Meet Humpie, a 2003 GMC Envoy 4x4, whose days are numbered. It's bound to be an engine donor for my 1965 Triumph TR4. I bought Humpie this past week (with a bit of negotiating) for $350. It's running REALLY rough, but it does run. I even saved myself about $50 bucks by driving it ~12 miles home (although it died on my twice during the white knuckled journey).
Goals are to getting it running properly while it still resides in the Envoy shell, and then when I'm good and ready, yank the drivetrain out for transplant.
Here's a screen shot of the Craigslist ad:
And some pics of it once I got it home:
Broken out rear window.
Note the hood, fender and replacement front bumper, Humpie's been in a collision at some point.
Temperature gauge never moved, during the entire ride home and I think I figured out why:
Note the broken connector above.
This is a drive by wire engine.
Why is it named after a marital act?
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
Two things inspired the name:
1) To my eye the LS Truck intake looks awful with the tall hump in the middle. (see pic below)
2) The extended wheel base version of this series Envoy looks like it got a Hump-Back.
You are right on both counts!
AngryCorvair said:
Is that an aluminum 5.3?
Yes. Aluminum block (and heads) 5.3
Often referred to as an LM4. This one has 228,000 miles on the clock.
Indy-Guy said:
AngryCorvair said:
Is that an aluminum 5.3?
Yes. Aluminum block (and heads) 5.3
Often referred to as an LM4. This one has 228,000 miles on the clock.
HA !
I just realized I'm putting an LM4 in a TR4 
Dusterbd13-michael said:
Why is it named after a marital act?
With 6 kids, maybe his nickname should be humpy and not the envoy’s.
Patrick said:
Dusterbd13-michael said:
Why is it named after a marital act?
With 6 kids, maybe his nickname should be humpy and not the envoy’s.
So, maybe the thread title should be changed to "Indy-Humpy-Guy parts out Humpie"?
So, Patrick has expressed interest in some of the left overs after I pull the engine and wiring harness Hopefully we can work something out.
Spent a few minutes tonight working on Humpie. Who puts a new battery in a car right before selling it?
And look at how nasty the throttle body is:
Forgot to take pictures, but the MAF sensor was nasty. So I cleaned that.
Look at all the oil every where ! This thing is filthy. Gross.
Are there any codes to be had yet?
I’m serious about those bits, i want to do an AWD ls car build and those are the most compact parts i can find
In reply to Patrick :
I don't own a code reader (any recommendations?) But the dash is lit up like a Christmas tree.
I intended to swap in a set of new coils tonight, but the passenger side needs more access, so I cut the A/C lines off to make some. You didn't expect a $350 SUV to have a charge in the system, did you? Well rest assured the system was already pressureless.
I have the $110ish before 20% HF coupon one and its very nice. You can also get a $3 dongle and an app like torque if you have an android phone or whatever the equivalent iphone app is. Either way, you need to get the codes read before you load the parts cannon. It’s not worth spending any time swapping parts out until you know what the computer says.
also, person experience, these are a bear to pull the engine from, so be ready with sawzall when that time comes.
I had one reccomend to me from newegg. Ill take a picture in the morning for you.
Its worked great on everything ive tried it on except bmw. Because bmw.
There's probably newer better stuff now, but I've had an Autel AL519 for ~6 years and it's served me well.
It's worked on all the domestic cars I've used it on, '90s and early '00s Volvos, and it's even told me late model VW TDI specific codes. It can't define the VW codes, they're not in its library, but gives you the code, and you can look it up online or the Bentley Service Manual.
Indy-Guy said:
So, Patrick has expressed interest in some of the left overs after I pull the engine and wiring harness Hopefully we can work something out.
Spent a few minutes tonight working on Humpie. Who puts a new battery in a car right before selling it?
Buddy's family owns a junkyard. Tons of cars come into the JY with clean, brand new batteries. All batteries that come in get the full test. Many are perfect and sell better than hotcakes for $40. Now that lead acid batteries have shot to $150 new seemingly out of nowhere it might be even higher.
Things like this have me considering forgoing the 454 swap into my pickup and just going LS.
What kind of transmission are you using in the TR4?
In reply to Brett_Murphy :
The current plan is to put a manual transmission from an early '80's truck in there.
Threads like this have me looking at donor trucks like this:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/san-leandro-2005-yukon-xl/6817053002.html
Probably not the best engine for my '88 3500 1 ton single cab dually but it doesn't always hafta be the best...
Borrowed a buddy's code reader:
Coolant temp sensor error codes.
Is the plug trashed or? CTS problems and general motors are known for making stuff run crappy back to the days of TBI.
That TB isn't really gross from an LS standpoint. I think they look like that 100 miles after cleaning them.
Also, I'm giggling about you not having a code reader. I don't know why. It just seems like that absolute most basic tool for working on that sort of engine I suppose.
Patrick said:
Is the plug trashed or? CTS problems and general motors are known for making stuff run crappy back to the days of TBI.
Yes, plug is completely broken, and wasn't/isn't connected to anything during the drive home. I'm going to stop by O'Reilly's on the way home from work to buy a new one for testing. Then see if I can robe one from somewhere else on the truck during disassembly (for zero budget hit)
Does anyone know of a location on the vehicle I can grab one?
