[Couchguy707]

Thanks for comment, you might be right. If I don't hit 100, that will be okay; at the end of the day its a new lease on life for the truck with hopefully a bit more pull for passing those semi's on the way into town.

I don't have too many recent photos, I've started pulling everything more than 3 years old off my computer onto a hard drive, but here are a few:

I have done quite a bit of work to this truck over the years. I bought it off of a single owner from Wyoming back in 2018 and my wife and I used it as a truck camper for years before my daughter was born. I had the seat reupholstered and I have done some extensive rust repair on the bed, but its a very clean chasis.

I try to build a car every year or two and it was time to get this truck done. The suspension, brakes, steering, bushings, you name it, has all been replaced. I had a line on a FE3 Kia engine and transmission ready to go, but I had just done an engine swap on a different project and decided to keep this one 'stock'. No doubt, the best bang for your buck is to just swap in the FE3. Maybe next time? I expect it to be a few months, machine shops around here are 5-6 months out and I've only been waiting about 2. I'll take lots of pictures when I start assembling.

 

[Couchguy707]

I love that pattern on the seat! What a great looking rig.

I finally have an update with some progress;

Got all my engine parts back, here are the custom flat top pistons:

Ported head with a Delta 272 cam and the stiff springs from Australia

I went with a white gold theme; though the paint on the bolts didn't stick. 38/38 weber installed:

Assembled and ready to drop in:

Got it dropped in and did the break-in cycle on father's day:

I don't have a good picture of it after this, I was too excited to get it running and going. I did the break in cycle for the cam shaft, changed the oil and put about 50 miles on it before my new chineesium water pump failed. The bearing made such a racket I thought the whole engine was toast. So I haven't gotten back to the dyno, or had it tuned yet, but after I replace the water pump (next week sometime) and finish the second break in period, I will make the call.

It definitely feels like it has more than enough power for traffic now and I can tell it has more in it. Once we get the carb and the timing dialed in it will be plenty of fun cruising around town in. It's drag race season, so probably a couple months out from updated dyno numbers.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Couchguy707]

For those of you who were patient and wanted to see what a modified FE engine could do... I finally got back to the Dyno.

 

[Couchguy707]

I like to paste in pictures because you never know how these uploads will last; in some of the old forums the pictures are completely gone.

As a reminder, at 300k ish miles, a Pace-setter header and a weber 32/36, I made about 73 HP and 107 ft-lb at 4100 and 2700 rpms respectively. With higher compression pistons, performance valve springs, 38/38 weber, electric fuel pump, electric fan, a lightly ported head, and a delta 272 camshaft, we are at 102 HP and 120 ft-lb at 5100 and 3600 rpms.

 

[Couchguy707]

The area under the curve is what's really important. The power is usable and noticeable, I have no issues passing trucks on the highway and I'm still getting 22 mpg while driving it aggressively for break-in and testing. I've put about ~2000 miles on the rebuild now and sent in a few oil samples; everything appears to be normal and in good operating condition. I'm very happy with the results and look forward to my next build.