While the Swampers were being...
While the Swampers were being mounted by a local truck shop, I fired the engine for the first time. The smoke screen should've been a warning, but I took it to be leftover JB-80 lube and engine oil in the cylinders from the engine being upside down on the engine stand. Wishful thinking.
Other than forgetting to bring a map and getting slightly lost somewhere in northern Nevada, the trip was pretty uneventful. We throttled back to Southern California to Cappa's dirt farm where we unloaded the five-quarter and parted ways. Whether through pity or just to give the neighborhood rats a nice place to sleep, Cappa graciously stored my new hulk for a full year at his house, during which time I only laid eyes on it two or three times. I repaid his kind generosity with barbs about his hair gel and awkwardness with the opposite sex.
Then, almost a year to the day later as we parked Cappa's new deuce purchase next my M-715, I came up with the brilliant plan of dragging my crapbox home and getting it ready to drive from Southern California to Ouray, Colorado, in a month. What followed was the ultimate thrash fest with Murphy's Law rearing its ugly head at every corner. In the end, the truck didn't work and I was so physically and mentally washed out I came dangerously close to quitting my job to become a monk somewhere in the Himalayas. So read on to learn more about a vehicle I've since dubbed The Evil Truck.
The Evil Truck Highlights
So I paid $800 for a solid but incomplete '68 M-715 with inoperable brakes, no engine or T-case, and in need of a ton of work. Here are some highlights.
Previous owner shenanigans:
* Swapped-in Chevy 400 small-block and NP200 T-case yanked and discarded
* Rear shackle position flipped
* Scary lengthened front shackles installed
* Hood hinges missing
* Construction-steel front bumper and tow bar
* Mismatched tires
* 24-volt wiring pulled apart
Mail-order parts not available at local NAPA Auto Parts:
* Brake shoes PN 9333585-2530 (Memphis Equipment)
* Inner tubes PN 11430d and flaps PN84265 (International Tire & Tube)
* Front shackles (Saturn Surplus)
* Parts to get engine running (Summit Racing)
* 13/38-16 Super Swamper tires (Interco)
* Radiator (Radiators.com)
* Flywheel (Centerforce)
Summit Racing came to the...
Summit Racing came to the rescue with oodles of affordable equipment. For less than $400 I got a brand-new Summit high-performance HEI distributor, plug wires, oil pan, high-volume oil pump, 100-amp alternator, a Flex-A-Lite fan, Fel-Pro gaskets, and other assorted odds and ends to make the incomplete 350 run. While the pan was off I checked the bearings, which were hashed but serviceable. A compression check would've shown the nonexistent ring seal and completely wasted valve guides. Oh well.
After coming up to temperature,...
After coming up to temperature, the factory radiator let go with a plume of coolant. A local radiator shop took possession of the stock unit, while I optimistically waited by the phone. After three days of searching for a useable core, I gave up and called Radiators.com. Three hours and $249 after hanging up the phone with the salesman, a Chevy conversion radiator for a '78 CJ-7 was delivered to my door. It dropped right in after slightly elongating the mounting holes.
As the sun fell and I mounted...
As the sun fell and I mounted the rig for my first test drive some 7.5 miles to a buddy's house, so did my hopes of making it to Colorado with the junkyard engine. The fuel filter quickly filled with rusty scale and the level of smoke from the tailpipes was simply comical. About three miles from home on the return trip it started bucking, backfiring, and stalling. I limped it back home, but the engine burned 1.5 quarts of oil in its 15 miles of driving, the carburetor is a throwaway, the fuel tank needs to be rinsed, and the front-left brake really needs some attention. The Evil Truck wins this round, but I'll be back with more horsepower and a total disregard for its well-being.
Timeline of a Meltdown
Week 1: Scramble to gather T-case, crossmembers, mail-order parts, clean out crap.
Week 2: Pick up junk engine donated by Hot Rod Magazine, reseal engine, assemble clutch, finish other story projects and articles for deadlines.
Week 3: Summer weather hits records with sustained temps of 115-degrees Fahrenheit and high humidity for entire week. Hit junkyard for miscellaneous parts. Install engine. Thrash on brakes.
Week 4: Have tires mounted as soon as inner tubes arrive. Make dozens of trips to parts store 15 miles away for correct radiator hoses, starter that works, and hundreds of other odds and ends. Fix incoherent wiring job. Waste three days trying to have stock radiator fixed. Get hassled for hours and hours at California DMV.
Night before departure: Rebuild carb twice. Replumb fuel system again. Swap leaking master cylinder. Take first test drive night before departure to discover engine would never make it.