1988 MM Build: Max Payne "in the a$$"

I acquired this truck in a trade with a buddy who had picked it up from his brother who owned a tow lot. I had a D50 and built plenty of 4G63 cars and always had plans to transfer one of my built motor setups over to the D50:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-k...426-no/BB2.jpg

but never did because it was such a clean problem free truck and in the mean time I had a 850hp Lightning if I wanted to terrorize the streets with a truck:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-r...ing+Eng+OH.jpg


I've always had a dream to try everything on the automotive scope from all forms of racing to all forms of power adders and even all types of builds if I ever am given the chance. Being able to get my hands on the MM meant that I can do something I never done and build a bagged setup (something I previously abhorred) and a mini truck (something also far out of the scope of my own taste)

The value in parts for the trade was more than fair but fortunately I paid only about $150 recently to acquire the items used and because of that it was a great deal for me and worked wonders for him.


Now that the back story is done we can move onto the actual build.:))

So the truck is a 1988 Mitsubishi Might Max, it has previous work but almost all of it has to be redone or improved. I wouldn't be happy or proud to be seen in this thing and honestly it has a long way to go before I can even feel safe driving it.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W...756[1].jpg

Front end conversion partially done with the upper grille but I need to land my hands on a lower bumper as well. The old one just doesn't cut it for the look I'm going for.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...902%5B1%5D.jpg

Thee are probably 2 MM/D50s with suicide doors, there is a reason for that and its because the way our doors are shaped and the way the cab is suicide doors on our trucks require a LOT of fabrication to make work. But don't let your eyes fool you, this suicide door job almost would have been better off not done.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I...922%5B1%5D.jpg

The stock brackets were removed from the other side and bolted to this end of the door, that was then bolted to a thick gauge rectangle stock and then the door jam was chopped up to make room for the door. I'm an engineer by trade so I applaud the POs ambition and ingenuity but some things you just don't do and attempting to work beyond your fabrication level isn't one of them.

If I can't get the passenger side hung and working correctly then this entire project will be getting scrapped. It has to look "finished" when its complete or I wont be happy. I don't like the current gap change on the drivers side but its the only way for it to work. and it does work, great actually but I'm torn.

Before the truck was primered green it was originally red and the PO decided that a matching red and white interior would go great...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L...944%5B1%5D.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s...959%5B1%5D.jpg


They even left the card which I am assuming is religious based. So respect where its due but that's gotta go with the rest of it. My plans are to black out everything for now so that I don't die of shame and when the time comes I will be reupholstering it to match the seats which will be Isuzu Rodeos (If anyone has spear bench seat sliders, please let me know)

So now we head back outside to the rear end setup. Its a BOA setup and even though I am more of a fan of BOB its all the same to me. I'm use to riding in heavily modified sports cars so stiff rides and bumpy tendencies don't really bother me. If this was a larger sized truck or one I planned to keep for a long long time like an oldschool build I'd only do BOB. (BOA= Bag on axel, BOB = Bag on bar)

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v...019%5B1%5D.jpg

The bed has been completely boxed in with chamfered corners. The original sheetmetal work wasn't too bad but then my buddies nonexistant body work skills prevailed and he decided to fill in the seams and then try to sand it down with 300 grit (LOL!) I told him he might as well used his bare hand or a piece of lined paper. In the pictures even now it might not look as bad as it is in person but I'll be attacking it with some 60 grit soon. My original idea before I saw it in person was to do a wood bed but I think a better move is to herculine it after its cleaned up. The horrible RCI tank placement and battery also will haunt me because they obviously don't understand the concept of balancing weight. that extra 100lbs or so will do wonders moved over to the passeger side but who am I kidding. There is little chance I'll be moving the tank but the battery will be moved and relocated under the bed.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-u...117%5B1%5D.jpg


Another interesting move by the PO was frenching in the Caddy lights into the tailgate.. Now if they were frenched into the sides of the bed, I' be ok with it but I guess they wanted to be different:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-f...042%5B1%5D.jpg

Here's why I hate it.. its too gaudy for my taste, but that is also one of the reason I disliked minitrucks in the past anyways. Taking a useful tool such as these trucks and then making them absolutely useless. But for the sake of the build I will not be relocating them. They still need a lot of finishing work not picked up in the picture but it fits with the style and out landishness. Its one of those things you hate so much you like it. I couldn't look at it in the pictures but in person it actually looks passable. Boos or applause is still a reaction either way. The main difference is the color change, once its painted it will tone it down enough that it wont be as over the top.

Ok now onto more problems, the bags are all toast..

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U...131%5B1%5D.jpg

Worse yet the rear end uses a lower 2 link setup with a panhard bar meaning it doesn't stop the rotation of the rear end which pushes the bags way out when lowered (straight when raised) And this I can assume is no good for the bags. I already ordered another set of Slams (I don't know what is on the truck currently but I assume its some generic crap) and will be running a RE 6/7 setup courtesy of our very own Slow50 who is a member on this lovely board.

Attachment 6433

This truck desperately needs an additional link on top. Unfortunately it cant face forward and to go behind it means more chopping of the bed. What I am really considering doing is placing the pan hard so that it mounts to the top of axel so that it then cant rotate forward but I am going to be heavily limited until I get the time to get out there and figure it all out.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Q...151%5B1%5D.jpg

Mounts under the frame which of course reduces the amount the truck can drop by roughly .5-1"

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...248%5B1%5D.jpg

Ladder bars and mount them above the lower mount plates on the inside of the frame, the cut off the factory mounts.Shocks would be a good idea too.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cee-2005/overview/
http://static.summitracing.com/globa...ee-2005_ml.jpg

Now we move to the business end..

The truck runs like a top (I probably just jyinxed myself) but under the hood is no better than the rest of the truck.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T...130%5B1%5D.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-O...151%5B1%5D.jpg
Yes that is green primer over spray on top of everything as well as a red brake res cap and air cleaner as well as a purple radiator top.. sigh. This thing looks like a bag of Christmas ribbon candies... The original idea was a 4g swap but with so much other work to do around the truck I think I'll wait till I get a chance to land my dream version which is a Macrocab. For now I will focus on cleaning this thing up, getting the wires away ad to their original color and making sure everything else is detailed. At some point I might also put some fender wells in there.

Some of the welds on this car look like the OP did them with the lightest duty buzzbox you could find.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W...138%5B1%5D.jpg


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...158%5B1%5D.jpg


These cuts look like they were made with a crappy plasma cutter or a blow torch. Fortunately there needs to be a lot more cutting done so it will get cleaned up:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4...625%5B1%5D.jpg

She's all the way on the floor.. I wont be able to go any lower because I'm too big to fit in a body dropped cab comfortably but I could always sacrifice comfort for looks but wont go that far on this build..

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l...643%5B1%5D.jpg


Nothin' like missing 3 lug nuts (2 on this side, 1 on the other) and they actually tried to originally drive this thing 4 hrs from Hanford to Sacramento on the road with the cracked bags and missing lugnuts.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Z...836%5B1%5D.jpg


Check out this badass latch for the hood..

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...559%5B1%5D.jpg

:(

So now the work begins... Turning this heap into somethin' socially acceptable bit by bit..:P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fordubishi

Ladder bars and mount them above the lower mount plates on the inside of the frame, the cut off the factory mounts.Shocks would be a good idea too.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cee-2005/overview/
http://static.summitracing.com/globa...ee-2005_ml.jpg

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Hell yeah, I'm with you on the ladder bars, it has definitely been one of the forerunners for a way to repair whats been done.

Wow, you have your work cut out for you. Thats a terrible-shody-nasty piece right there. Hurts to look at. But, good luck, will be nice to see how this ends up.

looks like alot of work but it will be nice when its done.