IRingTwyce
I ROCK at bumper cars!
Last two times were '96 ATX Zetecs. This time it's a '96 Nissan Hardbody pickup. 5 speed, 212k+ miles. I bought it from an old coon-ass swampbilly down da' bayou. He said it had gone through several starters and wouldn't start now. After looking at it I figured it would be a pretty simple fix. Paid the man, hooked up the tow rope, and off we went. After we'd towed it a few blocks, I popped the clutch, it sputtered, then fired right up! (I didn't want the old man to feel bad about the sale, so that's why I waited a few blocks). Drove the truck back to town, and found out the A/C worked and blew quite cold. Score!
I tried installing a new starter, only to find that the flywheel was badly chipped. So I pushed it over to the back of the parking lot where I let it sit for the last six months or so. I bought a new clutch for it about four months ago and left it sitting in the box. Well, with the uncertain outlook of my job, I figured I better get it fixed in case I needed to drive it back to Texas. So I took it to the shop Wednesday, left him the clutch, and dropped off a new flywheel later that day.
Got the truck back yesterday. She now starts and runs!
It IS a $200 truck though. The headliner is shot and moldy. The guy I bought it from used to haul raw shrimp in the bed, so it's rusted full of holes. But the engine bay is in good shape, as is the frame and cab. So there's a lot of potential.
Today I went and picked up a new air filter, and new plugs and wires. When I pulled the old plugs, it had what appeared to be the original plugs. The electrodes had all burned away, increasing the .044 gap to a low of .088 to a high of .095!
(Sorry for the blur. Phone has no macro setting. But you can still see the ugliness!)
New plugs and wires made a HUGE difference! The truck has a good bit more pep and runs a lot smoother. I took it to the car wash to see if I could get any of the mold and mildew off. Down here in the swamp, everything gets this nasty black coating on it from the trees if not washed regularly. This truck had TONS of it. The stuff on the tailgate had a nice yellow/green tint to it. Barf. As a bonus: the graphics were so brittle they washed right off. Sweet! I still have a lot of adhesive residue left, but that's to be expected. It looks MUCH better now all clean and with the ugly vinyl gone:
Tomorrow I'll start to tackle the interior. I'm pretty sure most of it will clean up quite nicely. The headliner and visors are going to be the only real problem there.
I'm not sure if I'll do any radical modding to it. It's mainly going to be a tow-rig for my motorcycle. I really hate the way the hitch on the Azera scrapes EVERYTHING. This is a much better solution. And it only cost me $50 more than the hitch I put on the Azera. :laugh: I do have something tickling around in the back of my mind though. Joey gave me the idea from a project he did for a guy a while back. We'll see. Besides fixing the dents and rust spots, wheels and suspension work are the only sure bets for mods right now.
So...running tally: Truck - $200; clutch - $120; flywheel - $65; starter - warranty, $0; labor for repairs - $215; filters & plugs - $55. Grand total to date: $655. Not to bad for a little beater truck with working A/C!
I tried installing a new starter, only to find that the flywheel was badly chipped. So I pushed it over to the back of the parking lot where I let it sit for the last six months or so. I bought a new clutch for it about four months ago and left it sitting in the box. Well, with the uncertain outlook of my job, I figured I better get it fixed in case I needed to drive it back to Texas. So I took it to the shop Wednesday, left him the clutch, and dropped off a new flywheel later that day.
Got the truck back yesterday. She now starts and runs!
It IS a $200 truck though. The headliner is shot and moldy. The guy I bought it from used to haul raw shrimp in the bed, so it's rusted full of holes. But the engine bay is in good shape, as is the frame and cab. So there's a lot of potential.
Today I went and picked up a new air filter, and new plugs and wires. When I pulled the old plugs, it had what appeared to be the original plugs. The electrodes had all burned away, increasing the .044 gap to a low of .088 to a high of .095!
(Sorry for the blur. Phone has no macro setting. But you can still see the ugliness!)
New plugs and wires made a HUGE difference! The truck has a good bit more pep and runs a lot smoother. I took it to the car wash to see if I could get any of the mold and mildew off. Down here in the swamp, everything gets this nasty black coating on it from the trees if not washed regularly. This truck had TONS of it. The stuff on the tailgate had a nice yellow/green tint to it. Barf. As a bonus: the graphics were so brittle they washed right off. Sweet! I still have a lot of adhesive residue left, but that's to be expected. It looks MUCH better now all clean and with the ugly vinyl gone:
Tomorrow I'll start to tackle the interior. I'm pretty sure most of it will clean up quite nicely. The headliner and visors are going to be the only real problem there.
I'm not sure if I'll do any radical modding to it. It's mainly going to be a tow-rig for my motorcycle. I really hate the way the hitch on the Azera scrapes EVERYTHING. This is a much better solution. And it only cost me $50 more than the hitch I put on the Azera. :laugh: I do have something tickling around in the back of my mind though. Joey gave me the idea from a project he did for a guy a while back. We'll see. Besides fixing the dents and rust spots, wheels and suspension work are the only sure bets for mods right now.
So...running tally: Truck - $200; clutch - $120; flywheel - $65; starter - warranty, $0; labor for repairs - $215; filters & plugs - $55. Grand total to date: $655. Not to bad for a little beater truck with working A/C!
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