RowdyRebel

Ummmmm...NO! I will not "offset the climate impact of this shipment". Thanks for asking, but the fact that you're even considering this "extra" fee makes me want to use FedEx or the USPS. This PC BS has got to end... /rant

I prefer a more "hands on" approach myself, but whatever gets the job done!

If it's just a hobby truck that doesn't really ever haul anything, this may not apply. That being said, my truck's ride improved when I upped the spring rate from 12K to 16K on the front. Used to bottom out and slam the bump stops when I was loaded and hit a dip in the road...now the springs do their job and the bumps don't hurt anymore. Funny thing is, everybody told me the ride would suck with the heavier springs...but not hitting the bump stops anymore is a whole lot better.

I'd be OK with a little change. 9 countries contribute 75% of the UN's operating budget. Give those 9 countries a permanent seat since they are the ones paying the bills, and allow the remaining 6 seats to be filled by vote of the general assembly. I'd even grant those 9 veto powers, since they are the ones writing the checks to make everything that happens there possible. http://www.humanrightsvoices.org/EYEontheUN/un_101/facts/?p=230

...TCI flexplate came today. Must be the "Back to the Future" edition...

http://dailysignal.com/2015/09/25/john-boehner-will-resign-from-congress/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRohsqTBZKXonjHpfsX56e8uUKKwlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4ATcZmNq%2BTFAwTG5toziV8R7jHKM1t0sEQWBHm

There is a reason "Christian" holidays have schools typically closed: When 80% of the teachers refuse to show up to work on "Good Friday" or "Christmas", the school has no choice but to close because there aren't enough substitutes (especially when some of those also refuse to show up those days) to cover for the absent teachers. Even if school WAS open, not much is going to be taught if 80% of the students are not there. In a district predominately another religion, the "problem" might bias towards that other religion. Simple fact, if you don't have teachers willing to teach or students sitting in the classroom on those days, school will be closed. It isn't the school district showing preference to one religion over another, but rather accepting the reality of the fact that in a nation which recognizes the individual right to free exercise of religion, if a large number of your staff and students will not be present due to their observance of a religious holiday, there is no reason to even try remaining open on those days. If you aren't a follower of that faith, you get a free day off...and then you STILL get to play hooky on your own religious holidays, and it is an "excused" absence which won't be held against you. So where's the problem?

Regulatory agencies have been "out of control" ever since they were staffed with unelected, unaccountable government bureaucrats protected by a government employee union who realized that congress refuses to exercise their power of oversight in these matters...so things get stupid as these unfireable pencil pushers try to justify their job by dreaming up ridiculous regulations which serve no useful purpose. These agencies need their funding frozen until they can produce justification for these ridiculous regulation. Hell, ANY regulation ought to be accompanied by a cost-benefit analysis weighing the "safety" benefits against the "economic" costs. Only in cases where the benefit outweighs the cost by a significant factor (i.e. 2:1) should the new regulation be allowed to move forward...with a sunset. If the real-world results don't exceed (or at least come pretty darned close to) the estimates, the regulation expires and is expunged from the books. When that happens, the regulator responsible for the regulation and the fraudulent estimate should be fired as well as the supervisors directly above them. The ones above that should lose 10 years worth of service towards their retirement. Accountability. If the estimates were correct, the regulation can become permanent and everybody keeps their job.

Swung into Harbor Freight yesterday to take my 30 minute break. Walked out $300 lighter in the pocket. Sure wish I could MAKE money as quick as I could SPEND it. So what did I buy? It's probably what you might call "overkill" for this job, but compared to the other options, it was the only one that would work on other jobs in the future. That and the wheels are big enough they should roll in the driveway.

Yup. Even the best tuned electronic auto ain't gonna shift when/where/how I want it to all of the time. If I had my way, autos would be outlawed except for cases where a legitimate disability exists...like an amputee with only 1 leg for example. Anyone else, either learn how to drive or take the bus. Always cracks me up reading news articles though about some punk kid attempting to carjack somebody...only to abandon their efforts because they realize they picked a car they can't drive.

I ordered a B&M supercooler (for vehicles up to 29,200 gcw)...11x11x1.5 w/ 1/2" npt threads in & out to cool things off, and a Derale pan with 4-1/2 quarts of extra capacity. That and the new pan has a magnetic drain plug AND a bung for a temp sensor. So the B&M gauge kit (comes with the gauge, sensor, etc.) will find its way into the blank spot I have in the OEM dash. I ain't no fool...trying to set it up right. The one good thing about electronic controls is that it is easy enough to get a stand-alone controller for it. Splice into a couple wires off the ECM and plug into the transmission. The one I'm getting can have 4 tables loaded up. I figure 1 will have "economy" oriented shift points to maximize fuel efficiency while the wife commutes back and forth to work. Table 2 will be activated with the flip of a switch with towing-oriented shift points. Table 3 we'll probably use for a 4WD-high set-up, and table 4 when we put it in 4WD-low. A mechanical-link is going to be good at one thing, or a general compromise for everything. Electronics let you do some fine-tuning to get the most out of it.

When I first started this project, I didn't know the first thing about automatic transmissions...not even how to check the oil level, let alone how a torque converter works and how to select the proper stall speed. Everything I'd ever owned and everything I ever WANTED to own had a manual transmission in it....simple...pull a plug on the side and stick your finger tip inside...if your finger tip got wet, it was full...and if you were heavy and needed to be higher into the power band before taking off, you just used a little more throttle before letting out the clutch. Been doing a TON of reading here lately, though. Still don't know how all of the internals work with the valving and bands and such, but think I've figured out enough to put together a decent enough combo. It only has a stock under the hood...for now...but if something should happen to that, I want the rest of the driveline to be strong enough to handle anything from a built 350 up to at least a 454. Probably going to keep whatever we put in it spec'd for the idle-to-5000 RPM range so it is driveable, but increase/improve the torque curve for down low grunt and towing capabilities. Hell, this thing has a 14-bolt rear, the big 13" brakes, 4.10 gears, 1-ton rear springs (+2"), 3/4-ton front springs (+2"), riding on LT285/75R16 (33") tires. It's already a beast with the small engine. Wife shouldn't have ANY trouble pulling her horses around with it.

NRA rag that showed up in my box a few days ago laid out the penalties these "lax" gun laws would have IF enforced to their fullest potential. Something as benign as a convicted drug offender crossing state lines and using a fake ID to buy a handful of guns to sell to his dope dealing buddies back home would rack up 200-300 YEARS behind bars. Instead, they get a slap on the wrist and turned loose so the politicians can continue bellyaching about the need for MORE laws and MORE restrictions. Same thing with immigration...enforce the current law before you start asking for new ones.

Hell, this ALMOST makes me want to go out and buy one of these VW's. This country was founded upon a resistance to intrusive government oversight and burdensome rules and regulations imposed by an unelected and unaccountable government. What VW did by creatively finding a work-around in order to satisfy the bureaucrats while at the same time maintain the ability to offer a vehicle with the performance characteristics their customers desired is to be commended! If their vehicles had strictly followed the mandates, they wouldn't have sold...so they did what they had to do given the BS handed to them by the unelected, unaccountable bureaucratic agencies.

...and one more thing before I hit the sack tonight. The bad experience hurstscrambler had w/ monster transmissions along with the phone call I had earlier with them go tme looking....TONS of bad reviews about them online. So, going to spend a few bucks more on a Hughes Performance torque converter from their XTM Tow Master line. Once I get that and the controller ordered, the only thing left to do is wait for it all to show up before I get to start busting knuckles and cursing like a drunken sailor....

If I were swapping out a TH350, then the 700R4 would make sense. I've got a TH400, though. The guy across the highway (shadetree wrench, hobbies include playing crash-em-ups at the fair and mud truck building) swears by the 700R4 as well. I'm inclined to stick with the 32 spline output shaft shared by the TH400 and the 4L80/4L85 so I don't have to also swap the t-case or figure out how to adapt it to the 27 or 30 spline (depending upon the year) output shaft of the 700R4. The transfer case I've got SHOULD just bolt right up to the 4L85E...

I went with the GM Supermatic 4L85E...brand new. Controller guy @ US Shift says that since I've got an electronic VSS on the t-case, I can run the controller off that if the transmission doesn't have the reluctor wheel at the rear and it'll be just fine. So, as soon as it gets to be between 9 & 5 eastern time, I'll be placing that order too....which just leaves the torque converter. In talking with various "support" people and in my research online, it looks as though that Monster Transmission filly was thinking about the LS motors and their short crankshafts with dished flex plates needing spacers to run the flat flexplate with the 11.5" bolt pattern for a 4L80 torque converter. The Gen 1 block has the long crankshaft, so no spacer is needed to run the necessary flexplate. There is a GM Performance adapter kit for LS 1 motors, complete with the longer bolts needed due to the spacer as well as the lower dust cover (which oddly enough is discontinued for the Gen 1/big block that the transmission "directly" bolts to). I suppose I'll have to check some junk yards to pull one of those off a wreck if I decide to make it look "complete" under the truck. Anyway, I'm convinced everything should work with this set-up and that she should stick to more womanly things like cooking, cleaning, and laundry and leave the wrenching and mechanical tech advising to the menfolk. The most difficult part about this "upgrade" appears to be the exhaust. When I ran that last year, I had to go around the transfer case to get to the Y-pipe because of the long tube headers, front drive shaft, and everything else going on. I MAY have to rework the right side to clear once again after the new transmission is up in there and I see how tight it really is...but right now it's looking pretty good that I'll be cutting and welding on that to make it work again. At this point, I'm almost debating buying the shorty headers that would bolt up to the OEM exhaust, getting another Y-pipe, and just discarding all of the work I did to make it work last fall. Might be easier...but then again, what would be the fun in taking the "easy" way out? Hell, anything's possible when you've got a sawzall and a welder. The guy who was the best man at my wedding thinks I'm nuts....and maybe he's right. When I'm done, I'll have a truck that I probably couldn't get 1/4 of what I've got in it if I tried selling it....and I probably could have used that money to buy a Suburban that's 15 years newer that would've already had the overdrive transmission in it and didn't need all of this work...but it wouldn't have been NEARLY as cool. Besides, that sounds too much like a simple solution, and in the end I'd have a vehicle that looks just like everybody else's. I don't want to walk out of the store and see a half dozen or more vehicles EXACTLY LIKE MINE in the parking lot....I kinda like being a 1-of-a-kind.

I absolutely HATE trying to figure out what I want to do...which direction to go with a project. Take the Suburban transmission swap, for instance. I THOUGHT I had it all figured out...until I tried talking to a few people who SHOULD know what they are talking about. Stopped by the local Chevy dealer...useless as a screen door on a submarine except for the fact that he directed me about a mile up the road to a local "speed shop". So I cruise in there to make sure the GM Supermatic 4L85E I'm getting ready to order will bolt up to the Gen 1 Chevy 350 as well as the transfer case, and also to see what the stock power curve for a 1990 TBI 350 looks like to help make up my mind between the Monster Transmission 1750 stall converter or the 1800-2000 stall converter. He recommended the 1800-2000 to help get it going when I've got a trailer with a couple horses in it. So I get home and call up Monster Transmission to place my order and this fast talking filly has my head spinning. Now either she really knows what she's talking about or trying really hard with a damn good computer system looking things up pretty quick. I'm thinking she was trying to sell me one of their "rebuilt" 4L80E transmissions instead of the "new" 4L85E I had found elsewhere, saying I'd have to make sure it was built like a 2wd transmission with a reluctor ring on the output shaft for the computer controller or it wouldn't shift...but I said I needed the 4wd version so my t-case would bolt up. Turns out they sell the same computer controller (US Shift) I was going to get...except they only sell the Quick 1 controller with the harness for $1100, where I can get the upgraded Quick 4 controller, wiring harness, split loom wire protector, and a pin removal tool to allow installation through a smaller hole ALL for $757 direct from US Shift. She was also saying there is a difference in the 4L80 vs 4L85 case...something about flexplate angle that the 4L80 would bolt up to a Gen 1 350 where the 4L85 was for the LS motor...but the GM Performance catalog states pretty clearly that p/n 19300175 bolts directly to a Gen 1 small block and all big blocks. There is an adapter available for LS motors...but it SHOULD bolt up to what I've got just fine. A call to the Chevy dealer up in Red Bud (listed as a GM Performance authorized dealer) confirmed what I THOUGHT I was looking at, even though it conflicts with what the girl @ Monster Transmission said. I sent an email to US Shift to see what they have to say about the reluctor ring debacle and all of that, so we'll see. For S&G, I looked at pricing for Monster's "rebuilt" 4L80 transmissions. The "New" Supermatic can be had for $2750 and is rated for 685 ft lbs. The "Rebuilt" options are 500 ft lb for $2198 or 700 ft lb for $2524. In other words, it could save a few pennies buying rebuilt...but I'm still leaning towards new just because if I'm doing a job, I want to do it right the first time...and I usually prefer to just buy new if the price is comparable. Anyway, I had THOUGHT I had it all figured out...now I'm trying to figure out who's telling the truth and who's blowing smoke...possibly trying to "upsell" me something I was planning to buy just not through them. I hate decisions where there may not be any difference...or there could be a HUGE difference...and you don't know who to believe.

...but that takes all of the FUN out of it!

If anything, rates will drop...same # of trucks competing for the reduced # of loads. Supply & demand.

Wouldn't think she was 25 years old by looking at her....

I spent $3500 on a 1990 GMC Suburban 2500 a year ago. It had sat for 9 years, but the body was immaculate and it ran great. First thing I had to do was put an exhaust on the truck...previous owner had tried making a mud truck out of it....pulled the exhaust, put long tube headers on and quit. Needless to say, it was a LOUD drive home. Exhaust run me about $800 for all of the parts & pieces and I did it myself. It also got new tires right away...another $900. Front brakes were dragging....so it got new calipers and pads. Windshield wipers had a mind of their own, so a new switch was installed. Power steering leaked, so it got a new pump. Adjusted the drag link, since knucklehead didn't do that when he lifted it 4". 3 months later, the TH400 started spitting fluid up through the vent, and 3 days later it was toast....and so she sits. I've got new springs to install....only +2" over stock height and springs all of the way around (instead of those silly blocks in the rear). The rear is also 1-ton springs instead of the stock 3/4 ton. In the next week or so, I'll be placing an order with LMC....u-bolts, shift indicator, park brake cables, and a few other odds and ends. Jegs and Summit will probably receive checks from me as well as the TH400 is coming out and a GM Performance Supermatic 4L85E is going in...which requires an electronic TCU to be spliced in, transmission mount cross member relocated, drive shaft lengths adjusted, new flexplate, torque converter, etc., etc., etc. Putting a high-capacity (+4 quart) pan on the new trans, as well as adding a temp gauge and new cooler and lines. I'm HOPING these changes will get it from the 9.25 mpg we saw on our trip last Christmas on the highway up to the neighborhood of 13 mpg. Eventually, I'll probably swap the 4.10 gears out for 3.73's and install some lockers or limited slip diffs to squeeze out a few more mpg's and make it a TRUE 4x4. Then there's the issue of the speedometer....everything else works, but the needle has a mind of its own. Right now, we just use a speedometer app on our phones...but I need to either find somewhere to repair the factory gauge cluster or replace it with a functioning one. then I can turn my attention to the power door locks and power windows, which don't really work all that well....new switches, regulators, motors, and actuators...and when everything else is done, I'll be swapping the rear side glass out for some sliding windows so that all 3 roas of seating will have windows that open. Once the new glass is in, a trip to the tint shop to get it all looking good and it SHOULD be done for a little while.....until I find something else to tweak. Funny how quickly a $3,000 truck turns into a $15,000 truck. Sure, I COULD have bought a MUCH newer truck that already had the overdrive transmission and wouldn't have required as much work for that same $15,000.....but it wouldn't be NEARLY as cool to be seen in rolling through town. I like to stand out from the crowd....don't want to drive the same thing everybody else has or can get. I'd rather have the 1-of-a-kind truck that I couldn't sell for 1/4 of what I've got in it. I'm also glad the title is in my name only to be sure it doesn't go anywhere. Wife sold her dodge to her sister for less than it cost us to rebuild the transmission a year prior. Sure don't need to sink this kind of money into a vehicle only to have her trade it in for pennies on the dollar for some POS that looks just like every other POS on the road. Project trucks are fun....as long as you've got the time & money to work on them.

FYI Summit Racing catalog has a 408 stroker crate engine (375 hp/460 ft lbs) for $4300 ready to bolt in & play....intake, carb, and distributor included. That would take care of that little hesitation/stumbling problem, and you wouldn't have to worry about how many miles were on that V6 anymore....

I think I'll start working on the old 8N this weekend. Hasn't run in probably 15 years. Change the oil & put fresh gas in it, new points, etc...try to get 'er running. Going to be getting a brush hog & finishing mower for it in a week or two from the place she's got her horses boarded...old equipment he's needing to part with to clear out a stall for a new boarder coming next month. Can't justify the expense of the new rims, inner tubes, and getting them liquid filled (it has a front end loader) until it is running. And since I don't have any containers to put what I drain out into anymore, it can sit in the drain pans in the garage until I make some new empties. Perhaps her tripping over them and making a mess will drive home my point about the jugs more than any words that could come out of my mouth. She's just a clean-freak...clutter-phobic and such.

...and on another note, regarding her proper respect for my "junk"...it didn't last long. The day after I did the radiator, I pointed to the 3 milk jugs with their snap-on caps and told her I had looked for one of the 2.5 gallon oil jugs I knew I had set aside to put the old antifreeze in but couldn't find them, so be careful handling these because the caps won't stay on if they go rolling around in the truck. She walks over to the trash trailer and plucks one of my jugs out and says "you mean this?". Yeah, that. I like to keep a couple on hand for such an occurrence (because you just never know). She knows that...but in her mind, if it's empty, it's trash. So yesterday I figure I'll take a gallon of oil with me since I probably wasn't going to make it home last night. Yup...the old Delvac jug (with the pour spout that you can't find anymore) wasn't there. I keep it because it eliminates the need to take a funnel with me if I'm not going to be home and might need oil. (This 1,000,000 mile Mack has been in need of an overhaul for the last 600,000 miles...but she just keeps plugging along, but I digress.). You can't buy those jugs anymore, so I keep one and just refill it from the 2.5 or 5 gallon jugs I buy when I head out OTR for a night or two. Spent 1/2 hour digging through the damn trash trailer looking for the friggin' thing and rescued my other jugs in the process. I put them up out of the way where they weren't in the way and I'd know where they are when I need them. Got home tonight and they're gone again. Even though she KNEW I was pissed off about it yesterday morning and wasted time getting them out, putting me behind schedule rolling out. Then she wonders why when I get home and see they are gone again (this time for good...the inlaws did a trash run while I was gone) when I'm putting my pour-spout-equipped Delvac jug back on the shelf there was a loud crash out in the garage when my boot connected with the cooler and sent it flying across the garage. Doesn't matter how often your "junk" saves the day, or how often you explain to her why you have it...even if you give her an exact reason for having something...to her it's still just "junk". One day, she's going to come home and find a new doorknob equipped with a lock installed on the door out into the garage...requiring a key to get INTO the garage (which she won't have) and the garage door openers reset so that only the one in the Mack works. Either respect my stuff (especially when it is put up and stored neatly) or lose access to the garage where my stuff is kept.