My J-4500

[chubbinius]

Nice, the stainless steel will last forever.

[Crankyolman]

Originally Posted by chubbinius

Nice, the stainless steel will last forever.

That's what I thought


But the old ones lasted 50 years so I really can't complain about them


Speaking of that... It just occurred to me that my truck is now officially 50 years old. It was built in May Of 1972 and is just about to roll over to 120,000 miles

[rang-a-stang]

Originally Posted by Crankyolman

...It just occurred to me that my truck is now officially 50 years old. It was built in May Of 1972 and is just about to roll over to 120,000 miles

Awesome! Only 25% complete with it's service life!

[Crankyolman]

Monday I changed out the window lift track. It went reasonably well, just a few minor things. The new track is very tight with the seal and part of it cut the seal, which isn't a huge problem but it was a problem. I also had to remove the window from the door and actually hammer the track onto the window to get it installed, which wasn't something I really wanted to do but I doubt it will ever come out. The last thing is the window now sits slightly crooked which is strange, the aft part is noticeably lower than the front but it closes and doesn't leak so I guess it's ok.


Here is a picture of the old track



That 1/3rd to the right and hope were all that were holding it in. The old seal was some sort of fiber stuff which I'm sure held moisture.

[Crankyolman]

Originally Posted by rang-a-stang

Awesome! Only 25% complete with it's service life!

I certainly hope that's the case

[SOLSAKS]

cranky, just saw the shroud,....man the is some great work.
would love fuel injection, but I refuse to have a computer screen in my old rides, I refuse to even own a smartphone, so the computer controller is out of the question......but I admire your success with it.

[Crankyolman]

Originally Posted by SOLSAKS

cranky, just saw the shroud,....man the is some great work.
would love fuel injection, but I refuse to have a computer screen in my old rides, I refuse to even own a smartphone, so the computer controller is out of the question......but I admire your success with it.

Thank you,


It's funny, after I finished the shroud I was driving down the road with my wife when she pointed out that a road sign laying in the ditch was still there 6 months after she had told the company that left it there about it. That 4'x4' sign would have not only made a perfect shroud but also a good youtube video


I'd make another one out of it but the one I made seems to work just too well to justify it.



As far as the FI, I never really had that much trouble with the carb other than an extremely troublesome stumble when first stepping on the gas and a broken idle jet. The FI has essentially been the cause of several issues since I installed it but there is no stumble.



As far as the computer screen I never intended to keep it plugged in all the time but it has become so useful for spotting problems before they become big it quickly became a handy gauge that can be removed whenever I want the dash to look stock...after all the dash is one of the many things I like about the Kaiser era trucks over the AMC era and partly why I bought a '72.

[SOLSAKS]

10-4 cranky I understand,......hope you smooth out all issues with the F.I.
so you can unplug that screen and go back to 1972 !!!!! wouldn't that be nice compared to 2022 ???

take care
dave

[Crankyolman]

Originally Posted by SOLSAKS

10-4 cranky I understand,......hope you smooth out all issues with the F.I.
so you can unplug that screen and go back to 1972 !!!!! wouldn't that be nice compared to 2022 ???

take care
dave

It will always be 1972 in my truck but there are some things from '72 that I can do without, like points ignition. I've never liked points, my first truck would eat up a set of points every week before I changed it for HEI. I don't mind a carb if I can get it to run correctly but when I'm in a situation where I need to hit the gas and go it's a little nerve wracking when the truck decides to take it's time and hesitates for a second. That is the biggest improvement with the FI, when I need it to go it doesn't stop and think about first.



The screen is no big deal, I can unplug the screen any time with no issues and just plug it back in for troubleshooting if there is a problem, or even turn the holder around and keep it inside the glove box.