New to mightyram50, not to Mitsubishi...

[geezer101]

At this point I've only installed the headlight harness (the rest of the relays are only dummied in there) I've split the harness for the A/C from the truck, chucked the old relays that were fitted to it and wired up the new relays that came with the relay block and mimicked the wiring pattern for the A/C fan and compressor layout. I didn't like the way the top cover was designed to sit on the block so I trimmed one locator tab and rotated the top cover so the bevelled edge faced into the engine bay instead. There is still a ton of wiring to do - I'm replacing all of the harness sockets (they've turned to chalk and the terminals are all corroded), taping it all back up and rerouting some of the wiring in the process.

[Mechanic]

Oh, and here is the front air dam if anyone didn't see it from another post -

Attachment 18991

I got it fitting reasonably well now after the trimming and bolting the ends up under the bumper. It is a little distorted in the first vent hole but I'm not sure if it's due to the air dam being a touch wider than the bumper or from the way it was mounted in the first place. I took a heat gun to it to 'sweat' the urethane back into looking fresher and shape it to fit a little better. The side wings still stick out all the way to the wheel arch lips but I can live with that.

Can't wait to see this bolted on that front end. It looks awesome!

[geezer101]

I might dummy it in later with the grille and take pic of it when I'm not going at the speed of life lol. As mentioned, the wiring is a mess and I need to finish assembling the front end suspension with the Gen 2 hubs but time is one resource I don't get a lot of. Just keep chipping away at it whenever I can.

[geezer101]

Hmm, thought about the bike carb thing and came to the conclusion I'm making it too hard for myself. If I get the chance I'm going to split the intake from a 4G64 and use the lower half for the quad carbs. It'll still take a lot of sculpting and a trip (or 2) to a welding shop but at least I won't be starting from scratch and it solves a few issues like the coolant flow at the back of the intake manifold. Bike carbs are still expensive but I am looking at CBR900RR carbs as a first pick - big throats and roughly the right configuration to match the intake design.

A decent carb kit for my nutty 34DATA carb is going to set me back $100AUD once I've swallowed the bitter pill of freight but who knows - it might be enough for me once it's tweaked properly. I have it operating mechanically on the bench now I've completed the choke swap and got the throttle linkage mods nailed down. I've been stupid busy and the weather is cooling down. Really need to tie up the wiring and get the front end back on terra firma.

[geezer101]

Well, I was able to order the 34 DATA rebuild kit from a supplier in the eastern states. It did set me back the better part of $80 AUD delivered but it is a comprehensive kit with all of the diaphragms and gaskets etc (most only have body gaskets and O-ring seals, so this was worth sitting on the fence for) So I got serious and started breaking this weirdo carb down and clean every component properly - there was gunk packed into every crevice on it in places I couldn't see. The auto choke was sluggish from the get go and I thought that was simply a quirk of this Weber but after stripping it I discovered the shafts were clogged with fouled up grease that looked like tar. A blast or 2 with the oven cleaner, a scrub with an old toothbrush and cotton buds (you guys called them Q-sticks or something like that...) and I discovered this grey stuff called 'die-cast metal' under it. I polished up the shafts on the internal linkages and reassembled them. The tensioner spring in the choke linkages was fiddly to reinstall but once I had it in place, the auto choke was snapping like a mouse trap. A lot easier than adjusting the choke butterfly tension on the Mikuni.

I've test fitted the auto choke release assist, accelerator enrichment pump and the idle up solenoid diaphragm with only one diaphragm left to install - a small one that for the life of me I have no idea what it does, but I have to pull apart the throttle linkages to get to it. As an added bonus the Carbole 42S fuel pump came in the mail this week. Baby steps but steps none the less...

[geezer101]

I got to the mystery diaphragm yesterday. It has a screw through the middle of it that acts as a linkage pivot point for what appears to be a bowl vent. The diaprhragm itself was not only as hard as a rock but the screws on the cover were loose. As a result, gunk had found it's way inside of it and clogged up vacuum galleries. If the Lancia this carb came off was still running, I'd imagine it wasn't running nicely. I'm about to take the big step and pull all of the throttle shafts and butterflies out of this sucker as it will be the only way I'll be able to give it the thorough clean it needs before properly installing the rebuild kit. Man, there are a ton of springs, linkages and shims in there. Nothing like the Mikuni...

[geezer101]

I got my Scooby Doo on and figured out what the small diaphragm is - it's the diaphragm to the power valve. The carb is now down to the bare body and she was clogged up bad. Lots of debris and garbage in the gallery passing through the throats that joins the fuel bowl from either side. The emulsion galleries were sludged up along with every other air or fuel gallery, and the small check valve in the power valve assembly was jammed from gunk. To top it off the secondary throat was bypassing due to the body of the carb not being true. A half hour of rubbing it back with 400 grit paper and water on a sheet of glass refaced it to an acceptable finish (I did accidentally roll the carb body on one or 2 passes but it only rounded the far outer edge next to 2 of the top cover screws so fingers crossed it should seal ok with the new gasket)

I pulled the main jets and emulsions, soaked them in a citric acid bath and polished them back up. The butterfly shafts are a bit on the worn out side but should be serviceable with a blast of white lithium spray. The linkages and shafts aren't moving freely so the lithium should stop the binding and protect the metal from future wear. I cleaned up a few small sharp edges in the main venturis and polished them up. Last job on my list is to clean the auxilliary venturis up and have a shot at reassembling this thing.
If it's a fail I'll have a nice paperweight to add to my collection

[geezer101]

Did a JY field trip today in search of a brake booster and master cylinder upgrade. The Gen 1/L200 will only allow a booster with about 220mm diameter max or it'll foul the inner fender. I pulled one but by the time I'd got it out and cobbled another master to it, I'd realised I'd goofed and picked a unit that didn't have long enough mounting studs. During this frustrating exercise, one very rotten and beaten up 4x4 L200 was in the row behind me that I hadn't noticed (this would be a great place to grab an old school truck right now - a Datsun, 2 Toyotas and a Mazda or 2 - rough but mostly complete bodywise...) The Gen 1 had a tray rear (unusual), no interior to speak of other than the factory wheel but the windscreen was new. Pristine NEW. With my boy next to me, we rolled as much of the bad rubber seal back from the cab, put our feet up on the glass and gently pushed it out a little bit at a time. Came out without a hitch While we were trying not to destroy my new acquisition, my rear end was getting destroyed by the junk on the cab floor. I dug some of it out of the way in an attempt to get as comfortable as possible and I unearthed a factory analog clock from the truck! Bonus round!! My $220 replacement windscreen issue was laid to rest. I cashed in a yard credit note that was dangerously close to expiring and walked out with new glass and a rough but possibly salvageable analog clock for $23. A good day for a field trip indeed.

[geezer101]

Another trip to the JY has yielded results. This time I found a very good brake booster off a 2.8 TD Pajero that someone had already removed the master cylinder from. Only difference between the turbo diesel brake booster and a regular unit is a vacuum sender switch fitted to it. My previous trip was a bust due to me removing a brake booster that didn't have a spacer behind it (the mounting studs were way too short) but the master cylinder was probably the best one I could find in the yard. I abandoned it at the gates but it made it's way to the salvage bins where I put it through round 2 and bolted it to the second booster (finally got it right this time!). On the way out of the yard I decided to find a seatbelt warning light out of an old Volvo that I might be able to rig up in conjunction with the Peugeot seats. I liked the big, chunky look of the warning light bezel and Gen 1's are pretty spartan on the safety stuff.

I got my haul home, looked over what I needed to do to make it go together and cleaned up the brake booster assembly. This wasn't a bargain like the windscreen but the discount I got from the last visit made it reasonable and I did eventually get exactly what I wanted - $83 AUD (I had to get a new cab overhead valet light for the Hung Dog as the wagon had been broken into and some a-hole damaged it while trying to find a viable light source to burrow through all of the garbage on the floor). I picked up a 9mm high speed drill bit so I could make the necessary mods to fit the brake booster (the lower mounting holes are about 10 mm further away). I swapped the pedal yoke from the original brake booster (the new boosters' pedal yoke is shorter) and I used the booster firewall spacer as a drill guide. I had to adjust the pedal yoke so the pedal had a little free play and bent the crap out of the stock solid lines to make them fit as the rear brake line out on the master cylinder is facing the wrong way and the booster is wider and thicker. The only thing I need to address now is the brake level warning sender which is actually in the side of the single reservoir tank and the wiring from the harness is not long enough to reach. So now the 'guts' of the braking system has been fully upgraded. The new booster just fits with a few mm to spare (overall width is approx 220mm) and the 2 separate brake reservoirs have been replaced by one single standard reservoir. The master cylinder body is alloy with a 15/16" bore which should be ok with the twin piston fronts I've got waiting.
I feel like I've finally made some progress - all I need to do now is post the pictures or it didn't happen

[tortron]

There should be a blanked off seatbelt light in your 1st gen cluster geezer, the ones i have here do

its all set up, just needs a bulb and being connected


edit*
i have the guts of the one i cut up for my holden gauges to go in to. i would say that the framework of any markets instrument cluster would be identical, but maybe yours could have a solid blanking piece rather than the coloured plastic behind the face. if it does i can just send you the appropriate bits, they will fit in a letter

[geezer101]

^ is it the idiot door light? I'll have to look up how to wire the seatbelt sensor switches. I have the base cab instrument panel but that is being stashed away as part of my parts stockpile.

[geezer101]

And now, dem brakes -


Booster is off a 2.8 TD. The master is from a Gen 3 or similar vintage Pajero


My not so beautiful brake line reroute. You can see the brake fluid level socket in the side of the reservoir.


The booster spacer is the same thickness as the original and allows clearance for everything on the firewall.


The booster is close to the inner fender but not in any risk of being fouled by anything.

Next up will be control arms and the Gen 2 hub assemblies with the twin piston calipers and the braided brake hoses and the last few parts of the front end assembly (stabiliser bar and radius rods hardware) and I can call the front done!

[tortron]

No it's a seatbelt light
It's between charge and oil lights on the right of the unit (there's another battery symbol on the opposite side too)

[geezer101]

In my neverending quest to resuscitate my L200, I've made a discovery or 2 about the truck and it may lead to some explanations on how a few of the options were different to my donor wreck even though they had the same G63B engine and 5 speed gearbox. Judging by the size of the universal joints in it, mine's a half ton truck (68mm across the outside of the joints from cap to cap...?) It would also explain why the front stabiliser bar was a little on the puny side compared to the one on the donor wreck (24mm vs 28mm I think?) It also might touch on something else that has not really been explained - why there are 2 different types of front UCA pivots. Maybe there are 2 different specs for the half ton and one ton trucks

That aside, I've finally taken the tail shaft apart and got a shop to install my new centre pinion carrier bearing. I had to smack the old universal joints out with a 4lb hammer and an impact socket as a drift. After a huge battle with the first joint, I took an angle grinder to the other joints and cut through the pivots - everything was rusted in hard. The centre yoke retaining nut was on barely finger tight. It was probably due to how shot it was and the subsequent vibration that it had been exposed to. Now I'm trying to source reasonable priced uni joints to put it all back together. It is hard to believe this truck had only 180,000 km on the clock. The slip yoke is a bit beat up and has some pitting and a few grooves but fingers crossed, it will pass as serviceable. I've stepped back from my business for a few weeks to reign in my domestic stuff but still haven't got the free time to get wrenching on the beast...

[xboxrox]

geezer, your brake booster is on the wrong side of the truck..!

[geezer101]

geezer, your brake booster is on the wrong side of the truck..!

So am I lol. It seems I'm always on the wrong side of this truck - I'm never 'in' it, either under it or hanging out of the engine bay. Winter is about to kick in hard here so I won't be doing much to it. I'll see if I can reassemble the Weber and have it waiting for install. It's one of those jobs that doesn't require me getting outside top do anything. I'm probably going to pull the entire dash out of it and remove the steering column/brake booster mount to do a mod to it (I am determined to fit a starter safety switch into the clutch pedal which requires a bigger retaining nut to be welded into the place where the pedal travel stop bolt is situated). I can give it a coat of paint too and tidy up some of the ghetto wiring that's hiding under there...

[geezer101]

Been a looong time since I've updated. Had not been able to find a viable used radiator for my Gen 1 anywhere and due to the AUD being toilet paper + morbidly expensive freight, I've not even thought about shipping one from ebay so I went on a field trip to my go-to yard in search of something that might be useful. I was close to trying a radiator out of an early Volvo (one that still had brass tanks and copper cores with a remote filler reservoir), then trawled though a bunch of different wrecks until I decided to go for a slightly harder target and try my luck with L300 vans. I lucked out on this path before when I found a brand new, unused radiator from a 90's van but the core height was way too tall to fit but I did spot one in an earlier model 2.0 that the core measured up to be the right size. If you've ever worked on a van engine bay, this is one sucky job to tackle. Me and the apprentice (my boy) started a fight with this thing that ended up with me taking half a litre of fouled coolant straight to the face before it finally gave up.

In comparison, the 2.0 van radiator has the same size cores and the inlet/outlets are oriented the same but the mounting frames on the sides are completely different. The fact that it had coolant in it indicated that it hadn't rotted out and the cooling fins although a bit battered, were all intact - this purchase was out of desperation and I hadn't figured out how, who or where was going to be able to modify it for my needs. A search around via the net for shops locally that did repairs came up with 5 local shops - 3 of them had shut down and not edited the listings. Great... there was a shop not far from my dad's place that was still in business but the trick was will they do the mods and how badly was I going to get gouged for the privilege? It was a family owned business (tick this one as a positive) and after talking to the guy he assured me there were no problems with my instructions (second tick earned). So this is what it came down to - swap the mounting frames I'd already taken off my dead radiator onto the donor radiator and graft a thermofan sender bung into the bottom tank and pressure test the thing.

He calls me 3 days later - "it's done, pick it up when you're ready. I had to replace the drain cock on it as the tap was chewed up - that'll be $70..." EPIC WIN (third tick of approval, awesome). Only thing I wasn't hot on was the acrylic spray can paint job but I planned on repainting it myself anyway.

[geezer101]

Well that isn't what I had planned (I uploaded a bunch of pics and now I can't remove them from the post...)

An explanation of the above mess

image 1 - mocking up my new A/C condenser core.

Ebay purchase listed as CNFP1421KT - 14" x 21" parallel flow condenser with dryer and fittings included. I decided bigger was better and I guesstimated that this would go in - barely...

image 2 - the comparison in size of the old condenser vs new.

image 3 - the single wire thermofan sender installed into the bottom tank of the donor radiator.

image 4 - front view of the modded donor radiator installed.

image 5 - 2 x 10" fans that are being mounted to the back of the condenser and will be sandwiched between the condenser core and the radiator.

If you are considering installing an aftermarket A/C consenser for your Gen 1, a 13" x 18" will be easier to fit in there and won't require notching the upper core frame rail to clear the hood catch mechanism like I've had to for the 14" tall core assembly (yes, it is that tight I had to hack a section out of the top mounting frame rail...)

[xboxrox]

COOL Mod geezer

1) Why place the fans between the condenser & radiator V.S. behind them as a puller..?
2) Please tell the brand of fans..?

Thank you for doing your part to curb global warming

[geezer101]

COOL Mod geezer

1) Why place the fans between the condenser & radiator V.S. behind them as a puller..?
2) Please tell the brand of fans..?

Thank you for doing your part to curb global warming

1) - because I could Well the plan is to save as much space as possible, try to prevent direct heat transference between the condenser and radiator and the fan stealth factor (plus nobody is ever going to get the chance to stick their hands anywhere near them during operation - this is probably going to come back and bite me on the ass in the future but I'll see...)

2) - the fans are a generic no name fan that happened to be identical to the fan I used on my Colt project which, for a single fan, worked really well (these fans were branded "Calibre" - 10" fan, 7.5 amp max current draw. The upgraded alternator will handle both of them no sweat)

Global warming? I won't be affected by it once this A/C is cranked up. Good chance fossil fuel will be depleted by the time I get this thing on the road though...

[BradMph]

Will that make the fan work harder since it's not drawing in open air. Kinda gives me the idea like sucking thru a straw that has obstruction. One of my TBirds, I put a push & pull low profile fans in. The pull fan is thermo switch started and the push is toggled on off in cab if I sit in congested traffic and see a heat rise. Personally IMO I think pull fans work better when a condenser sits in front of a radiator and always use a shroud.

LOL, by the time you finish your truck Geezer, we will be living on Mars and flying hovercrafts.

[xboxrox]

Global warming? I won't be affected by it once this A/C is cranked up. Good chance fossil fuel will be depleted by thetime I get this thing on the road though...

[geezer101]

The fans are small but I have restricted area to work with. My guess that 2 x 10" fans would fit side by side is actually a miscalculation as the open face of the radiator is only 19" wide at best. The whole thing is a compromise. If I put the condenser right up against the front face of the radiator, the radiant heat of the radiator will affect the efficiency of both the radiator and the condenser (that was how the original A/C was set up - I'm guessing the condenser was struggling to keep up with the huge evaporator core in the cab and the tiny fan running it wasn't helping either). I've rigged the fans so the primary radiator cooling fan is on the hot side of the radiator under the top inlet and the A/C fan is on the other side. When the A/C is on, the A/C fan will push air through the cooler side of the radiator above the outlet back into the engine. I'm going to paint everything in satin black to help the heat exchange. I'm using a NipponDenso rotary compressor over the ancient Sanden SD-508 that came with the truck so fingers crossed this will be a good, efficient system. I have never messed with A/C before so doing a retrofit like this is all new to me...

[geezer101]

Had a meddle with the spare fuel tank yesterday just to get ideas on how to put it to use. There's a little surface rust in the bottom of the tank but otherwise it appears to be sound. After checking out can1991ram's thread and his great boat tank retrofit, I've grown more to liking the idea of a secondary fuel tank. Only thing was I wasn't hot on having to cut a hole in the middle of the floor of the tray for a fuel filler, so I've I'm going to investigate using the filler neck and hose from an L300 van and the idea of mounting it to the inside of the tray behind the tail light out of the way. I'll still need to cut a hole somewhere but it will be discreet and mostly out of the way of tray access and raising the filler neck should reduce the risk of water contamination. Meh, might not do it yet - got plenty of other things to fix before I start on a mod like this.