lol, i'd have to agree, i can't say i've ever had a moment wheeling where i had the thought "you know what would be good here? a buzz..."
now campfire and tent afterwards in a lounge chair, for sure...
Builds 93 80 Beater.
- Thread starter darwink1
- Start date
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lol, i'd have to agree, i can't say i've ever had a moment wheeling where i had the thought "you know what would be good here? a buzz..."
now campfire and tent afterwards in a lounge chair, for sure...
- Thread starter
- #502
I know, just trying to avoid the political correctness nazis.
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pretty sure calling them nazis is not politically correct, correct as it may be...
back to tech, so what's next on the mall mauler? garage door lift? or jsut boring paint?
- Thread starter
- #504
Ive got a bunch of stuff to do/finish but the brake booster went on the 60 so its gotta wait. I want to put my new tranny mount on (the old one separated when I put on the ipor skid), new o2 sensors are waiting in the garage as well, maybe attach the hand throttle cable since its good to have in the parking lots. And always more body work. Have to sow up the pass seat too.... I could have a 2 page list if I sat here a bit longer.
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sounds like you got a list for sure. but it is nice to have the parts in the garage waiting as opposed to still needing to buy them.
the only thing you can do worse is start a spreadsheet with costs too, not that i know someone like that...
i sewed up tears in my seats (just trying to stretch the old leather back), split new seams, and finally recently just put GT covers on the fronts... i used UV resistant upholstery thread and a big curved needle, some splits seams you could tell i sewed, some not. and the gash tears in the leather well i could at least close, but they never looked pretty. doesn't help to be sewing old cardboard leather tho.
- Thread starter
- #506
Dug into the front hubs today to find that the tabs on the thrust washers on both sides were worn down allowing the washers to spin. Maybe thats why the bearings got loose again so soon... Left the van on stands and took a drive to a mine supply place that deals with LC's to pick up new washers as well as new lock washers. I repacked the outer wheel bearings, threw on the new washers, and put everything back together. No more play, guess thats good.
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- Thread starter
- #507
Got some new rear hatch struts on yesterday. The parts store carried "strong arm" ones so thats what I used. Drilled out the rivets that attached the brackets to the oe struts, bolted on the trimmed ball studs for the new struts, and threw them on only to find out they werent strong enough to hold the hatch up..... So I drove the van back to the parts store and they were nice enough to let me run in and out to test fit a bunch of different ones. They literally had a 1000 different struts in stock so finding the right one was a huge pain in the ass. On the 5th try I found ones that fit nicely and had the exact same dimensions as the oe struts to boot. They do seem to raise the hatch higher but Im thinkin its just because they arent old, worn out, pieces of crap....
To top it off, just after finding out that the 1st set of struts wouldnt work, my buddy stopped by with his heap. His pass side rear shock had slipped off the bushing at the top mount. Thinking it would be a 10 minute job to pop the shock off, press in the bushing, and throw it back on we go to it. Both upper shock mount studs broke off and we had to pull it in the garage to drill the old studs out and weld new bolts in their place. 10 minutes turned into an hour of messing around lol.
Heres a couple tips for selecting the right struts. Get ones you cant compress by hand. The first set I got I was able to compress by putting one end of the strut on the ground and pushing down. Wasnt that easy but I could do it. The ones that actually held the hatch up I couldnt budge at all even with my 230lb on them. Get the struts without the tapered/angled ends. The 2nd set I tried had tapered ends on both sides and when I tried to close the hatch both my upper brackets bent to s***.
All the BS was worth it since my hatch now opens way better than it ever has and I dont have to double check to see if its going to drop on my head every time I open it.
D
To top it off, just after finding out that the 1st set of struts wouldnt work, my buddy stopped by with his heap. His pass side rear shock had slipped off the bushing at the top mount. Thinking it would be a 10 minute job to pop the shock off, press in the bushing, and throw it back on we go to it. Both upper shock mount studs broke off and we had to pull it in the garage to drill the old studs out and weld new bolts in their place. 10 minutes turned into an hour of messing around lol.
Heres a couple tips for selecting the right struts. Get ones you cant compress by hand. The first set I got I was able to compress by putting one end of the strut on the ground and pushing down. Wasnt that easy but I could do it. The ones that actually held the hatch up I couldnt budge at all even with my 230lb on them. Get the struts without the tapered/angled ends. The 2nd set I tried had tapered ends on both sides and when I tried to close the hatch both my upper brackets bent to s***.
All the BS was worth it since my hatch now opens way better than it ever has and I dont have to double check to see if its going to drop on my head every time I open it.
D
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Nice build man I love the rear bumper the best simple and useful. But dang if the build thread aint long.
- Thread starter
- #509
Meh, Im trying to break all kinds of records.
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- Thread starter
- #510
Ok, to put it into perspective, I had to air down the 80's rear tires to 8psi when it had 285's and no roof rack to fit it in the garage. 37's and a roof rack had no hope in hell never mind fitting the 60 in there.
Put the new door up today and properly test fitted both vans. The 60 has about an inch or two to spare but it rolls right in without airing down. The spare tire doesnt fit so good but thats easy to work around. The 80 slides in with room to spare.
Just have to cap the outside and make an insulated door that will close when the garage door is down and open when it goes up.
D
Put the new door up today and properly test fitted both vans. The 60 has about an inch or two to spare but it rolls right in without airing down. The spare tire doesnt fit so good but thats easy to work around. The 80 slides in with room to spare.
Just have to cap the outside and make an insulated door that will close when the garage door is down and open when it goes up.
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D,
Good job!
Something like that is a lot of work, but well worth it for the irritation it saves and the new capabilities it provides.
I used to have a beam in the basement where I walked out to the garage. About every six months, I'd have just the right bounce in my step to bounce my skull against it enough to hurt, about when I'd completely forgotten about the last time I did it...
:whoops:
I finally had the local steel yard cut me an I-beam that gave a couple more inches of clearance, jacked up the house a little, and slid that heavy metal into position.
Haven't bumped my head there since.
Good job!
Something like that is a lot of work, but well worth it for the irritation it saves and the new capabilities it provides.
I used to have a beam in the basement where I walked out to the garage. About every six months, I'd have just the right bounce in my step to bounce my skull against it enough to hurt, about when I'd completely forgotten about the last time I did it...
:whoops:I finally had the local steel yard cut me an I-beam that gave a couple more inches of clearance, jacked up the house a little, and slid that heavy metal into position.
Haven't bumped my head there since.
- Thread starter
- #512
Honestly, it wasnt as much work as I thought it was going to be. I just cut out all the old framing, put up the new and had the door installed. Maybe 2 days worth of work.
The biggest diff is not having the garage door rails/spring in the way anymore. The door goes right up into the loft when open so you dont have the actual door taking headroom away when its up.
I took the opportunity to clean up and get rid of a stupid amount of junk at the same time so that made for a lot more room as well. The garage now echoes when you talk its so cavernous lol.
Im now looking for a cheap flat screen tv to replace the 63" monster rear projection I have stuffed in there now. Id have a ton more room with that thing gone.
D
The biggest diff is not having the garage door rails/spring in the way anymore. The door goes right up into the loft when open so you dont have the actual door taking headroom away when its up.
I took the opportunity to clean up and get rid of a stupid amount of junk at the same time so that made for a lot more room as well. The garage now echoes when you talk its so cavernous lol.
Im now looking for a cheap flat screen tv to replace the 63" monster rear projection I have stuffed in there now. Id have a ton more room with that thing gone.
D
ppc
M Go Blue
It is amazing how just a few inches can improve your quality of life. 
I would also like to see some pictures of loft area to see how it is all mounted. Do you have an automatic opener hooked up?
I would also like to see some pictures of loft area to see how it is all mounted. Do you have an automatic opener hooked up?
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- #514
Nope not that hitec. Maybe one day I will rig one up. The installer guy said it wouldnt be a problem. Youre right about the convenience though, I went from only the tacoma fitting in there to all 3 fitting.
You can kind of make out the rails in the loft in this pic (behind the ski rack). Ill snap a couple better pics when I get a chance.
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You can kind of make out the rails in the loft in this pic (behind the ski rack). Ill snap a couple better pics when I get a chance.
D
- Thread starter
- #515
Took the 80 down a little trail today and snapped a few pics for the hell of it.
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question: what is the little emblem on the lower tailgate? it looks familiar.
- Thread starter
- #517
Hybrid synergy drive emblem from a prius.
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- #520
Meh, there was a walmart just up ahead so I had to roll over that rock to get there.
Look at all the bedrock in the background, no shortage of rocks around here.
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Look at all the bedrock in the background, no shortage of rocks around here.
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