New job

[dirtcowboy]

I retired in '14 from the BP and goofed off the first year, fishing, building stuff, whisky and cigars, the usual. Got bored so worked for the local Irrigation District, however, the scum baggery was staggering and after 23 years of .gov BS I opted out of that gig. The Post Office was looking for Rural Carriers so I figured what the hey. Used my '86 BII but sliding over the trans hump to access mailboxes sucked. I found this kit online (postalthings.com) and got one. It took about 7 hours to install. I had to use my imagineering skills to fit it in as there was no provision for floor shifters. No problem.

From the UPS dude

What is in the box

Check for wires

Mock up passenger side

Mock up drivers side

Installed passenger side

Installed drivers side

Ready for test drive

It works! Drove it for 35 miles and had to tweak a couple of things. First was put a brace under the floor pan to stiffen it up then swapped the mirrors side to side. No other issues. Goes to work tomorrow!:icon_welder:
This gig pays $18 an hour with .70 per mile, plus I get to drive in the country listening to Octane getting paid. 9 hours and 70 miles per day. The regular carrier is retiring next January and I get first refusal for a full time gig.

 

[wildbill23c]

This is interesting, I thought it was something someone made up at home because I found an old Datsun 720 pickup with this exact setup installed in it. The truck was in a pick a part yard, but was quite interesting when I came across this setup.

 

[dirtcowboy]

I rebuilt this thing about 13 or 14 years ago, engine, new trans,(AGAIN), SOUP TO NUTS. after delivering mail for 3 months, thru the crap weather we have had, I am replacing the muffler and tailpipe as well as shocks, again.

 

[XTC90BII]

Let me know if you would after you install the new muffler which one you installed and if it is quite. I put a new muffler on mine but it is not as quite as I would like.

Dennis

 

[Jim Oaks]

I've seen these setups before. Like already mentioned, I thought it was a homemade configuration.

 

[dirtcowboy]

Let me know if you would after you install the new muffler which one you installed and if it is quite. I put a new muffler on mine but it is not as quite as I would like.

Dennis

The muffler, tailpipe, bolts and gasket are all shipped direct from Walker, for less than $100 with free shipping from Autozone. I'll give a review after installation.

 

[dirtcowboy]

new exhaust is in

I'll be damned, the pipes even got the correct bends!

:icon_thumby:

 

[XTC90BII]

Dirtcowboy

I had a new muffler and tailpipe installed back on 7/14/16 by Midas. I had asked for the quietest muffler they had for the B 2. I am not sure who makes the mufflers for Midas, if it is Walker or not but I sure would like to find a muffler that is a lot quieter than what I have. The new muffler and tail pipe cost me $106.64 plus $3.33 shop fees and $10.45 in Sales tax so I was out the door for $120.42 installed. What I have has especially in the lower gears is a heavy drone and what I want is to not be able or almost not be able to hear the B2 running.

Dennis

 

[JerryC]

Dennis, when I had mine re-done, manifold to tailpipe, I told them I wanted it quiet and they added a resonator into the system. They custom built the system except for the Y-pipe.
I made the joke that the new exhaust is going to cost me even more money because I now hear lots of other stuff that needs fixing.

 

[XTC90BII]

Jerry

Is a resonator something I could take it back in and ask if they could install? Is it in line before the muffler?

Dennis

 

[dirtcowboy]

Success! The install was stoopid simple and the muffler is OEM quiet. Not bad for $90. Biggest impediment was having to smoke the muffler bolts off, 2 minutes max, about an hour total time.

 

[JerryC]

Jerry

Is a resonator something I could take it back in and ask if they could install? Is it in line before the muffler?

Dennis

Should be no problem for them. mine is behind the cat (smaller aftermarket cat) and even with a stock cat there should be room before the pipe turns up to go over the axle.

 

[dirtcowboy]

Well A4LD #3 is toast, estimate is 2500 to rebuild it, if the guy can find the hard parts. I bought an Exploder as a backup until I decide which way to go. What tranny do I want?

 

[JerryC]

Well A4LD #3 is toast, estimate is 2500 to rebuild it, if the guy can find the hard parts. I bought an Exploder as a backup until I decide which way to go. What tranny do I want?

A local trans shop did mine for ~$1800, that's remove, rebuild, install. New converter too. It's pretty easy for them to pull the trans out of a BII, the labor rate is pretty low.

They had trouble finding a governor, took them a week to locate one. The other parts are pretty easy.

The A4LD out of the Explorer will be better as it will have improvements over the earlier year models.

If your trans grenaded vs just ate the clutch material you will probably need to replace the trans cooler and/or radiator as the metal bits can get stuck in there and come out later to eat your new trans.

 

[dirtcowboy]

Yea, that's pretty much what this dude said, starts at about 1600 but could get to 2500-3000, depending on damage.

The exploder I bought was a one owner, garage kept unit with 100k on the clock. PLUS it has a v-8! Really too nice to convert but it was the best one available.