Didn't get much done this weekend due to catching the wife's cold and not getting stuff to and fro the machine shop.
One of the mistakes a lot of people make when they buy new heads is take them out of the box and run them as received. It's always a good idea to have a machine shop make sure the valve guides don't have burrs, are pressed in properly (height), and don't need to be trimmed more. Surfaces also need to be checked for straightness, valves angles should be checked, etc. It takes maybe 50 bucks to get a machinist to look a pair over. An ounce of prevention.
So, instead of engine work, I did some light weight stuff.
Pulled the carpet
Pulled the rear seat
Cleaned both
Left them out in the sun to dry.
Vacuumed all the corners of the cab floor really well when I found a couple of mouse nests (hanta virus! yay!)
Gave the windows and steering wheel a good cleaning.
The leather wrap on the wheel is coming apart. I have a small leather crafting business I do on the side, so I'll just rewrap the wheel after I strip the factory one and get it nice and clean. It won't blow the budget and makes the driving experience a little nicer. Probably cost me 20 bucks in leather and maybe a couple of hours stitching time.
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How to Rebuild the Small Block Mopar" is pretty good and geared toward a more basic and less experienced crowd, but it's full of good specific information for this engine. Good book if you want to learn to do engine rebuilds or do a small Mopar specifically.
Got a start on sorting some camping gear for the Ram. I haven't done a lot of car camping in the last few years, but I do some yard sales with the wife because she like retro furniture and stuff. I pick up camping gear when I find some in good shape. I forgot I had some of this stuff.
I found a one time used liquid fuel, 2 burner, coleman pumper I'd forgotten. Picked it up for a dollar, I think. Got a rebuild kit for the pump. So, it's ready to rock. I just need to decide if I want propane or liquid fuel.
Also found an inflatable mattress that fits in the bed, kinda. It has a battery and socket powered pump with it, along with a frame for setting it up independently outdoors.
And a bunch of other stuff like cookware, plates, quick pitch shelters, a spare ENO hammock with straps, and whatnot.
Looks like I'm pretty set on gear, like I figured. But it's weird to own stuff and forget you have it.
Anyway, that's less I have to buy, so more budget for driveline and interior fixes.
Stuff I discovered I need to fix in the interior:
Steering wheel wrap,
Cup holder (probably not)
Broken panel fasteners (rattles...)
Overhead console (probably will remove it and mount a radio/cb setup in its place.
The inevitable old truck door hinges are creaky and sag a little on the primary (front) doors. The rears seem fine. I'll probably just rebuild the originals since the repops aren't near the quality of the originals.
On the slate for this week is to get the heads back and engine back together and running. If I have time, I'll pull the axle apart and get that diagnosed for sure so I can order the right parts and know which direction I'm going (swap or fix). But mostly I'll be focused on the engine.
Other than the heads, I need to clean the intake's injector ports (old rubber) and surfaces, the gasket at the base still needs to be swapped and torqued down, and the injectors need to be inspected for wear and tear. So it's not just bolting stuff back on. I'm not gonna get crazy cleaning the intake and making it shine. Just getting the grunge off.
So, onward and upward. We're about a week or so from having the Ram back on the road. Maybe a few shakedown runs and fixes from taking the first camping trip. It'd be nice to be able to drive it to a turkey hunt in April. We'll see how it goes.