Gosh, your truck is morphing..!
One mod still not done --> Tire Shine
Gosh, your truck is morphing..!
One mod still not done --> Tire Shine
Put this on a weigh bridge the other day
It comes in at 1420kg wet (full tank, and spare)
3,130 lbs diet to 3,000 lbs (possible..?)
Potentially the 1st gen tray is lighter as it's single wall
There's maybe some nickel and dime stuff to lighten it, but it's Gona get heavier with some extra interior bits and sound deadening, step towbar etc
3000lbs is a nice round number tho
Change the wheels to alloy, replace the seats, dump any towing accessories (tow hitch, rear step etc), use bumper deletes, drop the spare tyre... might get you 130 kg off the total weight. Anything more than that will require a radical approach like fibreglass panels and lexan instead of glass (not so hard to do with the rear window), gutting the interior down to bare bones, redesigning suspension parts like control arms and looking at a lighter drivetrain combo (the G63B has to be a few kilos lighter than a 4G54 - I'd guess the 4G64 wouldn't be due to the added weight of the intake manifold and extra electrics)
Both lighter than the V6 I'd say. 4l60e is likely to be heavier than the current 700r4 too.
Suffice to say I'm not removing anything, it's bare bones enough from factory
Many new cars have no spare tire what-so-ever; they have run flat tires (adds weight) or a spray can of "Fix-a-Flat" or OnStar type rescue system... Forged alloy wheels should save a good amount of weight but are expensive... The type of tires used affects weight, some tires are very light weight others (extreme HD type) are very heavy...
remove two pistons & rods
Last edited by xboxrox; 11-15-2018 at 10:23 PM. Reason: add RE to move
Hmm, a friend of mine made an observation that the 3.2 Rodeo V6 made more power than the Commo/Buick engine and was a bolt up affair (I can't confirm that) The auto trans is the biggest weight problem you're dealing with. You are dealing with a way better power to weight ratio than what the Commodore used though.
I pulled out the washer unit back when I moved the aircleaner up a little. Unfortunately I need a WOF so have to put it back in. I picked up a washer unit from a 2nd gen at a wreckers (mine was not a mitsi or Holden, and was cut up and siliconed together for some reason)
Finding somewhere to put it proved the hardest part.
I also don't like the position of my overflow bottle, it kinda overflows onto all the electrics....
So the current solution is to relocate both of them. A little clearance needed to the inner fender for the washer, and then mounted a bracket off the current battery tray for the overflow.
Pretty happy with it for now, it's going to go through another few evolutions probably. I quite like those metal recovery tanks that bolt to the side of the radiator. At some point I think I will relocate the battery under the tray, and maybe move the washer unit with it to really clean up the engine bay (to say nothing of getting rid of all that wiring....)
What was going on with the battery? Normally it's located on the other side of engine bay (it's current location would throw the weight distribution to the drivers side) I had an 88 Astra and relocated the overflow bottle behind the grille (the original one crumbled so I cobbled one together from an aluminium drink bottle and a fire extinguisher bracket - yes it sounds weird but it all went together like it was meant to lol) Most cars have front mounted washer reservoirs now, just need one with a remote filler neck and a spot to cram it in there. I'd like to relocate the battery in my truck as well.
Battery is there because Holden air filter is on the original spot
diesel Mitsu trucks (1st gen) have the battery under the tray / bed - 84 - 85 anyways. 83 diesels are on the firewall...
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
Yeah I'll copy the under tray set up from one of them. But make some sealed areas for tools etc
Oh nice, I just bumped into a local fabricator who is making turbo manifolds for the ecotec. A nice small Turbo and cooler would get me a massive bump in power, plus there's plenty of space for the kit. Might need to spend my pocket money on wider rear tyres and better brakes first
Nah, you'll end up running a massive Garrett and an intercooler big enough to block out the sun lol. Have you done the Gen 2 brake swap yet? Some braided lines, ceramic composite pads and twin pistons will haul it up fast enough. You'll have to figure out how to get the brake booster to behave itself with boost as well. Not sure what you can do to beef up the rear brakes.
I rented an Oldsmobile sedan (~3400 lbs) years back, with an early gen/series I 3800.
With five passengers on board it still firmly press you back in the seat! Extremely impressive, and a whisper quiet ride
even at 3130 pounds, that truck performance should be 'peppy', at least.
Maybe an 'ecu tune' away ? ...or GM fwd tranny, converter, gearing efficiency made the difference ? ...dunno
If I was sure I could duplicate that 3800 sedans' performance in my mitsu pickup, I wouldn't even look at the 4G63
From what I have seen the Oldsmobile has quite long gears, chugging along at 1200rpm in overdrive on the highway. The tune on the Buicks are pretty good, they accelerate harder than the ecotec. But both can be improved with a bit more timing.
There performance is very acceptable, it doesn't slow down up hills with a tray full of soil and the acceleration is only let down by the tyres
Hell if you want a 3800 conversion for your truck I'll strap one and a loom to a pallet for you
Cool, another 6 months of legal motoring.
Passed but they added some comments about the front bumper led indicators, some play in what I think they should be calling the pitman arm ( front steering drop arm. Gotta be that right) and the rust in the front corners of the tray.
So I'll continue to ignore that anyway
It's too bad that the trucks' frame layout won't accommodate a rack and pinion without fouling something. It would shave off quite a few kilos and improve steering feel. Non car guys doing vehicle inspections...Least it passed, so that's good.
Funny you say that. I saw an L200 chassis fitted with a rack and pinion the other day. Destined for some rod project, buy it was there
that has been done on our trucks before - not sure what they used. possibly a Saturn rack...
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
if I got a pallet from your way, it'd be loaded with some of the rare good stuff you guys have. Magna intakes etc..
An abundance of cheap 3800s over this side, especially fwd....
I bought a 3800 supercharged grand prix with a bad transmission(weak reverse gear) for $200
While motor bolts up to s10 truck or 2.8 F-body, 5spd or 700R4 auto, it takes a bit of fiddling & a custom part or two, so its not oem fit up as Holden.
Non-supercharged 3800 also available in gen4 camaro/firebird 5spd or 4L60 autos
Camaro 3800 L36/4L60 auto, swapped into S10 truck (roughly same weight as Mmax/D50) run 14.3sec 1/4.
Supercharged 3800 L67 4spd manual, pulley/ported/cam/headers/tune goes 13.0sec 1/4 in another S10
Camaro L36/auto trans swapped into RWD 86 cutlass (3100 lbs), supercharger added/ported/cam/rockers/tune run 12.2sec 1/4
Decent performer imo
More than a few starion rack steering conversions detailed on starquestclub, in the build threads. Stock layout similar to truck
rack setup solves clearance issues with stock steering box too
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
Oh, do the fwd engines bolt up to a 700r4? That might mean I can use one of their sump gaskets with the built in windage tray.
Have not done any work. Busy busy every weekend on the house and any left over time on the minor.
Have however been spending way too much on fresh ecotec parts. It needed a couple of gaskets and kind of grew from there. Though to be fair I don't want to take it out again for a long time, so am planning an in-depth freshen up. I'll take the whole lot apart and measure up the innards. Due to the milage I have gone ahead and ordered
A full gasket set
New timing gears, chain, and tensioner
Water pump
And to tart her up a bit, some 1.9 high ratio roller tip rockers.
Have also got a sheet of HDPE to hack a plenum spacer fromim also going to tidy up the castings throughout the intake and ports.
Will probably do a basic valve job and whatever else needs doing once I open it up
Rockers seem to be the go on these engines. Cams are made out to be a major pain with balance shafts etc needing modification. Also I got these yella terra ones for half price, which was less than even the cheap option, and half of what a set of cams cost. So for the performance I want they are ideal. Published gains are about 10kw when a cat back exhaust and cold air intake are used.
The spacer looks simple enough to cut out, so forget paying $150 for one, IL have to check my plenum bonnet spacing.
Aiming for a strong reliable engine with that slightest bit more pep than I have now.
Got a flat today, same corner as earlier this year. Then found my jack was missing.
Bugger
Borrowed a very dodgy euro one and drove onwards an hour to the closest welder repair shop. (Should just buy the one on special for $350, what a drag) and went right to the auto store and bought a bottle jack to live permanently under the seat.
How's that?Originally Posted by xboxrox
Gosh, your truck is morphing..!
One mod still not done --> Tire Shine
Might have to wash the truck now....
It's not cheap being an 80s guy I'll tell ya. But I couldn't have a Chinese white lettering tyre.
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