Initial Engine Troubles

• Poor throttle response ~ pretty much what you might expect from a 26 year old truck with 240k miles on it and the original Carburetor.
• A random hesitation at 2500 rpm while cruising.
• Replaced the OEM carb with a larger Weber 38/38 Outlaw - which will also be used when I finish building a new 2.6L Pro Stroker motor that is supercharged.
• Oil leaks
• Oil pan - 7 loose bolts (fixed)
• Oil Pump - 2 lower bolts missing!  (still not fixed, the new motor will resolve that!)
• but not much oil from here so it's fine.
• Half Moon front rubber Head/Cam Cover gasket (tiny leak nothing worth worrying about at this point (again will be fixed with the new motor).
• This wasn't Engine, but the rear diff had an oil leak - tightened 2 bottom bolts, problem solved.
• OEM Exhaust Manifold (Cast Iron) and welded Exhaust system.   25lbs of shit.
• I replaced the OEM Exhaust manifold with LCE Pro Long tube Header and Magnaflow/Proflow Exhaust system.
• I'm pretty sure I picked up 10-15 hp with this!  The engine really woke up!
• OEM Distributor 
• Replaced with LCE Pro Vacuum assisted New Distributor with a better advance curve.  
• OEM Coil/Ignition system
• This was just a basic coil-pack.  Not much to it.  I replaced it with a Crane Cams Fireball HI6 with LX92 Coil and a built in rev-limiter.
• Plugs 
• #1-3 seems reasonable for not likely having been changed anytime recently.  Although they were a bit fouled, probably due to the poor condition of the OEM Carb.
• #4 was a MESS! This is a bit concerning, Fouled, Gummed up, Black, Oily.
• This too was replaced, and since then I haven't rechecked it.  I've been waiting a bit to put a few hundred miles on the replacement before I recheck it.  Bottom line is that the engine as is now it running quite well.  And I'm in the process of building a completely NEW motor.  So I'm not going to dig into this block/head until it comes out of the truck AFTER I swap in the new Motor.
• Wires
• Replaced with Bosch wires.  For the new motor I will use 8.5mm wires with a high temp coating on them and these new ones will go away too.

Lil Bad Ass

I first owned an 1987 Toyota Pickup Base model (didn't even have a cigarette lighter) when they were brand spanking new.  I drove that thing all over the place, and just loved it.  It was light (only like 2600lbs, and nimble for a little truck).  At that time I was 24 years old and it was my first new vehicle.  Prior to that I'd owned probably 15 used semi-junkers.   Immediately before this truck I owned a 72' super-beetle with an 1887 built motor and dual Weber 40's!  It could burn the tires off it up to 2nd gear.  I never sup'd up the Toyota Pickup I had and later traded it in a Ford Ranger (Big mistake!  Piece of shit!).  Anyway....

I'd long forgotten about the 87' pickup until I was hunting for a used truck recently as a little fixer-upper for my girlfriend, we found one for $700.00 that had little mechanically wrong with it.  And the body was almost perfect except for some dents and a cracked windshield.  

I bought it in August of 2013.  And immediately went to work on it.  

It's not October and I started thinking along the way....that I could seriously make this in a light race truck, but still kind of a daily driver.  I didn't really start taking pictures of it until I'd already done a fair amount of work on it, because I wasn't initially thinking this would be anything special.  

As I began working on it, I just fell head over heals in love with it.  And after doing a fair amount of research and more work on it I discovered this little 22R 1987 2WD pickup had a LOT of potential.

So this blog is dedicated to "Lil Bad Ass".  Because when it's all said and done, I'm hoping to make it be somewhere in the 250-300hp range with a supercharger and and rebuilt motor, 5-speed transmission (manual, duh?) heavier balanced race ready drive shaft, and probably something like 4.88 Detroit Locker rear end.  So that's kind of where I'm heading...and this blog will take you along for the ride as I get there (hopefully)!

So...more to come soon.