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Seeing as it's not original I will probably do some light restomod stuff. I always liked the idea of a high revving 283. I may not put factory wheels on it, but I'm definitely not doing that stupid 2000's giant boyd Coddington wheel look.
Do a C5 Z06 swap including the rear end. Should scoot pretty nicely with that.
Do a C5 Z06 swap including the rear end. Should scoot pretty nicely with that.
I would like to keep it period looking under the hood. So maybe a 283 with some later heads and a cam. Maybe a high rpm focused 327. I kind of want to avoid the whole ls plastic intake thing. It is possible now to go efi (or really tbi) with the holly sniper system and keep the carbed look. I plan to keep the chassis so I think putting in a trans axle and torque tube is a bit far fetched. Either I would be making a custom chassis for the c5 equipment or modifying a c5 chassis to fit the c1 body at that point. Maybe IRS from a later model, but even then I don't mind the solid axle that much.
Okay one more group of photos before I forget about this and cover it up.
I was taking a look at the front frame and both it and the inner fender fiberglass look great, I think it just got messed up on the front and the right side cosmetically and poorly repaired... the squeegee hood prop came with the car. You can see the cuts right behind the washer reservoir on both sides that's also where the hood stops matching up with the fender. (by the time it gets to the front the hood is nearly a half inch high. Poking around on the right side I can see where they didn't even bother bonding the outer fender to the supports... I think I can probably put it back together without buying a whole front clip.
Oh and check out the engine being well behind the axle. It's front mid engine! Basically a super car, if you ignore the leaf springs, solid axle, 4 wheel drums, and a bevy of other things.
Finally found the part number on the engine. It dates it to 70-79 or something. Literally any 350 in any vehicle, truck to corvette. Maybe that was their way of getting hardened valve seats. I don't know of a way of telling what's in there without breaking it down, but it probably needs that anyway.
Under the dash and in the center storage it appears as though it was a white car. Also, bonus vintage m&m's
When trying to force some oil into the hood latch release cable I noticed some random add on electronic thingy, maybe a ignition cut off box? No idea, I have to re wire the car anyway so that will come out and I'll probably put in a modern immobilizer of some sort.
Found my aunt and uncles first registration in 79. Wish I could find the vin number on the car though. Don't know what the repair shop did with it.
A friend of mine asked if I wanted to sell the frontier. With the F-150 on the mend on the corvette looking a lot like a fire barrel I throw money into I thought, why not? Still I want to do a couple of maintenance tasks to make sure I'm not rebuilding it in his back yard next year. Timing belt kit is on the way, gave it a once over and diagnosed a clunk ad the sway bar bushings... cool
The thing is this truck has always had a squeak in the front bumper. I've read that it needs something welded and I just didn't want to go through all the trouble of taking the bumper off. Still it's a friend and even if he doesn't buy it, if I have the only frontier on craigslist that doesn't squeak I'll be streets ahead.
So get to work taking the bumper off... oh shit that was like 5 minutes.
Couldn't find anything not welded or bolted down tight... but the right side and left side headlight brackets don't quite line up. Also the right side looks all nice and smooth underneath
And the left side is being filed down by the bumper support. So I took a crowbar and bent it back.
No more squeak. That squeak was with me for 9 years. That squeak has been to Washington, Colorado, and Mexico. God dammit it took like 20 minutes bumper off to bumper back on.
How to double the value of a 03 frontier
Wait for a pandemic driven chip shortage that causes the price of used cars to double? Sure that, or just put buy a corvette hardtop.
I just sent the payment for my taxes and didn't plan on spending a couple grand on one part, but after looking around at restored tops and other needs work tops this seemed like the best play.
I tried to trade it or even cash plus trade. Didn't go over well.
You clearly didn't sell it well enough. Market, sir.
Firstly, you say it's from Japan. Then, it made it's way to Canada to an ex-Pat recluse who then owned it with care and love for years (he uses gloves, man). Then, this toy made it's way to the US by car (in a MINI) no less when it was gifted to you. The journey itself and the um, way it's crossed oceans should increase it's value.
Put some new rubber on the Xterra. The Mickey Thompson's were great, but the last year they really started to wear poorly. The outer tread lugs are very uneven, kinda like cupping, but not. I think it's mostly because I've been tearing around the city and throwing a lot of weight on old hard rubber in the turns. Usually I go on a couple of trips and I think that evens things out. Anyway I went to phoenix last week and my ears started to ring doing 65 on the highway from the noise of the tread lugs slapping the pavement.
I went ahead and dialed it back a notch. Not as cool looking I know, but they review well so I'm going to give it s shot. This is the Cooper ATP, It's very similar to their AT3... but a little more road friendly. Still not a road focused AT like the Michelin ltx. There was a sale and they were already cheaper than other name brand options which was also how I ended up with the MT's. I'm basically the tire shopping version of my grandma. If there isn't a coupon I'm not interested.
I put the AT3s on my old truck and really liked them. Waiting for the stock set of rubber to wear out on the new truck to pick up another set. They're good tires, and the price is nice.
So, the 1st gen xterra. I didn't see it from march 2020 till april 2021.
The locals were kind enough to put it on blocks after 2 of the tires went flat (I generally had them aired down to 12psi so that isn't super surprising)
Well, last month I replaced the fuel, fuel filter, and battery and it started right now. Went fishing with a cousin this week and it ran like a champ. Also RIP to the 8-10 year old red top that was in it... I replaced it with another 8-10 year old red top I had in my garage. I don't remember which one is 8 years old and which one is 10 years old, the stickers are all faded.
Nah, that hill is a bunch of loose volcanic shale mixed with hard sharp volcanic rocks jutting out here and there. Pretty sure it would shred my tires.
It's kind of a odd place, the 3rd picture it's just Sonoran desert right up to the beach with cholla cactus on the hill I'm on. But where I'm parked in the 2nd picture, (first hill in the background of the 3rdpicture) it turns into a volcanic crushed rock that can barely support a person.
I'm back, in roughly the expected life of a max speed connection rod
I finished all my projects.
Vette 100 point restoration
f-100, basically wins all the trophies for whatever.
No pictures necessary I certainly wouldn't lie about that. What I definitely didn't do is work on 3 friends projects back to back and buy another BMW 02 from my uncle's estate. Spending any money I have just to fix all the hack work that has been done on it since 1990. That would be a heinous misuse of time and money.
Everything on the car is there and done, but wrong.
Like a 100 dollar white Earl Scheib Paint covering one of the rare cool 70's colors the car came in. With miata wheels that need spacers to clear the strut bodies.
or maybe a hammer and a torch too?! Yay parts that are out of production
Or pounding on a 6 seires wheel with the wrong splines and seats that were re covered
Over the old worn out seats!!! HOW, WHY.
Or you know... a mirror held together by silicone and packing peanuts. Notice the new gromet in background.
Anyway this is very much a running resto till the vette and truck are done. Then it gets paint. Till then, in no particular order.
I made a mirror spring and polished up the old mirror
Put some big brakes on and a old set of 13" british Ovatvo wheels on it... also some period correct tires, the 205's that came on it were impossible to turn.
How do you curb every wheel with a balloon tire that sticks out a inch from the wheel?
Ditch the AC and refurb a old nardi wheel I've had.. Oh and undo the hacked turn indicators (they used ace hardware parts to move the indicators from the right to the left) There was romex in there. Why is it always romex and wire nuts. Also added some real stuffing and removed the broken horse hair/old vinyl. Still needs to be re done... and I still need some parts but it's better than sitting on springs.
You can see the weird shifter attached to the column here.
Found some used controls on a message board from a guy in Germany
Still need to re wire the windshield wipers. The speed is supposed to be on the dash, and the on off on the indicator on the right stalk. They just had it all hot wired or something. Seems like lots of work to do it wrong. Oh and I still need to order some horn parts.
This happened. (steering coupler). 3/4 of a turn play with that one bolt holding it, fun ride from the bank.
I have had this sitting around for years. Not many rebuilds left on the market.
Also the drive shaft coupler/guibo or flex something gave me a chance to replace all the shift linkage and trans mounts.
And what else, a few body adjustments, at least 40 squeaks and 20 rattles, the first polish it's ever had, some matching wheel caps, and a few missing bolts. It kinda feels like a car.
Oh I forgot that is a giant 5 series rear view mirror I had laying around. The 02 one came off in my hands and disintegrated like a secret message to james bond.
And sanding the corosion off of ever connector to make all the lights work, and polishing the inside of the reflectors, and re wiring 3 relays, and bending the throttle linkage back into shape, and lining up the doors so the close right, and re welding the hood hinges or stops, or whatever, and re plumbing the gas vent to the euro position because they had capped everything off making it constantly smell like a bomb, and replacing the fuel filler neck, and replacing the vintage 1978 spare, and replacing the brake light switch, and repairing the rear wiring harness and re routing it to it's stock location so it wouldn't be what the truck floor covers rest on, and the radiator, and fuel leaks, and the coil, and the oil had never ever been changed, and the carb was loose, and there was sand in the carb.
I think that's it. It's amazing how much can be broken on a car that is registered and running.
Oh, and here is a picture that I feel conveys the experience of driving a small low classic car in modern traffic.
and I do want to see some pics of your other finished projects.
Because I'm selfish, not because I don't believe you.
And pics of the shop in it's various states.
Full color change
Converted to manual
added offroad badges from 2006
added 2006 grille
changed to off-road specific wheels and tires that are two years older
swapped to m226 locking rear diff
added weird tucson dealership horsey sticker with nissan after it to the side
put an adition 54,000 miles on it
Or I bought my friends 06 6 speed offroad and sold the black 11 auto.
200k miles, he was the original owner, It's been bounced off ever rock from here to Montana and smells like moose blood and oil. He never cleaned it, not once.
Got a pretty good deal.
Also Unless he took it in for service it never saw a car wash. He literally never cleaned it.
(as it sat when I took title, bumper not part of deal)
"Oh yeah 4x4s are meant to be dirty"
No. I know people who say that. They still clean now and then. HE DID NOT WASH IT.
This is after I wiped the inside of the window with my sleeve so I could see out
Not once! I cleaned a few ounces of silt out of the window controls alone, The capret near the door sills had an inch of dirt and oil (from a spilled quart of oil). Before he handed the keys to me he mentioned he figured out what the smell was. A nephew had left a dead quail or dove or whatever under the seat.
Also these were pinned to the body from bouncing off rocks.
Booby traps everywhere
cleaner, this is the 2nd cleaning, I've done 2 since. Rag is still brown ever time
He did keep up with the maintenance though. It's solid, no rust, newer clutch, and timing chain issues fixed by dealer. This is my first oil change on my new car.
More intensive cleaning, mainly because the trip meter stalk is broken
04-27-2021, 09:38 PM
That's some great inspiration.
Congrats on the gifted C1. Such a cool car!
Must feel odd to not see or use a car you own for over a year.
