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Boingk

Boingk's F250 4x4

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On 11/8/2020 at 10:28 AM, gerg said:

The wheels are probably King or Dynamic.

 

<snip>

 

Hope that timing cover is ok and not rusted out.

 

Checked the recipt, they are indeed Dynamic. Heh, at least they were cheap!

 

The timing cover is pretty good. It's an average of about 15% humidity and bugger all rainfall out here so things don't deteriorate like they do on the coast. A quick wire-wheel and a coat of paint, she'll be good as new.

 

 - boingk

 

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Cover whire wheeled, camshaft and timing set out. 

 

This thing definitely had love in the distant past - the camshaft is a Crane grind (230@50 / 530 lift) and all the cam bearings are mint. The head gaskets came off dead flat and looking like they're out of a packet. The more I strip stuff off this the better it gets. Figners crossed for the crank and rods.

 

Ah yeah, I got the heads back as well. Hot tanked, acid bathed, hardened seats all round with a mild throat cut plus a valve job, new seals & mild performance springs. Nice.

 

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By the look of the thermostat it probably hasnt run in over a decade until I got it. This thing is crusty.

 

I can't see evidence of it being on gas, I'd say its just been plunked in there, beers were had, things were smoked and then the project got abandoned right around the time Port Arthur was happening.

 

Lots of cleaning ahead for sure. The timing set that came out was actually pretty tight, the picture doesn't do it justice. In all honestly I'm tempted to clean it up and see if it can be reused, or at least kept as a spare.

In the meantime, the block is out of the truck. Hazzah!

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Getting somewhere. There was so much freakin' sludge in this thing. Luckily a small stainless brush, an old chisel, a few cans of degreaser and a whole lotta elbow grease got it sorted.

The block is clean enough and the bores measure up well at 4.001" to 4.002", but the stock rings are shot and a few of them cracked in half on removing the pistons. I measured two end gaps and they were both about 1/8" hahaha. 

The pistons themselves don't look as bad as I thought though. They measure 3.996 to 3.998 across the thrust faces so I'll probably reuse them. They don't show any signs of damage beyond some mild pitting - with that and the broken rings I'm thinking detonation.

The sump cleaned up well, too, after pouring about a pint of sludge out of it. The stuff had the consistency of cold porridge. Lovely. On the upside it looks like a good strong pan with true sealing surfaces, and even the dent in the lower section beat out just fine.

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Looks exceptionally clean inside... Where do you think the sludge came from? Clevos aren't generally known for doing head gaskets. Maybe the sludge prevented any tarnish buildup?

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1 hour ago, gerg said:

Looks exceptionally clean inside... Where do you think the sludge came from? Clevos aren't generally known for doing head gaskets. Maybe the sludge prevented any tarnish buildup?

 

The sump and valley are post-cleaning session. They were caked in a 1/4 inch of black buildup. The bores were pretty good, though, as are all the bearings and lifter bores.

 

Sludge from age and lack of oil changes, coupled with only the occasional fire-up is my guess.

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10 hours ago, Boingk said:

Getting somewhere. There was so much freakin' sludge in this thing. Luckily a small stainless brush, an old chisel, a few cans of degreaser and a whole lotta elbow grease got it sorted.

The block is clean enough and the bores measure up well at 4.001" to 4.002", but the stock rings are shot and a few of them cracked in half on removing the pistons. I measured two end gaps and they were both about 1/8" hahaha. 

The pistons themselves don't look as bad as I thought though. They measure 3.996 to 3.998 across the thrust faces so I'll probably reuse them. They don't show any signs of damage beyond some mild pitting - with that and the broken rings I'm thinking detonation.
 

 

You're saying, it had 125 thou ring gaps? 😮

It actually ran like that!

 

And I thought my F-truck ring gaps were bad at 45thou, against a 20thou stock service limit.

 

Cleveland's are amazing...

I prefer soft cast rings, (which preserve the bore's), any day of the week! :)

 

So 3-6thou piston to cylinder wall gaps? (half that, over the circumference)

 

What mic's and dial bore gauge, do you have?

I've got a set of Mitutoyo 103 series mics, and I'm looking at their bore gauge options, atm.

Spoke to their local rep, the other week.

 

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7 hours ago, SPArKy_Dave said:

You're saying, it had 125 thou ring gaps? 😮

It actually ran like that!

 

So 3-6thou piston to cylinder wall gaps? (half that, over the circumference)

 

What mic's and dial bore gauge, do you have?

 

Yep, it liked the starter but it most certainly ran. Probably why it sounded badass - absolutely zero compression. I imagine it would've topped out about 70kmh with those ring end gaps haha. If I have 20 thou gaps this time around I'll be happy, should be about right.

 

Yup, generous piston to bore clearance but honestly I'm more worried about getting this thing on the road as soon as I can. My next lot of leave is in April (I generally keep working over the holiday period) and I'd love it on the road before then.

 

I'm using a very basic dial-bore gauge I got from ebay for about $40. It's consistent at least, although was a prick to set up. The micrometer is a metal bodied digital unit from repco and works fairly well. 

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Okay so I ended up with 30-thou ring end gaps due to pre-gapped rings but what the hell, thats way better than the 120+ I had to start with, and with 11:1, worked heads, camshaft and possible nitrous use thats probably not a bad place to be. 

 

The whole shortblock is together and torqued to spec with new bearings and oil pump, the sump/timing set/water pump go on next and then I'll chuck it back in the truck before I put heads on it.

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This is where things get weird.

 

I have a Chrysler wagon (because I'm just sick like that - sick!) and have been offered an even trade for a '77 F100 XLT - Clevo, 4WD, tub rear and already regoed and running on 35" tyres. Hot damn.

 

This might happen. May still do up the F250, but either way the engine is going in the new truck if I get it.

 

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Okay, deal is put together and I have my border pass COVID whatevers all sorted to leave in less than a week's time in the Val, rockin' along on an unrego permit to the final destination.

 

On the way back in the truck I'm going to go look at a Honda Grom - those mini-bike looking things you've probably seen tootling around the last few years. I'd love to get back on 2 wheels again and figure this will be a good, cheap way to do it that will sell on easily after if I tire of it.

 

The breakdown bucket so far is a 12v fuel pump, 10g wire, entire new carby, 10L water, coolant concentrate, 5L oil, Z9 oil filter, spark plugs, timing light and hand tools. That should sort out whatever the last owner hasn't, although the truck is regoed so can't be too horrid.

 

Fingers crossed!

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11 hours ago, 2redrovers said:

Fuses, relays?

 

Oh, that epoxy putty for fuel/radiator leaks

 

Yeah fuses always go with me, but good catch on the putty stuff. I'll grab some of that for sure. Old mate says its a new radiator but you never know.

 

11 hours ago, deankdx said:

jerrry can, multi meter, spare battery, jumper leads, jack, tie wire, zip ties, duct tape, decent torch, drinking water, snacks.. 

 

That's pretty much my daily list, most sits in the boot in a milk crate haha. I'm definitely taking jerries as the good ole Effy will be somewhat less than frugal on 35s and I don't want to run out on the longer stretches back home. Good idea on the torch though, I rely too much on my phone at the moment and a proper torch will be useful, especially as I'll be camping overnight in the thing.

 

Ah, and you guys heard of Trangias? Best cookstove ever. Swedish, weatherproof, self-contained, light, not too dear and last bloody forever. They're quick to use, too, the amount of times I've outdone some you-beaut pressurised mountain stove is crazy. Usually I'm done eating by the time they've finished cooking.

 

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Keep the ideas coming. Can never be too prepared for a road trip... and this will be about a 6 hour each way trip into the middle of butt-fahrk-nowhere South Australia.

 

 - boingk

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4 minutes ago, gerg said:

Sounds like you've got it covered Boink, except for maybe a tyre plug kit and 12v compressor?

 

Knew I was forgetting something. Legend! Now I just need to figure out where I put them haha.

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Depends how paranoid you are and if you really want to cut Ol' Murphy off at the pass, a spare alternator and starter if it's not manual. If you have them on hand I think I'd take them to make sure you don't need them.

 

My in laws bought our old ea from us and drove it from Brisbane to Melbourne. Half way down the Hume when one of the culprits (too long ago to remember which one) decided to crap out and they had to walk an hour or so to the next town to get help.

 

 

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11 hours ago, 2redrovers said:

Depends how paranoid you are and if you really want to cut Ol' Murphy off at the pass, a spare alternator and starter if it's not manual.

 

I've got both lying around so thats no a bad idea actually.

 

Today I gave the Val a good once over, she's got fresh brake fluid, oil and filters, refurbed Holley 500, new themostat and gasket plus a coolant flush and fill. I've done some crazy trips in this old rig but its time to move it on. She'll do well with the new owner and I'll (hopefully) not have too many issues with the Effy.

 

Fingers crossed, not long now.

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Okay, so this was an epic trip. I left home on the 19th, carrying a few boxes of things plus the boot of spare parts for old mate - seat, vinyl, steering column, roof racks, etc.

 

The Val shot its water pump spigot about 100km out of town. I found out after slowing down for a truck in front - all of a sudden it felt like it'd thrown a rod. The good news was the fan didn't gouge the radiator, but the bad news was I had to take it off and let the pump wobble under 80kmh.

 

It lasted a few hundred kay until I was just about to hit the SA border checkpoint. I fit a bit of rope to the pulleys, stretched and retightened and tensioned again, and showed up at the checkpoint with rust-coloured water on the fender, a run-on from the poor thing being hot and then steam rising as the overflow bubbled due to no airflow allowing the contents to boil.

 

So, I limped off to get a belt and found two good blokes in Paringa who lent me a hand. I paid for the belt, fit it, and was off again. I made it to the seller just out of Waikeri as the sun went down. We had a chat about the personalities of our vehicles, exchanged receipts and I was out of there.

 

I camped the night behind a servo and in the morning made a 100km leg to see how she went - 'not terrible' was about it... she used about 40L/100km. Not impressed at all, I changed to the Holley Brawler 650 in a servo carpark and was on my way. First fillup was 20L/100km and after that it dropped to 17 on the open road, cruising along about 2600rpm @ 100kmh courtesy of the big 35" tyres.

 

End result? I'm pretty bloody happy. 17/100 is magic for one of these bricks on 35's. I'll see how she goes with my nice closed chamber heads but honestly I'm considering leaving her as is. Very good bang-for-the buck in terms of fuel usage! That carb swap basically paid for itself.

 

Cheers - boingk

 

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