Jeff tries to make a hot rod out of a farm truck. '92 Mighty Max

[Jeff V.]

Finally unloaded this lump. It's been raining all week. I should have bought a load leveler years ago.



Here's what's going on up front on my truck. It's going to be interesting making the high pinion diff fit...

[ChargerX3]

Ah yes. No room for the high pinion.

[Jeff V.]

Somehow they do it on the 3.0 Monteros. Those also have a different slave cylinder. I'm not sure if that's enough by itself though.

[Jeff V.]

3.0 Montero has an optional diff that is both LSD AND locking

3.5L are only one or the other.

[ChargerX3]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]3.0 Montero has an optional diff that is both LSD AND locking

3.5L are only one or the other. [/quote]

Front diff? How come we have never heard of this before? Do want.


Also been reading into Jeeps with high pinion vs low. Looks like they did that so they could increase strength, ground clearance, decrease pinion angle, and then the kicker...reverse cut the gears.

Holding out hope though that our low pinion setup is still put together like traditional rwd axles.

[Jeff V.]

No, rear diff. A locking, clutch type LSD that just might have dropped into my existing rear axle. Looks like they're not very common though.

I'm just mad because I originally thought lockers were LSDs, then I find out they're generally not, and now I'm still wrong because there's a rare few that are both. It's irritating.

Oh well, no helping it now. I'll just press on with the 4.9 / hybrid LSD setup.

[DCIV]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]3.0 Montero has an optional diff that is both LSD AND locking

3.5L are only one or the other. [/quote]

So should have bought a montero! What years, if you know.


Coop

[Jeff V.]

Looks like 92-95. 3.0 engine.

[ChargerX3]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]No, rear diff. A locking, clutch type LSD that just might have dropped into my existing rear axle. Looks like they're not very common though.

I'm just mad because I originally thought lockers were LSDs, then I find out they're generally not, and now I'm still wrong because there's a rare few that are both. It's irritating.

Oh well, no helping it now. I'll just press on with the 4.9 / hybrid LSD setup.[/quote]

Damn. Well its still not too late. You can always return for store credit. It is exciting though! I really want to track one down. Is there any quick way of telling what monteros have it via vin, or trim?

[Jeff V.]

Nope. You have to run the VIN through ASA.

I'm going to just stick with the 3.5 axle. I think that's more interesting from a technical standpoint.

[Jeff V.]

What are the odds? An exceedingly rare Ram 50 SE popped up at one of my local yards. The majority of these trucks were no-frills tools. Like a tractor or an old backhoe. It was the bare minimum needed to do work for a living.

But a few got some upgrades. Like power locks, power windows, cruise control, and some other trim bits. Some of this stuff is so uncommon, you can't even find pictures of it online, let along finding actual parts for sale. Hell, even the Mighty Max diagrams in ASA are missing some of this stuff, even though the systems are described in the service manual and they were valid options that actually got sold. This is basically like finding a 96 Stealth in the junkyard, if the 96s had actual useful parts on them that weren't available on other models.



Well, like any good scavenger, I stripped that son of a bitch to the bones.



The power locks and windows will go in my truck. I took the entire wiring harness from the cab forward. I'm going to re-sell the cluster since I already have one. I need to adapt the center console to fit around my dual shifters, but it should work. There's a good chance I'm going to sell the cruise stuff to Steve once I strip the wiring harness apart.

There's still some upgrades I want, but as far as available factory options, I've crossed virtually everything off the list.

[BATMAN]

Holy shit how long did that take you.

[ChargerX3]

Still so jelly you found that gem. Even in the right color. Most are either tan or blue! I cant recall now if you said you got the rest of the console? Pic doesn't show the part that should be under the seat.

Cant wait until you transform this beast into the stellar ride it deserves to be.

[Jeff V.]

About 3 hours. Worst part was getting to the parts of the body harness in the engine bay. The truck was set down with the nose way in the air, so I had to stand on another one of the welded wheel stands to reach over the fender.

I could do it faster now that I know how it all goes together. Pulling the dash was probably unnecessary, but it did make some subsequent steps easier.

I cant recall now if you said you got the rest of the console?

It only had the front part of the console. After I yanked the bench out, I noticed there was a bracket that was almost certainly for the back half of the center console. It had been hammered flat to fit under the bench seat. So this truck was probably equipped with buckets originally.

[Jeff V.]

I'm basically trying to get from this:



To this:

[Jeff V.]

This is going to seem a little ridiculous given the overall cosmetic condition of the truck, but oh well. I'm a ridiculous person. I had just finished washing my car and had some time to kill.

Nasty ass wheel



Less nasty ass wheel



Overall.

[tabasco122]

So when are you plasti dipping the truck? lol

[J-Groove]

She keeps looking better and better!

-John

[DCIV]

I think you should keep the bench seat so vira can sit in the middle when you ride together. Lol. Cowboy hats too.



Seriously, your planed inside will look amazing. Can't wait to see the most optioned out max there ever could be!


Coop