So far I'm just talking to myself here, but I'll keep going, hoping for useful input from elsewhere.
Trixie has arrived. Her frame is completely rusted out so that I can reach under, grab chunks, and hand them to visitors as souvenirs. I did take one ride in her before I parked her in the garage and started removing things. The suspension is rough, and the pumpkin leaks, but the speed difference between Pablo's 4.300 and Trixie's 3.727 is amazing. I'll have to keep my eye out for a 3.900 8" third member for Pablo.
And I've been staring at Trixie's motor. 22R with 186K on it, and all the mid-80's emissions control vacuum system linkages. It ran fine, but I'm not sure it would once I transplanted it, just because I'm not sure I'd get all the vacuum stuff back together right!
My old truck, Gort, a '71 Datsun, came with a Webber GDV carb, and it ran great. I see that's an option on ebay. I saw someone else (
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...uck-23034.html) was thinking about one of these too. I only got about 22 mpg with it in Gort, but that was before I learned to drive sensibly.
I worry that with Pablo, I'm trying to re-live my miss-spent youth. Here's another 26 year old Japanese 4cyl pickup that I'm looking at having this little Webber on. But right now, Pablo's mileage is really disappointing, almost certainly due to dirty injectors, which I haven't quite gotten up the courage to remove and clean. My worry is that I'll get it apart, find that one is beyond redemption, and not be able to put the truck back together for weeks.
My day job is calling, so I have to be aware of how much time I sink into Pablo and Trixie. Just now, I simply want Pablo to work. I've had clutch slave issues, and he's full of trash and ready for a dump run otherwise.