Gojira94

You should be able to rent a fuel pressure checker from your local parts house and return it for a full refund afterward. And... more homework if you're up to it... 1) Pull the oil dipstick and see how it smells. If it smells like raw fuel and the oil feels thin, we'll want to know that. 2) Pull the plugs and see if any look/ smell different from the rest. "Good" will have a white to light tan ceramic insulator, light deposit on the ground strap, possibly with a slight color change about 1/2 way up, very light and even black around the end where the threads are and clean center electrode. Some evidence of age-related oil deposits may be expected and not that big of a deal at the moment. 3) consider Cruiser54's distributor indexing tip at some point. Marginally set/ unknown ignition timing can compound driveability issues.

And you can have that dash for free. I’ll get some pics of it as soon as I can.

Oh right, dash and upper cover are different after 96… the dash is from a 94 or 95.

Check fuel pressure at the Schrader valve. Idling with the FPR vacuum attached it should be 31psi, minimum 28. With vacuum off the FPR and vacuum line capped with your thumb it should read 39psi, minimum 35-36. If you still have the fuel pump ballast resistor hooked up, make a shunt from 1/4” male spade connectors and a bit of 14ga or minimum 16ga to bypass it and see if your pressures improve after the test above. If they’re really low, the pump may be dying or the plumbing inside the tank may have an issue that’s weakening fuel flow.

More information gained, that's a good thing. I wouldn't worry too much about EGR for the moment. It's a closed cycle system and has no vacuum leaks, confirmed. The TPS finding is more telling. Potentiometers can develop dead spots and errant output. If you have a DVOM, you can check what it's doing - @NickInTimeFilms to the rescue again:

Yes, pull the vacuum line off of what you have in your pic and plug the line with your thumb.. Try it not running first, just in case it's leaking. If it is, the excess fuel would be drawn into the intake manifold by vacuum.

I think I'm in agreement with @Eagle_SX4 that you're over-fueling somehow. Whether cracked exhaust manifold with O2 seeing what it thinks is lean and adding fuel, or less likely but possible ruptured diaphragm in the fuel pressure regulator. If you pull the vacuum line off the FPR and plug it with your thumb (the line, not the regulator itself) normal response would be a dip in RPM/ slight bog as it started to chew on more fuel at 39-ish psi instead of 31-ish at idle. If there's no change, that would be a clue. If you are and have been over-fueling during all this adventure, the plugs would show evidence of fouling/ heavy soot and might even be a little wet. If over-fueling ends up being a big part of the issue, new plugs would be in order once the issue is solved. Not to give you more homework, but what kind of shape is the rest of your secondary ignition in (wires, cap, rotor)? Weak ignition parts exacerbate over-fueling conditions.

EGR operates at part-throttle conditions. Closed at idle and WOT. and that pop does sound like a backfire. Does the exhaust smell a little richer than it used to? And if you have someone do a quick rev like that for you while you stand at the tailpipe, do you hear it there?

I absolutely LOVE 4th Gen F-Bodies. I still have a few small and obscure parts that MIGHT help you out with ones missing/ destroyed. You can have any/ all of it for price of shipping. None of it large or heavy so shipping wold be cheap. I also have a complete (lower/ main) dash you're welcome to. Some idiot put 4 screw holes in it to hold a tach light but no other blemishes. At one time I had 2 94 Formulas. Green one was to replace the 93 I sold during hard times, with 62,000 miles. I still have that one with 77,000 miles on it. It's highly modified, stock-looking green M6 hardtop. The other was a red A4 hardtop that I was building a drag car out of. That project got de-funded when my girlfriend got pregnant and we got married in 2011, but I couldn't have asked for a better trade there! One piece I have that you might really like is an LS1 F-body ram air setup. It's been a long time since I was in the LTx/LSx scene daily and I don't recall the exact steps needed to use the LS1 induction on an LT1 ram air hood but it's not much. Give you a functional ram air setup for that hood... and if Cookeville isn't too far from you, you can hit up Volunteer Muffler for some true duals if you're in the mood for long tube headers to make it worth it.

Been busy with work and travel, meant to post back with results. I'd say what I got is a 60-70% improvement in return to center. I think it's possible to squeeze another degree of caster out of it without inducing front shaft vibes. None noticed with the recent adjustment. Next steps: 1) Diagnose cruise not working - most of this I can do in the garage (pretty wet here in central NC last few days/ next few days). 2) Figure out whether I want to try to adjust the doors to get rid of a significant gap at the top of both, or trust a local body shop to do it. I had a guy who retired about 1 1/2 years ago that I trusted with absolutely anything, Philip Lee of Lee's Collision in Garner, NC. He recommended me another local shop that could do it last time I spoke to him. I can't drive it in wet weather or leave it outside until that is addressed. 3) Find a spot where I can assess 4WD functions. I believe I may need a small cable adjustment to engage 4Lo without it possibly slipping out into neutral.

I wouldn't mind it looking more 80s!

Made an adjustment to shorten my upper arms while on lunch break from job #1. 4 whole turns in on both sides, arm is 1" - 14 so that makes them .2857" shorter. Angle finder tells me I got back 3* of caster. Front pinion to shaft angle difference is 4.3-4.5* static now. By extension, that puts my caster at about 4.8-5.0* now. I've driven it about 70 miles all in so far. At low speeds it's felt wander-y, more stable at 55-65 but not ideal. I'll drive it to job #2 later today and see how much of an improvement it is. This truck will never see much time in the left lane on the highway. I need to look up the cross-caster spec (technically set a hair less on the driver's side for right lane driving/ road crown). I'll probably lengthen the left upper or shorten the right upper a half turn for that once I'm happy with road feel.

You read my mind. I'm thinking plugged vent line (hard line to engine bay/canister). Mine took a couple hours to unplug when I first stripped my rig down for rebuild.

No, no bad at all. All ideas, all the time. I mean, that cap is going to be trash as is and needs to be replaced anyway so breaking it apart would always be an option. I'm lazy and have a lot of tools

True, but once the top breaks off you're at the point of breaking pieces off and that gets tedious in a hurry. Here's what I mean:

Too bulky for the space if they're big enough to do the job, I'd think.

Slip joint oil filter pliers.

I'm also running a 34. And running the plastic tray for now. With a taller battery and the plastic tray, I recommend terminal covers of some sort in case the tray cracks/ breaks.

I originally said I was going to build this thing mostly to go pretty places (and light to moderate trails). Had her first outing on Saturday - 30 miles or so round trip, close to the house. First stop was an old traditional picnic spot from the 1800s, Flower Hill, which sits literally on the Piedmont to Coastal Plain fall line. I can feel the lack of caster, and the tires are a little overinflated, but it holds the road well. I may dial back the uppers a couple of turns and check for front shaft vibes soon but it's fine for now. No DW noted over some bumpy secondary roads between 45-65MPH. Cruise control does not work at the moment but that should be easy enough to figure out. Zero issues with clutch and gear engagement, such a relief to leave CSC stuff behind. I stopped on the way back for hot dogs at the local store. This is Percy Flowers' old land, all of it out here where I live. He was a legendary bootlegger. He made so much white lightning the sugar to make it arrived in rail cars... That D35 looks tiny under there...

Thanks! There was a lot of sheet metal repair in the area of that 3rd pic, kinda embarrassed, but the rest of the front half I'm happy with, much prettier. I'm looking forward to pulling the bed and rear bumper for a little clean -n- coat back there before I call it really done.

I've been busy sorting through pics from an automotive archaeology dig on Sunday, forgot to add these from Saturday...

External slave parts showed up Thursday, got a late start yesterday. I ran out of time to reinstall the shafts and bleed it but trans and TC are back in. With a 6" lift, I can roll the trans right out from under on a trans jack. I borrowed this one from a neighbor. He got it at Harbor Freight (Pittsburgh brand scissor style with a strap). Old: New: Important detail for anyone doing this swap - the input shaft cover bolts do need a thread sealer. I've used Permatex 59235 for years on head bolts in water jackets and for stuff like this. Remember to knead the tube really well each time before use! Most parts house stores are only going to have the small tubes (.3 oz) and you'll have to order the big one. Today I'm off to look at a 1972 F350 long chassis with a dump bed/ 390/ NV435, a mid-70s D100 and some other cool stuff, about an hour west of here.

I did all my own cutting, grinding and prep. But since it’s been now more than 20 years since I did any welding I hired a friend of one of my kids that works for me at job #2. I paid him more than he asked - $325. Well worth it. He’s someone who welds every day, trained at the local community college. You could probably get hooked up with someone at your local CC. I agree this is a job for a professional, or at least a seasoned journeyman. Start with pulling the carpet and seeing the extent of it.

If you go for a rebuild of the sending unit, these guys. They did a clock restoration for my project: Instrument Services, Inc. 4075 Steele Drive Machesney Park, IL 61115 (800) 558-2674 https://www.clocksandgauges.com sales@clocksandgauges.com M-F 8AM 4:30PM Central Speedos Tachs Gauges Clusters Sending units

Mine is the 89-93 AX-15 internal to external slave conversion behind a 4.0. https://www.advanceadapters.com/4993 My truck did originally have a 2.5 and AX4 but they're long gone.