Build thread on the 4x4 might be slow coming. I'm kind of in a funk about it. I knew the engine had a dead hole when I bought it and would need addressing ASAP.
Here's a couple of teaser pics.
That my friends is a burnt exhaust valve. Textbook example there. The valve seat in the head has a ton of tiny cracks in it too. Head is junk.
The previous owner told me that he towed a 30 foot boat from Florida to Texas with this truck. 70 miles per hour the entire way. 4.10 gears and no overdrive. That's quite a beating for a tired old small block.
I am currently sweeping the shop floor to see if I can round up enough parts to assemble an engine. A crate engine is out for financial reasons. I do have a roller cam vortec short block to work with. Maybe I can find some decent builder TBI heads. I'll see what I can round up. It's looking doable.