project: drivabeater

[dusterbd13]

ok, i got to missing a truck in my stable, so i had to get one. the last one i had was a 98 dakota extended cab with a warmed over 5.2, 5 speed, 3.91 posi, and full hotchkis suspension and poly bushings. great truck, until it was hit head on by a truckload of illegals.



so after a year of not having one, i decided it was time especially now that i bought a house.
i did some swapping, doing a rehash on a 92 pontiac grand am. my labor in exchange for a 95 chrysler cirrus with a supposedly bad tranny. fixed a leak, and daily drove it for a few weeks. then, i found a guy that was willing to trade the chrysler for a GMC S15.







so far total investment is 20 hours labor, and 15 bucks. not bad for a running driving truck with a clean title. oh, and the pictures are AFTER i cleaned it up. a lot.

when i got it, the guy said it wouldnt crank for him, so he parked it. started right up for me after i reconnected the coil wire. he also said the tranny might be going south. after readjusting the TV cable, i found no problem with the tranny. in the process of this, i found that they had pulled the terminals from the ends of a couple of plug wires when they put brand new plugs in it. but they left the wire dangling in there hoping it hit a plug. so add a new set of plug wires, cap, rotor, PCV, Fuel filter, and can of seafoam. total parts now invested: 68 dollars.
i also put on some wiper blades to get it to pass inspection: 20 bucks.

lastly, i found why it quit running on me last weekend. the ignition module went bad. so add another 26 bucks in there.

grand total to this point: 114.

i am now in the process of finishing the interior swap, blacking out the trim, and getting the suspension not so scary.

as far as the interior,
replace the trashed door panels.
put in carpet.
install stereo.
Install buckets.
Overhead and between seats consoles.

the goals of this tuck are to have a decent looking beater that i can dive anywhere, through anything, and park anywhere. it also has to handle and stop exceptionally well, and be cheap to build and operate as well as cofortable to drive.
to that end, the overall plans are to rebuild the front suspension, using 2 inch drop springs, tall upper and lower ball joints, poly bushings, bilstein shocks, and a 33 MM sway bar. the rear is still up in the air. id love to 3 link it, but dont want to cut the bed and still need to be able to carry loads. Truck arms are out due to wanting to retain the stock gas tank. so i dunno. Brakes will eventually be C5 corvette pieces at all 4 corners under 17X9 black wheels wrapped in 275/40/17 or 315/35/17. depends wht will clear.
body will recieve a 300 dollar paint job, cowl hood, fender flares, 92 grille, 92 tail lights, sport mirrors, roll pan, and filled tailgate. maybe a tanneau cover if the budget allows.

anyway, im keeping this thread to show others what can be done on an extremely small budget, as well as a running tally of expenses.

i'll post updates next week when i take some more pictures of the current progress on the interior and body.

Michael

[TA^Guy]

Id love a cheap first gen as a daily like that.

Good luck with it.

[OneLowSdime]

nice find body is not bad

[dusterbd13]

the body has its fair share of waves and wrinkles, but nothing major.
i finished a few things last night, so maybe i can get pictures today to post.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

so i promised an update, and here it is.

the interior is mostly done, and ive started on the body and suspension.
I went down to pull-a-part one saturday and raided a few first gen S-series vehicles. unfortunately, i didnt check the interchanges, so i bought some stuff i couldnt use.
while there i purchsed:
seatbelts from a 4 door blazer
front bucket seats from a blazer
door panels
inside door handles
a-pillar trim
tail lights
fender flares from a blazer
this all set me back 112.00

i also purchased a headliner backer board and carpet from a 92 S10 4WD from city salvage here in albemarle. 25 bucks.

also purchased weatherstripping from city salvage. 15 bucks.

lastly on the interior, i purchased a sub box from an audio outlet store in charlotte for 37 dollars, a box of door panel clips from autozone for 2.99 and the other part of my console from parker automotive for 20.

grand total to this point: $326

not too bad. the seatbelt retractors dont even come close to fitting, though i was still able to use the latch part for the buckets. only other glitch was the taillights use a different mounting system, so i have to make some reinforcement brackets. the fender flares i was only able to use the front ones. the rears are completely different, so they will have to wait till i find some cheap rear flares.

i cheated a little bit too. i had some leftover dakota parts that i am reusing, namely the center console, overhead console, autodim mirror, 12 inch JL audio sub, amp wiring, and 800 watt Sony amp. i have no idea what i paid for this stuff over the years, so i am not adding it in. should be able to find the consoles for 60 for the pair, and the amp and sub are so outdated they would be found in an antique store.

so heres how she looks now on the insoide. i still have to recover the headliner and install it, wire the console (and paint it), install the autodim, revise mu seat mounting points and bolts, and fasten the center console down after i make it fit a bit better. also need to scrub it down a lot.







im still playing with the idea of dying the interior black, grabbing some e-bay buckets like marty mocked up in his truck, and caging it. maybe later on most of it, but what about the black? or just leave it alone?

on the body, i already mentioned the taillights and fender flare fiasco, but i scored some sport mirrors. i have no idea who makes them, but theres no GM part number. i was at the parts store, and got to talking with a guy about them as he had them on his truck. he hated them. we traded right there in the parking lot. so they were free.




and now on to the suspension. i mocked up a 275/40/17 kumho slick on a C4 corvette gran sport wheel. it looked fantastic, and was no taller than the factory 14's. so i now have a size, and if i can find a set of wheels cheap, ill grab them. i also started on tweaking it. i installed a 33MM front sway bar ( i have no idea what thay is in inches) from a late 90's 2 door blazer. got it for 10 dollars at parkers automotive. had to buy end links, they set me back another 12. so how many guys can say they only have 22 bucks in their front sway bar?



grand total to this point: $348.

up next, i just purchsed a set of 1.5 front belltech coil springs and 3 inch drop rear leaves for 75 plus shipping. when i get a total, ill add it in there. i have decided on energy suspension for one of their full poly kits including body mounts unless someone talks me out of it. i am also looking at AFCO tall ball joints, and trying to find an alternative for the SC&C upper control arms. after that, its just stock replacement steering linkage unless someone has some better options. also found a set of low milage bilsteins at parkers for around 20 bucks for the set. and ill need to fab a panhard bar and find a rear sway bar too. but thats all in the next phase or 2.

thanks for letting me keep myself entertained.

Michael

[brakenit]

Cool project, I'll have to keep an eye on it in case I need ideas for my S10. I noticed you say you're going to fab a panhard bar. Is it common to use one with a leaf spring suspension? I've never seen it done, but that doesn't mean anything.

[dusterbd13]

a panhard bar will usuall be found under the front of a parallel leaf solid axle 4WD, a three link or four link rear suspension, or a coil sprong rear like a 3rd gen camaro. what they do is locate the axle laterally (side to side) to prevent movement. springs only locate it front to rear, and control up and down movement. panhard bars are used on different vehicles to different levels of sucess, depending on the desin and vehicle. with the dimensions of the leaves on this truck, as well as the flimsy mounts, i believe a panhard will make a huge difference both in rear end stability and feel from the back end.

Michael

[thingsthatfly2]

liking the project! good luck i can see this going somewhere!

[brakenit]

Quote: Originally Posted by dusterbd13

a panhard bar will usuall be found under the front of a parallel leaf solid axle 4WD, a three link or four link rear suspension, or a coil sprong rear like a 3rd gen camaro. what they do is locate the axle laterally (side to side) to prevent movement. springs only locate it front to rear, and control up and down movement. panhard bars are used on different vehicles to different levels of sucess, depending on the desin and vehicle. with the dimensions of the leaves on this truck, as well as the flimsy mounts, i believe a panhard will make a huge difference both in rear end stability and feel from the back end.

Michael

I know what a panhard bar is and what it does, I'd just never heard of it b eing used with a leaf spring rear suspension. If you do make one let us know if it helps at all, I may consider making one for my Colorado.

[dusterbd13]

i used to help out with a guy that raced midgets in SCCA. we ran panhards on all his race cars, and they retained the rear leaves. it isnt all that common for some reason, but that experience leads me to believe it will work. on my duster, though, i dont think it would as there is very little side to side deflection due to the short front spring segment. where is the locating pin in the colorado? middle, more front, rear? also, if you go out to the truck and push on the bed, do you see the tire sidewall deflecting a lot, or is it the chassis mostly? on my first gen, its mostly chassis. could be slap wore out leaf bushings though.

but i'll definately let you know how it works. and i was not trying to insult your intelligence with the explanation of a panhard bar, i just figured id give an explanation for others who didnt know about it.

michael

[Bagged1984S10]

nice project. Why is there always a mountain dew can in the truck?

[brakenit]

Don't worry I wasn't offended, just figured I'd throw it out there so you wouldn't think you were dealing with someone that's clueless as to what you're talking about.

The Colorado's axle locating pin is toward the center of the leaf, don't know if it's dead center or not but I could find out since my stock springs are sitting in the garage. I'll have to try pushing on the bedside to see if it has much side to side movement. I know the tires aren't going to deflect, they're a relatively stiff 285/35/18. I took the truck out to an autoX type event a few weeks ago and I wasn't happy at all with the way the rear acted, or the noises it made. I like the idea of the panhard bar because I think it may help some, it would also remove the lateral stress from the lowering blocks I have to run which would put my mind at ease about using them when pushing the truck hard through turns.

[dusterbd13]

nope. when i got it, the bed was full of trash, including a bunch of empty MGD cans. the mt. dew can was my addition. the one stuffed in the dash was a friend of mines. didnt even notice it until you pointed it out. and i thought i had cleaned out the truck better for that picture. oh well. still cleaner in that picture than when i got it.

someone told me that the blazer fender flares could be made to fit with the proper application of a heat gun. so i tried it today, as well as waxed the pile. the flares dont look TOO bad, they kind of match the paint.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

well, i figure its time for an update.
not too much has been going on lately, as i have been busy with the house, the lawn, and building a shed. im also putting in a lot of hours at work.

ok, enough with the excuses.
got the AC fixed. it cost me 35 for the conversion to 134A kit. doesnt blow that cold, but its better than nothing.
Got the overhead console wired in, as well as the autodim mirror. they work great.

And the big thing: thursday, on my way to work, the truck died on me. just cut out in the middle of the street. i figured the fuel pump went out, as it has been surging and starting hard for the last few weeks. so my buddy and i towed it home with his four wheeler (wasnt too far from the house) and pulled it in. After looking at it, we figured it would be easier to do if we pulled the bed. so we did. we wound up replacing the fuel pump, a lot of the wiring to the fuel pump, readjusting the rear drums, fixing the taillight harness, installing the drop leaves, and doing some cleaning and painting. i also put the liscence plate on the bumper finally. grand total for parts: 69 for the fuel pump and sock filter, 6 in spray paint, 100 in the lowering kit.

i have also taken HILRODs suggestion and tried the fender flares. they dolt line up perfect, but theyll work until i can scrounde some truck ones. and a heat gun made that much easier.

Before




[IMG]

after
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...Picture208.jpg[/IMG]





total to this point: $585

[lowcherrydime]

great project so far man. keeping tally of the total spent is a great idea as well

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by lowcherrydime

great project so far man. keeping tally of the total spent is a great idea as well

or, depending, it can be a horrible idea haha

[thingsthatfly2]

yea gowsh if i knew how much i had in mine.. id freak....

lol underside of bed looks good.... shoulda used some emron paint.. (stuff they paint dump truck with).. its really tough stuff but u can only buy it by the gallon.. 1 quart painted the underside of my bed, cab, inside cab, inside fenders,, up the inside of the callicombo and the bedsides.. and then we put the rest in a spray gun and shot the whoe underside and back of my body kit in my mazda... and still had enough left over to do it all again!

[dusterbd13]

i thought about using POR15, and then bedlining over top of it all. then i rememberd the name of the truck. i figured what the heck, rattle can most of it to slow down the rust, and let it fly. so i did. it wont ever be pretty, just reasonably quick and handle reasonably good. ive even been reconsidering painting it. after all, right now i dont worry about it. ever. like when i hit the bedside with a cinderblosk the other day. i never even looked to see if it dented.

and the tally serves two purposes:
1. to stay e;igble for the GRM challeng
2. to encourage me to be even cheaper. ive currently spent too much just to get it to this point.

on a side note, anyone know what other vehicles the sanoma GT shares its gauges with? i saw a set and wanted them. but the actual sonoma stuff is rediculously expensive, so i figure theres a donor somewhere with something very similar that GM raided.

Michael

[05xd]

I like inexpensive builds.Good job so far man

[sik_sdime]

POR15 is good stuff, but like you said..its 'drivabeater'. so i definitely agree with your decision on that one.

[dusterbd13]

time for an update.

after lowering the back and painting the rear wheels, i decided to tackle the front end. sort of. i replaced the steering linkage that was kind of scary (83.20), put in the lowering springs, and replaced all 4 shocks with bilsteins off a 2 door 98 blazer. the shocks were 40 for the set. and turned out to be the same compressed and extended heights as the stockers. while doing all this, i also replaced the rag joint with a shaft from a cherokee to get the universals. the shaft was purchased with a blazer rear bumper, brevada grille, trailer hitch, and sunvisors at pull a part for a grand total of 78.00. i dont feel like breaking it down right now, so well add that whole total in it.

heres that work, as well as the brevada grille installed.








i also had the fan clutch crap out on me, locking the fan into a fixed position. so i used an electric fan i had left over from another project. after i cut the shroud on it down a little bit, it fit right into the factory shrooud. i also got a 20.00 thermostatic switch for it from advance.




lastly, i started to finish the interior. i repositioned and reglued the windlace in, cut the headliner backer board and installed it, installed the sunvisors and under dash insulation.




grand total to this point: 806.20


up next is to decide wether or not the brevada grille is staying, and if it is i need to relocate the headlights and create a better fastening system for it. also need to install the trailer hitch and blazer bumper on the back, put the weatherstripping in the doors, and install the ZQ8 rear sway bar.

all this may take a little while, though, as i just found out yesterday that im going to be a father!

michael

[dusterbd13]

well, to be honest, i havent made a whole lot of progress. we've figured out that the vibrations are coming frm a pinion thats WAY off, and ive figured out that my drivers side door is junk. between bondo, stripped off regulator teeth, a window that is constantly falling out of track, and a broken latch, it needs replaced. anyone know how glossy Krylon is? and will it hold up at all decent as a paint subsitute?
as far as progress towards the goals, my goals have realigned since i started the truck. a baby on the way will do that to ya in a skinny minute. so most of my time has been spent getting the attic refloored for storage, getting the yard cleaned up, beginning to do some remodeling, etc. also been working my butt off on corvettes.
im definately proud of the bathroom remodel i just finished up today. it came out really nice. replaced 90% of the plumbing, redid the subfloor, new vanity, tile, fixtures, molding, paint, etc. first big remodeling project. and go figure, its for the babys bathroom....
before

during

after

i have also managed to get the old hot rod up and running again, but still need to tear back into the rear axle. shouldve redone it when i restored the car...


last, but not least, i managed to get my ZQ8 rear sway bar in the truck. after i orderd the brackets through my local chevy dealer ($14 for the pair), i thought i had everything i needed. let me tell you, drilling the holes SUCKED! there is no way that i could find to get any bit bigger than a 1/8 in there to drill the holes, so i wound up finishing them with a dremet tool and a carbide bit. that took forever. then, i went to install the bar, and realized that i had no endlinks or axle mounting hardware. by the way, the bar is off a 4 door blazer, and fit perfect. to mount it to the axle, i pulled some 2 1/2 muffler clamps off a C3 corvette exhaust in the scrap metal pile. on the end links, i had some heim joint end links for a C5 T1 car that had become too noisy, so were replaced. they were in my oh shit bin. unfortunately, they require a 1/2 inch bolt, and the sway bar and brackets are drilled for something a lot smaller. so out came the 1/2 drill thats older than me and my wife combined, and i opened them up. then, i reused the hardware from the old T1 car as well. grand total for the rear sway bar: 24 bucks, , 3 band aids, and 1 carbide bit. was it worth it? not yet. it induced a new level of underteer to the truck that i really dont like. but ill see where it falls after the front end rebuild, and i get somewhere in the negative camber instead of the positive.
heres pictures:


grand total: 830.20
i ordered my lower control arm bushings today, and at 53 total, thionk im getting a good deal. going to try the problem solver moogs.
and maybe while im at the autofair this weekend, ill find a deal on either soft 8's or a set of nascae wheels.
michael

[95xtreme]

truck is looking good

[dusterbd13]

first gen blazer rear bumper is installed. and whoever told me that it was a direct bolt on after drilling a couple of holes LIED!!
also included are pictures of the brackets i threw together. would they work in an accident? no. but then, would the flimsy rear bumper? i can twist it with my hands ever so slightly. so im not thinking the brackets will be a weak point....

i just cut and cut until it fit right, used 1/4 X 2 plate, and 4 dodge diplomat lug nuts as spacers. reused all the bolts from the step bumper that was on it.

up next: finish the brevada grille install, and possibly shave that side molding.

grand total remains the same.






Michael

[NevurMind85]

looks good man, i plan on doin about the same eventualy. i actualy have about 4 1stgen projects in mind but thats probly the first one.

[PSYKO_Inc]

Cool project! I like how you're going for great handling and doing everything on a budget. I'm surprised that the rear swaybar induced an understeer condition. When I added my ZQ8 rear swaybar it made the truck a bit easier to oversteer. I'm only running the stock 30mm front swaybar though.

Also, sounds like you're from around the same area as I'm from originally (grew up in Concord).

[Merritj2417]

nice project so far

[dusterbd13]

so its been a while since i updated. again.
my time has slackud up a little, so i had a chance to work on the truck some.
i tried converting it to round headlights. that was a waste of a saturday. if anyone cares, headlight buckets and trim rings form a 1970-1976 duster/demon/dart sport fit right on the old adjusters and center the round headlights. it just looks like crap. it actually looked so bad i didnt even take a picture. i didnt want actual proof that i tried it.

so in the process of making the square headlight relocators, i broke a couple of the origonal adjusters. like 3 out of 4. so when i went to the parts store and they had to order the right parts, i changed my design. they sold some "universals" that were supposed to fot in a 3/8 square hole. i will tell you that they'll fit a round one too. so that, and some 1/4 X 1inch aluminup scrap, 8 sheet metal screws, and my adjusters/relocators were done. are they perfect? nope. am i worried too much? nope. i also finished installing, painting and securing the brevada grille. total for paint, tape, and adjusters was 10 bucks. Krylon has gone up lately.

i then installed the 6 degree pinion shims. 45 from bradley auto parts. i was able to reuse the factory u-bolts, but the locating pin on the leaf spring is too short. i didnt bother to extend it, and the axle hasnt moved or loosed in 400 miles, so i feel pretty safe. lined it up square with a tape measure and a 2X4.

after that, i had decided that it would be cool to mount the old set of recaros that i have sitting in the shed. that didnt work too well. it would have been functional, but by the time i was done cutting and drilling to mount them to the old seat tracks, i wasnt feeiling cofortable of their structural integrity. so for future reference, the 88 BMW 3 series recaro sport seats will mount to the factory tracks with some modification. just get more creative than me, and reinforce them somehow. for now, im sticking with the blazer buckets. while i was at it, i yanked out the sub and amp. it was taking up too much room, and i figured the 50 LB wight savings was worth it. so we can subtract the 37 from the total.

lastly, i scored a craigslist deal while i was in richmond, va this weekend. full set of 80's IROC wheels, 170 total, with lugs, and decent tires. they need refinished, but ive got to figure out how first. im debating all black, or doing cast iron colo where the black is currently and brushed spokes.

so the current total is.......


1028.20 as it sits.

heres pictures. yu guys let me know what you think on the wheel options, or suggest others. and i stil have 1000 to play with for the challenge limit. should be able to paint it, redo the front suspension, and small block it for that.