DirtyComanche Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 A friend/acquaintance, actually I bought my two MJs off him, has what I believe is a 64 or 65 Gladiator that his wife is going to try to make him sell. The body is very nice by the standards of them in this part of the world, and the box isn't actually rusted much (or even beat up). The seams on the front fender flares are starting to rust to the point it probably needs fenders. The downside is it is original. And I mean original. It came off a farm where the older farmer allegedly bought it new. So it's got the OHC Tornado engine, some sort of 3 speed, manual brakes, steering, etc, and I don't even remember what for axles. He actually sold me the MJs because his wife wouldn't let him buy the Gladiator until the MJs were gone. He never really did anything to the MJs and I don't think he has to the Gladiator. When I last saw the truck was when I was picking up the second MJ. Anyways, my dilemma is I want it, it's cool. But the driveline is likely entirely junk. Am I going to upset purists/destroy history by pulling the Tornado and dropping something else in? Can you even rebuild a Tornado and make it reliable? Also, I have a lot of trucks/projects, which I am neglecting. I would like to make a project of my 86 MJ at some point, but decided to put it off because I have a good from 20' 76 J10 I wanted to throw a different drivetrain in first (it's not original anyways, and the 258 in it is very tired). I think it's a bit of six in one, half dozen in the other, so I could sell the 76 and fix this one instead... No pics right now, sorry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 If you can pick it up cheap and there's not a lot of rust could be a good find. As for the driveline I'd scrap it and put something in that's worth a crap. It will be an undertaking for sure, but Gladiators are frickin awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 42 minutes ago, DirtyComanche said: Also, I have a lot of trucks/projects, which I am neglecting. I think that answers your question Dirty.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 1 minute ago, HOrnbrod said: I think that answers your question Dirty.... I'm aware of that but I got my problems with buying vehicles nobody else wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 sometimes I wonder what all I'd own if I had money and space. I too am drawn to the oddball misfits of the automotive world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 25 minutes ago, DirtyComanche said: I'm aware of that but I got my problems with buying vehicles nobody else wants. They are super cool looking trucks, gotta admit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 This is the 76 J10 that's either getting wheeled into the shop as the next project, or it will be sold. If I buy this Gladiator I will sell this truck. It's complete, but the engine is trashed and it's a Quadratrac, and it needs some other serious mechanical repairs and fixing some of the sketchy 'fab' work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 The 230 doesn’t have a MPEFI setup here but until 2004? They were used in IKA Torino’s in Argentina and Chile. It should be D44 closed knuckle front and rear can be 2 piece axle D44 or D53 (hard to get upgrades and axle bearings but precursor to D60-2 and super low geared) The early front frame needs beefed up for power steering to mount. The ohc motor is still popular-ish with the M715 crowd but many died because oils pre-zinc were too weak to save the cams. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 39 minutes ago, carnuck said: The 230 doesn’t have a MPEFI setup here but until 2004? They were used in IKA Torino’s in Argentina and Chile. It should be D44 closed knuckle front and rear can be 2 piece axle D44 or D53 (hard to get upgrades and axle bearings but precursor to D60-2 and super low geared) The early front frame needs beefed up for power steering to mount. The ohc motor is still popular-ish with the M715 crowd but many died because oils pre-zinc were too weak to save the cams. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I'm reading they were built until 73 in Argentina, and that engine is a major redesign in that they went from 4 to 7 main bearings. Maybe there is another engine based on it, but it also would likely be quite different. IMHO it's not worth trying to rebuild, especially with the little bit of reading I did on the M715 forums that indicated lots of stuff is not easy to find (and those guys are in the US where they have access to much more NOS and surplus). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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