Why "Fscalade"? Because I could have gone to a Cadillac dealer and bought an Escalade by the time I'm done throwing $$$$ at this thing but anyone can do that.
I'm hesitant to call it a "Build" because it pales in comparison to the hard work that many of you guys put into your rigs. Although I can't weld I can do just about anything else but my problem is time. 3 young kids, work, travel hockey, basketball and a plethora of other non-garage related activities eat up my time like a fat kid at an ice cream buffet.
So here's my short story...I bought this truck about 2 years ago from the west coast. It was a clean good running truck with 230K. Mostly all original with an average repaint. Finding a clean original was my goal and where I wanted to start. When I got it I did the usual...changed fluids, vacuum hoses, broken switches/sensors, new wheels/33s, H55f, POR15 on the frame and drove it.
Then I started reading way too much on MUD and my OCD took control.
Fast forward to Feb 2016 at which point I started a conversation with Tor Slinning about a diesel conversion. After more reading and more OCD I convinced my wife to let me go this route since I've been buying her new cars when every the family grew while I continued to drive used "beaters". What she doesn't know is that I love driving my so called "beaters" (1994 4runner 5-speed, 1988 Blazer, 2001 M5...all driven for a couple years then sold for the next fun thing).
Most of the work (who am I kidding all of the hard work) was done by the professionals at Torfab. Tor's team converted it to a 1HDt, GTurbo, w2a intercooler, 80 FF rear with discs and Tundra brakes up front. Essentially, they turned awesome into super awesome in a couple months. Most of you know about the quality that comes out of Torfab so I won't gush too much. They exceeded my expectations across the board.
The future is bright but only as bright as my bank account allows. I plan to add the following in no particular order or time frame. I'll document the addition/changes in this thread.
-Webasto coolant heater
-BMW front and back seats - I have the seats and Torfab is hooking me up with their first production pre-85 seat brackets. More props.
-cruiser crap console
-euro mirrors
-interior soundproofing
-sound system - nothing fancy just want to hook up my phone
-rear locker/compressor
-bought Beno's Slee-like rear bumper made by Trail Tailor and waiting on getting it back from the powder coater so I can install.
-changing the wheels out to Wheel Vintques Smoothies with custom offset so they tuck into the wells (waiting on delivery) ***Anyone looking for a set of 17x8 with 4.5 BS?***
-rear storage from wagon gear
Thanks to all of you who've answered my (sometimes stupid) questions over the past couple years.
I'm hesitant to call it a "Build" because it pales in comparison to the hard work that many of you guys put into your rigs. Although I can't weld I can do just about anything else but my problem is time. 3 young kids, work, travel hockey, basketball and a plethora of other non-garage related activities eat up my time like a fat kid at an ice cream buffet.
So here's my short story...I bought this truck about 2 years ago from the west coast. It was a clean good running truck with 230K. Mostly all original with an average repaint. Finding a clean original was my goal and where I wanted to start. When I got it I did the usual...changed fluids, vacuum hoses, broken switches/sensors, new wheels/33s, H55f, POR15 on the frame and drove it.
Then I started reading way too much on MUD and my OCD took control.
Fast forward to Feb 2016 at which point I started a conversation with Tor Slinning about a diesel conversion. After more reading and more OCD I convinced my wife to let me go this route since I've been buying her new cars when every the family grew while I continued to drive used "beaters". What she doesn't know is that I love driving my so called "beaters" (1994 4runner 5-speed, 1988 Blazer, 2001 M5...all driven for a couple years then sold for the next fun thing).
Most of the work (who am I kidding all of the hard work) was done by the professionals at Torfab. Tor's team converted it to a 1HDt, GTurbo, w2a intercooler, 80 FF rear with discs and Tundra brakes up front. Essentially, they turned awesome into super awesome in a couple months. Most of you know about the quality that comes out of Torfab so I won't gush too much. They exceeded my expectations across the board.
The future is bright but only as bright as my bank account allows. I plan to add the following in no particular order or time frame. I'll document the addition/changes in this thread.
-Webasto coolant heater
-BMW front and back seats - I have the seats and Torfab is hooking me up with their first production pre-85 seat brackets. More props.
-cruiser crap console
-euro mirrors
-interior soundproofing
-sound system - nothing fancy just want to hook up my phone
-rear locker/compressor
-bought Beno's Slee-like rear bumper made by Trail Tailor and waiting on getting it back from the powder coater so I can install.
-changing the wheels out to Wheel Vintques Smoothies with custom offset so they tuck into the wells (waiting on delivery) ***Anyone looking for a set of 17x8 with 4.5 BS?***
-rear storage from wagon gear
Thanks to all of you who've answered my (sometimes stupid) questions over the past couple years.
