Jeff Balazs

Davin; That color looks mighty familiar........good on ya mate! With the kind of heat we have been seeing here I know I made the correct choice. No worries on the red wheels. Mine are maroon and literally not a day goes by without it getting a big thumbs up from someone. You might try and work some red accents into the cab interior. Jeff

You are welcome Thom. This is one of the simplest and best mods I think there is for these trucks. Pretty much fit and forget. I have never had any issues with it and the battery is always in good shape. Enjoy the ride! Jeff

Thom; There are a couple of ways this can be wired. 1) You can leave the old regulator in place and just use it as a terminal block. Run a single #8 wire from the alternator to the battery terminal on the regulator. Or 2) You can just run a single #8 wire directly to the battery terminal on the starter. I use the second method and have had zero issues with this arrangement even with a lot of accessories. Hth, Jeff.

I agree. I found John extremely easy to deal with....and the quality and value is superb. I get compliments all the time. Since my Pilothouse is my only vehicle I really did not want the interior to look like plastic or cardboard. I used what John crafted and added quite a bit of insulation to it and the cab. Everybody who rides in mine has the same comments.....they can't get over how nice it looks and how quiet and comfortable the cab is. I am absolutely positive it would have never turned out so well using the other offerings. Jeff

Keven; I am sure you will get it figured out. And at the very least it will keep you out of mischief. They are great trucks.........especially the 116" long ones. I sure like mine!!!!!! Jeff

Congrats Keven; That ought to turn out very nice. Jeff

I wouldn't rule out carb issues so quickly. If you can't find anything obvious with the ignition take a close look at the step up circuit components including the jet. I ended up having to change this jet in order to get things working correctly. Made a huge difference to how well the truck ran. Jeff

Hey Mike; Good to see ya back at it. Home Depot sells an inexpensive tub for mixing mortar etc......that is just the ticket. Jeff

No I just revived it. Was rebuilt a long time ago. Sat for 25-30 years with very little mileage on the rebuild. Pulled the head.....mic'd the bores and they were spot on for 40 over. Did frequent oil changes and eventually started adding a bit of MMO to the oil and the gas. Almost as soon as I started using the MMO I noticed a difference in how well it ran. And it has gotten better the harder it was pushed. I have put about 6-7k miles on it now and it is running better than I expected it ever would in stock form. I am now putting about 250 miles a week on it and honestly couldn't be happier with the way it performs. They are wonderful old trucks once everything is just so.

Rings finally seated is my guess. That and I went through the carb another time. At any rate it is good to go and I didn't have to spend any more money.

You deserve them. What you have done is shown us all "another way" to get the most from one of these trucks without messing about with it too much. Very...very clever too. To me at least these sorts of mods are totally sensible if you wish to really use your truck without completely altering it's true character. Kudos. Jeff

Yep saw it and I think you are one clever guy. I had thought about it a while back but you have proved it out. Good job!!! There is always more than one way to skin a cat. I love it. Have fun with it you deserve to. Jeff

Very nice conversion/upgrade. I really like those laycock units. Had one in a Healy, a Triumph and a Volvo and they always worked great. And being able to split the lower gears is a nice side benefit. I might consider this. I have a 230 with a 3.55 final drive ratio which works well. Being able to split 3rd would be nice though. I have a little GPS speedo with a heads up display that is spot on. Very easy to read day or night and you don't have to look down. Jeff

Agree. Get the correct unit with a matched coil and it will be fit and forget. This is a sweet set up. Jeff

Very cool conversion. Looks cleaner than the Grand Cherokee M/C I used. It was a tight fit and took some time to adjust. Works fine though. I have always been a fan of those Laycock OD units. Have had 3 of them over the years and they were faultless. Would love to see some pic's of this set up. These are the sorts of refinements that can really add to the driving experience. Good on you and enjoy. Jeff

Kid friendly? Trust me they are way too pampered already in this neighborhood. I am thinking Vanishing Point with the sound cranked up! Did you know that some of the guitar riffs in that soundtrack were done by a very young Stevie Ray Vaughn? More my idea of kid friendly......... I am fairly certain that Buddy and I are never going to quite fit in. I think we both suffer from NCS (non-conformist syndrome) I curse and smoke too much and he doesn't like strangers or anybody else for that matter. I just got a feeling that we are going to have to go out on the extended road trip. Kind of like Ben Gazarra in "Run for your life". We have been de facto prepping lately as he got banished from the house during the day last week. Tore up a window screen and was caught on Doggy cam. Oh yes I am not making that up. He tells me that the kids Chiuahua was driving him crazy and I believe him. So now he is hanging out with me at the shop every day. He seems to be at ease in that environment and doesn't mind the sound of machinery. He is hands down the best dog in the car I have ever owned. Never fusses and it has been hot and miserable. Not sure if we are going to have much of a choice once I move out of this shop at the end of August. I am starting to hear the Eagles playing....Take it to the limit ......one more time......

An additive like water wetter can be helpful as long as the system is clean and functional.

There are trade offs with every living arrangement. The valley Coto is situated in is about 5000 acres much of it looks like a very nice park. It is almost completely surrounded by nature preserve and state & national wilderness land. There are 75 miles of horse trails and hundreds of miles of hiking trails within a short walk of our home. It is a pretty sweet set up once you get used to the rules. I believe it was the first planned community in this part of Southern California. Compared to most of Orange County it definitely has it's benefits. Especially for those of us who have no appreciation of the cold weather climes. I will try and get some pictures or on truck videos soon. I haven't had time to explore the equestrian center yet but it was built for the LA Olympics and is supposed to be very nice. Jeff

I kept my bikes but they are in storage. The old thumper is actually pretty quiet..... the 2 stroke Stormer is another thing altogether. One of the loudest bikes you will ever hear. Got a very unique sound too. Some say it is one you never forget. My Kiwi buddy Marty best described it like someone cutting a 55 gallon drum apart with a dull chainsaw. I was thinking of selling the Stormer and using the money to fit a sidecar to the 500 thumper. I would do it for the fun but I am not sure I can get Buddy to wear goggles ...... I feel certain the sight of us pulling up to the clubhouse for Sunday brunch would raise more than a few eyebrows.

If that were the case practically everyone would have to leave. I used a 2002 Grand Cherokee axle to get the 3.55 and 12" discs.

I got a warning ticket the first week we were there for parking on the street in front of the house after 10pm. Next one is $300 and tow away. Aint joking. Our next door neighbor told me she had a family gathering a while back and forgot to go out and put her car in the garage. They had come at 3am and towed it off. She has lived there for over 20 years and is still hot about that one. Last week we had to replace a garage door opener after work. Patrol car came by 3 times between 9pm and 9:45 when we finished the job. Too many rules and they don't cut you any slack. I think the only reason I didn't get a fine & ticket that first time is the security guys like my truck. Not going to push my luck with that. Buddy and I are going to have to get real creative in making our statements against this oppressive stuff. Coto was a hunting preserve back in the days of the Spanish Dons. Perhaps it is time for Zorro to pay them a visit? I have always been fond of that character.

Dude; That would never fly in the neck of the woods we are in now........... I had to throw away most of my "good" wrenching tee-shirts just to make it in the gate. Wealthy yuppie haven. Not sure how I wound up there? It is going to be interesting. I find it almost impossible to not be somewhat provocative when given the opportunity. I am sure my buddies have a pool going to see how long me and my gangsta dog will last. We are already on double secret probation. Jeff

Oh yes way deep. And I think most of the guys get manicures...... But I have got lots of thumbs up too. (I think) Just not from the Audi/Tesla and Maserati folks. Imagine that. I told my daughter that I was thinking of joining the polo club and getting an old burro. I would love to do it just to see the reaction it would get. There is also a pretty large water feature in our yard that would be great to raise crawfish in. Maybe going door to door in a burro cart with a big simmering pot of crawfish gumbo would be a good way to break the ice with the neighbors?

My stock speedo is way off. My solution is to fit a small GPS speedo with a heads up display I got off ebay. Works perfect and is easy to read day or night. Jeff

Hey John; No we wound up about as far behind the curtain as one an get. We bought a house with our oldest daughter and son-in-law in Coto de Caza. So now the old truck lives in a gated community. Wasn't exactly what I was up for........ but it is pretty nice. I think there may need to be a boat in the very near future as I and my dog are a little too rough around the edges to hang with the locals. A small trawler would make a nice getaway from all the rules and pomp........ It takes a while to get comfortable using one of these trucks in heavy traffic. It isn't so much that they are primitive as it is just feeling at home behind the wheel. From the beginning I didn't give myself any options so it isn't that hard. And I did pay close attention to a lot of the small details. I went over the top on soundproofing and insulation so it is about as quiet as a modern vehicle. A decent sound system doesn't hurt either. Overall I have been very impressed with reliability and ride quality. They definitely can be used as I had hoped. And it makes a dandy little hauler. What more can one ask for? Jeff