LA motor with no fuel pump boss?

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Brad54

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Sorry for the Off Topic.
I picked up an '83 Ramcharger as a parts donor (for a '76 Power wagon), and the small block in it has LA heads and intake, but the block has no provision for a fuel pump.
Did they ever make an LA with no fuel pump boss?
This truck is... seriously hillbilly rigged, and I have a hard time believing someone would have gone to the trouble of swapping LA heads onto a Magnum block.

-Brad
 
"Hillbilly rigged." Well I "guess" it could have a Magnum timing cover??
 
Does the block have the later magnum style truck motor mount bosses? You can also check the date on the side of the block. As far as I know all la timing covers have provision for mechanical fuel pump.
 
I haven't looked close at them but I wonder if the late 80's throttle body equipped LA's have been made with no fuel pump mounting boss? They had an electric pump so they didn't need a mechanical one. If one were to use a magnum timing cover on a LA I'm not sure it'd work cause magnums used counter rotating water pumps.
 
All LA's have the boss Fuelie motors came with a block off plate

You can put a Magnum cover on a LA & vice versa

Here's a Mag block side view
 

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fishy68 said:
I haven't looked close at them but I wonder if the late 80's throttle body equipped LA's have been made with no fuel pump mounting boss? They had an electric pump so they didn't need a mechanical one. If one were to use a magnum timing cover on a LA I'm not sure it'd work cause magnums used counter rotating water pumps.
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That would make sense.
 
Okay guys, I'm retarded. Well, that and the shop is poorly lit.
There is a block-off plate there, but it's so caked with grease (Georgia red clay mixed with oil) that it was nearly completely hidden.

So, it's for sure an LA. And obviously loved, taken care of and well-maintained!

-Brad
 
Geez, I........

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67Dart273 said:
Geez, I........

thinking-idea-animated-animation-smiley-emoticon-000339-large.gif
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Yeah. not one of my finer moments.
I haven't messed around with LA engines in... well over ten years. And I've never had a Magnum on the ground in front of me to look things over.

There's no visible seam between the side of the block and the oil pan, it's that caked with grease.

There was some sort of an arrangement for the clutch fork and return spring that involved a length of nylon rope run from the frame to inside the bellhousing... necessitating removal and loss of the dust shield by the previous owner when he rigged up that beaut of a fix.
The carb had three return springs, anchored in two different places.
I still haven't found the electric fuel pump... nor have I discovered what the other two toggle switches cut into the dash operate.

Two of the four bolts holding the trans to the bellhousing were MIA, one of the bellhousing bolts was gone, another was replaced with a bolt that has a very thin head--and with the grease and the recess, we couldn't get it off while in the truck.
Several of the bolts around the engine were replaced with metrics, and there was a stack of washers used to make the power steering pump line up with the engine pulleys... and one of those bolts was also metric, but stripped/locked and we had to cut the head off to get the power steering pump off the engine.
So there was some weirdness at the front of the engine, combined with not seeing a block off plate, it got me wondering.

-Brad
 
Brad54 said:
Yeah. not one of my finer moments.
I haven't messed around with LA engines in... well over ten years. And I've never had a Magnum on the ground in front of me to look things over.

There's no visible seam between the side of the block and the oil pan, it's that caked with grease.

There was some sort of an arrangement for the clutch fork and return spring that involved a length of nylon rope run from the frame to inside the bellhousing... necessitating removal and loss of the dust shield by the previous owner when he rigged up that beaut of a fix.
The carb had three return springs, anchored in two different places.
I still haven't found the electric fuel pump... nor have I discovered what the other two toggle switches cut into the dash operate.

Two of the four bolts holding the trans to the bellhousing were MIA, one of the bellhousing bolts was gone, another was replaced with a bolt that has a very thin head--and with the grease and the recess, we couldn't get it off while in the truck.
Several of the bolts around the engine were replaced with metrics, and there was a stack of washers used to make the power steering pump line up with the engine pulleys... and one of those bolts was also metric, but stripped/locked and we had to cut the head off to get the power steering pump off the engine.
So there was some weirdness at the front of the engine, combined with not seeing a block off plate, it got me wondering.

-Brad
Click to expand...


Sounds like someone I know worked on this little jewel but you are missing the baling wire.
 
Every time I find a filthy motor, it looks like new once you degrease it. No rust! Goes for undercarriage too.
 
We need pics of this carnage. Entertain us. :)
 
Well, I can't get pics right now... it's a '83 Ramcharger that I bought out of a junkyard for $800, and I drove it home.
Though "drove" might be a bit of a stretch.
At the first gas station (which was a solid 15 miles from the yard) I stopped and dumped a bottle and a half of Dot 3 into the reservoir... it didn't really help.
Then, another 10 miles later, I went to make the 3/4 shift, and it wouldn't. From that point on, the last 15 miles was a series of power shifting and plotting the route (mentally) to take as few left-turns as possible so I didn't have to try and slam the truck into gear at the stop signs... if was a few more miles out of the way, but we did it without getting on any major roads, and only had to stop at an intersection once.
Now that the engine is on the floor, I see that the throw-out bearing is in at least two pieces.
And here I thought the nylon rope had something to do with it...

It's funny--I've bought four old, unrestored vehicles with one-way plane tickets and driven them to Georgia from California (yellow '73 Duster), Missouri ('61 Suburban) and Indiana ('61 Corvair), and the one from 40 miles away gives me the most trouble!
 
Brad54 said:
Well, I can't get pics right now... it's a '83 Ramcharger that I bought out of a junkyard for $800, and I drove it home.
Though "drove" might be a bit of a stretch.
At the first gas station (which was a solid 15 miles from the yard) I stopped and dumped a bottle and a half of Dot 3 into the reservoir... it didn't really help.
Then, another 10 miles later, I went to make the 3/4 shift, and it wouldn't. From that point on, the last 15 miles was a series of power shifting and plotting the route (mentally) to take as few left-turns as possible so I didn't have to try and slam the truck into gear at the stop signs... if was a few more miles out of the way, but we did it without getting on any major roads, and only had to stop at an intersection once.
Now that the engine is on the floor, I see that the throw-out bearing is in at least two pieces.
And here I thought the nylon rope had something to do with it...

It's funny--I've bought four old, unrestored vehicles with one-way plane tickets and driven them to Georgia from California (yellow '73 Duster), Missouri ('61 Suburban) and Indiana ('61 Corvair), and the one from 40 miles away gives me the most trouble!
Click to expand...

I've seen my fair share of "jimmyrigged" stuff too but yours sounds like the king of "jimmyrigged" :banghead:
 
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