Thanks for the reply Pengineer. Dodgie is a fair name. I know mine is a bit dodgy at the moment. You are likely right about the axle swap. It would be a big sacrifice in ride quality, though I do plan on some light crawling in the future as I am an avid gem and gold prospector. I will do what is needed to get it up as is and then think about the mod more if I really feel I need it. A little more clearance would be great in the end.

I just got back in from giving Grumbles the wash of it's life. Took an hour and a half to get into every nook and cranny, blowing off grease and grime, some over 1/4" deep and blasting off all the rust welts. I just have a 1700psi washer but it did an admirable job. And I tried my best to avoid all the "sensitive parts"(seals, intake, gaskets, etc...).

Thank you Royster for the link. I didn't have any idea where to post. I have around 100 photos I took when I inventoried all my issues. So the build log will have lots to look at. I will likely start tonight getting that together. Might need to run into town to upload all the photos as my internet has a tight cap, and is the only internet I can get where I live.

After valve adjustment and a few intake leaks, Grumbles roars in a very happy way, and I smile every time the turbo winds up. This truck makes me so happy.

I have had an old plain Jane s10 with the Iron Duke in it, squeezed up to 32mpg out of it. Paid $500 and got 60,000 out of it. Loved it. Great putt putt. But impossible to find them anymore. Retired when the rust ate the last of it...

Then I had a 4cyl Yota with solid front axle and it served well. Got me in and out of remote places few trucks could. But only got 20ish mpg out of it. I am to cheap to pay for that much gas. Retired after the frame blew.

This truck does it all, I have about 260 miles on it since I picked it up and so far I have just a little less then half a tank remaining. I tried the 4x4 the other day when I started spinning in the yard after pushing a trailer out of the way. It felt great. The body may be shot, but the frame is still very clean. Most of it has no scale at all. At one point someone undercoated it, which picked up all the grease being thrown around and did a fine job of protecting the frame, but dried out on much of the body and harbored all the salt and water that ate the rest of the body.

Engine still feels very healthy. Tranny needs a new rear seal and strangely enough a 4th syncro. Cluch needs a new throwout and master. But such is life. I hope to kill all the rust on the truck so that it can live another 25 years, likely much longer as I plan to chip guard all ware surfices, oil the whole truck at least once a year, and fill all the hidden pockets with a mix of tranny oil and waxes.

Oh no... There I go again.

Pleasure to be part of the community. I hope my log helps others keep their Mightys on the road for generations to come. I will be doing everything I know how to, to make mine my daily driver for the rest of my life.