I hadn't noticed that truck before...

Sloppy front end is almost always an idler arm on these.  They're trash and i used to replace mine every 15k miles

If MOOG has a "problem solver" for those, do it.  I didn't on my Nissan Hardbody, and it was no better than the one I took off.

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

Congrats. Making it driveable is a big first step. 

The schmutz. This was a brand new fuel pump and sock. 
 

I'm delighted to see this is running. 

Now what about swap to a $300 LT1? I've read that an LS swap will probably total about $2000, all in. 

Cheap LT1 might be a good alternative?

It's funny how having a project that moves can completely change my outlook on an engine swap. If I'm being realistic, having a running and driving truck going into yard cleanup time is more important than engine swaps. That isn't to say an engine swap won't happen down the road.

I worked on the brakes this evening, but due to a momentary brain cramp, I didn't hook the E-brake cable up before I put everything back together, so I gotta take it back apart a bit and put that on, as trying to hook up an e-brake cable to assembled drums has always been impossible for me.

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

Yeah, swapping out a running engine is a tough choice. I've been ruminating about some sort of swap for years, but mine keeps getting it done, despite having about 400k miles on it.

I pulled my miata about 1200 miles over a four day weekend last month. Burned a less than a half quart of oil, running 70+ most of the way.

The rear drums are refreshed using regular old FLAPS brand shoes and two new AC Delco wheel cylinders. 

It'd been long enough since I'd done drum brakes *and* everything was so incredibly nasty in there that it took about 4 hours to get the job done, not the one hour I predicted earlier.

Observations:

1. Don't disconnect the emergency brake line unless you have to. Just leave it connected to the actuator in the drum and clean it in place.
2. You need more brake cleaner than you think you do.
3. Brake dust mixed with brake fluid will instantly stain clothing, concrete and your skin.

Also, given how very close to metal on metal contact I was on the rear drums, I'm going to give the fronts another look in the daylight, but I remember them having a fair bit of meat on them.

 

Still to do:

- Bleed the brakes again (it got dark and my wife wasn't going to help)
- Fix the tailgate. The latch is partially unfrozen, but still sticky enough that I have to whack it to get the gate open. 
- Decide what to do with the suspension overall. I'd really like to raise it back up about 2 inches in front and back, but I'm not sure how to do that.
- Get new caps for the bleeders
- Wash everything, including the underbody so I can ID any new leaks
- Fix transmission leak in tailshaft
- Get a radio
- GMT800 Master Cylinder
- Paint
- Change differential oil
- Change coolant
- paint some underbody areas to keep rust away
- fix front end (extent of this TBD)
- Disassemble the HVAC system- every time I turn on the vent, it's mouse pee odor, so I think there's an old nest stuck up in there somewhere.
- Clean the interior more
- rebuild the door cards, if that's possible.
- Fix the dang glove box door somehow.

Total budget so far:
Truck: $750
Transmission: $350
Fluids: $58 (exempt)
Tires: $200 (exempt)
TBI rebuild: $17.89  (exempt)
Ignition Coil: $11.99 (exempt)
Fuel Filter: $8.66 (exempt)
Brake lines: $45 (exempt)
New fuel tank :     (excempt) 
New brake pads (rear)      (exempt) 
New TPS:      (exempt)
New wheel cylinders:  (exempt)
MAP Sensor:    (exempt)
 

The interior in my '89 is pretty thoroughly worn out, so I'm looking forward to see your progress.  (and I'm not just interested in your progress on the interior)

It's been up on jacks since I worked on the brakes. Looking at the suspension, the axle is riding on top of the leaf springs, and the front springs are certainly aftermarket.

I've got no idea what parts were used to lower it where it is, so I've got no idea what I'm going to need to raise it up a couple of inches. I'm debating just taking a stock suspension out of a junkyard truck, but I'm not yet sure exactly what parts I'm going to need for that.

Dusterbd13 gave me some really beefy front springs and struts, I'm thinking that that those might raise the front a bit.

How much lift would de-flipping the axle get me in the back?

 

De-flip will get 5-6 inches 

De-flip should not require any parts at all.  You would re-use the U-Bolts and plate, just flipped over.

I would not raise it; I would just do more cutting.

I think all I really want back is about 2 inches on both ends. Once I have it back on the ground, I'll get some measurements and go from there.

Does it have lengthened shackles on the back?

You can usually use lift shackles with a flip kit to get a 4 inch drop on the back.

The springs from me i THINK are 2 inch drop springs. 

SkinnyG said:

Does it have lengthened shackles on the back?

I have no idea, or even how to check.

Brett_Murphy said:

SkinnyG said:

Does it have lengthened shackles on the back?

I have no idea, or even how to check.

Measure the shackles center to center of the bolts and either post what they are, or go measure at a yard

If they are almost touching the bed support at the back of the springs, probably a drop shackle 

Mr_Asa said:

Measure the shackles center to center of the bolts and either post what they are, or go measure at a yard

The shackle is 4 3/8 inches center to center. 

Here is how the rear is sitting now:

Looks like stock shackles.

You could undo the flip, then add drop shackles to come back down. Probably net you 4" higher than right now. Could also move the front leaf mount for another 1" or 2".

Why do you want it higher? You're going the wrong way....

SkinnyG said:

Why do you want it higher? You're going the wrong way....

I may not want higher, I just want to be able to carry a load full of junk without bottoming out. I'm not even talking a heavy load, I'm talking about 400 pounds. 

I might have to massage the fenders a bit back there for the current wheel/tire combo I have not to rub a bit, but that's beyond the scope of the lack of suspension travel.

First make sure the shocks are not bottoming out.

You could add some helper bags, or (worse) air shocks, to help carry loads when you need to.

I put bumpstops in the bottom of the c-notches so when fully loaded, the frame sits on the ends of the axle tubes, instead of everything sitting on the pumpkin.  I have the "Big-10" leafs in my Silverado though (7 leafs plus overload), which might carry better.

So, I took apart some of the heating to try and chase down the mouse smell.

I'm not sure what was in there. It was like brown talcum powder that smelled like mouse pee. There was quite a bit of it caked in there, too. Probably 2 gallons worth of it. It was under the heater core and into the area with the blower. I've not taken the blower apart, yet, since it decided to go from sunny to pouring rain in about 10 minutes, but that's on the list for tomorrow.

This was disgusting. There are no photos, because it was disgusting.

In other news, I took out the two speaker cabinets that were behind the seats. These things weigh like 25 pounds each.

Yeah, the entire interior of the truck was about that groddy. Depending on how far I want to take this project, I might wind up pulling the entire interior out and replacing it.

Did I mention that the rear view mirror fell off?

It did. The button separated from the glue. I'll fix that later. I really ought to get a new rear view mirror- the mirror finish has corroded all around the edge of this one.

I have never been able to get a rear view mirror to stick back on.  I remember spending like $20 in glue over several attempts only to have it keep failing.  Local glass shop charged me $20 and it never fell off again.