Re: 4 cylinders

[Tom Mandera <tsm1@domain.elided>]

Russel DeArman wrote:
> 
> IH all, don't want to be a pest, but...

Sorry!  I meant to respond when this came out this weekend.. but I was a
bit busy yanking bodies on and off of frames along with motors n' other
stuff.. did a "body off" and "body back on" in 12hrs on Saturday... but
anyhow..

>   I still need some input on the four cylinider 196
> motor. Any info you have will be appreciated. It's in
> an '80 Scout II four speed (should be a t-18? and dana
> 300 right? ).

T19 4spd, not a T18.  T19 has syncro 1st.  Could be "close" (street
tranny) or "wide" (granny low) 4spd.  close would be better for a street
rig w/ 196.

>   Truck will be used as a daily driver and weekend
> light duty off-roader.
>   How modifiable (?) is the 196?

I didn't bother with any upgrades on mine.. but I don't believe it's
very modifiable..

>   Is there a limit to tire size the 196 will push?

Yep.  Don't I know it.

>   When I swap the motor (prob. a couple of years)
> what else will I have to switch?

You'll need the other half of your exhaust, and a V8 powersteering
bracket.  Umm.. that's it.  Well, a V8 throttle cable might be handier
than adapting the 4cyl cable like I did.

The swap is a piece of cake.

> Other than "buy a v8, wimp!" all input and advice is
> welcome,

OK, here's my story...

My first "car" was (and still is) a '76 Chevy Luv 1.8L/4spd/4.56/25"
tires.  It was quick and actually had some zip to it.

I then jumped at the chance to buy a '72 Scout II - 304V8, 3spd, 3.73
gears, 29" tires.  Even running badly it would leave black rubber
streaks everywhere I went.  LOTSA FUN.

Moved up to 31x10.50s.. stopped "holing" tires like I was.. but still
kept smokin' the tread.

Switched to my '77 Scout II I had just bought. 196/3spd/4.09s/29"
tires.  In-town and overall felt a lot like the 304/3spd/3.73s did. 
VERY acceptable performance.  I was very surprised.

I put my 31x10.50s on 15x8 chrome wheels on the '77.. WOW it felt like
it had lead weights on the tires.. performance was noticeably hurt.. but
I got over it after a while.  I swapped in a close ratio 4spd to help
out on take off.. off-road, it made the difference between a hill I
couldn't climb before (powered out) and a hill I could make.  (note that
with a Dana 300, this isn't *as big* of a problem)

Then I slapped some 33x12.50s on the truck.  Again, in-town, it was
fine.  Acceptable.  On the highway I could no longer hold 75mph on
anything steeper than a flat *OR* a slight breeze.  When I went to RMIHR
last summer, it was 15mph up some of the passes.. and 55mph in 3rd
floored a lot of the time.. and then only 12mpg.

Off-road, I completely lacked power.  I was doing clutch dumps all day
long to get any power out of the 196.  There was NO grace to my
wheelin'.  In the snow, I could barely move the tires in 4-lo 1st, let
alone get any WHEEL SPIN.

However, at the NorthWest Binder Roundup (on that same trip) I hooked my
196 up to the "tractor pull" sled... and out pulled John Fleck's built
345 in his Traveler.  Joel Brodsky was there and can vouch for the smell
of burnt clutch as the clutch started slipping and the 196 started
winding down and darn near stalled when we reached about 160' pull.  It
was full throttle in 1st-low the entire time.

When I came home I was completely disgusted with the 196.  It came out. 
The 304 from my '72 went in.  WOW.  Within a month I had broken my Dana
20 into a few pieces and destroyed a rear driveshaft.  I can climb
passes and PASS uphill, mileage went up to 13mpg (back down again.. carb
issues to resolve), in town performance is a pleasure... and off-road..
without changing anything else.. I can now creep (I can lug the 304
better) and climb and I can use 2nd-gear 4-low to sling snow n' mud when
I need wheelspin.. now, if I could get a 345 or 392, I might be able to
use 3rd for that...

Find out what gears are in the truck.  I think 3.54/3.73/4.09s would do
just fine for a daily driver with 29" tires.. and do OK with 31s. 
Forget about 33s until you regear lower (and don't think about doing
70mph ever again) or re-power.

Then again, it could've just been that my 196 needed some better
adjusting.  Others may be much happier with the same setup I had.  I had
replaced the stock carb with an different 1bbl (still a stock carb) and
never *really* adjusted things right.

The 196 and 3spd are still sitting alongside the garage.. I have a Dana
30 front and '44 rear with drums with 3.73 gears.. I'm just waiting to
get a new tub to put it all into.. and make a "street Scout" that I'll
victimize my mother with (her idea on the 4cyl Luv).. see how SHE likes
a "nice, little motor" that she "can't get into much trouble with" ;-)

-Tom Mandera, Helena MT
http://www.tmcom.com/~tsm1/scout