Merrill's 4G64 DOHC.

Today was spent knocking out the part I hate.... scrubbing, prepping, repairing, and cleaning everything to make it ready for dye. Just like I did on Page 4, post #88, the whole thing was stripped down and scrubbed clean.

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Since these parts are NOT the easiest to score as a replacement easily, I had to make repairs. Unfortunately I completely neglected to take before pics, so I dont have anything cool to show off. The biggest fix was the warped dash pad. It is the soft part of the dash (feels padded) and it is completely removable from the rest of the dash (see the top of the pic above). This is just one of those things that happens to these dashes. The heat beats it up and it warps and separates from the rest of the dash where it is not secured. Since heat distorted it, heat will fix it. This takes a lot of patience and practice to not over heat it, and not to indent it while trying to form it back to the shape of the dash. The only down side is 9 times out of 10, it will crack where it is bowed (as mine did).

Fixing cracks is very simple. If you cut the crack out, you can re-foam or fill it up with certain epoxies or even other fillers. Fillers harder than the foam will ensure the dash will be less likely to bow again in the same place. If I remember to get some pics, I will post them when I repair the cracks. It's really easy.

I also have holes in the dash which need to be plugged up and a few spots than need new texture to blend it all in. Again, its all very easy to do. I have not yet decided if I will upholster parts of the dash or just dye them. I'll make that decision sooner or later. Hopefully I will have it dyed in a week or two.

Should of had wifey put everything in the dishwasher, lol.. I definitely do not have the patience you have to do what you did here. Many of them pieces are stressed into their positions, like the vent directionals. Good luck getting all the right screws back into their right spots and hopefully you'll have no extra parts.
You ever have problems with any cracking between a repair on the dash and the dash itself. Sitting in the sun I would think the edges of a repaired area would want to start flaring out around the repair. I seen bondo used to patch dash cracks, but don't know how long it would last under a hot windshield.

It all went back together this afternoon just fine. Since I am not dying it for a while, and I don't want to lose anything in the mean time, I put it all back together. The best advice i can give when taking these things apart is to take your time. Heat also helps to loosen up plastic parts.

I've never had a repair break before (or have another crack near it), but it's the same procedure to repair it again. I don't use bondo or body filler on plastic repairs to repair them. It's not meant to stick parts back together and hold them. Adhesives make the repair and body filler will smooth it all out if needed. Sticking body filler to a dash is nothing new. People have been doing it for years, but there is a lot more that goes into it than just throwing it on the dash and smoothing it. In order to make it last, you have to prep it and add other composite materials to hold the shape. The body filler just makes a smooth surface.

I didnt think I had the time today, but hey, looks like I did after all.


First up - repairing the cracks on the dash pad.
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And here is the end result after filling and shaping. Good as new.
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I did decide on a combination of dye and upholstery, so this piece will not be dyed (as well as a few others).

I also fixed 4 holes and a large gash on the dash itself. Nothing major....
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After a bunch of cleaning and prep - I dyed it black just like the current dash in my truck.
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Not every portion of the dash is dyed. Pretty much every part that is not covered in upholstery, or is not seen, was left alone. Once it is all put back together again, it will look like a brand new RHD dash. Right now it is hanging up and curing. I'll probably reassemble everything in a week or so. Upholstery will happen whenever I feel like I have the time.

Questions or comments - Post up!

Looks like it all came out really good from here. Nice!

What kind of dye is that?

VHT Vinyl Dye. Normally I order a plastic dye used by detailers, but my guy didn't have any this time around. I decided to give the VHT a shot. I gave a spot a scratch test today and it holds quite nicely.

I've used that VHT vinyl spray and it is really good stuff to work with. If the trim part you're re-colouring is cleaned properly and you lay the stuff down in light coats, you'll get get good colour penetration into the trim and it won't flake off. Looks good so far Merill, nice job :thumbup:

I'm pretty impressed thus far. I usually use industrial stuff, but this seems to be no different as far as I can tell. If it doesn't work as well, I'll update later lol.

Not a lot to report lately... I was planning on RHD soon, but clients are keeping me too busy for that. I'm back to fabbing on Sundays again.

Today was actually an off day. We had a small glitch in the schedule, so I ran to the yard for some goods. I decided that the final design of this particular phase would bring a clearance issue to the Montero Sport rear sway bar once I change my wheels. As such, I pulled a Ford rear sway bar which will be going on soon. I'm not completely satisfied with the switch, but I gotta do what I gotta do I guess.

I managed to get it stripped and coated this afternoon and will soon have it installed. I'm not going to bolt it on like it was. It will be better fitted and perches welded to the axle. I'm also building adjustable end links so I can dial it in better.

Aside from that, I made the decision on my pistons. I'm going to end up with a compression ratio of about 10.8:1 and will push 15 PSI. That should net some good power to start with.

I'll get some pics up when I get some actual work done. If anyone is interested in the 26 mm Montero Sport rear sway bar I have, let me know. It's a near perfect fit to the MM.

Isnt that CR kind of high for a turbo engine?

Are you using a KM132 transmission? Is that one stronger than a km145?

Not really. It's all in the tuning and guts. You can't cheap out on that stuff to make it happen right. One of my clients is on 30 PSI @ 11.5 or 12:1 (can't remember which one - many people do it)

My trans is from a Montero Sport. I'm not sure on the model #. I never bothered to look.

Thank god someone thats not afraid of compression and boost but you seem to play with evos and theyre the king of it lol only way to build boost and make serious power with big turbo 4cyl one thing my fellow neon/srt crowd fails to accept

Compression and boost are not mutually exclusive...I'm running 10:1 with 25 -30lbs of boost.

compression does not have to be low for high boost with todays modern efi engine systems - with proper tuning you can get massive power - besides what are you doing with a turbo but compressing the charge to pack more fuel into the motor? High compression is to get the more power from the charge - you just need to keep it all below the flash point of the fuel aka detonation.

Knock sensor....

exactly...

I'm not worried at all about the high compression. This is nothing new, and I'll have it under control.


On to today (or the last couple days)....

I originally wanted to use the Montero Sport rear sway bar for the rear of this truck, but I ran into a small snag - its going to be too wide and will interfere with my new wheels (when I get them). The montero sport is a far superior bar because it mounts to the outside of the frame, and it is larger in diameter (1 inch). As badly as I really wanted to run it, I had to compromise.

I ended up with the F150 rear sway bar. This, as many of you have seen and posted about, sounts to the inside of the frame, and it is an 1/8" smaller in diameter than the MS bar. Most people will never notice the difference, but I know it lol. After the bar came back from coating, I ordered up a new set of Energy Suspension bushings and slapped it all together.

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The truck handles quite nicely. The front feels like it rides like a mushy old Buick compared to the rear now, so I must finalize my front design soon. I do recommend this bar for its ease of install and gain, but I noticed a lot of people having one big issue - welding.

I did mention in a previous post that I was going to weld all this up and what not, but I figured I could take a few extra moments to design a 100% bolt-on solution for the rear sway bar. Here it is.....

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I built 3 of these kits for my team to test out to see if we can break them, or if we need improvements, but there it is. Once we get some R&D time, this kit will be available. All one has to do is drill 4 holes to mount the end links to get a complete bolt-on rear sway bar.

I'll update more as it happens!

Which sway bar setup is this for - montero, f-150, or both?

F150. I can build one for the Montero bar as well. Easily done.

any idea as to price?

That's what I want to know too

Im interested in upgrading the FRONT sway bar as I have already installed the f-150 rear bar. Looking forward to seeing what you've got planned for it

As of right now, the rear link kit is looking at about $100 shipped. One other kit I sent out will be installed tomorrow, and the other will be later this week. I went out for a long ride the other night and put this bar to the test. It performs quite well. As soon as I can confirm pricing, I'll make a post.

I have posted before about the front bar. You can fit an S10 bar to the front. They have 5 different sizes to chose from, and they are very very similar to the MM. The larger bars will not fit without serious mods to the front end. I intend to rip my front components out and build new with the 33mm S10 bar. I can make that into a bolt-on kit, but that will cost somewhere between 400-600 (off the top of my head).

S10 bar sizes are 23, 25, 28, 29, and 33mm (there may be a couple more). The MM is 22mm. The S10 25mm should fit without serious modification, the 28 and 29mm bars might fit with little modification, and the 33mm will NOT fit unless the whole front end is significantly modified.

Great news! The rear link kit for the Ford sway bar has cleared installation R&D on 3 trucks and is now ready for individual sale. I will wait until after Christmas to post them, but if anyone is interested in a kit shown above, PM me and we will get one to you.

Im trying to out this front sway bar fitment to bed already, but I keep running into stupid little fitment issues every which way I look. The S10 bars are really close, and they would fit on the MM, but the moment the suspension travel was not "ideal" (as in perfectly symmetrical), the bar would shift and hit the frame in one way or another. Rather than "pocketing" the frame up front to clear it, I am trying to find a different bar that fits with less issues, or with the least amount of modification for gain. Obviously anyone can hack the shit out of their truck and slap a 33mm bar on and hit the races.... That's not what I am after for the purpose of research here.

I am getting very annoyed with this as it is, so I may end up taking a break. I'm about 6 seconds away from bending a sway bar from scratch to fit on this truck. Option B is I finish my front suspension mods and get this rolling.

I am taking advantage of the holidays right now and have scheduled 2 weeks off (since business gets slow right around this time) to do the RHD swap. Looks like I'll be on the other side of the truck sooner than I thought!

More updates as I get them....

RHD swap starts on Sunday!

I'm in a crunch to get everything finished and prepped before hand... I've rebuilt the new trans that I am swapping to, ordered a new clutch master and slave for the new trans, reassembled the dash, and bought new brake lines. Hopefully this will only take a week or less to swap over.

I will have my current LHD black dyed dash with gauge pods (that I did 6 months ago), all of the LHD HVAC components (blower, evaporator, ducting, etc), wiring harness, and 2wd wide block trans for sale. If anyone wants any of it, stake your claim now.

Do you drink a lot of coffee?

PM'd you about your dash

I limit my coffee intake... used to live on it lol. Why?

Merrill is a Truck Building Machine, he don't need no coffee, well maybe a little. :hammerdrill:

These kits...are they universal with the 1st gen also, including the sway bar swaps using S10's & F150's?
I maybe interest on a rear kit if I can somehow swap the front bar to a thicker one using an S10 bar from our wrecking yard.

The rear kit look good Merrill, nice work..

It should bolt up 100%. All you need to do is drill holes to mount the kit, and source the sway bar (both very easy to do). I need to confirm minimum and maximum dimensions for fitment confirmation, but the frames are similar between 1G and 2G, so it should be exactly the same.

The S 10 bars are still in R&D. I can build a full kit to adapt one to the front, but it will take many months of work to design and build the system. The problem on the 2G MM is the S 10 bar will hit the frame when distorted under a hard corner. The blazer bars are a little wider as well as the Astro Van models. The only problem with them is they are very thick. There will be a lot of modding to fit one to a stock MM, and it still isn't guaranteed to fit and work well enough (to my satisfaction).

Let's kick off the Right Hand Drive Swap shall we?

I tossed a couple small pics up on the Facebook group with some great results, and a few people requested more info on the swap. Well, here it is in the best way I know how to deliver it.

It has been 2.5 days and I am 80% finished. I am limited on time and have missed a few pics but do have a bunch to show the bulk of what is needed to do the swap. Any questions? Post up! I'll be happy to answer them.

To make works very easy, I stripped the whole truck. This literally took 3.5 hours from start to finish. Engine, transmission, complete interior, and harnesses came out. Here's the thing.... The engine does NOT have to come out, but think of it this way - 30 minutes to pull it vs. 3 hours of lost time trying to work around it.

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My transmission is being swapped as well. I am using a 5 speed wideblock HYDRAULIC clutch trans from a Montero Sport. Aside from the hydraulic clutch, the tail housing places the shifter 2 inches further back. When I swap my engine, I will mount it more forward. With the Montero Sport tail housing, the shifter will be in the same place even though the engine and transmission have moved forward (just a little info for you readers). Since I am not doing the engine swap right now, but do need the hydraulic clutch right now, I will swap the tail housing out for the MM trans.

I guess the first place to start (at least the place I started) is the interior. Since the dash frame work is bolt-on to either LHD or RHD, I started on the steering column mount. One side bolts to the frame while the other side bolts to the body of the truck. This bracket had to be pulled from the left and transplanted to the right. Simply drill the spot welds out, and weld it to the other side.

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Next is the clutch master and brake master cylinders. This takes nothing more than a few precise measurements and a drill. The big holes are cut with a hole saw, the small holes with a drill bit. Very simple. After making the holes, mount it up.

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This is what you end up with when you do not have RHD pedal assemblies.... I'll fix these later.

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Now we get to the fun stuff. The steering hole needs to be transplanted to the right. This isn't terribly difficult to do, but is easy to screw up if you don't take your time. You dont need any special kind of shape to cut it out, but the simpler the shape (like a rectangle), the easier it is to cut and fit to the opposite side. Remember to measure the placement of the steering gear box in relation to the opening. I used the same parts of the firewall that are mirrored on both sides as reference points for placement of the steering hole.

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If you have looked closely at your truck you may have noticed the firewall is reinforced around the brake booster and steering hole. Since this truck was originally LHD, the right side must have reinforcements added to it. If this step is ever omitted, every component will likely tear itself out of the firewall like the cable clutches often do. This is nothing more than adding some sheet metal plating like so...

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That's all I can toss up for now. I'll update when I have more time later....

Here is a test fit from night #1

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fantastic work and great attention to detail - you make it look so easy...

It's easy enough that the truck is finished today lol. 5 day RHD swap (personal best). I still need an alignment, but no biggie.

I'll finish updating the last few days later on.

Whoa Merrill slow down bud, lol.

Very interesting to see this being done and thanks for the collection of great photos. I'm sure that has got to be a strange thing to drive a vehicle from the other side, especially re-training your legs to do the right thing . If it don't work out you can always go into the mail delivery service with a right hand drive truck, lol. The Jeep Cherokee has conversion kits for the same thing your doing. Though they are really strange with a rope tide like a fan belt to the other side of the vehicles steering column.

http://www.postalthings.com/Right-ha.../rhd-kits.html

I promise I'll get more pics and stuff up later. My intentions were to update every night, but it was intense work and I became exhausted. I have only a 5 day window to do this so I had to focus and get it done.

Total work time is 36 hours. This is the easiest RHD swap I've ever done over the years mostly because I didn't have to swap the firewall out completely. Since the firewall is mirrored, all I had to do was cut and paste. It was so easy to do. Welding and fabrication is my profession, so it comes out looking really easy to do. Truth be told, anyone with basic skills can duplicate the work I have done. This swap is really that simple.

Ok so I will have to bring this back up to speed real quick.... probably a 2 post update or so...

After driving around for just one night and this morning, I have been stopped by other drivers all over to ask about the truck and what it's like to drive a RHD. The funniest part is I was at a light being asked about the "first time" I drove my truck like this only 2 minutes after I got in it the first time :lol: I told the guy "Thisis my first time. I just finished the swap 15 minutes ago..."

Driving a RHD isnt strange to me at all. I've built and driven many over the years and I am kind of used to it in a way. Sitting on the other side, shifting with my left, and getting in on what would normally be the passenger door is not awkward to me. What is awkward is that it is my truck that is the RHD lol. I've never owned or driven for a lengthy period of time a RHD that I had previously been used to as a LHD. The very basics like feel and position as you take a corner, or knowing what "fast" feels like all completely washes away with a new feel as you control the truck from the other side.

I still do habitual things like grab for the seat belt over my left shoulder and automatically let my right hand off the wheel during accelerating to shift, but I think that will stick around for a bit lol.

Enough chatter.... update!

After the reinforcements were added, it was time to patch up the holes on the left side. Absolutely NOTHING about this is rocket science, or extremely complicated. Simply cut out the sheet metal to the same dimensions as the hole - weld it.

I was multitasking while patching all this stuff up, so this whole "process" of patching up the firewall is basically left out. However, as I stated before, its not rocket science. If i were to actually step by step this procedure, all you would see is the same piece of metal with more welds on it in each pic :lol: The subsequent pics will show the completed patch work.

Here are the holes (before)
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As many owners and members have experienced the dreaded firewall failure around the clutch cable, mine was no different. The only thing about mine is that I didn't experience the issue when it happened, but I must deal with the result. The previous owners obviously experienced the issue and gave the repair a good 'ol college try. This was basically a piece of 1/8" HR plate steel welded and silicone'd to the firewall.

Here is what I started with
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There really is no "fixing it" to make it less visible, nor was there a way to blend it in with the rest of the firewall. You simply cant leave it there and try to "play it off" as some other functional piece. If you look at the inside pic posted just above, you will see just how torn up the firewall is. This kind of presents a huge challenge to fix. All of the torn sections around the patch are on the raised/stamped section of the firewall.

Its not as simple to just cut the shape out and patch it up. Maybe I'm just too picky about my work, but I know I could just patch it how ever it will work and slap some body filler in to hide it. I don't like that. I want to limit the amount of body filler on this bay as much as possible. I firmly believe that body filler is there to help finely smooth over pieces that can not be made smooth with skill and craftsmanship - OR - to fix minor details like hammer marks or waves from warping. Body filler, to me, is NOT for hiding work. This may sound silly to some, but i am proud to say that I have this metal close enough to factory spec without body filler beneath the primer.

Here is how the patch work went

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And here is the finished product.
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Obviously any one can look at the inside and know that this was a swap seeing the weld marks, but I'm not really hiding that fact :lol:

Now for the pedal reinforcements. Reinforcing the pedals is important. The pedal reinforcements work in conjunction with the firewall reinforcements to reduce flex in the sheet metal which can cause a failure over time. I did go just a wee bit overboard with my metal of choice, but the firmness in the pedals is something I could not have achieved if I used a lesser metal.

In theory, I could easily just weld the reinforcements to the truck. I do believe that is a little tacky/cheap/quickie mod that can easily be avoided. The reason why is dis-assembly.... "What if you ever had to take the pedal brackets out for ANY reason?" They would be stuck there if you welded them. The other side of this is metal fatigue resulting from welding. The factory sheet metal is paper thin. MIG welding this would require one to build a puddle on the reinforcement piece and let it fall on to the sheet metal. That creates a lot of heat. TIG welding would be the better choice because you can finely control the amount of heat.

Simply put, once you heat up the metal, it will become more brittle and prone to failure at some point in time. All the flexing and pulling of the metal every time you step on the clutch or brake will fatigue that heat affected zone even further. I don't ever want to go back and fix it at any point.

So what is a mechanical mounting solution that allows easy removal AND involves not heat? THe answer is my favorite piece of hardware - RivNuts.

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Notice the position of the clutch pedal? That's what I have to fix next along with the brake and accelerator since I don't have RHD pedal assemblies.

looks awesome! so for clutch to hydro you need to fill in the clutch cable hole and then drill and reinforce the firewall to the left of the booster? and what gauge did you use?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Redneckmoparman

looks awesome! so for clutch to hydro you need to fill in the clutch cable hole and then drill and reinforce the firewall to the left of the booster? and what gauge did you use?

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I will have the whole list up shortly with all the info on it about swapping to hydro trans. Yes it installs to the left of the BMC/Booster on either LHD or RHD setups. If you look at either one you will see the recess in the firewall for the location.

awesome! so how about a teaser completed shot?

SCROLL UP IF YOU CLICKED STRAIGHT TO HERE FOR THE OTHER UPDATES




Fixing the pedals was actually a bit tough for me. On one hand, this is great because I get to put them wherever the hell I want which is awesome for ultimate comfort and convenience. On the other hand, I kind of want them to look as OEM as possible and be really clean.


I don't have many pics of the job because it required a lot of undivided attention to do, but here is what I can show.


Modifying the brake and clutch was a breeze. It was nothing more than heating up and bending. A few sections were cut and TIG welded back together followed by a coat of paint.

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Now for the accelerator. I did get caught up on this one... Not sure if it was a brain fart, creative block, or what. I tried to find a pic of a factory RHD setup with no success. At the end, I just said screw it and made my own. The biggest problem was finding a way to mount the pedal on the flat spot of the wheel well (presumably where it is supposed to be) while maintaining full range of motion. This was tricky, but here it is.

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I didn't get a finished shot of it all bolted down, but it is bolted down using the RivNuts lol.

With the pedals out of the way - the interior is nearly finished! All I really had to do was fit all of the HVAC components. Starting with the blower motor, there needs to be a hole cut out for outside air. If you look closely at your truck, you will notice it is stamped into the sheet metal - just not cut out. Cutting it out will allow you to have outside air.

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To fasten the blower assembly to the firewall, just drill out the spot welds on the factory hangers and transplant them to the left just as they were on the right.

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Once all that was done, I welded up the unused holes from all the spot welds, primed the firewall, and slapped the dash back in.

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Steering is pretty simple to solve. You do need the RHD steering gear, but not the idler arm. The RHD steering gear bolts right up as if it was meant to be there and the angles measure exactly the same as the LHD box when measured. Simply install it.

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The idler arm is tricky. There is only one hole to line it up and the angle must be exact. This means you must measure the LHD setup BEFORE you remove it. Your angle measurement may be different because you may have your truck jacked up differently. The main point is - WHATEVER ANGLE YOU MEASURED FIRST = THE ANGLE YOU MUST HAVE ON THE OTHER SIDE. My measured angle was 53 degrees on the LHD assembly. The idler arm bracket is simply flipped around and installed to the one hole it lines up with at the correct angle. Once the angle is achieved, drill the hole for the second bolt. The end result should look something like this

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To help you gain an idea of which hole was added, and which hole was already there - the bolt on the left was the hole I had to drill for. Simple.

Next is the brake lines. Of course you can just stretch some lines over and stick them together some way or another. I chose to keep them low and kind of hidden. To minimize the amount of hard lines stretching from one side to the other, I did some clever bending and rearranging. Only two lines stretch to the other side.

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Now it's just a matter of getting the engine and trans back in. That will be on the next update (ran out of time again).

awesome!!!!!!!

Rivnuts are most definitely The Shit.

Let's cap this swap off!!

So I left off with the brake lines. Well you may have looked at the pics and discovered that everything was done under the hood. Since the interior was done, that means only the engine and trans need to go back in for me to roll!

Amazingly, this build suffered only ONE bolt casualty during dis-assembly that required my attention - the exhaust manifold stud.

Final assembly was on Christmas eve. There was no place to find a new or used exhaust manifold, and there was no way in hell the rest of the broken stud was coming out. Solution - weld a new stud on...

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Problem solved...

Next is the engine.... simple enough to do...

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Finally - the trans. This one seemed to be a pretty big hit on Facebook, so here is the list

How to Build a Hydraulic Hybrid Transmission


If you noticed before, I have swapped to a hydraulic setup. This is what you need to make it happen.


97+ Montero Sport 2.4 2WD 5 speed transmission
97+ Montero Sport clutch pedal assembly with bracket
97+ Montero Sport Slave cylinbder, hard line, and rubber line (or you could bend your own)
Mighty Max 4x4 Clutch master cylinder


This is not rocket science at all. Simply remove the tail housing from the MM, and mate it to the MS transmission.


Attachment 12415


Here is one issue you will have to fix. There is an accessory casting for a bracket, or some option for the MS. It will hit the tunnel of the MM when installed. Just trim it off.


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I am sorry about the darkness of the first pic - my flash wasnt working... Look closely and you will see the trans parts making contact with the trans tunnel.

The tab for the hard line to rubber line is already on the truck. Just use it as it is meant to be used.


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And there you have it. I highly recommend getting a damn good alignment after you are finished with the swap. You'll be doing yourself a huge favor with that...

I must make one thing very clear about all of this. Everything I have written and updated here is NOT by any means intended to be a write-up so you can go do it yourself. This job is for the professionals. I don't want to sound rude, but if you "need" a picture perfect write up on how to do a right hand drive swap - you have no business doing it.

Please do not attempt this swap if you have no professional experience in this field.

If you have any questions or comments - Post up of PM me!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Merrill

I must make one thing very clear about all of this. Everything I have written and updated here is NOT by any means intended to be a write-up so you can go do it yourself. This job is for the professionals. I don't want to sound rude, but if you "need" a picture perfect write up on how to do a right hand drive swap - you have no business doing it.

Please do not attempt this swap if you have no professional experience in this field.

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Coming correct with warnings about attempting a Stage 3 RHD swap here on MightyRam50.net. Someone could get hurt going through the toll booth the wrong way.

you shouldve posted asking for a mani i have mine just sitting in the garage and it wouldve only been 2 days to ship it to vegas but the swap looks great! and the engine bay looks cleaner now that youve purged half of the overspray!

I made the post about the swap because this day and age, people suddenly become master mechanics and fabricators after watching a 2 minute instructional video made by some random so-and-so who claims to have a name. I firmly believe that if you don't know what you are doing, you need to learn. Learning takes years - not minutes. I know it's the common thing to search a "how-to" make/fix/mod something, but I don't want to be that somebody that made an unqualified individual take out a family of five out for a Sunday stroll because they read how I did a job thinking I posted everything I've been trained to do. I hope that makes sense....


The manifold fix took 2 minutes. I only had the 5 day window to do this swap and while I appreciate it, I couldn't wait. If it ever fails on me, or I get annoyed at a stud being welded (rather than OEM), I will absolutely ask you first.

Your warning about this or any other major work of this type is not only refreshing, but absolutely necessary in this day and age of unthinking people doing things way over their ability because they read about it online. No amount of reading can replace training and experience of a professional. I am not saying it's impossible for someone to attempt this kind of work, but you also need the experience to recognize if it is right and safe. I have seen far too many hacked up unsafe vehicles at cruises and shows that have scared me to the point of seeing which way they leave so I am not going the same way. I can fabricate small pieces, but nothing to this scale - I have friends I trust to do that. Keep up the great work!!!

I was taking the piss, guys. Relax. Everyone can see it's professional workmanship, like everything else on this truck.

I wasn't directing my response at anyone in particular... I just needed to clarify is all.

thats how i took it too...

I know it's been several pages but did you ever come up with a "KIT" for the brakes (all the parts, numbers etc..)
I found a 3000gt SL but not vr4. Can these brake parts work? (I've only seen 1, ONE vr4 Galant or any, in the past several years going to the yards)
It's not really a 'pull-it' type of yard and ALL vehicles are laying flat on the ground. (especially the ones I want to get parts from the under side)

My 88 long bed, 1-ton is going next week to get the 5.2 motor centered and mounts made.. Need to make it stop too!

Thanks E

So Sorry.. One of these days I'll learn me to read..
Post #27..

I'm pretty sure the base 3000gt is a 276mm rotor (you may want to look that up). If it is a 276, it will work as the smaller brake upgrade along with the Galant and Diamante front rotors.

However - all the info I posted on #10 and #27 is for reference to big brakes with 5 lug swapping - not 6 lug. The offsets are different with all the rotors, so 6 lug big brakes are a bit more of an issue and I don't have all the info since I swapped to 5 lug.

I'm already at a 5-lug Toyota swap fr/rr. Also, got a set of lowered spindles waiting too!
I'm envious on how it seem that you just "find" these parts so easily..
Thanks
Errol

Right on then... should be no problem. All you have to decide now is how big of a rotor you want. I've only confirmed one for sure, but the others are 99% sure they will fit and function. I just haven't installed them and tested them since I went to 4 pots and custom everything.

I do find a lot of parts often, but I know where to look at the same time. Most of the yard parts I buy are just for the purpose of mock-up or sometimes just a temporary part. Most parts I buy new. Important items (like brakes) will always be bought new or reman. One reason is they are easier to find. The other reason is being assured that you won't have a problem with it right out of the box (most of the time :lol: )

I do still have those red 314mm calipers that I was going to use before the 4 pots. If you need them, toss me an offer. I think I paid 40 bucks for them and I'm not going to use them... they're just sitting in a box looking pretty.

PRAISE GOD YEAH I'll take them!! (left a visitor message)
These are fronts correct? Just spent the last hour or so reading up on 5-lug rear discs, so I'm a tad cornfused.
And these are for 3000GT rotors? I just guess that the front rotors are different from the SL 3000gt versus the VR4.?
Red.. Those should look nice peaking through the Conquest rims.

Errol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 77amc

PRAISE GOD YEAH I'll take them!! (left a visitor message)
These are fronts correct? Just spent the last hour or so reading up on 5-lug rear discs, so I'm a tad cornfused.
And these are for 3000GT rotors? I just guess that the front rotors are different from the SL 3000gt versus the VR4.?
Red.. Those should look nice peaking through the Conquest rims.

Errol

---

So I PM'd all the info to you, but for the other readers here - I'll make this clear.

The 2 piston Montero Sport calipers (as we are talking about) will fit if you machine both the rotor and the caliper to clear the thicker rotor. Spacing will also have to be solved for the change in offset of the rotor. The 3KGT VR4 rotor is thicker than the Montero Sport rotor, but is the same OD of 314mm. All this is explained on post #10 and #27. Since mine (and yours) are 5 lug swap, this is all we can confirm at this time.

I don't have much info on the rear disc since I simply narrowed a Ford 8.8 which is equipped with 285mm rear discs. Any other axle/brake combo would require me to engineer something, so I'm not much help on the info.

There are 3 rotor options for the 3000GT.
1 - non-VR4 276mm front rotors
2 - 1991-993 VR4 296mm front rotors
3 - 1994+ VR4 314mm front rotors

If you use the Montero Sport 276mm 2 piston calipers, you will need a rotor from any Galant, some Eclipse, Diamante, 3000GT (non-VR4), and a dozen other Mitsu cars that use a 276mm rotor (there are dozens).

If you use Montero Sport 314mm 2 piston calipers, you will need a rotor from the 1994+ 3000GT VR4. You will also need to machine the rotor and caliper down to clear as stated in Post #10 and #27.

EITHER size will require you to machine the center bore to 86.1mm so you can adapt to the Toyota front hub. Again, this is all for 5 lug swaps only. It will NOT work with a 6 lug Mighty Max hub because the rotor offsets are too high (they will hit the spindle). You can also use 3000GT VR4 4 piston calipers and machine your own brackets (that's what I did - post #'s 100, 104, 119, 126 have info and pics).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So now that is all explained - here are some page 11 pics!

Since my RHD swap was finished, I havent washed the truck. There has been little to no time to do it. Since I was tired of looking at all the dirt and grease buildup, I decided washing it even at night would net a result that looked better even if I missed a few spots.

Attachment 12620Attachment 12621

The next morning revealed a damn good job for washing at night. I couldn't even find one spot I needed to go back over....

Attachment 12622

But the next day... It rained. Now my truck is all dirty again...
:roulette::roulette::roulette:
Attachment 12619

I'm going to check the weather reports from now on....

Haha that's how it always works. Wash it and in comes the rain. I'm glad you updated some current pictures though. I've loved reading this thread, and keep bringing myself back for ideas and I start mock up on my 1st gen.
I think I'm stealing your door skin idea this weekend in fact =-D

Hey Merrill. I noticed you didn't cut speaker holes in your door skins. I'm wondering if you relocated the front speakers or eliminated them?

I intend to machine some quick release door hinges in the future. I can't have any electrical going to the doors.

I haven't decided if I will install a sound system or not yet, but if I do, front speakers will probably go into the kick panels and rears into the rear pillars.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mandle

Hey Merrill. I noticed you didn't cut speaker holes in your door skins. I'm wondering if you relocated the front speakers or eliminated them?

---

Our doors take in so much water and door speakers tend to rust or get all crusty, so the kick panels are a good idea, I think under dash in corners would be better maybe though. Can't kick them, no water to ruin them and they are close to the ears, but this is 1st for dash, not sure if 2nd gen dash supports them to good.

I like his idea about the quick release door handles, no electric for them means you never get locked outside of truck when you have a dead battery, lol.

My factory dash speakers will remain out because I am routing the roll cage through the dash at the speaker location. Since I'm 6'2, and the truck is small, I decided not to bend around the dash but rather go through it. Since the RHD dash is not common here in the states, the only way to preserve it is to go through the speaker holes to avoid lots of cutting.

Quick release doors are there to make life easy at the track, or loading the truck into a trailer. With the door off, I can get in and out of the truck in a tight space. It's also easier to work on the truck with no doors attached when you are back and forth between working under the hood and in the cab. It's also "totally race car" to take your doors off :lol:

Oh crap, lmao didn't see the doors are going removable. :lmao: Slipped under the radar on that one.
But wait, didn't Bo and Luke just jump in the window to get in their race car? Besides sliding across the hood on each show. JK!

:lol: I dare you to slide across the paper thin MM hood.... I triple dog dare you!! hahaha

Yeah the truck is much easier to load and work on in some situations when you take the doors off. I can also claim total baller status on a nice day and just go for a door-less cruise around the city lol.

By the way - Thank you for the sticky status (whoever did it)!

I swear I just bought the truck yesterday, but it was pointed out to me that this thread was started one year and four days ago. I've pretty much owned my truck for one year. It's hard to believe it has been a year already!

Progress and plans have changed over the past year, but the majority of it, though off schedule and full of setbacks, has been pretty good. I have received a lot of compliments, PM's regarding "how" I did some of it, questions regarding what parts I used, and all kinds of thanks for helping and even inspiring others. I am truly honored. This group is really awesome!

I have always wanted to make a kind of "timeline" post that shows the beginning to current status of my truck, so here it is. Everyone is welcome to comment in any way - I wont be hurt if you think my truck looked way better before I started it :lol:

I only make that statement above about the comments because I went back through this thread and pulled the pics for it. Some of them show the truck looking MUCH NICER than current hahaha.

The Exterior

This was the truck as I purchased it in January, 2014.
Attachment 12887

Despite having some dings and dents, it wasn't really that bad at all for being 23 years old. I later found out I am the 3rd owner, and the first owner was a local bread company. This was a dealer maintained delivery truck! I totally scored.

Even though it was clean, it wasn't good enough. First I gave it some better looking mirrors (F1 style) and face lifted the front end with the '93 plus bumper and grille and a set of projector headlights. It didn't take long for me to realize that that wasn't enough. After attacking the chassis mods (314mm 4 pot big brakes, narrowed Ford 8.8 LSD, and suspension drop), I finished it off with a set of 17" Enkei wheels that are similar to Evo X factory wheels.

Attachment 12888Attachment 12891

This was was where the exterior started to go down hill. Some full readers of my thread recall "The Crackhead" that banged out and painted my truck back in June or '14.... Long story short, the dude was literally a crackhead and turned my simple Flat White paint job into drywall texture that is impossible to clean.

I banged out Phase 1 of the chassis plus the interior in 4 months. I was going to debut this truck at MOD 2014. Once the crackhead finished texturing my truck, I cancelled my debut appearance. Some may even recall I wasn't able to get hood and tailgate back from the crackhead because he went to jail. This whole jacked up paint job literally derailed most of my plans and caused me to say "F**K IT!!" for a couple months. I even had a friend of mine make an artistic "rust look" on my hood and tailgate because they were never finished and painted when the truck was. I was so pissed.

Here is the current look of my truck One Year Later
Attachment 12889Attachment 12890

I o owe some thanks to the members here and all over that kept expressing interest in my truck even though I stopped posting and updating for a bit. I was totally derailed after that crack-ass paint job. It's still on there, but I have a few new additions I will take care of before I sand down all the texture and paint it again.

My Opinion & Review

1 - - - - - - - - 10
XXX XXXX XXX
I started with a very decent truck. Even though it was beat up and very stock, it was a solid 5.

1 - - - - - - - - 10
XXX XXXX XXX
Just before paint, I really feel I brought this up to a clean and very respectable look. It wasn't dead on my vision, but I can confidently give it an 8.

1 - - - - - - - - 10
XXX XXXX XXX
I'll be honest... I don't typically take pics that show off the shit paint :lol: That honesty translates to my current exterior rating. It's terrible. However, if you look past the texture, you will still see a nice truck with a few complimenting accents and style, so I'm dropping back down to a 5.

Once I get the new mods done and a fresh coat of paint on it, I know I can score a 10 in my brain and vision.

The Engine & Bay

Such a beauty!! I was completely shocked the day I popped the hood for the first time. Incredibly clean - smooth running - and what a maintenance record it had! It showed.

Attachment 12893

It has been my intention from the get go to swap this over to a much more modern platform. The Evo variant 4G64 DOHC was being started before I even bought the truck, so I have left the mod list alone for this engine except for one item - a custom air intake.

Attachment 12894

This was such a simple mod and really unlocked quite a bit of fin in this little 8 valve. Even the sound was brought out a little. It sounded just a little bit more serious under a full throttle pull. All I wanted to do was keep the engine pretty until I swapped it. This engine bay was perfect until the attack of the crackhead..... Everything ended up getting painted after he got ahold of it. My prestine wiring harnesses were now white and flaking. My overflow bottle was color matched. My engine was speckle painted in white..... This bay looked like total shit. To add insult to injury, the crackhead went back and rattle canned over my radiator hoses, charco can, brake booster, wiper motor, and a dozen other parts of the bay to try and hide all the over spray.... a real class act douche.

Here is the current look of my engine bay One Year Later
Attachment 12892

I'm going to say nothing else other than "LOL"

My Opinion & Review

1 - - - - - - - - 10
XXX XXXX XXX
I started with a damn near PERFECT stock engine and bay. Dealer maintained, extremely clean, un-molested, decent power. This was an easy 8 as far as stock 8 valves are concerned.

1 - - - - - - - - 10
XXX XXXX XXX
The intake really polished it off. I'm not going to duplicate my first score after an upgrade, so 9 it is.

1 - - - - - - - - 10
XXX XXXX XXX
One year later, everything is over sprayed, and the engine I wanted to have in is still not in. It looks like shit and it's still in the truck... its a 2.

We'll see what happens in the coming months, but I know what I need to do to bring this rating back up.

The Interior

I bought this with some random bucket seats wrapped in Hawaiian seat covers... It was laughable at best. I'm not sure if the "Ford Racing" steering wheel cover was to be funny or if it was just something the previous owner had laying around. I barely fit in the truck with those seats, but the owner did still have the bench which I installed very quickly after purchasing the truck.

Attachment 12896Attachment 12897

The bench is much more tolerable for a guy my height. It didn't take long for the interior to get done. It was a short list, but a lot of work. I was chasing something clean and "as comfortable" as a truck intended for racing could be. I chose a nice set of red leather racing seats, dyed a second dash black, dyed the trim plastics black, added a red leather steeering wheel with quick release, and made a rear brake for some drifting fun. To top it off, I built a custom set of arms rests and made a color matched set of door cards out of 6061 aluminum. Id say the "mid point" of my interior was right where I wanted it. Hard to keep clean, but I love it!

Attachment 12898

It's pretty amazing how lucky you can get sometimes. I toyed with the idea of a right hand drive swap at the beginning of this build, but soon dropped the plan due to unnecessary "bling expense"... It just wasnt practical. Well, fate landed in my lap one day after a close friend was scouting the yards in San Diego. I got the call saying he had found an old highway truck that had been converted to RHD. Long story short, he bought it all, I went to pick it up a week later. After repairing the cracked dash and dying it black, I performed the complete swap in 36 hours (my personal best).

Here is the current look of my engine bay One Year Later
Attachment 12895

Not bad.... just not with carpet anymore lol. It's been fun learning this truck all over again. I've been in the industry now for 15 years. Driving right hand drive has never been a big struggle or issue for me. Driving my truck on the right, however, has been interesting to say the least. After driving it for 11 months on the left, suddenly I am in the same truck now on the opposite side. It was weird at first (because I know this truck inside and out), but now I think it would be weird to go back to the left hahaha.

My Opinion & Review

1 - - - - - - - - 10
XXX XXXX XXX
This interior kinda sucked to start with. I'm not counting the first bucket seats with the flowers, but the bench was pretty torn up. The steering wheel was trashed and the cover simply didn't match. The dash was hacked beyond repair because the idiot previous owner tried to install speakers that were way too big, and the whole interior was riddled with wood screws and household wiring. Pure shit. With everything needing to be replaced, this interior was a 2.

1 - - - - - - - - 10
XXX XXXX XXX
I nailed it! Exactly what I was looking for as far as comfort and appearance. The only thing that was NOT changed before the swap was the carpet. Surprisingly enough, it was hard to tell it was still blue. So I will bump this to a 9.

1 - - - - - - - - 10
XXX XXXX XXX
Tough to score this one since it's still the same interior minus the carpet. However - that totally kills the look. It has no feel without the carpet, so down one point it goes to an 8.

If I could just toss some carpet in and my roll cage, I'd give it a 10 after my window crank and handles get dyed. Not having carpet REALLY kills it though, so that is first lol.

Everything Else

These 11 pages of this thread have a ton of mods and details listed in them. I know I didn't list them all, but I didn't get all the "before" pics either. It's also tough to break everything down into categories. One thing I do like is my chassis. There have been a ton of mods done to the chassis and I can easily label it an 8 with where I have built it up to.

So what do you think? I've got some time to kill before I decide if I will pull the trigger on the next direction of the build, but I would love to hear some feedback - good or bad (trust me, I can take it). Where do you rate my truck after one year?

Post up!

SWAP SWAP SWAP SWAP SWAP SWAP SWAP SWAP

I think its time for some 16v goodness =] figure out the supercharger later just get the engine in!!!!!!

Oh and did i mention 16v swap???? It would make the engine bay look awesome and make you feel a TON better about it

If i get my 16v swap done first ill be a little dissapointed lol after all my engine is just a bare block that needs all new internals and has no accessories and i have no job and no money so dont let me beat you!!!!

You've done a great job sir.

If it were me... I would try to locate an additional truck to play with. That way if you're really serious about drastic changes then you will still have your original truck to drive around in/ take measurements and comparisons/etc while building the newest version.

Looking forward to seeing more

Tremendous amount of work done in a relatively short time. I totally understand the work and the change of focus with a truck like yours - wish I have the time and talent to do half of what you did to your truck. If I had spare cash I would seriously either buy some of the parts from this truck, or have you build me some things for Geronimo. Your work is top notch and we all want to see more - keep it coming, doesn't need to be just on this truck either.

So try and follow along with me here.....

I am dancing around with this build right now and I'm kind of in the middle of a "screw it" stage and trying to have some fun. I have encountered a bit of dead time and I decided to look into a few things. This is what I have found/am doing (possibly).

I had a client jump up and ask me to gather info on the 8V engines so I could possibly build a crazy hybrid setup. The discussion came up about tuning it, and I obviously just suggested the DSM ECU because it would be extremely easy to do - almost plug and play. In the end you get better tuning control, knock control, fan control, DIS (ignition), more fueling, more support.... the list goes on. The MM ECU is basically a dummed down DSM ECU, so patching it over would be cake. Hell, the cam/crank sensor wheels are near identical so as long as the phasing is correct, it will run all day.

DIS is a great option one would gain from the swap as well. More powerful spark, ability to tweak and adjust more directly, and less things to maintain are always better in the end. You could also keep it running with a distributor all day long provided that you add a couple diodes to the coil signal... it would go all day.

Changing up to a 2G ECU would be cake as well since you can use the combined CAS/CPS from a 1g on a 2g... etc. Thats not a hurdle at all lol. You could also gain from integrating the OBD2 system, and tuning gets even easier. DSMLink and a few other systems will tune either one all day. You could almost go completely plug and play with a 2.4 Spyder ECU and harness and be done with it.

This is where I am going to have a little fun with my build. I intend to run my DOHC setup on an Evo ECU since this is basically and Evo platform (the engine I'm currently building). I could shell out the dollars for an actual Evo ECU, or I could flash a similar ECU with the Evo ROM. I grabbed a 3G Eclipse ECU and harness today and checked it off my list.

Attachment 12961

Heres the thing - 1G/2G DSM owners have swapped over Evo ECU's before (nothing new). Since the MM 2.4 is so much like a DSM, I may be able to stick this ECU and harness onto my 8V and run it. It would also add all the tuning ability without all the headaches. This is 100% a complete "maybe I will do it if I can find the time." However, there is nothing stopping it from working. If someone wants the info to do theirs, let me know, I'm sure I can help.

In the mean time, I'm still collecting parts and taking care of this busy season with my clients...

I managed to get my harness pinout complete for the 3g Eclipse ECU. One of the reasons I like to go back and do it all myself is because information tends to suck sometimes. The 3G and Evo ECU's are very similar since the same pin serves pretty much the same function, but they are not identical on the pinouts. The EVO ECU uses pins that the Eclipse unit does not, and the Evo pinouts seem to be missing 3G info. They also do not share the same wire colors (except the ground lol). I snagged up a FSM for the 3g and now I have a complete 3g pinout correctly written to the ECU and color codes.

Judging by the looks of the schematics I have been digging through, running the 8V 4g64 off of the 3G/Evo ECU would be very possible as long as you add the missing components like IFS, Transistor(s) for DIS, ignition coils, and swap the IACV over to DSM/Evo/Eclipse type. You also have to add the OBD2 plugs and you will lose your mechanical speedometer because the ECU needs to use a VSS. You can absolutely find a substitute speedometer easily once you convert to OBD2.

I do have some extra time over the next couple days. I will probably dig into some other FSM's and write some pinout/wiring info for DSM to 8V conversions for those who may be interested. This would be so much easier than building stuff like Megasqirt and tapping in piggy-back ECU's.

I'm still undecided if I will actually run my 8V on the 3G ECU or not. I really don't want to make a harness for it and then have to make it again for the next swap. Maybe I'll make an adapter harness or something.... I don't know yet.... Stay tuned!

So here is a little info after half a days worth of pinouts with 1G DSM and Mighty Max harnesses:
-60% of the wires/circuits are plug and play/same pin and function but different color on most(extremely easy).
-20% of the wires don't exist on the MM so they need to be added (semi-easy).
- the remaining 20% just need to be re-pinned (easy).
-A throttle body swap will need to happen/required (easy).
-DIS can be wired in (easy) OR you can leave the distributor in place and use it (better to have DIS though).

I'm trying to dig up the MAF pins to verify the wiring. There are also a couple circuits that I have zero info in. A wire is on my ECU, but there is nothing on the diagram listed for it. This is why it sucks not having a FSM lol. I'll figure it out soon though. If anyone has a known working 1G DSM ECU I can borrow to verify my pinout/swap function, I'd appreciate it. I'll return it when I am finished and replace it if I break it. I'm just not going to do a permanent swap is all. I'd rather have the work listed for others to use for their rides in the future.

Try this link Merrill...http://www.lilevo.com/mirage/ECU%20e...%20harness.htm


Attachment 12976

I can locate schematics on some stuff if needed.

there is a vss signal coming out of the cluster, i have been working on the same setup i have a 3g ecu and a evo and dsm harness

Okay now you make me want to put the mitsu motor back in my truck! obd2, easy tuning, 16v, dis, and more reliable electronics.

i have complete fsm for the trucks if you need any pinouts or info

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BradMph

Try this link Merrill...http://www.lilevo.com/mirage/ECU%20e...%20harness.htm


Attachment 12976

I can locate schematics on some stuff if needed.

---

I have 2 issues I'm trying to solve. I have all the pinouts, but I don't have all the functions to cross over connectors correctly. One example is the DSM main relay has 10 pins while the MM has 8. The MAF plugs are also different. Knowing the function is what will allow this to work. I also have to chase a couple wires down in the MM to verify them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rahtid

there is a vss signal coming out of the cluster, i have been working on the same setup i have a 3g ecu and a evo and dsm harness

---

I found that one that runs to a reed switch but didn't know it went to the cluster. For the latter model ECU's (3g/Evo), you will probably want to just retro it anyway to the correct VSS. This is the retro sensor that will fit the MM trans (and any other for that matter).

http://dgzmd7u6z2by7.cloudfront.net/...0210/large.JPG

These can be found on Montero Sport transmissions. The only issue is losing your mechanical speedometer, but if you are switching to OBD2, you can get virtually anything to read and display vehicle speed, or use an aftermarket speedometer. I'm going to add a digital dash to my truck which will display speed and any other readable sensor.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Redneckmoparman

Okay now you make me want to put the mitsu motor back in my truck! obd2, easy tuning, 16v, dis, and more reliable electronics.

i have complete fsm for the trucks if you need any pinouts or info

---

I'm pretty much doing this for everyone to use if they need it. You can literally stick this on to almost any engine and configuration throughout the Mitsu platforms (and maybe others). A lot of people use Megasquirt to run and tune their builds, but there is something so much better available as a near plug and play with the same (or more - depending on ECU) tuning ability. It's pretty close to a "no brainer" in my opinion.

The fact that you can take a dummed down 4g64 8V and bring it to life just by adding and changing a few pins is epic. Then adding the ability to tune easily with other ECU's..... even better. I'm obviously switching up to the 16V Evo platform, but that doesnt mean it can't be used on any other.

If you have the actual FSM for this truck, I could sure use some info out of it.

For the DSM functions concerning the 10 pin on the MPI relay, here is an article that talks about this. If you haven't found it already.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/1g-...nction.435961/

Attachment 12981
I'm still doing some resourcing on the 8 pin functions for the MM.


Your trying to mix the functions between the above MM unit image above, with the this one shown below, correct?
Attachment 12982
Pin Name
1 None
2 +12V Switched (Ignition, Coil +)
3 +12V Constant
4 Ground
5 Oil Pressure Signal
6 Diagnostics
7 Starter Signal
8 Temp Gauge
9 Boost Gauge
10 Vehicle Speed Sensor

The starion with digital dash had a vss that bolted to the transmission and allowed to hook up the speedometer

I will check to see what other car have the same setup

Don't know if this helps but I have a socketed 6 bolt/early FI ECU plus a couple of chips with simple mods I can loan you if you need something re-writable to experiment with.

I mainly need one completely stock. I put the word out to a couple local tuners here to see if they have one I can borrow when I'm ready. If I can't come up with one, I'll definitely let you know.

Yes i do have the actual FSM it just says chrysler and ram 50 on the front page, but we all know its the same. My grandpa bought the 1990 FSM for the truck years ago and i inhereted it with the truck, so whatever info you want i can post up pics of the pages no problem.

P.S. I do have both parts of the FSM Volume 1 engine chassis & body and volume 2 electrical

The '90 is the odd ball.... it might not have what I need in it, but I'll let you know if there is something I need to view. Thank you!

Right now it is tax season and beginning of race season. I am totally swamped. I also have all the parts ordered for the rebuild of my new engine, so I might not even get to installing a DSM ECU, but I'll try. I really would love to provide all the info and confirmation of it for those who want better options.

Attachment 13328

Fun stuff in the works.... finally getting to the engine on this build. More coming soon!

Now we're getting somewhere.....

Its been over a year since I started this engine build and now I finally have it coming together. Long story short, I just moved into a new home, decided to build my own furniture, and now everyone wants me to build theirs. My very good friend struck a deal with me to kick my build back in gear. He agreed to grab my engine parts for my build if I draft and build his furniture for his new house. I( agreed.

All of this is awesome for the build, but I still need to find the time to do it between all my other clients and what not. Here is what I have managed to get done in a few hours of free time.

The build starts with a full set of gaskets and seals for the rebuild (obviously), fresh new sets of ARP main and head studs, new ACL Race bearings, Manley rods, and a new intake manifold with TB.

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The intake manifold was a gamble. I could either spend $600 in parts to assemble a custom manifold, machine all my own parts on my CNC (would take months at this rate), or grab a POS manifold from China and build to suit my flow requirements and calculated needs for this build. I chose the latter.

I typically set my expectations very low with Chinese parts. This order was no different regarding my expectations except for the fact that my expectations were shattered... The parts was far worse than I actually expected, which was very little. This is going to take a lot of work to correct.

Straight out of the box - this is what it looked like.....

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The flange holes had to be drilled out just to mount it, the polish was beyond half ass (not even 1/8 assed in my opinion), the machine work on the port holes looks like someone just tapped it with a drill for a counter-sink, there are casting marks and tags everywhere, the ports don't actually line up with the head (they're 1/8" off/low), the throttle cable stand-offs aren't even level, there is no hole drilled for the MAP sensor, the welds for the MAP sensor flange were blown through making it impossible to mount the sensor, the TB flange is not lined up with the inlet, virtually nothing is cleanly machined, and the welds look extremely "cold" (meaning almost no penetration). This is just what I noticed right out of the box.... It gets worse :lol:



I truly have NO CLUE why someone would buy such junk and stick it on their engine. Chasing a good price tag of $160 for a higher flowing intake manifold is understandable, but this thing would cause more problems than it is worth. Just to correct the welding and machining would probably cost over $400 - and you STILL wouldn't net a great performing manifold. Please do yourselves a favor and save of for quality parts.

You may ask "why" I would buy something like this knowing that it is straight garbage.... The reason is because I only need one part off of it and I can machine and fix everything at no cost to me (except time). It took little time for me to get this nasty bastard a first class ticket straight to my band saw. The whole upper plenum is going in the recycling...

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Since my build requires a lot more volume and flow, I will construct a new plenum using 6061 USA made aluminum. Here is the velocity stack plate machined to fit the existing runners.

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This took a ton of work to weld. I really don't know what the hell this manifold is made out of, but I have welded lots and lots of cast aluminum in my time, but this is something else... There is so much junk that floats up to the surface of the weld, and it doesn't actually puddle up at all. It just melts. The cast runners are thicker than the plate I am welding to, but they start melting away before I even get a puddle on the plate. I ended up having to pre-heat the plate just so I could get the timing right on the weld lol. When I mentioned earlier that "It gets worse" - I meant it. Aside from the cast metal grade/purity being unknown, the casting was done so crappy that it is riddled with air pockets. You never know where they are until it blows out and ruins your weld. It took about 6 hours to weld and machine this plate. Good aluminum would take no more than 3 to do the same with.

The end result is good though....

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After the runners were fixed to the head, it was time to cut the plenum. This is nothing more than extruded round 6061. Cut it, slice it, weld it....

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Now on to the TB plate. Nothing more than a 3" elbow mated to the plenum end cap and the TB flange itself. I did give it a little "kick" down and to the side just for fun (to see if I liked the look), but I will end up going back and redoing this portion.

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So far - so good. Just a few little tweaks to the volume and design need to be done still. It's all starting to come together nicely. I'll have more as it happens!!

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I just sat down and read this whole thread. WOW! The level of skill and fabrication is amazing! I really want to make an Evo Mighty Max now. Except I have no skill or money lol. I can dream and hopefully I can build a truck this well in the future. Just want to say again amazing work keep it up.

Thank you. I hope one of these days someone will build one of these for themselves... DSM's are popular, but the Evo's are better lol.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LukeGirard

I just sat down and read this whole thread. WOW! The level of skill and fabrication is amazing! I really want to make an Evo Mighty Max now. Except I have no skill or money lol. I can dream and hopefully I can build a truck this well in the future. Just want to say again amazing work keep it up.

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Merrill is a machine that builds machines and is not happy unless he is machining. :grin:


Nice welds on that intake Merrill, Looking nice!

Thanks for the awesome comments! It's kinda neat to run back on my own thread and read what I have done myself and then read the responses of others. It reminds me to keep getting back on this build when I get extremely swamped with my other clients.


Not a ton to update on right now. I've been building a lot of furniture recently and am also waiting on another shipment of parts to show up for my engine. Still need rods, timing belt, alternator and PS pump to name a few. Theres a handful of other odds and ends I need as well. I'm just trying to be as patient as possible with it since I am getting closer to install.

Here is what I have done in my spare time (for the hell of it mostly)....

Starting off with my interior. I did make the executive decision to leave the carpet out and paint match my floor later with some cool tricks. I did something very similar to my race car years ago and loved the look/feel of it.

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It was basically truck bed liner placed in a strategic location to act like a floor mat.

Thats what I plan to do again but this time I added a nice little piece I've been working on developing for a while now. Its a clutch ramp with a heel stay which makes foot work almost second nature when driving. Its a phenomenal little addition.

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After that I decided to play around a little bit. I love how my rear sway bar really strengthens up the ass of the truck but am not fond of how sloppy the front end is. For the purpose of experimentation, I built a body brace.

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The results are simple: For what it does do - it does a great job. It is not a strut bar (looks like one though), and without knowing what it does, the end user would probably notice very little. However, it does tighten things up pretty well, and looks cool as shit when you pop the hood. I was able to confirm fit with every engine/chassis combo for the 2nd Gen as well.

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Speaking of rear sway bars.... Here is a new addition for all the rear sway bar freaks out there! If you read the beginning posts here, you will notice I originally purchased a Montero Sport rear sway bar for my truck. Once I did the 8.8 swap, I found out the MS bar simply would not work for my build (which is a bummer). Another member here, and local to me, was interested in fitting up the MS bar to his truck, so I cut him a deal on it for the purpose of R&D.

Thanks to the both of us, a Bolt-On kit now exists for the Montero Sport rear sway bar to fit the MM.

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Why is this bar better? The popular Ford rear sway bar is a great fit for the all around action, but it is the exact same size as the factory front MM bar at 7/8". The Ford bar is also narrow fit which means it mounts to the inner frame rails. The Montero Sport bar is a bigger 1" bar and it is wide fit which means it mounts to the outer frame rails. What does this translate to? Even MORE stability and control of the chassis when getting serious about cornering and control.

I really want to rip my Ford bar off and install the MS bar but it wont fit right on my Ford 8.8. Chances are I will build a custom sway bar later for my chassis when I build it, so the Ford bar will still do a great job in the mean time.

Thats all I have for now. Very soon both of the Ford and Montero Sport mount kits will be available and I will make that announcement. We just have a few things left to wrap up with R&D.

I never thought about a brace across the engine bay, but I can understand how that would improve the stiffness in the front end. Most people don't realize that the inner fenders and core support being welded together are part of the structure of the truck, not just a place to hang parts. You now have me thinking about how to make one for Geronimo, as I get a lot of flex in the cab by the cab mount on the driver's side under the fuse box under hard cornering.I also like the idea of the 1" rear bar kit - that won't overpower the smaller front bar and cause oversteer?

This brace basically does the same thing as a set of solid or Poly cab bushings. It stabilizes the body of the truck during hard cornering by keeping it as square as possible. I was considering a set of fender bars as well but the math is proving to do very little for basic loads. I may do it anyway for the hell of it.

This bar wont fit once the new engine goes in, so it will be sold once I swap. Anyone who wants to stake a claim on it is welcome to.

I don't have any seat time in a truck with the MS bar yet. The ability to over steer just by flicking the wheel has been reported as an increase, but thats open to interpretation. Some may claim a sneeze would make you drift while others would say it does absolutely nothing in their opinions. My truck does the same with the Ford bar in my opinion lol. Once I have a more in depth review after R&D is done, I will post up the info. So far everything is great with it.

Even my old 70s dodge pickup with bolt in inner fenders uses them for structure. The guys that take them out for giant tires report a TON more chassis flex without them unless the frame is boxed. They also have problems with cracks in the cab due to flexing since dodge designed it as a structural part of the truck. Just cause something is body on frame, doesnt mean that the body is just a thing sitting on there. I would love to see an X brace in the engine bay like a mustang or the current viper.

You're pretty full of yourself but you are a damn good at what you do, man. Like Kanye. :clap:

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Had a little more fun today with the chassis mods.

Another update on the rear sway bar.

I had the opportunity today after the R&D follow up appointment to take the truck for a run and really get a feel.

General - Compared to the Ford bar, the Montero Sport bar is actually SMOOTHER than the Ford bar. However, it is a lot more stable and offers up a much more positive feel in the corners. You pretty much don't even know it exists unless you are in a corner or going over an awkward bump. The Montero Sport bar is truly a great addition to the MM which offers a lot more comfort compared to the Ford bar.

Oversteer - I did not encounter an oversteer issue during my drive. The important thing to remember here is there are dozens of factors contributing to over or under steer - not just one (like adding a sway bar). The MS bar is added to a near stock truck with a suspension drop. My truck is highly modified and tuned to handle and feel the way it does. There are too many variables in suspension setups and designs to offer a better opinion on the oversteer concerns other than my experience under the conditions of the truck it is installed to. It did, however, keep the ass end of the truck in check and firmly planted during the corners.

That's all I can offer now on my experience. I'm sure the owner will pop on and drop his review of it as well.
Both kits have been given the green light for production and I will have some pricing and availability numbers soon.
Questions? Post up!

How hard is it to mount the front x member bar - that looks like it will solve a lot of flex issues with the front end. Still thinking about the ms sway bar setup - I have a turn six rear sway bar kit I bought years ago for Geronimo, but it bolted to the frame for the center bushings, then the bars went to the back and the end links bolted to brackets on the rear of the leafs behind the axle. I never liked how it worked so I took it off, but still have it - your kit was the way I wanted to remount it. its only a 3/4inch bar I think.

The opposing angle of the lower control arm bolts do create a mechanical lock on the bar, but all you have to do is back them out a but to install. It's very simple to install and remove.

I'm liking it thus far. Combined with the upper body brace, this front end is more rigid and solid with a more positive feel. It would be better complimented with a thicker sway bar, but that will be coming soon.

I have a monster addco bar - forged steel and 1 1/4 inch - its so massive the wheels rub on it before you hit lock , even with wheels with less than 4 1/2 inch back spacing - its sitting for now.