LUVTruck.com

Hey guys, name is Emo. I joined this site because I found a 1980 4x4 for $1500. It has it's floor boards, very little rust at all, in fact, I had to search for it to find it. A small oil leak (is this normal?) By small, I mean I have checked it out 2 days in a row and there isn't a drop on the ground, but you can see it does have a small leak. The windshield is cracked. I am guessing I can talk the guy down to about $1300ish. What should I look for when I test drive?

-E

Welcome.
Just make sure it doesn't make any odd sounds.
Check the oil and coolant to make sure they're not mixed at all.( no oil in the coolant and no water in the oil.)

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OK, I'm over it. Where's the beer?

What does that normally means wrong?

I would think it would show you have a cracked block . It's the one thing in common between the two.

Or a blown head gasket or a cracked head. Even an intake gasket could cause it.

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OK, I'm over it. Where's the beer?

Man that's a nice Luv. She starts right up w/ no smoke at all. The clutch feels a little loose, but I haven't driven an old truck in a long time. But goes in and out of each gear smoothly. It accelerates fairly well. Still has the smog pump on it. If I disconnect the belt, I should get a lil more power? It has oversixed rims and tires, so when I break hard, there is some body/wheel rub. So I am going to have to lift it al least an 1 1/2 to minimize that. I am going to ask a mechanic that works for me to come drive it right before I offer him the money.

No whammies, no whammies, no whammies... lol

So I bought it. $1250 out the yard. Honestly, it purrs... Very little rust anywhere. It runs rich and didn't pass smog. It is so close to passing, I think an oil change, new wires, new cap, new air filter, and new plugs will have it purring.

Next question is smog pump. Can I leave the hosing hooked up and just remove the belt? Surely this will make a lil more horsepower.


Emo

pics?

Nice find! Welcome to the wacky world of Luv owners!

You can remove the belt, but eventually the smog pump will freeze up and they are a bitch to find. A lot of guys that are fortunate enough to live where they don't have to get smog checked have completely removed, disconnected, or plugged off all of the smog stuff. It does help, but not when inspection time comes around....lol

There is quite a few other things you can do to a Luv with a stock G180 to get more hp/torque out of them. The only real limitations is the amount of time and $$ you want to invest. If you go to the front page here and check out some of the member's pics, you will find a lot of nice trucks and see what I mean.

Enjoy your new truck!

On Saturday or Sunday.

Yesterday I replaced the distributor cap, plugs, air filter, oil change, and fuel system cleaner. I replace the old yellow fog lights with halogen lights. The inside took the armor-all nicely. I replaced 2 crappy speakers with 2 small Realistic speakers. I have 4 61/2 Infinity coax's that I need to buy MDX to build enclosures for. Also ave a 50 kicker amp. Gonna buy an 8 inch sub for the cab. Need to lift the body 2-3 inches and install stiffer shocks.
Also going to Rhino coat the bed and the floor of the cab.

Nice truck looks like you got a good deal there.

Now as for the smog pump they only take 1-2 horse power depending on rpm so either leave it working or if no smog test is required them you remove the hole system.

Back in the 80's everybody thought that smog pumps were killing there power and most systems had belts that would only take about 2-3 hp before they would not hold anymore.But the whole system was a pain in the a$$ to work around and now you know the rest of the story.

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s