what to do
 

hello im pretty new to this truck and this forum, ive only made a few threads. im in my early twenties and ive owned a straight 6 jeep and currnetly a 4 cyl 89 toyota. ive honestly never had to buy parts for a v8. ive had formal and informal education in body repair and work well mechanically. however i dont know much about engine building and am willin to learn just get lost sometimes. i have a 72 c10 that i got from my stepmothers family and its always been a farm truck. and the body shows. i sort of want to do a functional junker, almost like a rat rod but a rat rod has straight fenders. mainly just want this truck to run great and drive well and also be strong. Im going to take off the quadrajet and the manifold and get new ones. dont know if its worth it to port and polish the heads and upgrade the cam( Cause right now im not doing any bottom end work) Oh yea by the way the truck has 86k orig miles so im thinkin thats a good platform. tell me any ideas sugestions or advice ect.
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Re: what to do
 

some of my toyota
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Re: what to do
 

Welcome to the board! What motor do you have? You could run a compression test to get an idea of the condition of the bottom end, it should be fine though. You will definitely wake up the motor with a new cam, intake, etc. Depending on what heads you have they may not be worth much work, it may be cheaper to find new ones. When I had my motor built that is what my builder told me, he said the runners were to small to get good performance out of and I'd be better to buy some vortecs or something.

Re: what to do
 

i honestly have no idea what heads are on there i was told that the only thing thats been done to it is that the head gaskets have been changed (about 6 or 7 yrs ago) and the carb had a gasket kit done on it( any where from 10 to 15yrs ago) oh the 350 engine. i would assume that they are the stock heads, but you know what happens when you assume! i guess ill just say what i know its got. quadrajet thats a bit sluggish (plans for a 1411 eldebrock and a performer intake) stock heads (took covers off and not a speck of dust) stock bottom end, turbo hydramatic trans i want to say its got the 12bolt rearend.

Re: what to do
 

Welcome to the forum camjck89. Most of us on here like trucks, cars, etc no matter what brand they are. We "prefer" old GM trucks, but if it's got a motor you have our attention.

Your best bet is to analyze what your truck needs to make sure it's safe. Check brakes, steering, etc for excessive play. Those are pretty straight forward and your mechanical aptitude should get you through the upgrades with a bit of guidance.

Re: what to do
 

I'd suggest keeping that q-jet, giving it a rebuild. There is no matter carb for mileage and tune-a-bility. Just need to educate yourself about them.
J

Re: what to do
 

id like to keep it cause i like the staggered carb for mileage, do you have any links to find out the mechanics of a qjet and how to tune it/ maintain it?

Re: what to do
 

yea thats what im workin on doing now i have to get some tires and have the brakes checked, the steering has about 1/8 excess play in it and the brakes are pretty stiff ( i know it doesnt have power brakes) other than that it runs pretty good. thanks for the welcome. i liked workin on my toyota but its almost gotten to where if i do any more ill have to put a 4link and bag it or something so this is more or less to occupy my time .

Re: what to do
 

Lots of sites (Google is your friend)

http://www.florida4x4.com/tech/quadrajet/index.php

I suggest these 2 books. Both are very useful.

Amazon.com: How to Rebuild and Modify Rochester...
Amazon.com: Rochester Carburetors...
It seems more complicated than it is. Take the time and do some studying.

J

Re: what to do
 

the chevy will be easier/cheaper to work on and (no offense lol) but you'll probably get more thumbs up with the chevy!!

sweet project what're the plans just make it a strait rat rod? paint it? build a motor bag it? more pics!

Re: what to do
 

Welcome to the board!

If in your position, I'd just clean up the truck and leave it until you get a good idea of whats out there.

I'd start by upgrading the suspension, rebuild all four corners of brakes, change all fluids, pressure wash the engine, give the interior a good douche, and re do the seat.

Drive it, and drive it some more. Go to a few truck shows, and see what others have done to their trucks. Ask a bunch of questions about how long it took, and how much money they spent.

All that is what I did to my burb when my Dad gave it to me years ago, and I decided I liked the stock route for restoration after all that.

As for the Toy, I have one too and the second gens are the best!


Looking forward to seeing more of your plans and accomplishments on here!

Re: what to do
 

i just want for now to get that engine running real nice and of course be safe. but the outside if i can find a pass side fender the same color i would only do that to the outside untill i could do a complete resto. but that wont be for years so in the time being i just want you to be able to roll up and think nothin but not be able to get away:smoke:

Re: what to do
 

your spot on im just trying to get this thing in good mechanical shape and then when the times right be able to take her out of commission and redo it

oh and i also like the second gen. i couldnt find a stout of id be doing a diff rebuild

Re: what to do
 

so im having a friend of mine who always does work on my 400ex rebuild my quadrajet. so im wondering do i need to get a new intake manifold? if i dont then i might think breaks ive never had a truck that they diddnt work great( i also never had manual power breaks) how should i check them??