the new engine will have 7 times the power as my first vehicle. I have a good supply of $500-$1,000 cars for them to choose from but also know the crash standards on cars have come a long way in the last 20 years, time will tell and I have at least 5 years before I have to start worrying about that.
No time to relax, too much to do.
I don't need it @Lwel9226 and that is why I love it, but I'm not going to turn it away.If the Cobra is way beyond what anyone needs then why do You need it.....
Sorry I just had to ask....
LynnW
All,
The engine was mounted and was in the right position but I had a really hard time getting the drivers side mount to bolt up. Last night I pulled it out, cut one tab off, installed it, still didn't fit, pulled it back off, cut the other tab off of the frame mount put it back on, marked the location, pulled back off, tacked in place, put back on tacked in place, pulled back off welded, let it cool, and installed it. Just like that, easy as pie... No wonder everything takes so long to get done. But now the engine is dead level side to side and sits nicely in the engine bay.
JB
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
Nice work.
I haven't done much on the Godzilla swap into the cobra lately, I did discover the starter I planned to use won't work without modifying the frame heavily due to the starter solenoid location. I found an alternative but just like everything else with this project it isn't as cheap as I'd have hoped to get by with.
Friday was the day my wife has been waiting 2 months for, her new Jeep finely arrived at the dealership. Bear had an apointment in Wichita at 3:30 so she and I went to the dealer after to pick it up and surprise Mama. All three of them really like it and I must say it is much nicer to drive than her last one:
Most of my "Free" time las week was spent packing for a trip out to western Kansas for another Gambler 500 event. Because I got the Jeep Friday I wouldn't have been able to leave until really late Friday night so instead I left really early Saturday *cough* 2am. The trip out was uneventful until I got about 120 miles (190 km) from the destination when I hit fog thick enough I could have eaten it with a spoon. Here is what it looked like after the sun came up:
That was much clearer than what I'd been driving in, I hope to not run into stuff like that again. We went to Monument rocks as part of the trip:
Next we went to Pyramid Ranch which is privately owned and is about 13,000 acres which is 20 square miles. The owner basically gave us free range to explore after we went parade style around parts of it. There were a few "water" crossings that the Fauxrari made it through but took a little of the landscape with it:
One of the coolest vehicles built for this was a mid 90's Chevy truck put on the frame backwards:
It was an experience seeing it drive toward you with the tailgate. In other news I picked up a new to me vehicle yesterday:
2001 Chevy Silverado 2500 with the LQ4 engine and NV4500 5 speed manual trans, it is only 2wd, but I think it'll serve my needs, you will have to wait to see what I have in mind for it though. It should be a fun project...once I get the cobra done.
JB
Friday was the day my wife has been waiting 2 months for, her new Jeep finely arrived at the dealership. Bear had an apointment in Wichita at 3:30 so she and I went to the dealer after to pick it up and surprise Mama. All three of them really like it and I must say it is much nicer to drive than her last one:
Most of my "Free" time las week was spent packing for a trip out to western Kansas for another Gambler 500 event. Because I got the Jeep Friday I wouldn't have been able to leave until really late Friday night so instead I left really early Saturday *cough* 2am. The trip out was uneventful until I got about 120 miles (190 km) from the destination when I hit fog thick enough I could have eaten it with a spoon. Here is what it looked like after the sun came up:
That was much clearer than what I'd been driving in, I hope to not run into stuff like that again. We went to Monument rocks as part of the trip:
Next we went to Pyramid Ranch which is privately owned and is about 13,000 acres which is 20 square miles. The owner basically gave us free range to explore after we went parade style around parts of it. There were a few "water" crossings that the Fauxrari made it through but took a little of the landscape with it:
One of the coolest vehicles built for this was a mid 90's Chevy truck put on the frame backwards:
It was an experience seeing it drive toward you with the tailgate. In other news I picked up a new to me vehicle yesterday:
2001 Chevy Silverado 2500 with the LQ4 engine and NV4500 5 speed manual trans, it is only 2wd, but I think it'll serve my needs, you will have to wait to see what I have in mind for it though. It should be a fun project...once I get the cobra done.
JB
jbrentd
Well-known member
That engine for the Cobra is beautiful! And congrats on the new rides!
MacTexas
Well-known member
Does the new Jeep have a manual transmission?
I'm pretty in love with it as well, I keep getting distracted but want to get going on it again soon.
Yes it does, the limited pink color and manual trans took us a good bit of effort to get it ordered even but now she has it. A much better ride than her JKU even with that one having Bilstein 5100's.
JB
MrPink
Well-known member
I haven't done much on the Godzilla swap into the cobra lately, I did discover the starter I planned to use won't work without modifying the frame heavily due to the starter solenoid location. I found an alternative but just like everything else with this project it isn't as cheap as I'd have hoped to get by with.
Friday was the day my wife has been waiting 2 months for, her new Jeep finely arrived at the dealership. Bear had an apointment in Wichita at 3:30 so she and I went to the dealer after to pick it up and surprise Mama. All three of them really like it and I must say it is much nicer to drive than her last one:
Most of my "Free" time las week was spent packing for a trip out to western Kansas for another Gambler 500 event. Because I got the Jeep Friday I wouldn't have been able to leave until really late Friday night so instead I left really early Saturday *cough* 2am. The trip out was uneventful until I got about 120 miles (190 km) from the destination when I hit fog thick enough I could have eaten it with a spoon. Here is what it looked like after the sun came up:
That was much clearer than what I'd been driving in, I hope to not run into stuff like that again. We went to Monument rocks as part of the trip:
Next we went to Pyramid Ranch which is privately owned and is about 13,000 acres which is 20 square miles. The owner basically gave us free range to explore after we went parade style around parts of it. There were a few "water" crossings that the Fauxrari made it through but took a little of the landscape with it:
One of the coolest vehicles built for this was a mid 90's Chevy truck put on the frame backwards:
It was an experience seeing it drive toward you with the tailgate. In other news I picked up a new to me vehicle yesterday:
2001 Chevy Silverado 2500 with the LQ4 engine and NV4500 5 speed manual trans, it is only 2wd, but I think it'll serve my needs, you will have to wait to see what I have in mind for it though. It should be a fun project...once I get the cobra done.
JB
I say put a big ol' turbo on the LQ4, but that's me lol
MrPink
Well-known member
sure you could lol
drivesitfar
Well-known member
JB: first backwards driving truck i've EVER SEEN. WOW!!
nice that your bride gets a spankin new JEEP. well done sir!!
I have to ask cause I'm hoping the answer is yes, but did the 4th BMW tire show up at your house yet?
carry on and looks like you're busy as per the usual!!
nice that your bride gets a spankin new JEEP. well done sir!!
I have to ask cause I'm hoping the answer is yes, but did the 4th BMW tire show up at your house yet?
carry on and looks like you're busy as per the usual!!
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
You find some JATO bottles?
I have now seen a backwards driving truck in person and an upside down truck in person:
This was in 2017 in Illinois I believe, quite unique for certain.
I know she is very happy to have the new Jeep, and we optioned it with just about everything she wanted and I threw a few things in there for me too.
The only thing we ordered it didn't come with were the all weather floor mats, apparently they were canceled from the order because they just couldn't get them. Sadly the 4th BMW wheel and tire never arrived, and I can't find any for sale in the US, looks like I'd have to order it from Germany, I have filed a claim with the delivery company, we will see where it goes.
Jet Assist Take Off? I don't have any laying around, if you do please let me know I'd be interested in them.
JB
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
JB, for some reason I haven't been getting updates on your thread. Took me a bit to catch up!
Looks like things are progressing along as usual!
Looks like things are progressing along as usual!
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
Good honest work though!
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
Do you listen to music, read stuff and type on phone or just do some good thinking while mowing all that grass? Great view!!
I assume you meant work rather than with? Either way it is kinda a good way to relax and zone out.
I typically listen to car related podcasts, but frequently zone out and just think about the meaning of life. On a rare occasion I look out and just smile knowing that everything I'm seeing is something I've built, or worked many hours to pay for and it is all mine. Other times I think it would be way easier to just burn it all.
JB
I made a little progress on the headers this weekend but prior to what ended up being my last tach weld I noticed the flow regulator was flowing when I wasn't welding. Ended up tracking it down to the hose, cut off the outer braid and found this:
The hose looks like that the entire length, this is the tig torch lead so not simply just a rubber hose. Sadly these aren't available locally on a Saturday so I ordered one online...OUCH.
I spend the majority of the rest of Saturday on the tractor, finished mowing the pasture after 6 hours of seat time:
Then we went to town for some Halloween events and dinner out. Sunday I spent most of the day in the bathroom so made no progress. This is engine swap is taking longer than I expected and I expected it to go very slow.
JB
The hose looks like that the entire length, this is the tig torch lead so not simply just a rubber hose. Sadly these aren't available locally on a Saturday so I ordered one online...OUCH.
I spend the majority of the rest of Saturday on the tractor, finished mowing the pasture after 6 hours of seat time:
Then we went to town for some Halloween events and dinner out. Sunday I spent most of the day in the bathroom so made no progress. This is engine swap is taking longer than I expected and I expected it to go very slow.
JB
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Was your behind more sore from tractor seat or bathroom one? Or maybe you were hugging the biffy? Anyway fields I bet look awesome and I know there are days a 2 bedroom condo on the beach look like a dream but that’s not us do hang in there.
hope you feel better today!!
hope you feel better today!!
86turbodsl
Well-known member
That's some nice work on the engine install.
The bathroom experience was much worse, I'll spare the details. The tractor is actually pretty comfortable all in all, just a lot of time on it for me at least. I do sometimes think how much more time and money I'd have if we didn't ever buy this place and just stayed at our house in town, but that would be boring in comparison.
Thank you, I still have a to do list a mile long, but slowly getting there.
JB
drivesitfar
Well-known member
JB & ALL: I asked this question a few months ago and after doing some thinking on it it looks like I need a replacement engine for our 2005 Honda CRV SE or donate it for a tax write off. the timing chain slipped and bent a few rods so minimum $1000 to fix, but it was leaking oil so there is that issue. otherwise we've owned the car since it's new and it's got 190k easy miles on it (my bride barely let me haul anything in it other than kids).
i'm not great with cars other than the basics and JB and a few other guys here seem to do engine swaps almost in their sleep. any chance there is a new engine I should be buying to replace my old one cause i'll probably just sell the car if I end up getting a $900 used one from a wrecking yard (I have a friend that is great with honda engine swaps, but he doesn't have a source for new engines at the minute and he'd change for $1,000).
sorry to derail your thread a bit JB, but I recall you and a few of your followers saying there is a great engine (hopefully Honda or Japanese cause i've had good luck with them).
also since you seem to work 10-12 hour days do you usually only do work on your stuff on the weekends or do you come home and head out to the shop? I know you don't sleep much (or maybe you will when you're dead).
i'm not great with cars other than the basics and JB and a few other guys here seem to do engine swaps almost in their sleep. any chance there is a new engine I should be buying to replace my old one cause i'll probably just sell the car if I end up getting a $900 used one from a wrecking yard (I have a friend that is great with honda engine swaps, but he doesn't have a source for new engines at the minute and he'd change for $1,000).
sorry to derail your thread a bit JB, but I recall you and a few of your followers saying there is a great engine (hopefully Honda or Japanese cause i've had good luck with them).
also since you seem to work 10-12 hour days do you usually only do work on your stuff on the weekends or do you come home and head out to the shop? I know you don't sleep much (or maybe you will when you're dead).
Drives,
This is a tough one, I'd be surprised if you could find a new engine, and a majority of the rebuilt engines you get are from less than optimal engine rebuilders in my opinion. If you go for the used engine it is tough to verify the mileage and condition of your exact engine (shady games happen). I know someone mentioned earlier there are other engines to swap in that are relatively easy but I'm not a Japanese engine expert by any means.
On the financial side of things you'd have to weigh the value of the car with another engine installed including the cast to make it happen vs. the value as it sits. That is only part of the equation though, what is car worth running when done vs. the cost to buy a newer vehicle. Tough math to try to put pen to paper on normally.
I typically work right at 10 hours a day unless I'm in a small outage or large turnaround when the hours kick up a lot. So a normal day I get about 45 minutes of work in the morning before work then an hour or two after work. On weekends I usually get about 4 hours before the girls wake up each day and can sometimes get a few more hours. But also a lot of time gets spent working on the land or other house projects. No time to sit around and watch TV, too much to get done.
JB
This is a tough one, I'd be surprised if you could find a new engine, and a majority of the rebuilt engines you get are from less than optimal engine rebuilders in my opinion. If you go for the used engine it is tough to verify the mileage and condition of your exact engine (shady games happen). I know someone mentioned earlier there are other engines to swap in that are relatively easy but I'm not a Japanese engine expert by any means.
On the financial side of things you'd have to weigh the value of the car with another engine installed including the cast to make it happen vs. the value as it sits. That is only part of the equation though, what is car worth running when done vs. the cost to buy a newer vehicle. Tough math to try to put pen to paper on normally.
I typically work right at 10 hours a day unless I'm in a small outage or large turnaround when the hours kick up a lot. So a normal day I get about 45 minutes of work in the morning before work then an hour or two after work. On weekends I usually get about 4 hours before the girls wake up each day and can sometimes get a few more hours. But also a lot of time gets spent working on the land or other house projects. No time to sit around and watch TV, too much to get done.
JB
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
I think JB gives some good advice here Drives. You need to decide what the vehicle is worth to you fixed, and weigh that with the cost to repair. The original engine gave you 190k, if it were me, I would replace with the same. Keep up on the oil changes and recommended maintenance, and you should easily see another 190k out of that one. Find a quality shop that has some good reviews and see what they can offer. If you do go the route of a used engine, do your due diligence and go through it with some new parts before you have it installed: timing chain, plugs, wires, etc/whatever it may need.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
Drives, Your car has near enough 200k. That means every part of the car has 200k. You are looking at nearly 2,000 for the engine replacement. So if you do the swap, when is the transmission going to go out?
Can you buy your car, running and driving for 2k? Possibly. But then you still would have a Civic with high mileage.
I scrap cars and I haul Civics with blown engines by the handful. However, in the past 25 years, I have picked up very few Toyotas with bad engines. Most of them are wrecked, or rusted out, and still run and drive. My advice is to sell the Civic for as much as you can, and find a Camry. For about 3 to 4,000 you can pick one up that will run practically forever.
My daughter had an 04 Civic and all I did was work on that thing. The engine finally blew, and we found her a Corolla. In the past 3 years I have put brakes, 2 coil packs, and a battery terminal on it.
Can you buy your car, running and driving for 2k? Possibly. But then you still would have a Civic with high mileage.
I scrap cars and I haul Civics with blown engines by the handful. However, in the past 25 years, I have picked up very few Toyotas with bad engines. Most of them are wrecked, or rusted out, and still run and drive. My advice is to sell the Civic for as much as you can, and find a Camry. For about 3 to 4,000 you can pick one up that will run practically forever.
My daughter had an 04 Civic and all I did was work on that thing. The engine finally blew, and we found her a Corolla. In the past 3 years I have put brakes, 2 coil packs, and a battery terminal on it.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Glad you like Toyotas but I like Hondas better. My car is a CRV (not the cheaper civic) and I’ve owned 5 of them (bought 2 new) and this is first one with any engine issues. I think between me and my bride and 2 kids we’ve put over a million miles on our Hondas.
I hear you guys in the 200k on my CRV but with a new engine it would be worth $7000+ around here and with a new engine maybe more. Not trying to reinvent the wheel it’s just that we’ve kept up this car pretty decent and most people think it’s newer than 2017 unless they know models of crv’s.
JB: I remember when I had little ones around here and I’d get calls at 5am from builders and developers and then buyers of the homes I had listed til midnight but I rarely missed a soccer game or swim meet. Enjoy what you have and keep up the good work cause you are building for you and your family’s future which will come quick.
best of luck with the sleep part.
I hear you guys in the 200k on my CRV but with a new engine it would be worth $7000+ around here and with a new engine maybe more. Not trying to reinvent the wheel it’s just that we’ve kept up this car pretty decent and most people think it’s newer than 2017 unless they know models of crv’s.
JB: I remember when I had little ones around here and I’d get calls at 5am from builders and developers and then buyers of the homes I had listed til midnight but I rarely missed a soccer game or swim meet. Enjoy what you have and keep up the good work cause you are building for you and your family’s future which will come quick.
best of luck with the sleep part.
Thanks for the added input guys, I typically am not scared of higher mileage because I do my own work and parts typically aren't that expensive compared to the labor. I also don't have much experience with Japanese cars, the only one I've ever owned is the 3000GT and it has been fine but I likely won't fix anything unless it became absolutely necessary.
Something else to look at is the rust under the car, is the unibody starting to rust, not just surface rust but structural rust with holes in parts. The body can look great but have terrible rust you can't see without getting under it. My Lemon is likely to die from rust before anything else, it runs great but I have to be very careful where I use a jack on it. It does have 222,222 miles as of yesterday so I'll aim for 250,000 and send it down the road to probably become a Gambler car for someone.
JB
I have my new TIG torch hose in and I also purchased a gas lens setup for it, works great again. I made a little progress on the header when I had to tack a pipe to the collector but the 2" pipes don't fit the 2" collector. About the only option I have is to use a die grinder, this takes FOREVER to do but a little at a time I'm getting there:
First one done, one more to go then eventually I'll have to deal with the side pipe collectors too to get them to line up.
Keep Moving Forward,
JB
First one done, one more to go then eventually I'll have to deal with the side pipe collectors too to get them to line up.
Keep Moving Forward,
JB