I have the exhaust in a somewhat sane configuration. It terminates under the bed, might put on a 90 to make it point down.
Sound is acceptable, not loud unless I get on it.
Onto other business with the square body.
If I go for a flat bed like I’ve been wanting, I’m wondering if I should relocate my gas tank. Then I could sidesaddle the filter as well as the gasifier.
Cody your bed decision would be more based on what exactly you want this classic shaped to be for you.
When a few like TomO’ (before your time); Jacob N.; MarcusN. went flat beds it was for a fully purpose built vehicle.
Then I can think of three guys who did keep thier square body beds as recognizable beds to preserve the classic look.
Most going old vehicle it is often to skate around calendar-time mandatory emissions and/or safety inspections.
So, you? Why the old square body? Just for the small block engine?
Regards
Steve unruh
Basically yeah, it was the all around best option in my area for a V8 pickup. The bed is rotten in a couple places, and it’s getting thin on the floor of the bed. If I put a WK in the bed I wouldn’t really have room to sink it in like on a Dakota, it would be sitting on top like how some others have done. Plus it’s old enough to no longer need inspections. If I had even more time, maybe I’d consider dropping this engine and transmission into an S10 body or in my Mazda, but that would be an even bigger undertaking I think. Then I’d need a new rear end for the Mazda since it’s technically rated as a Passenger Car differential.
I keep teeter tottering on which way I want to go with it.
Went to go fill up with some fresh gas, I’m amazed that I managed to use up 14 gallons in less than 100 cumulative miles. Granted it’s start and stop, few miles down the road. Took a long drive today for a good heat cycle because the oil smelled a little like gasoline before I took it to fill up.
I’ve been driving on my unaltered Quadrajet which hasn’t been rebuilt. I’m worried that either my fuel pump is leaking gas into the block or this old QJet is flooding, or my gas tank has just been ventilating these last few months. I drove about 15 miles today, gas smell is gone from the oil.
Finally finally finally got all the tie rod ends and the idler arm finished. Mevotech brand. I’d have done the Pittman but I didn’t have a big enough socket on hand. I have a new one to put on eventually.
Ball joints have been replaced from random eBay generics to Moog.
The steering box adjuster was cranked down way too hard and made it twitchy, had to slacken that up a bit.
And now that I know the truck isn’t a SCREAMING death trap and simply a Rattling death trap, I’ll work on the floor pans.
I also need to replace the shocks, and I noticed on Rock Auto they sell those helper shocks that have a coil spring. They make them for the Mazda as well and I’m going to get those to prevent the rear end settling from the permanent gasifier weight. I wouldn’t want people to think my truck is Squatted.
These claim to be good for 500lbs per pair.
How much do they cost Cody? I"d consider air shocks if they are not a lot more.
https://www.amazon.com/air-shocks-trucks/s?k=air+shocks+for+trucks
Wow, I expected them to be way more expensive. Definately something to consider with an in-trunk or bumper mounted gasifier.
Don’t you have to have an air pump with all that mess? The coil spring shocks are about 80 bucks a pair, so 160 for front and back.
CodyT. I’ve had and used both.
Be aware. The factory shock absorber mountings can be easily overloaded and broken off.
For continuous overloading capably or height evening up add leaf or helper springs out on the axles are better.
For intermittent variable loading, the air bellows shocks are better. Set them up as individually aired to get better roll resistance.
No big deal to have a 12vdc air compressor carried.
Using my added on rear air shacks on the Wife’s old 1984 little Ford Ranger pickup and I hauled around quite a few “impossible’s”.
S.U.
I have the air bladder lifts on my truck they work great.
Well, it’s one hiccup after another.
Truck finally handles great considering I still have worn shocks. I drove the long way to Dad’s house to get the truck good and warmed up, and I noticed my Right turn signal is acting lazy. Left signal flashes fine. When I started up the truck to head home I noticed my headlights were both out but all my other lamps are fine save for my passenger tail lamp.
So now I get to chase the wiring, I’m fairly sure it’s a ground but I ordered a new headlight switch and a new floor dimmer switch. 48 years of people kludging wiring repairs and modifications I’m sure it’s riddled with bad grounds. I know one of my ground wires coming directly off the negative terminal is chewed up and fraying, insulation is basically gone.
When did they abandon the floor dimmer for the turn signal stalk switch?
Not sure, but my '76 has a floor dimmer and I’m fine with that. I think it’s pretty handy, or I guess in this case it’s footy 
.
This is honestly motivating me to get the floor pans replaced sooner than later. I’m thinking of getting body panel adhesive and just gluing in the whole driver and passenger pieces.
Okay so I got the truck home, still has its issue with the headlights.
I took a look at the dimmer switch and I noticed on the connector itself a lot of plastic was melted at some point. I think a flake of rust dead shorted the positive to the ground of the floor and overheated the connection. Good thing I ordered a new switch. Might need to order a new connector end. I’ll try testing the connection from the main positive to see if that end is still live.
Edit update:
The plastic insulating connector is toast, and the floor dimmer switch is also toast.
On the upside, I got my horn working again and it sounds like a raspy mute goose and I installed an inline fuel pressure gauge and my mechanical pump runs at a very tame 3 PSI. So if I ever wanted to move to a much smaller carburetor I could do it without running the risk of flooding the carb.
By “floor dimmer” do you mean the “high beam/low beam switch”?
If so, my 1982 chevy got the floor switch to, the are really exposed down there, i replaced mine, and later rewired it with relays in the engine compartment, no idea to let all those amp’s pass that light-thief 
, only bad is when only the low current for controlling the relays pass it, it never “warms up and dries out” 
Yeah the Low-High switch located on the floor.
My horn isn’t located in the steering column and it’s using a momentary paddle switch on the dash, I was thinking of putting a momentary button near the light dimmer so I can honk with my left foot as well.
Alright I give up on that MEN carburetor.
I not only have the idle screw down so far it isn’t touching, but I also have tried turning the mixture screws in and out to no avail. Also tried adjusting the choke screw.
It won’t stop idling high. At about 1100 RPM. It’s way too high, and when I use the accelerator pedal it rests at about 1200 RPM. I have two stiff return springs. The secondaries are not opening up either. Float seems okay, level seems okay, I followed the rebuild guide to the T and something is up.
I’m building a plenum to have a carb and a separate throttle body.
Tomorrow I’ll go see if I have some kind of air leak somewhere but I couldn’t find it with my hand, but air is getting sucked through the carburetor without the throttle body helping.
Double check all the vacuum connections down the carburetor “foot”, it’s easy to miss some un-connected, taking air.
I had that trouble on my chevy, found a “hidden” connection, almost 7mm air leak -the connection for the brake booster!
As my pick-up truck started it’s life as a diesel it got hydro-boost, everything worked as it should, just me not finding that hose connection…
I’m a little confused. Are you talking about the Weber or the Q jet? Definitely sucking in air somewhere. If this is the Qjet and you are using the secondary barrels for wood gas then that would be a hard thing to isolate completely from the primaries.
