'80 L200 Express Commercial model

[1600cc]

I've had this truck for 3 years and have been fixing it when I can.
It's a 1980 Chrysler L200 Express commercial model, which means it has 4g32b motor, 4 speed column shift manual, 4.89:1 rear diff, a 1000kg load capacity, bench seat, and suspension geometry is an inch higher than the square headlight 1st gens.

It's about to do its second lap of the 100,000km odometer, and had a rebuilt motor installed in 1996 when it had almost completed its first odometer lap.

Here's the condition I bought it in:


I've also acquired and modified a flat tray:


and drove 600+km to buy this stylish canopy:


Other than lots of maintenance, I've fitted a torsen LSD, dealt with almost all surface rust, and put in a better dash from a parts ute I have (bent yellow '86 L200 with seized 4G63 and narrow 5spd). I have an italian weber 36/32 rebuilt to escort gt 1600 specs and L300 4g32b extractors that will need a a few inches off the end and a pair of 90degree bends welded on to clear the chassis rail.

There was a minor overheating incident earlier in the year when a heater hose failed, so right now it's got chemiweld holding pressure in cylinder 4. I have a waterpump, timing belt kit etc for a major birthday soon, it just has to get through the Australian summer first, because it's a work truck.

Even after a rebuild the mikuni floods when hot, so I might start a thread to ask for help on that as I don't have all the bits ready for the weber swap yet and don't have time to pull off the tub and lay out electric pump etc. Plus I want to change out all old fuel hose when that happens.

Great to see an active forum for these little trucks in an age when so much useful internet content has been lost to facebook.

[xboxrox]

Hello 1600cc Welcome to MR50

Cool truck you got OO OO headlights are the best !!! Check out my Mikuni rebuild photo album & check make sure the float has not leaked

[1600cc]

Thanks for the welcome.

@xboxrox the float floats but it gets stuck open. I'll check out your album, thanks.

@geezer101 it is a Tassie truck, still got the same plates and dealer stickers it left the lot with 41 years ago. I've accidentally downsized the photos when using the forum WYSIWYG, I'll sort it out and add engine bay and interior when I'm on desktop.

General engine and suspension parts have all been easy to find new, but there's a lot of NLA specific parts of course. This is definitely a survivor, there are a few 80-82 first gens down here in the far south of Tas, pretty much all old farmers and all trucks are white and square headlights + 4g52..
There was a long-parked old Colt that I drove past daily for 2 years and idly wondered what 4g it had, and the next time I passed after learning it was a 4g37b... It was gone, finally.
Since that missed opportunity I'll have a chat with anyone driving something crusty enough to be a parts source!

[geezer101]

Hi and welcome to mightyram. Is it a Tassie truck? Hard to tell from the picture resolution. Now that is a survivor. Finding any parts for it would be a struggle especially with the 4G32 engine. Even getting a salvage engine from a Colt would be a hard task. The 1.6 is a good little engine. Easy to work on, runs on fumes and is really reliable too. Very cool to have a Chrysler L200 Express! Apparently they were also sold in Australia as the Chrysler D-50 as well.

[geezer101]

I might see one First Gen Chrysler truck every 3 or 4 years if I'm lucky. L200's are getting thin on the ground and they rarely make an appearance in wreckers. I remember seeing a lot of older cars in Tas. It seems you guys keep a hold of them for longer. I think it would be a good place to go mining for 60's and 70's cars out on farms.

p.s. loved Tassie, beautiful place

[1600cc]

It's because of a few factors - the orchard industry crash of the 70s left a LOT of (asbestos) shedding available, and transferring ownership of a registered vehicle doesn't require a vehicle inspection.

[1600cc]

This truck is nearly running again after a major rebuild including a rebuilt engine and 5 speed conversion.

Someone sold me their '81 L200 sports model for what they paid - a carton of beer - after the police took it off the road for too much cab rust. It's perfectly straight, not a ding on either fender so those will eventually be put on my truck.

I pulled the 4g52 and 5 speed, tore the engine apart and found the cam caps too worn.

IMG20230519150441_copy_1387x1849.jpg

Eventually I found another 4g52 and 5spd for $150, and that one had a good head but crank damage on cylinder 3, so I put the head from the second on the block of the first and sent them for machining. I had the machine shop skim the flywheel and balance the rotating assembly while it was there.
New pistons, aggressive cam regrind, balance shafts deleted, heavier valve springs, Pajero extractors and it's as good as a near-stock 4g52 is going to get in 2024

IMG20231202104259_copy_1304x1450.jpg

I cut a hole in the floor for the change from column shift to 5spd. Interior still needs cleaning and seat repairs but that'll have to wait.

PXL_20241130_072912787.jpg

Engine bay cleaned up, wiring adapted for an 80a bosch alternator, steering box rebuilt, all suspension joints replaced, frame rails painted. There's a Cartman electric fuel pump under the tray where everyone mounts them. Engine cleans up alright once the EGR and mechanical fuel pump are blanked off and a Weber is installed! Haven't decided on weber air filter yet, I'll either modify my OEM mikuni unit to fit or run a remote filter off one of those snorkels. The open engine bay filter isn't appropriate for where I drive.

Once it's running it'll need some tuning for the cam grind (waggot stage 3 https://waggottcams.com.au/wp-conten...i-2-2.6LTR.pdf), but for now I'll keep the 4.89:1 +LSD diff and see how that goes. It'll be better than the 4spd was, but if the economy is still unacceptable I'll move the LSD to a 3.9:1 spare diff I have.

PXL_20241129_072626112.jpg

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[xboxrox]

1600cc

How would you like to make some money..? Just send me the headlights 'n mounts & grill for me to convert my truck from square to round headlights ??

Your Truck 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[1600cc]

Sorry, Im keeping my truck as twin round headlights. The photo of the square headlights truck is a parts car. Shipping from Australia would be eye watering, but I'll keep a look out for you.

[xboxrox]

THANK YOU