Jax Turbo Max

[crvtec90]

203204205206You guys can check the old board for the beginning of this thread. Ive got some new plans for upgrading the turbo to a big 16g td05h I just picked up. Some new paint should come along in the next few months. Ive had some new ball joints for a while now but havent put them in. I want to go ahead and replace all the bushings while I am at it since its squeaking. Hopefully some new coil springs as well...mine are saggy.

[4doorciv]

The big 16g turbo fits without modification to your starion manifold? A lot of people on dsmtuners claim the evo 3 16g outflows the big 16g turbo. Just a little curious on your choice of upgrade.

[l.k.]

thats a fairly clean truck you got there.....ill be tuned into this one..

[crvtec90]

The big 16g turbo fits without modification to your starion manifold? A lot of people on dsmtuners claim the evo 3 16g outflows the big 16g turbo. Just a little curious on your choice of upgrade.

Slight modification for the turbo. I can either send out my starion turbine housing and have it machined to fit the 16g exhaust wheel ( which will let me keep my existing downpipe) or I can make a new downpipe and use the 16g turbine housing. The starion manifold has about the same bolt pattern. There are a few ways to go about it. I need to reclock the compressor housing so that it points the right way and do some mods to the oil/water cooler lines.

Im not overly concerned about the flow rates. Not sure what the difference is. Its already a big upgrade for me since I only have a stock 12a on there now. I have already installed new injectors and a walbro 255 fuel pump. I picked up the turbo used and its an actual mitsu turbo...not some ebay stuff. A direct bolt on turbo would have been a lot more$$$. Trying to make big power with the g54b is much easier with mpi and before I go through all that I would just go 4g63 twin cam. There is a much larger aftermarket support and parts availability for the eclipse stuff. I have a 2.4 shortblock my buddy is trying to get me to put his turbo eclipse head on.

I never really planned on a turbo truck.....just kinda happened. If you talk to enough gearhead mechanics you are bound to find a deal you cant pass up. Thats how I ended up with the starion engine.

[4doorciv]

Deals always pop up. I scored lots of cheap stuff to free stuff from friends I delt with in the past, and new friends I came across that needed parts I had laying around collecting rust. Keep us posted on how your turbo upgrade goes. Oh, and nothing wrong with a 2.4/2.0 swap in the future. I'm happy with the way my truck performed before it crapped out. ;)

[crvtec90]

Parts on the way! I ordered a new pair of Moog coil springs. Got the Energy Suspension bushings also. Lower control arm, sway bar bushings with endlinks, strut bar bushings, and rear leaf spring bushings. Mine are way past due. The rubber is coming apart in chunks and squeeks like crazy. ;)

[l.k.]

sweet man sounds like that thing will be riding nice..... i like your truck

[crvtec90]

sweet man sounds like that thing will be riding nice..... i like your truck

thanx bud. I cant wait to get the parts thrown on there.

[crvtec90]

Got some black seat belts to replace the old gray stock ones. I cant remember what year exactly (2001 I think) Daewoo. My belts would not hold tension any more and would just slowly unroll until they werent holding against my body. Id bet there are a lot of other cars you could get them from. They look really similar to Honda belts as well. I have Bucket seats from a starion so the belt latch just bolts to the seat. I think every mighty max I saw in the junkyard had the same issue with the belts and I dont believe they ever came in black.

[4doorciv]

Even the small interior alterations make the difference. I had a gray and black thing going in my civic hatchback before. I miss the ac on that thing. I'm going to try to see if the civic belts buckle into the Mitsubishi latch if my oem mightymax ones are still there.

[crvtec90]

They had one max at the yard yeaterday.......beat to death. I did find a rear sway bar from a 88/89 F-150 4x4. Getting it off while laying on the dirt wasnt fun. When I got finished I walked around some more and found another that was less rusted....probably cause it was a 2 wheel drive 91 model. Same sway bar as far as I can tell except the end links were different.

They also had an old caravan with the 2.6 carb motor. I was looking for a temp switch for my electric radiator fan but the one on there had already been jumped with a wire to stay closed so I figured it probably didnt work. I am running out of ports to screw it into my intake and was hoping to get one that fit my radiator drain plug hole. I got a bunch of honda ones but they are too big.

When I noticed the valve cover with the mitsu name on it I had to get it......since I was already there anyway. Dont remember ever seeing one on a starion like that.

[l.k.]

nice find ....

any chance you could pick up some parts and ship them if i paypal you some money??????

[4doorciv]

Very nice score. Sway bar and a valve colver. Didn't find a radiator drain plug? Also what does the temp switch look like that you need. You might get lucky with the early eclipses/talon/laser also if it's pipe thread.

[crvtec90]

[QUOTE=l.k.;1056]nice find ....

any chance you could pick up some parts and ship them if i paypal you some money??????[/QUOTE sounds good. I dunno how to ship big stuff though. I have heard many times that you can use the Greyhound bus lines and save a lot of $$$ but the reciever has to pick the stuff up at the bus terminal. I have never done this for myself although I do personally know a friend who has.

[crvtec90]

Very nice score. Sway bar and a valve colver. Didn't find a radiator drain plug? Also what does the temp switch look like that you need. You might get lucky with the early eclipses/talon/laser also if it's pipe thread.

I dont need a drain plug............I need a temp switch that will fit in the drain plug hole.
One that is normally open and then closes the circuit when it get to like 180 degrees to turn on the cooling fan relay. There is a port in the intake i could put one in but i already have the sensor for my temp gauge in that hole. They have ones that you can insert into the radiator between the fins but I didnt find it worked too well for me.

[4doorciv]

Ah. Okay. Another thing you can try is to remove thermost housing, drill and tap in threads for a coolant fan switch that you have.

[crvtec90]

Ah. Okay. Another thing you can try is to remove thermost housing, drill and tap in threads for a coolant fan switch that you have.

just might come to that...I might have a spare to try it out.

[blindeyed]

Are you against just wiring your fan to come on when you turn on the motor? That's how I have mine wired up, could help you out if you need it.

Did you get the valve cover off the truck they had at the main st junkyard? That thing was so trashed, the bed got turned into a giant junk bin lol. I nabbed the wiper/blinker assembly behind the steering wheel off it.

[crvtec90]

Are you against just wiring your fan to come on when you turn on the motor? That's how I have mine wired up, could help you out if you need it.

Did you get the valve cover off the truck they had at the main st junkyard? That thing was so trashed, the bed got turned into a giant junk bin lol. I nabbed the wiper/blinker assembly behind the steering wheel off it.

My fan is running whenever the key is on and I would rather have it off until it is needed.

Didnt go to Mainstreet.... maybe next weekend.

[crvtec90]

Ordered the energy suspension parts online Thursday....still no tracking #.
Sent them a request today and they responded saying the strut rod bushings are on back order and will take 2 weeks. What a joke! It took them until Tuesday to tell me and only because "I" asked. They have the stuff listed as "in stock". So now I can either wait it out or try to order somewhere else and wait for them to tell me its on back order. I was expecting to have all the parts for this weekend to knock it all out at one time. I think I saw them on ebay somewhere and might give that a try.

Ive been calling around looking for some new bushings for the rear sway bar and coming up empty. I really wanted to find some in town to avoid shipping and have them in my hands to compare with the old ones before I buy them.

The front coil springs came in and they look good. I wanted to get the belltech drop coils to go a lil lower but I dont think my 17 inch silverado wheels will tuck the front fenders. Already have 2 inch drop spindles in the front so Ill see how it looks with some new stock replacement coils.

[4doorciv]

You should try to tuck em. Best way to do so is to call your friends and tell em to stand on your front bumper. Lol. Or atleast sit on it. Or you could always bring the camber more negative.

[l.k.]

ok well things i need are small and easy to ship...ill be in touch when the time is right.

thanks man..

i in the past have just drilled and tapped the thermostat housing....but you can wire it up some other way not sure exactly ..

good luck

[pennyman1]

You can get a temp sensor that straps to the upper rad hose or the thermostat housing - never tried one but I looked at them several times. I'm running an adjustable fan control that I can adjust from the dash with a knob; it has a probe pushed in the fins.

[crvtec90]

You can get a temp sensor that straps to the upper rad hose or the thermostat housing - never tried one but I looked at them several times. I'm running an adjustable fan control that I can adjust from the dash with a knob; it has a probe pushed in the fins.

yeah when I bought my fan I got the relay kit separate. It had one of those temp probes that sticks in the radiator fins but I didnt like the way it fit.
Seemed to me it didnt come on till way late. Id like for it to operate properly and not be running while the truck is still warming up. I have a 180 degree thermostat and I figured I would get a switch to come on about that temp. That is how the starion one is setup anyway.

[turbomax]

are you running any emission stuff with your swap? I used one of the ports on the intake manifold for my fan switch. I used the one that the egr solenoid switch used (sensor with 2 plastic nipples).

[turbomax]

http://home.fuse.net/remo/sq-sensors1.jpg

used #2 port for fan switch

#1 - M16 x 1.5
#2 - 3/8" NPT pipe thread
#3 - 3/8" NPT pipe thread
#4 - 1/8" NPT pipe thread.

[crvtec90]

http://home.fuse.net/remo/sq-sensors1.jpg

used #2 port for fan switch

#1 - M16 x 1.5
#2 - 3/8" NPT pipe thread
#3 - 3/8" NPT pipe thread
#4 - 1/8" NPT pipe thread.

Currently have port #2 filled with the temp sensor for my aftermarket temp gauge. The starions had the relay temp switch screwed into the bottom of the radiator . I saw an old caravan that way also and was hoping to do the same.

[turbomax]

Our trucks don't have bungs in the radiator, but you could take it to a radiator shop and probably have one welded on. I put my starion temp switch in port 2 to for my fans. You could also try buying a hose adapter that splices into the upper radiator hose and screw the sensor into the adapter. Should be able to find one on ebay.

Also, if your not running AC you could try port #4.

[4doorciv]

With a reducer, you can probably get away without tapping 4, if you want to put the switch there.

[crvtec90]

Well my egr valve has been acting up. The spring is getting weak and it opens when its not supposed to causing a rough idle. Went ahead and picked up a block off plate from ebay.

[l.k.]

nice....little dress up and problem solver...

[4doorciv]

I usually buy a shingle from home depot for like a dollar can use tin snips and a drill for the bolt holes. Also, turns this into a washer that sandwiches between the egr and intake manifold.

[crvtec90]

Energy suspension bushings and new coil springs installed. Time for some new shocks. My old coils were well worn and now my front end sits a little more level and doesnt scrape the fenders when I hit bumps. I had some belltech performance drop shocks on the front....probably not the best idea to have drop shocks without the drop coils since they dont have as much travel. The shock that was matched to the sagging spring is blown out. Im probably gonna get some kyb or tokico for the front and not sure about the rear. I have 3 inch drop blocks so I want some drop shocks but Im thinking of air shocks in case I want to put a load in the bed and not bottom out.

I should have changed out all the bushings years ago. They had worn so badly that metal was contacting on the shafts and removing material. Now its all nice and tight. No squeaking. I changed out the rear shackle bushings for the leaf springs no problem but the front eyelet bushing in the kit didnt look like it would fit correctly. The old ones were still in decent shape so I left them alone.

The front sway bar bushing brackets didnt fit very well either so I took the new bushings and installed with the old brackets.

I did take pics but for some reason my camera wouldnt give them to the computer. Selfish electronics piss me off. Or maybe it was the computer that wouldnt take them from the camera. Stubborn computers need a ho slap. Then theres always operator error.

[crvtec90]

Ive been trying to score a set of mono leaf springs to replace my sagging ones. I want to have them installed and check my final ride height before I set up the rear sway bar.

I took the sway bar and brackets, knocked the loose rust off with a wire wheel and grinder. Then I let them soak overnight in some evaporust. It loosens the old paint a little and dissolves the rust.

[blindeyed]

When you're done with your suspension, can you redo mine too? lol

Seriously though, kick ass progress man. That evapo-rust looks like it does a bang up job. Might have to try that stuff out.

[parrell456]

Perfect wheel and tire set-up!

-RHP

[crvtec90]

Perfect wheel and tire set-up!

-RHP
Thanx man.....it was a trick to get them mounted up. I had bought them off ebay from the previous owner who had already had the hubs machined larger to fit an import truck. The problem was getting the center caps on. The cap has plastic lugs that screw onto threads on the outsideof the lug nuts. Chevrolet style. The full size chevy truck uses a 14mm lug while the max uses a 12mmm......so I had to get inserts for the lug nuts to make them fit. Then I had a sign shop make me sum stickers to cover up the chevy bowtie emblem on the center cap. Id like to get it a little lower but Im not sure the wheels will tuck the front fenders without going negative on my camber and eat up my tires.

[crvtec90]

11441145Bought sum new shocks front and rear. I was happy with the belltechs I had so I bought another set. The driver side was worn out from the weak coil spring. The truck feels way better....nice and firm. They are a lot beefier than the stock shocks and it takes some patience to get them installed. I had to grind the ends a little bit on the lower mount to get it to fit through the hole on the lower control arm. Also, the metal dust cover is too wide to fit so I had to use the original plastic unit with a spacer. The directions say you can run them without the dust shield but I didnt want any more crap getting on the shafts and sitting on the seals. They are supposed to come with a spacer that is used when not installing the shields but they were not in the box. I just used sum washers i had in the garage instead.

Unfortunately my driver side leaf spring is worn out. I can feel a big difference from the passenger side just by pushing down on the bed. Gotta get that handled before I wear out my new rear shocks.

[crvtec90]

got my rear sway bar all cleaned up and painted. I used truck bed coating on the brackets. Now i gotta go get some endlinks and set it up.

[l.k.]

Nice progress....ill have some info on those rims n tires not too long from to now

[Rahtid]

Is that a factory rear swaybar

[crvtec90]

Is that a factory rear swaybar

The rear sway bar is off a Ford F-150 (89 or 90 I think). I got the idea from turbomax.

[turbomax]

The rear sway bar is off a Ford F-150 (89 or 90 I think). I got the idea from turbomax.

Any chance you've driven your truck yet with the rear sway bar?

[crvtec90]

Any chance you've driven your truck yet with the rear sway bar?

I did mount the bar to the axle, but haven't hooked up the endinks yet. Im slacking big time and been sick too.

[crvtec90]

Truck has been running good so ive left it alone to work on my other project .....I finally took apart my s16g to inspect.....looks like a rebuild is in order.

[crvtec90]

Limited slip differential is ordered . 3.54 gears....gotta figure out what additive I need for the fluid....also figure out how far off my speedometer is gonna be with different gears.

[LSR Mike]

MPH RPM gears & tires:

mph = rpm x tire diameter / gear ratio x 336
rpm = mph x gear ratio x 336 / tire diameter
gear ratio = rpm x tire diameter / mph x 336
tire diameter = mph x gear ratio x 336 / rpm

tire size & their effect:

tire diameter = 2 x selection width x aspect ratio / 2540 + rim diameter

[LSR Mike]

Easier for you..

mph = rpm x tire diameter / differential gear ratio x 336/ transmission gear ratio

[crvtec90]

265226532654
MP3
Not much new to share . A while back I tinted a spare set of taillights......turned out well
they turned out dark yet still bright when lit up

[crvtec90]

Junkyard score ! Minty fresh fenders . No dents and no rust.

[crvtec90]

Got to play with my exhaust a ill bit. I had the resonator tip underneath the bed in front of the axle. It was way loud inside the cab so I put on a magnaflow muffler and stuck the tip out the back. Now its super quiet.

I'm gonna mess with it a ill more and probably take the giant tip off. I was just trying to have fun with it. I used to have a 95 camaro cat-back exhaust with the dual tips on the back but it would get in the way of the engine hoist legs when I was loading engines in the bed.

[LethalEthan]

I'd leave the tip on, but suck it back under the bed some more. Maybe notch out the roll pan and tuck it up in there some so it doesnt sit so low to the ground.

[camoit]

ditto...

[pennyman1]

no to the tennis ball launcher!!! lol

[crvtec90]

I think its a good idea to notch the bed and tuck the muffler tip .....that's something I'll try for....thanx guys

[LethalEthan]

If you get the notch cut nice and round to fit well with the muffler it could almost look stock.

[camoit]

no to the tennis ball launcher!!! lol


OK now thats funny.

Add more angle, and then add an auto loader. Maybe give it some ribs to give it the back spin. Longer hang time. You could have a new driving game. Knock the motorcyclist off his bike. .... :)

[crvtec90]

OK now thats funny.

Add more angle, and then add an auto loader. Maybe give it some ribs to give it the back spin. Longer hang time. You could have a new driving game. Knock the motorcyclist off his bike. .... :)

Its actually big enough for a softball. :grin:

[crvtec90]

Rocker panel repair today. They were pushed up and bent at the pinchweld on both sides. Had to clamp on to the pinch weld and get it chained to the floor. Then jack the truck up slowly by the frame to pull the pinch weld back down into place.

[pennyman1]

Clever way to straighten that - I like it!

[crvtec90]

Had some fun stripping the parts truck. Got the doors off and gutted them. Gonna straighten them up and paint them before I put them on my truck

[crvtec90]

My starter quit working after I filled up at the gas station. I got the truck rolling by pushing with the door open, hopped in, stuck it in first gear and then dumped the clutch. That got it fired up so I could get home. I have several extra starters (some are 2.0 and some 2.4/2.6 or are they all the same) But to my surprise there wasnt anything wrong with the starter. The positive battery cable had broken off right at the crimp in the terminal. I guess maybe the cable wasnt secure enough and it just wiggled so much over time that it broke.

[crvtec90]

Bed rails have rusty holes from where a topper was bolted on. I drilled the holes out a lil bigger to clean up the rust inside the holes. Then I welded them up and ground them down smooth again.

[crvtec90]

Found another parts truck last night about 45 min away. Went to go check it out and it looks halfway decent. 1987 shortbed 2.0 5spd.....he took the carb off because he thought that there was something wrong with it.

The seller wouldnt let me take it away before I got the title transferred into my name. I guess thats just to protect him. Personally never done it myself or had any problems but he wasnt gonna let me. I was so excited last night that I couldnt even sleep. Took care of the title today. They really bent me over at the dmv for a title transfer. Geeeez!

Went to go pick it up tonight but Its raining like crazy and I didnt want to be on highways and bridges in the rain towing a truck. Damn.

I was hoping to throw the carb back on it and see what happens. Maybe Ill get lucky and it just needs some tweaking. possibly just remove some emissions stuff since we dont have smog inspections here. Most likely its trashed though. I see most of u guys go with the weber conversion. I looked into rebuild kits for the mikuni but they all look like gasket kits with no enrichment or accelerator pump stuff. I saw a techinical service bulletin about not removing screws for the accelerator pump or the enrichment valve because they were installed with special sealant and the screws would probably snap off in the housing. It also goes on to say that those parts are not available and i would have to get a whole new unit. This is an old publication so maybe or maybe not still true. The main thing is I would like to hear it run so i know the engine isnt shot and maybe move it around a lil bit so it doenst become an oversized lawn ornament. When i get the carb bolted back down ill squirt some carb cleaner into the intake and see if it fires off for me.

[crvtec90]

almost wish I would have started with this red truck instead. Mine was beat to crap when I first got it. Im gonna canibalize it to get mine straightened up. Between the two trucks I hope to end up with one nice and one clunker. The parts truck has rusty rocker panels, cracked windshield, dented hood , but the bed is even better than the one bought a while back from the junkyard . If im really lucky ill get it running again and sell it to get $ back

[crvtec90]

After a quick inspection I noticed that several vacuum lines and block off caps were all dried out/ craked broken. I used some new hose and bolted the carb back down. Took quite a while to get fuel back up to the carb so i just poured a lil bit down in there to get it to pop off. Voila! she runs pretty good. I dunno why the previous owner took the carb off but it might have just been the vacuum ports were leaking.

Unfortunately the a.c. doesnt work. I was told it worked 3-4 months ago. I can see the clutch is slipping on the compressor and I might be able to slap another one on there for the time being.

The interior is in bad shape. Most of the plastic is decaying and flaking apart. The armrests are way beyond repair. BUT! it actually has the factory jack and spare tire tools. Ive never see them for myself and was wondering if they ever really existed at all LOL.

It also feels like the brakes are dragging. I took it around the block a few times. Not bad for 175,000 miles.

[crvtec90]

The little buzzer box that lets you know the key is in the ignition has its benefits. It does a good job of warning the driver not to leave the key on. But when its old and worn out it lets out a horrible sound that drives me nuts. I just reached under the dash and followed the screaching sound then unplugged it. Sigh of relief for silence.

This red truck is like a time capsule. Its mostly original and unmolested. As far as i can tell, all the emissions/ a.c./ coolant decals are still there and visible. Original vacuum lines with the color stripes and emissions switches and valves. The owners manual is in the glove box too. The radio is not original but it still looks like it has the factory mounting bracket. There is also a metal shield under the front by the crossmember that I dont recall seeing before.

[crvtec90]

Super rare 87 armrest with custom decay and patina

[crvtec90]

Jack and spare stuff

[crvtec90]

That's not oil leaking ......its just sweating from too much horsepower

[crvtec90]

Another cool score is the Mitsubishi bed mat

[crvtec90]

Removing the old graphic pinstripes from the door with a razor blade scraper

[crvtec90]

When I first got my truck the previous owner had cut holes in the door panels and installed speakers. Several years ago I had rewrapped the door panels in black vinyl and just left the speakers where they were. Unfortunately since the truck didnt come that way from the factory there was no flex joint in the door jamb for the speaker wires to go through. He had just drilled holes in the body and door, then had the wires running through them with no seals. Didnt look too great. The big problem I had with it that way is he put the speakers in the way of the door stop ( that metal plate that stops the door from swinging wide open until the hinges stop). So when I open the door it just swings wide open......usually right into the car next to me or some other door damaging object. This is not good.

I started messing with my kick panels to see if I could come up with some speaker pods. I already had fiberglass and bondo left over from another project as well as some mdf board so I figured "why not" Well it probably would have been much easier to just buy some already made. If in fact they exist to fit these trucks.

Fist I cut a hole in the plastic kick panel to mount the speaker. The depth of the speaker was too deep to let the speaker sit flush so I started to angle it out a bit. That way the speaker would face more towards the passengers anyway. I cut out some circles of mdf , screwed the speakers into them and then kinda set them in place. When I finally got the angle and placement( I set them in the truck a few times and stared at them) I screwed it down and used some two-part epoxy to kinda hold it in place.

[crvtec90]

Now for the passenger side I pretty much tried to mirror the driver side. However instead of using a totally round mdf mount I decided to square off the rear of it, thinking it would make an easier platform to lay out fiberglass. The whole time I kept thinking i was just gonna lay the resin and glass mat all over the plastic and then shape it up with bondo glass ( fiberglass reinforced body filler). Well I learned the hard way that

Fiberglass Does NOT stick to plastic! lol

It will lay out and harden up, but then u can peel it right off like a sticker. So I drilled some holes in several places and then glassed up the back side so that the resin went through the holes and stuck to the glass on the front side. This kinda sandwiched the plastic kick panel in between the mat on the front and back. It made it hold okay I guess but I wanted it to hold better. Google is my friend and after a search I found an alternative. Using plastic two-part epxoy in the syringe to lightly coat the plastic and then lay on some glass mat ( with no resin of course) and try not to let the epoxy soak all the way trhough the mat; just enough to get it to hold the mat to the plastic. Then when its all dry you are ready to apply the fiberglass resin.

[crvtec90]

Removed the ugly topper to unveil the pretty bed.

[crvtec90]

Unbolted the passenger fender to check the rust. Someone already welded a patch. It wasn't sealed up very well so it just rusted all over again . All the dirt and leaves that get into cowl get washed into that spot and sit behind the plastic fender liner.

[DroppedMitsu]

That is exactly why i took those plastic liners off. When i pulled mine off and cleaned back there i had a pile of dirt and grime big enough to fill a small flower pot. It was ridiculous.

[crvtec90]

That is exactlwhy i took those plastic liners off. When i pulled mine off and cleaned back there i had a pile of dirt and grime big enough to fill a small flower pot. It was ridiculous.

Yeah im debating whether or not to ditch them. Id just need to undercoat the fenderwells real thick so they dont get blasted by road debris.

[crvtec90]

This is the passenger side flower pot on my silver truck. The rocker isn't too rusty but the lower fender is. Good thing I s swapping fenders anyway so i could clean this up.

[Rahtid]

wow im going to check my truck

[Fordubishi]

Typical rust on these trucks.My current cab I repaired all the rust in that area on both sides.Then cleaned them up and sprayed from the cowl down in truck bed liner.

[DroppedMitsu]

Yea I had a ton of dirt on both sides but luckily nothing is rusted up under there, neither the rockers or the fenders so I'm pretty lucky.

[crvtec90]

Used a small sand blaster to remove rust on my replacement fenders they had rust around all the bolt holes and lower fender areas

[crvtec90]

Looks like concrete or mortar splashes on the other fender . Lots of fun scraping it off!

[pennyman1]

don't scrape it off - use vinegar to dissolve it. Get the new Heinz cleaning vinegar - its stronger than cooking vinegar and will dissolve it faster.

[crvtec90]

don't scrape it off - use vinegar to dissolve it. Get the new Heinz cleaning vinegar - its stronger than cooking vinegar and will dissolve it faster.

hmm...... I never would have thought about using vinegar. The fender is getting repainted so I wasnt worried about scratching paint while scraping, but I will have to remember to try that. I think there are still some specks of that gray stuff on the wheel lip.

[pennyman1]

Its a trick I learned from a brother in law in the cement industry - he used to drive to the cement factories and jobsites and had to clean off cement residue all the time and thats how he did it.

[crvtec90]

Pulling the bed off with my engine hoist. I had it chained to the tie-down hooks at the corners. Flexed quite a bit so Im glad the tailgate was still on. I had to get the hook as close to the middle of the chain to try to balance the weight and stop it from tilting wildly. I doubt that Ill be able to put it back on this way since ts too hard to keep it from rubbing on the back of the cab. Ill just call a few friends instead.

[DroppedMitsu]

Pull the tail gate off and come in from the back and do it just like you did with the chains and it can be done one person no problem, just did it a week or so ago im only 5'7" 140.

[crvtec90]

Pull the tail gate off and come in from the back and do it just like you did with the chains and it can be done one person no problem, just did it a week or so ago im only 5'7" 140.

ell I guess if it comes down to me having to do it by myself Ill give it a try. Unfortunately I dont have a smooth surface to move the engine hoist around on when lining it back up. I want it all painted before I go back together so I have to avoid scrapes and scrathches.

[pennyman1]

Build a frame that fits under the rails from 2x4s and put an eye hook in the middle. I used to take off and reinstall Geronimo's bed by myself by sliding it off and on to a pinball dolly and I am only 5'6" and 130 at the time - this was before the paint on him now.

[camoit]

2 guys and 2 beers. They don't weigh crap... I used 2 saw horses with a 2 X 6 across them under the wheel wells. Then backed the truck under it.

[crvtec90]

I knew I wasnt gonna be the only one who tried to remove it by myself.....lol....thanks guys! Makes me nervous trying to avoid beating in the lower portion of it while manuevering it where I want it to be.

[crvtec90]

Now that the bed is off I can weld up the endlink brackets for my rear sway bar much easier. I also noticed that I put the bar bushing brackets on pointing the wrong way. whoops!

The back of the cab is beat up and full of bondo and I believe the cab vents have been leaking water into the rockers. I hate rust! I have three cabs. One has the roof beat in, second has rockers rusted, and the third has dented rockers. I guess its gonna take three trucks to fix one. I want to stick with the cab on my silver truck because its already wired for my engine / accessories ,it has a new windshield, and its already registered/insured.

[crvtec90]

Needed to make some rear sway bar endlink brackets and wasnt sure how I wanted to go about it. I figured On using some angle iron but I decided to look at the front ones to see how they were set up. Then when I saw them I figured I might as well just cut them off the front of the parts truck and weld them on the rear of my truck frame. Less fab work is good. They already have side bracing and a pocket for the bushing to sit in.

[crvtec90]

Shaving door handles. I used a spare passenger door that was already dented so that I wouldnt screw up a straight door. It had a low spot under the handle area that you could push up from the inside of the door to try to pop it out but then when you release pressure it just pops right back. I guess you call that an "oil can" dent right? The metal is stretched slightly and needs the pressure relieved? Anyhow when I was done it seemed like the dent didnt do the popping anymore but looked like it was pushed in even more. I did my best to take my time and not build too much heat. I used a blow gun to try and cool it down in between welds. Only making small tack welds and moving around a lot to try to keep the heat out of one area. Not sure if I had enough clearance between the patch and the surrounding metal and I think the weld might have pushed into the surrounding metal and forced it to buckle inward.

Not too bad for a first try I guess. Ive made the patches for the other side at the same time and will try to weld them up next week. Anybody got suggestions?

[pennyman1]

Use a dolly and hammer, heat the metal and then hammer it out from the inside - this is hammer welding the seam.

[crvtec90]

Use a dolly and hammer, heat the metal and then hammer it out from the inside - this is hammer welding the seam.

Can I use my dinky little propane torch? or do I need the real thing? I know on older cars where the sheet metal is much thicker they used to heat it cherry red and then quench it with a wet rag and that would shrink the metal back down.

Hammer weld the seam? The low spot on the door is not really on the door handle patch but lower down where i wasnt welding. I dont think I can get a good pic of it. I might try going over it with a flat board so you can see the low spot from the paint that doesnt get hit by the sand paper

[crvtec90]

3554I finally welded the brackets for my rear sway bar endlinks. Tomorrow Ill clean them up and spray some undercoating on them. The bar ended up being really close to the driver side shock but i think Ive got enough room. At worst it might touch the shock dust sleeve deal. Its gonna be waay overkill since there isnt much weight in the back besides the bed. I wont really know until I get the bed back on and take it for a spin. Driving a truck with no bed feels crazy enough as it is, let alone with a big rear sway bar.

[crvtec90]

I don't know the word for it .....always heard people call it an " oh sh!t " handle. I never saw one in a mm/d50 till this one so I grabbed it. A lil cleaning/ dye and it'll be good to go.

[crvtec90]

Watched a few youtube videos on metal shrinking so now Im an expert (not really but sounds good). My foreman let me use the torch as long as I promised not to blow anything up. Good job done there. I pushed on the panel in the low and high spots looking for it to pop back. Then I heated the area almost red about the size of a quarter. Supposed to be dime size as I have read but Im new to this. I think most of the stuff I read about was for older cars which have thicker sheetmetal so I was afraid of burning right through it or warping it even more. Once it was good and hot I used my free hand ( with glove) to cool the area with a wet rag. When I pushed on the spot again it didnt pop in and out.

Next Ill beat on it some more with a hammer and dolly to work out the highs and lows. I expect that might stretch the metal a little once more. If so, Ill go back and shrink it again.

[crvtec90]

Built a dolly to move the bed around with

[crvtec90]

Had better luck shaving the antenna. I was pretty nervous about warping a nice fender so I turned down the welder to the lowest setting. No warpage issues and still got decent welds.

[crvtec90]

I was gonna try cutting up some busted stock mirrors to make some block-off plates, but ended up finding a set at the yard.

[crvtec90]

Nothing new going on with the truck. Still start it up every once in a while and move it around a bit to give it a chance to survive storage. My tags are up for renewal in October and Im hoping to get it all legal to drive again.

[crvtec90]

Finally said goodbye to my parts truck. I scavenged up the good stuff for my truck and sold it to a friend of mine to use as a beater. Wish I had swapped the dash first but I was too lazy. He bought a reman carb from oreily for around 300$ so far so good. We tried to rebuild the original carb but it was too far gone. One of the throttle plates was rusted shut and half the screws weren't coming off without stripping or breaking. The reman carb needs sum adjustment but its running n driving. Probably gonna throw a cheap rustoleum paint job at it.

[crvtec90]

Sad to see it go since they're getting so hard to find.

[geezer101]

Looks like a good basis for a "zombie-max" build :cool1: Even so, it doesn't look that far gone. Someone with the time could resurrect that no problem.

[crvtec90]

Noticed a big pile of dirt under the front of my truck. Seems a mole has made a home underneath.

Went to fire up the truck to move it and it would barely stay running. No fuel pressure. The walboro pump doesn't have a whole lot of miles on it. Figured I would just throw the stock pump back in.

When I got the fuel pump assembly out it was obvious that the rubber hose/ pump insulator had turned to goo from sitting in old fuel for far too long. The walboro pump turned out to be okay. I used some new hoses and the truck runs just fine. Still have to flush the tank out and add some stabilizer.

[Redneckmoparman]

They make specific hoses designed for being submerged in a gas tank and if you dont get them and just use regular hoses they will do exactly what is in that picture

[BradMph]

I'm sure everyone here wants to see a photo of the mole after your done with him, lol.

I never seen fuel hose do that before...though with the crap they stick in gas today I'm not surprised.

[crvtec90]

They make specific hoses designed for being submerged in a gas tank and if you dont get them and just use regular hoses they will do exactly what is in that picture

Excellent point sir. It also doesn't help that the gas was getting to be two years old.

Its been a while since the aftermarket pump install so not sure on all the details. I do remember that the walboro pump wasn't quite as wide as the original so I had used the factory hose as a shim to take up the extra space between pump and sender assembly. It was still in place with no damage so I used it to replace the blown hose.

However it wasn't only the rubber hose but also the rubber insulators for the pump. One that wraps around the pump and one that the pump sits in. Both melted. Cant remember if all those rubber pieces were the ones that came with the walboro pump. I do know that I used the original mitsubishi plastic/screen pickup filter.

[crvtec90]

I'm sure everyone here wants to see a photo of the mole after your done with him, lol.

I never seen fuel hose do that before...though with the crap they stick in gas today I'm not surprised.

No moles were hurt during the fuel pump replacement. lol I was too busy fixing the truck to worry about critters. I just filled the hole back in as well as I could.

Yesterday I drained the tank completely. Next I added 2 gallons of fresh gas and ran the engine for about 15minutes. Then I drained it again and filled it with 5 gallons fresh gas with fuel stabilizer.

[geezer101]

Ethanol would be the likely culprit. It will eat some fuel hoses and even dissolve cheaper fuel filters (it attacks the glue holding the filter screen in place - yay, dissolved glue heading for your fuel delivery...)

[crvtec90]

Ethanol would be the likely culprit. It will eat some fuel hoses and even dissolve cheaper fuel filters (it attacks the glue holding the filter screen in place - yay, dissolved glue heading for your fuel delivery...)

Theres a few places around my way that sell marine grade/ethanol free fuel. Its over a dollar more a gallon than regular. The regular fuel is supposed to be 10% blended but Ive heard that it can be 15-20. A wiser man than I had recommended I get the ethanol free for my lawn equipment and carbureted vehicles to help save them from failing rubber parts in fuel. Hopefully the new fuel I just put in my truck with stabilizer will hold me over for now. Also need to run the truck more to keep the fuel from sitting.

[geezer101]

Far as I know here in Australia it is illegal to sell regular fuel without identifying if it has ethanol content (there's a price difference between regular and the blended E10 stuff) but no doubt it has been cut by the corporations to make money as there's no fuel excise levy on ethanol. I avoid running it in anything now as it has a bad reputation for causing all sorts of grief. You can add a fuel stabiliser to the tank if you know it's going to be getting on and off use.

[Redneckmoparman]

wow a dollar more thats crazy but thats what you get for "marine grade" the 2 stations around me that have ethanol free are only 87octane and the same or 10cents more than premium but alas i dont run much 87 anymore

[geezer101]

Australias' RON on regular unleaded is 91 (well, rumoured 91 RON...) 87 RON? Man, what do they think you'll be running something with that lower rating? Our E10 is meant to have a rating of 94 RON but it has unstable combustion characteristics and would more than likely have any percentage of ethanol without the consumer really knowing what's in it. :shakehead:

[crvtec90]

Damn guys .....we should start a whole new thread on fuel quality. haha!

Theres a technical service bulletin put out by mazda that shows how to test it. Have to see If I can dig it out and share.

I only run shell v-power premium in my acura integra since it has a fresh rebuild with high compression pistons. Ill probably start doing the same with my mighty max. The fuel injectors and fuel pump for the truck were bought brand new but are still several years old just with very low miles. It would probably be a good investment to give them the good stuff.

[BradMph]

Ethanol Free Fuel for USA & Canada

11337
http://pure-gas.org/



Doesn't Shell contain H2O? Well, they call it hydrogen instead, lol. I remember back in the day, Shell almost went down because of a scam where they were mixing water in their fuels.

[geezer101]

It was the 'country' fuel supplies that were contaminated by condensation in their underground holding tanks (yeah, right...) We had the same problem here way back in the day - motorists were advised to carry a bottle of methylated spirits to add to the garbage fuel. It allowed the water to become soluble. It works and can help you deal with contaminated fuel if you ever get unlucky...

[pennyman1]

use sta-bil marine ethanol treatment in all of your vehicles - it negates the effects of ethanol in your tank. I run it in all my cars and it makes them run much better. My 92 Prelude mpg went up 3-5 mpg when I run it in the fuel.

[crvtec90]

Got a new plan forming for some bagging. A friend of mine is in need of funds and ready to get rid of his bagged 1990 s10 project. I know hes got a lot invested but just needs to unload it to pay the bills. The stuff is old but I doubt its seen any real road time as hes never even had it street legal. Im fairly sure it was quality new stuff that he bought.

The truck is in poor shape n doesn't run but its got the bags, mounts, notches, lines, tanks, valves, engine mounted sanden compressor. Its got front n back but he says needs more valves to get side to side. The parts would be very affordable once I get the truck stripped and scrapped as I have no desire to build an s10 any time soon. Theres no four link, just single leaf spring.

Im hoping to cut out and reuse as much as possible but I don't want it to be an ugly mess. Gonna go look it over tonight to check it out. Any suggestions? Im thinking make sure the bags aren't all dried up n cracking and hopefully no moisture got into the compressor from sitting.

[pennyman1]

you may even be able to swap the single leaf over to your truck. You probably can part the rest of it out to other s10 fools that think their trucks are the bomb (they are)...

[noahwins]

you may even be able to swap the single leaf over to your truck. You probably can part the rest of it out to other s10 fools that think their trucks are the bomb (they are)...

I am 99% sure the "Mighty Max" lowering leafs I got off eBay are S10 leafs.

Have you thought about simply swapping the MM cab and bed onto the S10 frame? The frame dimensions and layouts are so similar. The firewall might be a pain. But maybe worth a few minutes with a measuring tape. If you had MM looks but kept the S10 guts underneath, you'd instantly have 5 trillion options for parts. Just a thought.

P.S. The 2nd Gen S10 is one of the ugliest minitrucks ever, as bad as the Isuzu Space Cab. The boxy S10 was cool though.

[pennyman1]

thats what made me mention it. the steering would require work as the s10 is front steer, whereas the mitsus are rear steer. The wheel bases maybe close, but as he said, the work on the s10 was bad, but the parts are good - the work to fix is probably more than to put the parts on the other truck.

[crvtec90]

you may even be able to swap the single leaf over to your truck. You probably can part the rest of it out to other s10 fools that think their trucks are the bomb (they are)...

Im thinking its a "single leaf" ( meaning he took the rest of the leafs out of the equation) and not "monoleaf" ( as in a specially purchased single leaf used to lower the rear) Ill have to ask him or look again. But yes there are some parts that can be sold or repurposed.

[crvtec90]

I am 99% sure the "Mighty Max" lowering leafs I got off eBay are S10 leafs.

Have you thought about simply swapping the MM cab and bed onto the S10 frame? The frame dimensions and layouts are so similar. The firewall might be a pain. But maybe worth a few minutes with a measuring tape. If you had MM looks but kept the S10 guts underneath, you'd instantly have 5 trillion options for parts. Just a thought.

P.S. The 2nd Gen S10 is one of the ugliest minitrucks ever, as bad as the Isuzu Space Cab. The boxy S10 was cool though.

This particular truck is definitely ugly ,rusted and busted. No way Im swapping frames, way too much work to get it all together.

[crvtec90]

Im supposed to pick up the truck this weekend. Dude is gonna throw in two extra sets of aluminum wheels. I went to check it out in the dark and Im sure it only gets uglier in the daylight.

The rust hole in the roof let water ruin the floors and then rot out the rocker panel. The windows have been down for a while too. The whole inside is trashed. The air cleaner wasn't installed and the truck wasn't started in so long that the throttle plate is stuck with heavy white corrosion. Over 200,000 mile four banger with 5 spd.

[crvtec90]

Here she is

[crvtec90]

more pics

[pennyman1]

thats soooo prudy...ugly...

[noahwins]

It's not rust, it's patina.

[crvtec90]

Got it home. Its really rusty. Driver floor board is completely rotted out. Alternator is locked up. No e-brake or brakes at all. Throttle plate rusted shut. Gonna save what I can before its demise. Started stripping it down today.

The headlights and turn signals are new and going on a friends truck
The door weatherstrip is new and I think it will fit on my 65 dart ( or so Ive read)
Three sets of aluminum wheels
Poly endlink bushings
Taillights and harness will go on my trailer
New battery / alternator cables

The Bags hold air but not all night. The rear was almost flat when I got back to it. The front went down a bit. One of the fill valves is stuck open and I think I can rebuild it. The welding work done was actually decent but Im probably gonna cut most of it out anyway. Just gotta get the bed off of my max again and see how close the frames are. Im not trying to use the s10 rear end since I bought a limited slip center section for the Mitsubishi.

[crvtec90]

12616

Got the bags, lines and solenoid valves removed tonight. Bags are Firestone 224C 2600lb.

[pennyman1]

those s10 cups on the front bags should work well on the front of the truck without mods, but you may have to trim the upper spring pockets to prevent bag chaffing.

[crvtec90]

those s10 cups on the front bags should work well on the front of the truck without mods, but you may have to trim the upper spring pockets to prevent bag chaffing.

That's kinda what I was hoping for. I also have the front shock brackets for the s10 that were never welded on. They're covered in rust much like the rest of it but they'll clean up. Not sure if they're shaped correctly for mm/d50.

Ive been reading build threads on here and other forums trying to figure out which direction I want to go in. More than one way to get er dun

[crvtec90]

Pulled the rear glass out of the s10. Gasket and glass came out together by rolling the seal on the inside of the cab with plastic trim tools while applying light pressure on the glass. Had my buddy on the outside holding on to the glass so it wouldn't fall down and break. The previous owner had stickers all over it and I figured Id give it back to him so he can hang it in his garage as a memento. I was just gonna cut the gasket to get it out easily but I felt better knowing the rubber would protect the edges from cracking and then ruining the glass. I tried to get the stickers off the windshield and stuck to the back glass but they have thin lines that are difficult to not tear and don't like to stick very well anymore. I know its silly cuz they're just stickers but I luv me sum stickers and I know he does too. Any tips to get stickers to stick well again?

Lots of good build threads to read on this site and elsewhere on the net. One build made mention of the distance in between the rear frame rails. I imagine that my truck should be identical. That being said.... the s10 is narrower by an inch or so. Still haven't gotten the bed off of my truck to confirm. Also unsure if the s10 notch will fit the way I like. However the notches aren't very expensive so not the end of the world. Havent decided yet if I wanna just go bag over axle for a bit and then have to re work later for a nice four link. I get a little lazy and grinding the bag perches off the axle would be a waste if I don't end up using them.

Id really like to lay frame on my 17 inch wheels. Kinda scary to think if I possibly lose air pressure while driving that the truck will start grinding the road so Ill probably put some bump stops so that it stays up 1/4 inch or so. Any thoughts?

I know I have to rework cross members, maybe cut some inner fender out and pie cut the upper control arms ( to eliminate ball joint bind)... but DO I NEED DROP SPINDLES? If not then I can sell them and use the $ for something else.

[crvtec90]

Tank and bracket assembly cut out. They'll get rearranged /reworked and closer together . Need a good clean n paint

[BradMph]

Use a heat gun might get your stickers off with the glue intact, go slow so you don't warp the sticker as you pull.
They also have 2 face tape available, in fact they use this tape in colder areas to tape cellophane to window frames to keep breezes out. It's a thin application that you apply the tape to and then remove the paper part of the tape which just leaves the adhesive only on what ever you placed it on.
Pretty sticky stuff too since it holds the cellophane to the window frame real well for insulation.

3M Indoor Insulator Film Mounting Tape

[crvtec90]

Thanx Brad. Heat gun is a great idea especially since its so cold out. Some of them are difficult with lots of detail/ skinny lines. Not your average solid stickers.1286012861

[crvtec90]

Performed the surgery on the rear clip. Shoved some 2x4 between the leaf springs and frame to keep it from dropping all the way to the ground. This way it will still roll around and onto a trailer.

[crvtec90]

With the rear frame rails removed it made plenty of room to get at the rear axle to grind off the rear bag perches.

[crvtec90]

The s10 is filling up with scrap metal but the price is kinda low right now for scrap. Still gotta go back to pick up the bed n tailgate

[Fordubishi]

Those rims are worth more then the rest of the truck :P

[BradMph]

lol, Fordubishi didn't notice that there is 2-toned rust on that baby and takes extra time to create. :rolleyes:

Break out the giant wirewheel and start shooting sparks over to the neighbors yard.

[crvtec90]

Almost sold the wheels yesterday. A guy came by in a sweet el camino with an even nicer set of rims ( in my opinion anyhow). He said he was actually looking for the saw blade rims on the s10 . The s10 tires were new but sat for so long that theyre not worth driving on. We couldn't make a deal but I think we'll stay in touch and come to an agreement later. I wasn't willing to budge on price right now since If I sell them the truck wont have wheels to roll on. Price of scrap is low right now and Id rather have someone put them on their car/truck instead of throwing them away.

[crvtec90]

Thankfully the neighbors are pretty cool with it so far. Sparks and all.

I always offer a helping hand or loan tools. If they didn't like it Id just get a bigger fence.

Theres a train track that goes behind every house on my street so its pretty hard for me to more noise than a train.

[crvtec90]

Got the max back under the car port. I was supposed to get the bed off last night with the help of my brother but ended up doing a timing belt/water pump on his wife's civic instead. The cam n crank seals were leaking and she would probably end up blowing up the engine if we didn't hurry up and get it done.

[crvtec90]

Sold the saw blade s10 wheels yesterday for $100. So guess they are worth more than the s10. Ha!

The uncle of the guy I bought the s10 from is actually interested in buying the worn out drivetrain to put in an old vega wagon (or something like that) Not sure why he would wanna do that but "lets make a deal". There was hardly any fluid in the rear diff when I took the cover off. Noticed a good size chunk missing from one of the ring gear teeth

Still have 2 sets of wheels left. Unfortunately none of which have rubber to put on the s10 so its wont roll around for the time being. I think the ones on the right are "slots" Two of them are phoney but the other 2 have Chrysler stickers and a multi-lug pattern that I think will fit the smaller bolt pattern on my 65 dart.

[crvtec90]

The uncle of the dude I got the s10 parts truck from drove a few hours to come buy the engine and trans out of the s10. Apparently he wants to boost the lil four banger with a carb manifold and stick it in his chevy vega. $100 later we were both happy.

[85d50austin]

How hard was it changing out lower control arm bushings? Did you use a spring compressor to take out the coils?

[crvtec90]

How hard was it changing out lower control arm bushings? Did you use a spring compressor to take out the coils?

The bushings aren't fun to change. Used a jack stand under the frame with a floor jack under the lower control arm to take out the coils. There might be a write-up around this site somewhere. Gotta be real careful with a big spring under pressure.

[crvtec90]

Went to the junkyard with my brother looking for parts for his wifes caravan and ended up spotting a mighty max with tach cluster and dash clock. Unfortunately I forgot to get the oil pressure sending unit so hopefully it will be there when I get back. I was gonna grab the bumper brackets since I see members looking for them sometimes but the passenger side was beat to crap. The radio bezel isn't mint condition but still usable. Hooked up the clock to a battery tonight to make sure it still works but Ill have to wait for another day to install the cluster.

[EL.95MAX]

^^^^^^^^nice

[crvtec90]

The electrical connector for the clock was already in the dash so its installed and operational.

Went back to the junkyard and grabbed the oil pressure sending unit. Cluster is installed loosely and so far just the tach doesn't work. Googled and searched but all I see is people jumping a connector under the hood. I no longer have the stock engine or engine harness so I need to know which wire color and pin corresponds with the tach cluster. I already have a wire run from the coil to my aftermarket tach. My Haynes manual just says connector c07 but no wire color or pin location.

Im guessing it its the very last white wire on connector c07. When I follow the trails on the circuit board it goes near the tach and has "IG-" written on it.

[meandmit]

Another cool score is the Mitsubishi bed mat

I'd love one of those :)

[Can1991Ram]

I wish I could got to the junkyard for parts up here. I called 8 yards in Ontario and none of them have any ram 50's..grrrr

[crvtec90]

I wish I could got to the junkyard for parts up here. I called 8 yards in Ontario and none of them have any ram 50's..grrrr

That's about how it goes. They only show up once in a while around here. Usually in bad shape but I always take a good look for anything I can use. Theres gotta be parts from a dozen different trucks used to put mine together.

[crvtec90]

Took it for a drive this weekend. Didn't get very far before I realized the RF brake caliper locking up. Figured I would swap over the caliper from my parts truck only to find it locked up as well.

I already had it apart and couldnt find a store that stocked new calipers so I managed to disassemble the LF caliper from the parts truck and use the piston/seals to quick fix my RF caliper. Working okay so far but I went ahead and ordered new calipers today.

[crvtec90]

Took the rear leaf spring assemblies apart. Removed the helper springs leaving only the main spring and a three inch block. No bump stops. Just trying to get an idea of where my ride height will be. The drive shaft is already hitting the tunnel. Looks  good though. Had some friends stand in the bed to weigh it down to see if the tires rub the wheel lip. Its gonna need some massaging.

[crvtec90]

Thinking about all the metal I have cut up.....and then looking at all that I still need to cut ......Decided to buy a plasma cutter.

Picked up a versa cut 40 from Eastwood. Got it super fast after ordering. Having difficulties right now as it only strikes an arc when it wants to. It will blow through metal once it gets going but when I let go of the trigger to pause and start again it gets no go.

Maybe just operator error but Ive used a Hobart at work and never had any problems. Ive got an electrician to help guide me through a new circuit in my fuse panel for a dedicated circuit.

[crvtec90]

Got a replacement plasma cutter. Working well but not in tight spaces so I picked up a set of extended tips that are good for getting into corners. Still playing with it before I start cutting on anything real important. It draws a lot of power and I still need to work on a better dedicated circuit. Thinking about using my dryer outlet which is on its own 30 amp breaker.

The s10 parts truck is gone to the big scrap pile in the sky. Filled it up with as much junk as possible and drug it away. The whole time I waited for scrap prices to go back up they just kept going down but it was time to get it out the way.

Thanx to Woody65 for driving up and buying my old gray truck bed. He brought the whole crew which made it a lot easier to get it out of my back yard. Ive still got the green bed from my parts truck which I dream of making a trailer to pull behind my truck. Not that I really need a trailer but I just like it. Maybe some dump action so I can scrap metal with ease.

[woody__65]

Thanx to Woody65 for driving up and buying my old gray truck bed. He brought the whole crew which made it a lot easier to get it out of my back yard. Ive still got the green bed from my parts truck which I dream of making a trailer to pull behind my truck. Not that I really need a trailer but I just like it. Maybe some dump action so I can scrap metal with ease.

No problem man, thanks for making my truck look soo much better.1555215552

[crvtec90]

Hey woody......Looks much better on your truck than behind my garage.

There was a mm for sale locally with no engine for $500 but I missed out. I had called during the week and planned to go look at it over the weekend but then they wouldn't answer my calls or return texts. Hopefully whoever is in possession will end up on this site. Way too nice to scrap.

[woody__65]

Hey woody......Looks much better on your truck than behind my garage.

There was a mm for sale locally with no engine for $500 but I missed out. I had called during the week and planned to go look at it over the weekend but then they wouldn't answer my calls or return texts. Hopefully whoever is in possession will end up on this site. Way too nice to scrap.
I went to send you the ad for it the other day

[woody__65]

https://ocala.craigslist.org/cto/5404677454.html this one just popped up a couple days ago but I don't have the money

[crvtec90]

Well I came across the 87 that I sold to my friend a while back. I was hoping to get it back if he ever sold it but I missed out. Didn't last very long and now its on the death bed at the local pick a part. I saw it online but didn't recognize it since they painted. Once I got to the yard it was obviously my old truck.

[crvtec90]

17937byebye

[geezer101]

:( sad to see it go like that...

[BradMph]

:( sad to see it go like that...

It's not so bad, it's an '87. LMAO....I sent an '87 to the metal scrap yard once. It was weird to see a decent looking vehicle get grabbed by that metal eating monster crane and lifted off the ground like it was it's bitch. Crane man slid it over to the pile and dropped it and then started beating on it like it owed him money. What a great job he has. hahahahah! They ain't getting my '86, that is for sure.:lmao:

[crvtec90]

Its been far 2 long. Jax Max registration expired in October 2012. Finally putting it back into service after 7 years of sitting. Its been mostly under a makeshift pole barn so not just out in the rain under a tree. I made sure to at least run it every few months and try to move it around. Its just a shame to have it sitting around but Ive been driving a much newer ford ranger with cold a.c. and alot less miles.

Well the ranger has been sold and the license plate is now on the max. Actually drove it to work today after putting the leaf springs back together and replacing both front calipers. I never got around to installing air bag suspension like I wanted but maybe someday before I cant drive anymore. Just too many projects going on right now and wanted to use jax max as my parts hauler again.

Which brings me to actual progress. Got the parts truck unburied from the back yard. Unlike jax max, it on the other hand has been outside, under a tree, and in the rain. I towed it up to the shop I work at to get moving on my bed trailer. The cab has been removed. Its just junk and patch panels for jax max. I stripped all the fuel/brake lines and extra pieces from the frame. Picked up a trailer tongue to weld on and a new trailer jack.

[crvtec90]

With cab removed from frame I started to strip everything else that wouldnt be needed for the trailer. Motor and trans came out together very easily when there's no body surrounding it. I removed all the fuel and brake lines as well as the spare tire with mount. Trying to remove as much weight as possible. Looking back now it may have been better to leave the brake shoes and e brake cable to have a parking brake but a block of wood under the tire works good too.

I cut the frame off right at the point where it begins to slope back upwards forward of the cab. I then pie cut the frame twice on both sides. There was hardly any planning or actual measuring. I knew the pie cuts would be equal on both sides because I used the factory punched oblong holes in the frame. First bend near the bed goes inward. Second bend goes outward. Made both the pie cuts on the inside of the rails. That way it will have a smooth bend visible from the outside.

Once I had the bends close I clamped the tongue assembly into position and measure from multiple spots on both sides of the frame rail to make sure it was square. Once I was sure it was where I wanted I made plates to go inside the frame rail to tie it back together. I will smooth those out after welding and then make more plates for the outside of the frame rail. So it will be welded inside the actual rectangular tube and outside the tube.

I bought a pre made trailer tongue from Northern Tool supply. $20. 5000 pound class 2. It has a 50 degree angle. Also got a tongue jack for another 20$. Used the factory wire harness for the lighting after removing the extra wires.

Its turning out very nicely. Still needs finishing touches but its getting there. I will eventually get a matching set of 4 rims. 2 will go on the trailer axle and the other 2 will each be a spare for the truck and / or trailer.

Also need to find a cheap truck bed tool box which will serve 2. purposes. It will hold stuff locked out of the weather and it will also add a bit of weight to the front of the trailer. I need to be careful to balance the load.

I was trying to build it where it would tow well and look good. I honestly think it could use a little more length on the rails to help when backing up the trailer in reverse.
.

[crvtec90]

Other side

[crvtec90]

Havent decided if I should build/buy a tubular bumper or just a hide away hitch reciever. The current bumper is in rough shape and needs to have the ball slightly lower in order to level out the trailer a bit in the front

[geezer101]

It turned out pretty good. Are there rules with having brakes fitted to trailers where you are? I know if there's a certain load capacity it'll need assist brakes. Getting rid of the truck axle and using one for a trailer will save some weight.

[crvtec90]

Thanks geezer. Yes the legal limit in Florida is 3000 pound trailer needs brakes. I will be nowhere near that weight with my particular contraption.

I have towed several small cars with my max and a 2 wheel dolly so I know the truck can haul. Just have to leave plenty of room to stop. I dont imagine that I would even be able to stuff enough cargo into the small bed of my home made trailer to equal that much weight. The springs would collapse under all the weight and just ride on the bump stops.

[crvtec90]

Ive had starion/conquest seats in the max from when the turbo swap went in years ago. They worked ok I guess but never really fit very well. The other day I saw somebody use bmw seats in a starion and got me thinking that would be cool in my truck. Then last weekend I was in the junkyard looking at a ram 50 but it was already missing whatever good parts it had left. I just happened to be leaving and noticed a 2002 bmw 325i at the end of the aisle with damn near perfect seats. Couldnt resist since I cant just come home empty handed.

Theyre leather and full power. Up/down ,forward/backward, and reclining. Problem is that you have to go all the way back to remive the front bolts. Then all the way forward to get rear bolts. I took a peek under the seat, guessed at which motor did each action. Stripped some wires and used the battery for my cordless drill to get the seat moving.

I think i actaully made it harder than it should've been. The switches and control parts are all built into the seat. So if you just hook up battery power to the 2 main thick wires under the seats then everything will work with the switches on the side of the seat. Just didnt wanna start hooking up too many random wires before looking at a diagram.

They actually fit the stock floor pretty close. I had to trim a small piece off at the rear end of the inner track on both seats. They will not bolt to the factory seat holes so I will weld some nut plates to the floor.

[geezer101]

Seats look great and having them power optioned is a cool mod for the truck. What's the sitting position like behind the wheel? I've got my hands on Peugeot 306 Xsi seats and the sitting position is pretty low (which is fine for me as I'm tall)

[crvtec90]

Id say the seats sit about as high as the factory bench but I dont have one to compare it to. They're really comfortable. Could use a bit more side bolster. Im only 5 1/2 feet tall so foot and head room isn't a problem for me. I have a small sub woofer box behind each seat as well. The starion buckets were sitting on pieces of 2×2 square tubing in order to get them high enough. Ended up cutting them out to mount the bmw seats directly to the factory floor seat humps. Also used to have my speaker amps under the starion seats and out of the way. The amps will not fit under the bmw seats because of the electric motors. Not a deal breaker just have to rearrange a little.

[crvtec90]

I dont know if you all have already seen/ done this but I saw it on Facebook and thought it would be an easy and inexpensive mod for a custom touch to the engine compartment

Nothing wrong with a stock hood prop rod but why not have some hood struts.

They're from a Honda accord. I think 98-02. Some accords have a prop rod but some have the gas struts. Maybe its the Ex models? Not sure exactly, I just kept checking all the accords in the junkyard. It was 12$ for the pair.

I used some random brackets from my junk parts bin. Bolted them down using the rear bolt hole for the front fenders. Once I had the strut installed to the lower bracket I lined it up to the hood and drilled a hole for the top mount and tack welded it in.

The lower bracket would not stay in place though since the hood struts are very stiff so I had to weld the lower brackets in to get them to stop shifting under load when closing the hood.

It still needs fine tuning but they currently get the job done. The hood stays open as high as it did with the prop rod but the metal is flimsy in the corners where the lower brackets go. Noticed it flexes quite a bit so I need to work on my bracing there.

[geezer101]

Hood struts are a good add on. I bought a pair from ebay to suit a Hilux/Vigo for my Gen 1. Unfortunately one leaked but even then they still hold up the heavy chunk of metal. I anchored the actuated end of the rod to the hood hinge using the existing bolt holes and the other end I mounted mid way down the frame channel. Got a link to the post -

http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/42-What-did-you-do-to-your-truck-today?p=66536&viewfull=1#post66536

[crvtec90]

Impulse buy!

Walking through the junkyard and came across an 01 nissan frontier with a bed cover. I did get the bracing for across the middle but no canvas cover. For 25$ I figured I could make something work and wasnt gonna pass it up.

It fits pretty well just a bit long at the end but the frame is aluminum and just needs an inch or two cut off. It will go right back together since the corner pieces are removable and the frame is the same shape the whole length. Very light weight so the gas struts still lift it easily and hold it up to load and unload things into the bed.

I called the company that makes it to see if a replacement canvas cover is still available and after waiting on hold for 10-15 minutes I just gave up and sent an e-mail. No reply. I doubt they make it anymore and would probably be too much $ anyway.

Now I have to find a supply store that sells a large enough piece of vinyl to cover the whole thing. I really dont wanna try and stitch multiple pieces together. Gonna hit up an old friend that works at a marine supply warehouse and see how large a piece of vinyl they have.

[crvtec90]

A friend if mine has a 96 Tacoma and I thought the center console would look good in a mighty max. Went searching through junkyard but couldn't find any good ones. The 4runner console is similar but couldn't find one of them in good condition either. Spotted a 1987 nissan maxima with a body kit on my way out. Really liked the look of the console. It's japanese and period correct so in the wheel barrow it goes. Unfortunately it's got the emergency brake handle slot but I can fill it up or maybe one day move the cable from the dash and make it functional. It fits better than the 94-01 integra console I had already. Once I get the carpet back in I can adjust it where needed to fit.

[geezer101]

That's actually not bad :think: It's not un-doable to convert a truck to a floor mounted 'E' brake and get rid of the stupid parachute handle thing. I like the fact that the forward section of the console follows the same angle as the lower section of the dash. And a place to rest your elbow! A blast of dark grey vinyl colour spray and it's almost perfect.

[crvtec90]

I did buy some paint for the truck a while back but been busy painting my brothers car. Hopefully get the practice in and then do even better on my truck. Getting to be too cold for painting so not sure when I'll get to it. Hopefully I can at least get started prepping the body and work out some rusty spots / dents

Meanwhile the transmission is acting up. It's hard to get into gear when cold and gets better as it warms up. I've also got fairly loud noise at highway speed which I suspect is from the transmission.

Found a replacement this weekend. 145,000 miles. No idea if it's any good but that's how it goes sometimes. Need to get it installed and shift through the gears before the one year warranty runs out. I'll open up my old one and take a peak for issues.

Are rebuild kits even available? Like bearings and synchros?

[crvtec90]

Puttin in some work. Loaded up and headed to scrap yard.2712727128

[xboxrox]

Puttin in some work. Loaded up and headed to scrap yard.2712727128

Good job bro..! :thumbup:

[crvtec90]

Overdue for rear brakes. Resurfaced the drums. New shoes and Flex hose. Found an Ebay load sensing proportion valve pretty cheap. Hopefully not a total piece of garbage and leak fluid but we'll see.
Original master cylinder was actually still working but not sure for how long. My rear wheel cylinders were rusted shut along with the adjusters. Feels much better now.

[geezer101]

Oh man, that master cylinder was crusty. Way beyond worth trying to rebuild. The load proportioning valve seems to be the go-to part now. Hey, if it stops you without having to use a stationary solid object or send you sideways under brakes and it doesn't leak, I'd call that mission accomplished :thumbup:

[crvtec90]

No a/c in my truck but maybe one day. The heat barely works and I hardly ever use it since this is Florida. The other day I was comin home and figured Id turn it on just to try and warm up a bit . Well it warmed up real good........A little too good.

I smelled burning and thought " Is that me"? Nah couldnt be me.

When the smoke started I realized yup its me.

I pulled over near the hotel on the corner trying to see what was happening and it just kept getting worse.

Jumped back in the truck and hauled A$$ down the street as the smoke flowed all out the dash vents

Luckily I was right around the corner from my house so I pulled in the driveway, grabbed the garden hose and proceeded to Fire Marshall BILL mode.

I could see the blower motor and Hvac box were in flames so I ripped out the glove box and flooded everything I could see.

My truck had sat under trees for so long that the Hvac box was packed full of leaves. The perfect mix of fire kindling sitting right on top of the blower motor resistor which gets pretty hot when you turn on the fan.

Shame on me for not cleaning it out a long time ago. Scared me big time and I consider myself lucky it isnt worse. Need to get a small fire extinguisher to keep in the truck just in case.

[geezer101]

Oh sh*t, I was only talking about this on another thread recently too. It was related to cleaning out the heater/blower case while descaling the heater core but an actual FIRE wasn't on my list of concerns. Lucky you managed to put it out quickly! Replacing the heater case is minor compared to your entire truck being reduced to a smoldering canoe on the side of the road...
Extinguishers are cheap insurance but you'd mostly want to have one handy for other driver mishaps :shock:

[crvtec90]

Junk yard score.

grille , clear turn signals & marker lamps , NRG steering wheel , dash clock and smoke vent visors27715

[geezer101]

Been a while since you posted. Nice haul from the yard :thumbup:

[crvtec90]

Many years ago I bought some ebay headlight housings with H4 bulbs . Pretty sure they still sell them in different variations . They were getting pretty dim and time for renewal . Recently I bought a pair amazon led H4 replacement bulbs so we will see how that goes . Pretty sure you are not supposed to put an led bulb in a regular housing because of light scatter and other scientific light properties but I did it anyhow. So far nobody is flashing their high beams at me or screaming that my lights are too bright so I will call that a win . I do notice there is some shadowing in the beam but seem to work just fine . Much brighter than before.

Now there are complete led lamps assemblies available on ebay , amazon etc. I wasnt sure of the quality or if you are able to change out just the bulbs when they do go bad. The complete sets are about twice what I paid for just the led bulbs.

Here is a side by side pic of comparison from my old h4 to new h4 led27722

[geezer101]

You can get the H4 LED inserts dirt cheap. I've been using C6 H4 LED's and they have good light penetration and are pretty bright. Reflective road signs stand out from miles away compared to halogens. Don't know how they stack up against more expensive LED's...

[crvtec90]

Wow it's really been a whole year. All I do is abuse this truck. Pretty much just goes to home depot , junkyard , or scrap yard. Sometimes the occasional furniture hauling.

Finally got around to installing new tires that I bought last year. Wanted to clean up a spare set of rims first. It takes a long time to sand off all the clear coat and get down to the corrosion of the aluminum. Then sand sand sand....buff buff buff. They look much better. Not perfect. Your results may vary

[meandmit]

Junk yard score.

grille , clear turn signals & marker lamps , NRG steering wheel , dash clock and smoke vent visors27715

Love that wheel, looks like my old one

[Fingers]

I used aircraft remover to get the clearcoat off my rims. Then starting with 220 grit and working my way up to 1000-grit, after that came the polishing starting with black rouge, then white and then jewelers. I am no pro, and it took me 4 weekends. My back did not appreciate it.http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=28261&stc=1

[crvtec90]

So now I have the matching pair of wheels on the bed trailer and two matching full size spares.

The trailer bed leans back a bit more then I want . Might take the lowering blocks out to see if it gives me a better rake.