Long time listener, first time caller - see bold text below if you're here just for the discussion item, otherwise this is mostly an intro/update on my new-to-me 1979 4x4.
On the test drive before buying the truck
it would die when pressing down on the brakes. Ran "just fine" if you drove the truck with the brake booster vacuum line disconnected. So, obviously I bought the truck - just at a reduced rate (also for some of the reasons below).
Seller dropped me and truck off at a local tire center to fix the brakes[1] that would pull the truck hard to one side. It looked fine on the stand (minus perhaps needing a new center link[2]) so they needed to test drive it to diagnose the issue, which the truck would not do.
Being an out of towner, the kind folks at the tire center let me rebuild the carburetor[3] in their parking lot which was a convenient two blocks away from an auto parts store. So I rebuilt the thing overnight at a local motel which was two blocks the other way. In the morning put the carb on and made it half a block. After fiddling with the carb, I decided to remove the vacuum tube from the distributor advance port...because it looked like the fuel tank vent was attached to it instead of the distributor (which is getting it's vacuum from a manifold connection. So now the car runs pretty well! But,
it will die if you plug the now open vacuum port. So perhaps the engine is still not getting enough air even after the carb rebuild (also spark plugs looked really dirty, so definitely running too rich) - the rebuild kit didn't come with many of the jets or needles, so still could be carb issue. But before I could test drive, the battery died...
Because of the air situation, the starter[4], battery[5] and ignition switch[6] had been worn down quite a bit. It's a great example of how one unaddressed problem can cascade through other parts of the vehicle causing premature wear.
With a new battery installed I started to eye the 128 mile journey to a friends place with a garage, but before doing any real driving, I thought that a reservoir[7] for the radiator was a good idea. Also, having no available fan shroud I upgraded to a 14" electric fan[8] to allay my overheating concerns which I had since the temp gauge[9] and fuel gauge[10] aren't working.
Early in the morning, I gave it a quick test drive for the trip through the Santiam Pass over the Cascade mountain range. The truck gracefully died after 2 miles, and didn't want to startup again (though the starter is on it's very last leg). Dies when warm + wait to cool to restart + LuvTruck.com = new ignition coil[11].
128 miles later I approached my friends house who lives just beyond a 12.5% grade hill named
Danger Hill, which after climbing in my truck, the radiator[12] esplode! - well, boiled over.
I'm excited to continue work on this truck. And, one of the main reasons I decided to commit to being a LUV owner is this very handy forum and the knowledgable folks who hang around.
Cheers,
Nathan