Saw this after responding to other thread.
im leaving town and have to have it running by then. i have like 1200 bucks to spend.
what will be the best/fastest option...
i have limited time and am in serious need of advice and help .
All help is greatly apreciated .
So you have 6 days to have the truck running reliably and on the road. You have $1200 bucks to make this happen.
The best/fastest option to make this happen is sell both trucks pocket the money. Take $1000 or less and buy something that runs good, but may look like crap, and hit the road. The you've got the 200 plus what you sold the trucks for (hopefully 2-300 per truck) to fix things on the road.
That's the best advice I can give you. It's not what you want but hopefully you can still appreciate it.
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Now that we have that out of the way, lets address what you want to do.
Hands down in swapping transmissions from auto to manual .
what will be the best/fastest option for the engines .
Forget the 2.8L, that's going to be your slowest and most expensive option. While I love the little motors it's about the worst option that you have available.
The first questions are those I asked in the other thread, what condition is the 2.9L is? If it is running good then that is your answer. Swap in the 2.9L and manual. I'm going to assume that the only damage to the 86 was the body and that the frame is still good shape alignment wise, a roll over could have knocked the frame out ow whack which changes what I'm about to say. The absolute cheapest, and possibly fastest, swap to get you on the road will probably be a cab swap from the 85 onto the 86 frame. You will need to check the wiring, but much of it may be plug and play for cab to engine bay and frame. Worst case scenario swap the dash harness. Run the truck without a bed until you can find a new one. In the mean time you might need to bolt on some trailer fenders to comply with state laws, and will definitely need to mount up tail lights.
If you want to keep the 85 mostly in one piece, then swap the 2.9L into it. Your biggest hurtles will be wiring and drive shaft. You will need to mate the 2.9L wiring to your truck or swap in the dash wiring from the 2.9L. Either way you choose you will need a wiring manual, which I can't provide. For the drive shaft you may get lucky with the automatic's drive shaft length with no more needed than a yoke swap. If not you will have to get one modified (shortened
(cheaper) or lengthened) or get one from a junkyard. The latter will probably be the cheapest route, find one from a matching first gen, regular cab, long bed with manual transmission and V6 it should bolt right into place. You will also need to swap in the fuel tank, or might have to get one from the junkyard that will fit the longbed first gen. You need the in tank pump, and will probably have to delete the auxiliary tank. (I might be interested in some of those parts if you are in Georgia)
I know that this isn't currently on the table. If your 2.9L isn't working, or even if it is, your best option for a new motor into the 85 is to scrap the 2.8L, and strip/part/scrap the 86. Take the money and go buy a later model 4.0L, manual, long bed truck that runs good, but is in need of a body. Swap everything into the 85.
Can any of these options be done in a 6 day period. I believe so,
IF done by a group of people (or at least 2) who can devote a lot of time to the project, are very familiar with the vehicles they are working on, and have put a lot of research and effort into preparing for it. Any less than that and I wouldn't count on it happening, or being reliable. Given your time frame I honestly believe that your best option is to pick up a cheap running beater and leave town. If coming back to town save them to work on when you get back. If not save the best of the lift kits, and other little custom touches that you want to keep, and scrap the rest. Find a better candidate to start over on when you get where you are going.
Sorry, but it is what it is. You really should have been thinking about this at least a month ago, then you would have had time to prepare and get everything ready to do the swap. At this stage of the game you will be spending more time rounding up parts, tools, equipment, and help than you will spend working on the truck. Not going to say it can't happen, but I don't see it. Go the fix it route and in 6 days you'll be wishing you had a running truck to hit the road in.