Madness

So, it’s been a while. Just over 5 years actually. I wrote a thing in my notes back in mid 2019 for this build thread but never posted it. “Last we left off I had taken the truck to Tucson and South Georgia but let’s back it up a bit and fill in some of the gaps. Tucson was the maiden voyage for Shiro to prove she could go the distance. 1800 miles is in no way a great idea for a 34 year old truck but it was going to be one of my shortest trips that year. Jake (my good friend) and I had a wild idea that it would be great to experience some good weather and to meet the dudes from Roadkill. Other than a little snow at the beginning and a fan belt that wouldn’t stop squeaking the trip down was a huge success. We stopped in Santa Fe for one night on the way down and made it to Tucson drag way at the opening of the event meeting some awesome Canadian folk in some little town near the AZ-NM border. The roof top tent mounted to the bed of the truck was a huge hit, one guy on Instagram coined it “underlanding”. The way home was a bit more perilous, we had fairly light rain from Tucson to Santa Fe but then the shit hit the fan. Did you know that northern New Mexico can have white out blizzards? It also seemed like there wasn’t a snow plow in the state, seriously, we waited on an overpass for about an hour and not a single one, not even a single car! Luckily I had just installed a serious set of snow tires and the weight in the bed allowed for enough traction to cut fresh tracks along I-25 north into Colorado. A little over 16 hours of driving and she made it home and in need of a serious detail. With roadkill in January and my next trip to South Georgia happening in March I didn’t have a whole lot of time to plan and fix some of the issues experienced on the last trip. There was something funky about the fuel/spark situation causing it to hiccup and loose speed on the highway. A full tune up was in order, plugs, wires (all 8), cap, rotor, coolant flush, fuel filter, rear brakes, I threw parts at this truck so quickly my wallet was smoking. Picked up a topper on Craigslist, built a cot in the back, and headed east bound and down for Thomasville Georgia. The moment I crossed the Kansas line the old issue of the truck hiccuping reared it’s ugly head only allowing me to go 60-65 mph. I ended up in Kansas cruising down I-70 in the middle of the night with Colorado Plates on a lowered truck with what looked like a crate in the back covered with a Mexican blanket and a strange name of “YANKIIZOKU” across the windshield... raises the drug trafficking flag a little high. After the very disappointed Kansas Highway Patrol officer wandered back to his car, realizing he had just pulled over one of the only 25-35 year old white males from Colorado that doesn’t smoke weed, I went about my way. 3 days of driving total and let me tell you, it looked like the folk in rural South Georgia thought an alien space craft was rolling though their town, I don’t think 80’s SoCal is a style there. Upon my arrival to the letterhead meet (pinstripers and Sign painters) the truck was an instant hit, especially with the young dude from Scotland that watched old mtv videos on a regular. A few days spent in Thomasville, a few in Macon, a few in Barnesville and it was time for the trip home. Not much of an issue coming back other than some heavy rain. I wanted to spend some more time touring but work was calling. So in an article the Denveratsun sent me about a rare British vehicle he owned in California there was a sweet little camper trailer in the background. I asked about it and a deal was made, at this point I new I had to prep the truck to haul a trailer back from central Cali and the hiccup issue was going to be a problem. “The float level!” I shouted... Duh. It had been mention on the forum before when I posted about this issue. A quick adjustment and a rip up the highway, it was 100% fixed. A buddy and I modified a class 3 hitch to attach to the frame and it was ready to go to California. Luckily I had already installed adjustable air shocks before my trip to AZ so it should handle the weight just fine. On my way out and going through Vail I received a phone call from my mother that my father had passed in his sleep. You’d be hard pressed to find another vehicle that has gone down that mountain faster, I had to get home and help my mom. After a few weeks I had to accomplish my mission that my father and I had talked about the last time we saw each other, I had to go out to California, I had to get that camper. I set off once again, stopping in St George, and to the beautiful spot that Denveratsun was maintaining in the hills of Cali. We spent a few days dialing in the camper, visiting junk yards (where I picked up a factory tach), and having a great time. A quick trip around the block to see if the truck could pull and I set off for Redding in NorCal to visit a friend. It was a white knuckle ride on the highways of Cali all the way up there aside from the stop at an in and out for some animal style fries. The neighborhood my friend lived in wasn’t to keen on the truck and camper combo sitting on the side of the road as it ended up on their neighborhood watch Facebook page within 30 minutes of my arrival, I felt a bit like cousin Eddie. After visiting my friend I stopped at the most beautiful rest stop I’ve ever been to. Tucked away in the forest and next to a $100k motorhome I had a great 8 hour sleep and woke up to a crisp fresh morning in the Lassen National Forest, the Bonneville Salt Flats was my next stop. It was slow going as expected, 35 up hills and as fast as I could down, the thought of shifting into 5th was rare. Finally I crested over the hill and saw Wendover Nevada in all it’s neon glow wonder at about midnight, but I was looking to stay at the truck stop just across the border in Utah. Boredom set in that night, I needed something to tinker with so I pulled the gauge cluster out and installed the new to me tach that I had picked up from a yard in Fresno not knowing I needed the resistor to make it work. I set off early the next day after taking a picture of the combo with the incredible backdrop of the Salt Flats. Nothing to complain about but the slow speed through the mountains just east of Salt Lake City then I hit Wyoming. This instance was the only time I’ve never complained about the winds in the cowboy state, a solid 60mph tail wind propelled me across the state at 70-85mph and really helped my fuel mileage. The trip was a success as I rolled into my hometown late that night with only minimal parts missing from the camper. Then it was time, the “big” trip I had planned all winter, the Beaver Dam Wisconsin Walldogs. The Walldogs are a large group of people that gather once or twice a year to paint up to 20 murals throughout small towns that need a little economic help and this year I was coming out with my vintage camper and “hot rod” 720 pickup. I hooked up and started east expecting the best but Nebraska had other ideas. 3rd gear at red line with a 40mph head wind down I-80 was nerve wracking. The 18 wheelers passing created an unholy draft that pushed my little vessel damn near into the shoulder but I pressed on and to ease the tension for passing motorists I had painted “Quit honkin’, I’m floored” on the rear window of the camper. Somewhere along the highway in Nebraska I stopped for the night and was hit with a storm not expected by the builders of my little camper back in 1975, the rattle of the glass, the leaks in every corner, and the sway in the wind kept me up most of the night, but I had ground to cover the next day, Iowa was next. Early in the morning I fired up the stock z24 and set off to the land of corn. No issues were present through Iowa but I couldn’t say it was “smooth” sailing. The concrete interstate and highways tested my suspension and bucked at a frequency that would drive anyone insane, but thankfully Wisconsin was in sight. A hell of a storm later and I was with my painting family and enjoying the libations of the cheese head state, Spotted Cow. The truck acted as a boom box for all the people on site and impressed a couple of the locals that were into old school 80’s BMX bikes. Did a few ride alongs, cruised through town listening to the biggest hip hop hits of the 1980’s, and took a few people back to their teen years, that’s what this truck was all about. Once the week was done I hooked back up to the camper and headed home only to hear a horrible noise in Madison, my 5th gear had exploded. Half way across the country, within the first 100 miles of my trip back, and hauling a camper, my transmission was imploding. As long as all the pieces of 5th stay out of the other gears all be fine, I hardly even use 5th. So 4th gear is was, a stop in Cedar Rapids to visit family and a huge portion of I-80 await. The tail-ish winds of Nebraska helped propel the combo across the state line into Colorado on one of the hottest road trips I had ever been on, the factory installed a/c works at highway speed but the truck will run quite hot when turned on. I limp into town and park the camper behind the house and turned my back on the 720 for a few weeks. I was over it, the truck had failed me, it clearly wasn’t going to meet my expectations of a road tripin, camper haulin, beast of the 80’s.” After writing that the truck sat for a long time. In July of 2017 I attempted to put a used transmission in that required a lot of work changing out the case half but it had 4 screaming gears due to bad bearings probably. I took it to a couple shows, tried to keep it clean, but for the most part it sat in my driveway with expired registration while my 07 Tacoma took over road trips and daily driver duty. In July 2020, for my birthday, a couple of really good friends surprised me with a full day on a lift, a trailer ride to the shop, and a good condition used transmission. Along with the transmission she got a new drivers side caliper because it was seized, wheel bearings, a replacement wheel stud, full fluid service, and a wash/detail. I renewed the registration and started “daily” driving it again. A few issues started to become a problem. The heater core started leaking, I still don’t know what to do about that because I can’t find a new one. The turn signals work intermittently, I converted everything to LED a long time ago so it could be the electronic flasher that is no longer available or the turn signal stock. A U joint destroyed itself while helping my girlfriend at the time move to a new house but that was an easy fix. But all that didn’t stop me from driving it around the state and make one trip to Sturgis in Aug 2021. Last fall I decided I wanted it to look cooler so I pulled out my Pinstriping brushes and worked on the graphics. I started with redoing the tailgate because the clear coat over the silver leaf had failed. And I made good on my word to my IG followers about adding a silver leaf stripe (on one side, I’ll do the other side soon I swear). So now we’re at current day. The truck sat for a couple months so it needed a good detail as well as a little maintenance before I make another trip to Sturgis Friday morning (8/5). Oil change, fluid top off, bled the clutch fluid, tire check, buffed and waxed the paint, scrubbed the wheels, replaced a blown speaker, and a few little puddly things. I’m going to try to keep this updated moving forward partially from my records and maybe someone can get some entertainment out of it. I have some new headlights showing up tomorrow and a Weber 38 DGAS maybe going on it that I rebuilt the other night. keep it easy.

Good stuff guys.

sure

Ok, my old name has been recovered!

A quick update on Shiro (that's her name). I've been doing little repairs here and there and just driving the hell out of it. Back in February I drove her to Tucson from Denver to attend the roadkill zip tie drags. People were a little confused seeing a minitruck with a roof top tent mounted to it. After selling the tent I realized I needed some sort of sleeping solution for a few trips I have planned this summer. Found a topper on CL for 100 bucks and built a bed platform for a 3700 mile round trip to South Georgia. The trip went well with only a couple minor issues. I currently have every ball joint and bushing new in the shop waiting to get installed so it'll stop trying to change lanes when I hit the brakes. Front brakes will probably be soon after that and maybe I can find the time to rebuild the weber 38 I have for her. Until next time.

Started a new build thread when I last worked on it. http://community.ratsun.net/topic/65380-madness-521-originally-project-diy/?fromsearch=1

Feckin drum brakes....

I think I paid a fair price on it at $3600. The mechanical maintenance could have been better but it's hard to find one that has been aesthetically taken care of. The bumper isn't even the factory one from 83. It looks like the truck was hit and the bumper replaced with an aftermarket unit. I'm keeping it through the winter for a little added protection to the body. Replaced the front shocks with pinto KYB excel G's and mounted a set of snow tires. Rides like a dream now. Pictures to come.

My 720 has had issues since I bought it and I'm starting to realize that the previous owners took care of the appearances but not much was done maintenance wise. So far I have set timing back to the 3-5 degree advance as recommended. Replaced plugs with the proper part numbers per side. Checked firing order and confirmed wire placement. I have experimented with the air fuel mixture on the carb by ear and with a vacuum gauge. Cooling system flush with new t-stat and cap. Issues: I've had backfire and hard start issues when hot and cold, choke open and closed. Backfiring through the exhaust between shifts and when quickly letting off the throttle. Strong full throttle pulls to redline in first and second but it will fall on its face and misfire horribly when shifting into third. Extremely light throttle is required to recover. Random missfire at idle. Lagging and sluggish during easy driving but will randomly recover and run strong. Free revving while not under load seems fine. Choke operates flawlessly. I am hearing tapping from the top end so I think it's safe to assume it's time for a valve adjustment and head bolt re torque and I am at 5200 ft in altitude but this truck is originally from Texas so I'm not sure if jetting could be the issue. Myself and the lead tech have gone over this truck and can't seem to find the smoking gun. Any of you guys could venture a guess?

Been doing some little things here and there. Finished the tailgate. Painted and put on the rear bumper that came with the truck. (Not 100% sure I'll leave it though) Made my mooneyes badge a little more legit using a 2 part epoxy drip. Found some swanky chrome mirrors that looked just like the black plastic ones that came on the truck. And did a way overdue coolant flush with a new thermostat, radiator cap, and Toyota red coolant. Not pictured is a new exhaust due to its temporary state. The factory muffler fell off during a test drive after new wheel bearings where installed on both front corners. This thing may bleed me dry.

I would love the cluster but I'm completely broke. It tough being a starving artist.

Adding a little silver leaf.

That thing is a stiff wind away from being a pile of rust on the shop floor. It may not be pure anymore but they gave it life again. (I think it was swapped when they bought it)

Thanks man