\ Home | Tom Mandera's Big Sky Binders

Fuel Injection for the Green 73

One of the first things to really bother me about the '73 was the Holley 2210 without a working choke. I replaced it with a 2300, but even the 2300 irritated me to no end.



It was always my intention to fuel inject this automatic Scout for fuel economy, reliability, and the option of installing the keyless entry / remote starter.



So I didn't waste much time with the carb, and started collecting parts for the fuel injection swap.

Balljoint Replacement

I finally killed a set of balljoints in Tigger with the 36s, so it was time to R&R the passenger side balljoints.



The Image Gallery pretty much walks you through the process, if you ever wanted to see what was involved.



Just a reminder, press the balljoints OUT the top, and IN from the top.. I bent the knuckle a bit by forgetting to RTFM and trying to press 'em out the wrong way. D'oh.



-Tom

Steering upgrades/repairs for Tigger (3/2007), Power Steering Boost

Years ago, I discovered the frame cracking at the weld seam near the bottom of the outboard rail near the steering box on Tigger.



I had reason to examine the steering system again, and found the crack was still there, bigger, and the plate steel I had used to help out the situation had been bent.







In addition, the bolt holes were now cracked out, too.



Reworking my OBA (2006)

I grew tired of my OBA hoses failing every other trail ride because of the high heat and the age of the hoses (and even the replaced hoses kept popping off).



I had been using a barb-style fitting on the compressor output, but finally ponied up for this 1/2" NPT fitting from Kilby.







I reworked the piping to use metal pipe as much as possible, and as close to the compressor as possible, to give the compressed air a chance to cool down before hitting the hoses.







Broken Champion Winch, Tree Impaled my Grille

On a trail ride in early 2006, I was on my way home, when a fallen tree protruding out into the trail speared the front of the Scout. This was a substantial enough tree that it didn't break off at first, and left a big chunk in my grille area.



Fortunately, it completely missed the new bumper.







On the same trail ride, I also killed my new Champion 8,000lbs winch from Costco, so after a refund, I bought a TMax 9,000lbs unit from Mike's Offroad in anticipation of competing in the Bozeman Top Truck Challenge event.

Chevy style spindle nut conversion part 28068X

Tired of those 6-sided hex nuts and fold-over lock washers found on your stock Scout II?



Buy two 28068X and a 4-pin spindle nut socket (common to Chevy and Fords). The nut kits are under $10 each ($7.50 comes to mind).



Wheel bearing adjustments are easier and stay in place longer, and as a bonus, if you leave your socket at home, one of your Ford or Chevy wheelin' buddies probably has a socket with 'em.





Finally - a winch and a bumper - 12/05

For years I've lusted over a winch, but they were always so expensive.



I even bought a hunk of 2x6x3/16" tube too-many years ago to build a new bumper, but never used it.



Then, one day, I was at CostCo in Missoula, without Michelle.. and bought an 8,000lbs Champion winch for $300.



No, it wasn't the ~$1,000 Warn I wanted, but I wasn't getting around to spending $1000 on a winch, so why no try a $300 unit?



All fine n' dandy, but I needed to build a bumper and get it mounted..



Image Gallery



Subscribe to