1978 Pickup, giving her some love...

[Mudhen]

PITA to take out, but man...gotta admire the time and effort the person took to do that thing.   :o

[Richard1]

I agree it would be nicer to get rid of all that junk, especially since the longer wood stays in contact with the metal, the more rust forms.
Not to be discouraging, but here is what I found

Wood added by PO (a carpenter)


Rust behind bed seat

[Jims5543]

Richard, what a mess!!!

Finally got all the wood off the rails and I be damned if I can figure out how to get it out of the bed. Ran out of time, the tonneau cover guy wanted the truck this evening and I think it will be done by weeks end.  He also knows to make an extra black cover for you Dan.  I told him to make a template, not sure how many Mini Truck guys there are out there but I found a source for tonneau covers.  I will let you know the cost when it is done.



Rails are in pretty good shape, pretty rust free just full of screw holes.


All the crap that came off, I did not weigh it but to guess?  About 40-50 lbs worth.



The black tonneau cover material I like the sheen look to it.

[Richard1]

Looking forward to your final. I've been thinking about what or how to do it.

This is how a friend did his 56 Austin

[Jims5543]

Interesting...


Look what i found while searching for images.

http://www.plmini.com/proj_pickup.htm

It is a bit of history on my truck. Seems it has some pretty decent upgrades to it. 

[Jims5543]

Now to remove the old turnbuckles and make it look nice until I take her off the road for paint and stuff...

[94touring]

Looks great.  How much extra bed space do you have with all the wood out?

[Jims5543]

To be honest, I do not have the truck yet, he is fitting the while cover on it in the morning and I am picking it up in the afternoon.

He sent me that pic around 7 PM today.

One hurdle he hit is my bed is not square, I am not 100% sure how far off it was, if I remember the phone conversation correctly, he said it was about 1/2" off along the tail gate.

What I would probably need you to measure is 4 places, side rail to side rail in the front and in the rear. Then from the back of the cab to the back of the tail gate on each side. See if everything parallel.

He told me he would send you the vinyl cut and sewn without the snaps mounted (but with the snaps for you to mount) and the cross bow beams and mounting hardware for them. He told me to tell you to swing by with it and he would be happy to mount it up.

I should send him the pic you posted of it. Actually I told him you were in Tulsa so no bueno.

[Jims5543]

I took all the old turnbuckles off. There is significant rust under every single one. They were never sealed properly when installed. 

Kind of a drag.

Also the cost of one of these covers custom made to fit your bed is $400.  This includes the top the wood strigers with their stainless mounting hardware and stainless snaps to attach it to the bed rail.
You just need to let him know the dimensions of the bed outer rail to outer rail across in the front and back the from the back of the cab to the end of the bed next the gate on both  sides.

I will post some detailed pics tomorrow.

[Jims5543]

I only had a couple of hours this morning. I wanted to clean up the bed some and found even more work to do.

Some pics:

I am really not sure what this is all about, I cements my opinion that whoever put the diamond plate, deck rails and flying bridge on this poor truck was a boat guy. The hosing used in the second pic is the kind of hose you would find on a boat.





This wood board is what I threw into the truck when I first got it, it was cut to the exact dimensions of the bed when all the wood was in it. It kind of shows you how much room I picked up.


Are these things/holes normally on a pickup? (you can also see the cross rail hardware, a stainless snap and the rust under the turn buckle)



Oh and I have the white cover now too.  ;D

[94touring]

Some pretty wild hose work.   Love that white cover and white roof combo!

[Jims5543]

Yeah, I am on the fence with the white cover. It is much whiter than the roof, makes the roof look yellowish.

I need to take a pic of the bed all cleaned up I forgot to I spent most of the 2 hours spraying it down with de-greaser and scrubbing it clean.

With the metal removed, the wood bed liner, the hundred or so screws holding it all on I would guess about 70 lbs of weight has been removed from the bed.

[94touring]

Oh you probably have an old English white roof.  From my phone it looks good.  Nice 5% weight reduction!

[Jims5543]

I do not want to tear it up so can someone explain how to remove the front Austin badge on the hood? I found a new one to put on. 

[94touring]

It's either going to be double sided adhesive tape, or there will be 2 or 3 tiny holes that it clips into through the bonnet.  If it's tape just lightly pry it off. 

[Jims5543]

I have now changed the oil 3x in 1000 miles. The last 2 changes were done in 300 mile intervals, and sea foam was added prior to the oil change to help flush the engine out.  I also pulled the oil pump spring and replaced with a new one, while it was out and I was draining the oil, I sprayed some WD 40 through the hole until I saw it running out the drain plug.

Then I filled it up with oil fill #3 and added 5 ounces of Sea Foam, then drove it 300 miles, then drained it again.


Now, all 3 oil changes, no matter how many miles, the oil was blacker than black. The rubber I found in the first oil change was present in #2 and by #3 there was one small piece, I feel it is all flushed out now.

She is filled up now and this weekend I am going to attach a external oil pressure gauge and see what the oil pressure really is.

Then the new rockers are being installed this weekend as well.

[94touring]

You're really taking good care of this thing.   4.gif

[Jims5543]

You're really taking good care of this thing.   4.gif

I am trying... I stood at the car show last weekend and looked at these guys pristine Mini's one came in on a trailer and was humbled.  I just want to drive it it man, that was probably my last car show.  I mean judged ones, I have no problem with the cars and coffee type where folks are just coming out for fun.

The Mini's at the show over the weekend we so perfect I would be afraid to drive them.  My only debate right now is whether to pull the engine this summer and rebuild it. I will know that answer after this weekend.

[jedduh01]

If the knocking continues- and you go in deep into the motor be sure to check into the Cam lobes and Lifters.

Friends mini - Knock clack at idle - goes away once a little rev is there.  We took whole motor part- except the cam out-  Bearings were in good shape- nothing apparently loose.. re assembled.  Same knock Clack... Has to be the camshaft in his car.

He has driven the car for another year with the clack - about 6000 miles... this weekend preparing to pull the motor for a full refresh on the boottom end-  including Camshaft kit- with lifters and springs to be included- New bearings all around. 

The clack has not been detrimental- but more annoying at idle and traffic and stoplights.

Just something to look for...

[Jims5543]

If the knocking continues- and you go in deep into the motor be sure to check into the Cam lobes and Lifters.

Friends mini - Knock clack at idle - goes away once a little rev is there.  We took whole motor part- except the cam out-  Bearings were in good shape- nothing apparently loose.. re assembled.  Same knock Clack... Has to be the camshaft in his car.

He has driven the car for another year with the clack - about 6000 miles... this weekend preparing to pull the motor for a full refresh on the boottom end-  including Camshaft kit- with lifters and springs to be included- New bearings all around. 

The clack has not been detrimental- but more annoying at idle and traffic and stoplights.

Just something to look for...

This is exactly what I think is going on. I had an old Dodge Colt (Mitsubishi engine) with a con rod bearing knock and it is a completely different sound than this.

I purchased a new set of rockers and I am hoping to put them on this weekend and praying this quiets things down some.  Fingers crossed!!

She does not run hot, she is not lacking in power anymore not that I have her running on all 4 cylinders at once. LOL!!

I really think this is either a bad lifter or more than one or a peripheral. I hope to have time and good news after the weekend.

[Jims5543]

[94touring]

Ok what's the story!

[Jims5543]

Ok what's the story!

No story, I decided this is the best way to drive the mini around.



Actually, this is a good new bad news and glad the truck is not burned to the ground.


I had been smelling gas after driving it but could not find the source, well, today, the smell was overwhelming while driving and once I stopped it would not restart.

Dumb ass that I am, I left the ignition on after trying to start it and, of course, it not starting. So I popped the "bonnet" (see? using proper words here) and took a gander as to what was going on, when I discovered, much to my dismay, that the float was puking fuel out, and there was fuel dripping onto the smoking hot header below...

At this point I expelled excrement into my shorts, shouted expletives, and ran for the back of the truck where I keep some rags and a extra fire extinguisher. I ran to the front and though to myself, why is there so much F*cking fuel flowing out? Then remembered the ignition was still on. I ran to the drivers door and shut it off.  The ran back and readied the fire extinguisher for the inevitable..... then waited and waited...  No Micheal Bay explosion occurred, much to my relief, then I was upset because I pooped my pants for nothing.

So I put a rag under what I am assuming is a float bowl, then felt around under there, I pulled out a loose piece of metal wiring that I guess was supposed to be on some sort of braided cover for a fuel line that runs from the bottom of the carb to the bottom of this float.  The hose was dry rotted, cooked to brittleness, useless and leaking like a tap on a keg at a frat party. Touching it further caused it to fall apart and fall off.

So I now know the source of my pesky gas smell.

I am also VERY happy the truck did not go up in flames.

I am taking this as a hint that it is time to stop driving it and do the things I need to do this summer. I am installing a window AC unit into the garage and going to work on her. Lots of projects are scheduled, like all the stuff that came in the 70 lb. box is going on her now.

How hard is it to rebuild a Carb? Should I take this opportunity to pull the single and go double? worth the trouble?

So many questions....

[94touring]

That story made me laugh  4.gif  I've had the same thing happen to me before.  These carbs are easy to rebuild, so I don't think you'll struggle there.  You'll gain power from dual carbs, however tuning them can be a headache. 

[Mudhen]

With all the airline people around this place I'm sure they can solve that problem for you.

I just picked up new ones for my '65 (twin carbs so got 2) - I know I just replaced them a couple hundred miles ago.   8.gif

Oh ya, 200 miles ago, in 2004.  Guess I won't complain.

So what carb do you have???