Project Drivabeater

You could put a decepticons symbol on the doors and write on the bedsides "...to punish and enslave."

^ hahaha, i like it.

all except the enslave part. i am in the south. May get taken wrong, and i dont fell like getting my ass kicked.

Michael

budget update, now that ive stripped and sold more of the parts truck.
in the last few days, ive sold 361.00 worth of parts. brings the project total sown to 931.16

it has brand new front calipers, hoses, and rotors. theyre already in my parts bin for an eventual rear disc conversion, or just s[ares for the fronts on mine.

the trans is a world class t5, with a brand new clutch. unfortunately, it needs an inpuit bearing. way too much slop on the input shaft. anyone know how hard they are to swap?

and i also think i have an 8.5 inch rear in that truck. its got the small, square axle ends like the camaros. thats an 8.5, right?

lastly, how exact do i need to be on the clutch master cylender location on my truck? can i be off a hair or seven?

michael

technically all 10 bolts have the same housing ends, and the 7.5,7.625, 8.2 small car and 8.5" 10 bolt are identical, the easiest way to tell is by the shape of the pumpin itself, I'll see if I can find a picture for you. Chances are pretty slim though, that unless it's a custom axle or has been swapped out of a later model Blazer, it's a 7.5" ring gear.

For the CMC, what do you mean? Is the mounting location off, or is there a bent pedal? I guess I just don't understand the question.

(http://www.novaresource.org/images/rears.jpg)

i wasnt aware any 1rst gens got 8.5" stock either

If memory serves, not even the SGT, Syclone or Typhoon had an 8.5" rear. Nothing until the second gen blazers and later model 4.3L 5-speed 4x4 Zsomethingorothers.

on the rear: everything on this truck had yellow junkyard crayon, so theres no telling the origonal application of the rear. ill see if i can get a picture later today, show you guys what i have.

on the CMC: i have no holes in the firewall to mount it, so i have to drill my own. thats what i was wonderingif it was an absolute necessity to be dead nuts on, or is a litle off ok?

Michael

Ok, I see what you mean. you're doing an automatic to manual swap. side to side you should have some play, 1/8" or so. Up and down you should have about the same, anything more than that and you'll either get binding or an incorrect pedal ratio which will alter the stiffness of the pedal as well as the total throw before engagement/disengagement. I'm sure someone could get you the proper centers from the edges of the firewall and if you have the right measurements, it should be close enough.

little more progress on stuff.
sold the bed. brings project total down to 901.16

finished stripping the truck. got the pedals, master and booster, CMC, and all teh fasteners. now i just have to haul off whats left. or ill give it to someone if they come get it this week.
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture310.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture311.jpg)

traded the sawblade mags that were on the parts truck for a full set of Z28 wheels. im going to see if i can trade them for a set of 17X8 soft 8's
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture309.jpg)

also started cleaning up parts for the 5 speed. figured out when i was draining the fluid that theres a bunch of metal in it, and im going to go through it before i put it in. dont wanna have to yank it back out. i also found out that the "new clutch" was warped and hot spotted pretty bad. so i'll order a new one. (yes, i said new. its not that often ill bbuy soimething spanking new for this truck, but for the pain in the ass factor, im willing. and a new zoom clutch is only 84 bucks from summit.)

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture312.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture315.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture316.jpg)

lastly, heres a couple of pics of the rearend. its probably not an 8.5 after looking at it again. and i was all excited....

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture313.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture314.jpg)

next up: finish the white door install, get rid of the parts truck, finish cleaning tranny parts, surface fluwheel, order clutch, and rebuild trans. now it gets expensive.

Michael

no that's a 7.5 lol

Yup, 7.5 or 7.625, there is no way to tell externally, at least not that I know of.

They can still handle 350hp or so with the right upgrades, and can handle 200-250 in factory form depending on how well they've been cared for. One of the weakest parts of these rear ends is actually the spider gears and carrier. Any decent clutch type LSD will take care of the spider gear issues and have a smooth enough engage that you won't have to worry about the carrier. If it is a 7.625 then you can put in any locker they make for it and not worry, the carrier was the biggest reason they bumped up to a slightly larger ring gear, that 1/8" makes a surprising difference. If you upgrade gears, get a brand new set, I don't trust used gear sets for 7.5/7.625 10-bolts, some people have gotten them and not had a problem, but new ones are cheap enough, I consider it cheap insurance. Bearings need to get replaced on your first re-build, but shouldn't need to be replaced after that, I've seen bearings with 100K miles that were in better than decent shape on a car that got the piss driven out of it daily. Stock axle shafts should be fine to 300hp, maybe 330 or there abouts, above that, you'll want to step up to what are called camaro shafts, they're just 31 spline axles, you can't actually use shafts from a camaro though, unless you want to get them cut and re-splined. I've seen guys grenade the housing at 350ft/lbs and I've seen them hold up to 450ft/lbs without flinching, it depends a lot on your application. With a manual transmission you almost have to get one of the beefy aluminum girdle covers, automatics get a lot more leniency. That's about all I can remember, if you have questions, feel free to ask, I've built four of these rear ends and destroyed two of them.

oh god. z28s and soft 8s.
we have too many of those lol
/me waits for greenflamer to get soft8s

[/me]

so, a little progress.

parts started showing up. 141.13 at summit got me a zoom clutch (dunno why its in this box. all the zoom clutches ive ever seen were purple, too.) and poly leaf spring bushings. they were actually cheaper than the pair of rubber shackle bushings at my local parts store. now i can do the rear suspension.

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture319.jpg)

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture320.jpg)





also got my MOOG problem solver LCA bushings in. 53 even from Advance, but they had to order them.

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture324.jpg)

i also spent 35 at NAPA to get the flywheel resurfaced.



lastly, i actually started on the trans swap. let me say this just once: I HATE under dash work.

the pedals went in tonight before a migrane took me out. now ive got to cut the holes in the firewall for the CMC, fix a lot of hacked up wiring i found (some nbare wires too. just scary), and reinstall the dash and cap. i know it looks bad, but this is project drivabeater, not project lets dump a lotta money and make it look really sweet. as long as its somewhat presentable, im happy. and for future reference, the steering column is MUCH different between 87 and 92. so ill be driving the pin out of the auto shifter on my tilt column, and putting it back in. anyone wanna buy a manual column? give you a hell of a deal.



(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture321.jpg)

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture326.jpg)

also, i pulled apart the front of the trans to replace the input shaft bearings due to too much play. once NAPA gets them here, ill add those prices in.

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture322.jpg)

total 1130.29



and still a long ways to go....



Michael

Making good progress though!

whats the part # on the leaf bushings? 

and do they cover up to '02 trucks?

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=ENS-3-2129G

says 83-01 with 1.5 inch bushings. heres to hoping my belltechs ude the 1.5's!

and i dont see what would be so different on an 02.

Michael

yeah idk why but a lot of aftermarket parts only list up to '01 for s10's.

...drives me crazy trying to find parts. lol

i'm thinking about finding a set of zq8 leafs, running poly or high durometer rubber bushings, JTR 1" drop block, axle setback plate, and std cab driveshaft alignment kit.

if you take some measurements of the current stuff, ill compare it to the parts i got, and we'll see if theyre compatible.

on the progress front:
got the firemall set up for the CMC, the dash most of the way back in (at least as far as its going for right now), most of the wiring fixed, etc. been at it all night. tomorrow, ill put the headlight controls back in, the drivers seat back in, run the stereo wiring, etc back into the openings and tape it, and back it outta the shop. ill also press on my new input shaft bearing and reassemble the trans. next weekend, ill be putting it up and in.

Michael

todays progress:
none on getting the trans back together. i can't figure out a way to get the tapered roller pressed off the input shaft, so im taking it to a shop on monday. i hate farming stuff out....

i did get the shelves built in my shed, go to a baby shower, and make some progress on the truck though.

add 7.00 for dupli-color vynil dye.
i used a plastic bag to cover the steerig wheel, and the Stanly News and Press, thursday edition, to do all my masking. the tape was left over from the grille project.
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture329.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture328.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture327.jpg)

notice the pewter bezels? theyer out of the parts truck. i like them with the black. just enough color.

reason im ddiong this is that all the dashes in my area are as bad, or worse than the one that is in it now. so why spend a bunch of money on it?

the dash cap is going back in, even though its cracked too. this time, it will be installed correctly. something it wasnt when i pulled it. ill also be doing the entire interior over in black, except for the carpet, seats, and sunvisors. well, at least until i find cheap black versions...

and the last shot is of the finished clutch pedals. three days of hell for these things, so im freaking proud of them. i never wantto do it again, though....

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture330.jpg)

1137.29 and counting...

Michael

its been a long weekend....



first, budget stuff: 8 dollars for the 15 loose rollers for the input shaft from NAPA. 10 for the tapered roller bearing on the input shaft, 5 for the grease seal (both from Autozone), and 5 to get the tapered roller swapped out (local big rig repair facility).



so current budget total is : 1165.29

and i sold my stock leaf springs for 25, so new budget ttal is 1140.29



the reinstall of the input shaft went fairly well for a guy with fat fingers. took some vasaline to hold it everything in place, jiggled, wiggled, cussed, screamed, etc. about two hours later, the input shaft was back in, and the trans was ready for reinstall.



so saturday, i took the truck down to my dads shop, as he has a lift and heat, made it quite nice. about halfway there, the automatic gave up the ghost. only had 1st and 2nd. so i limped it the last 20 miles in second. took forever. when i got there, i had to back the truck up. it took full throttle to get the truck to move in reverse, and even then, it wasnt happy.



when we dropped the pan sunday morning, there was a 1/4 inch of metal built up on the magnet in the pan. and the fluid smelled BAD. but at east i got my money's worth outta it!



when we pulled the driveshaft, we found places where it used to have weights. dunno where they went...



(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture331.jpg)

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture332.jpg)





after letting it drain, we started to yank it. there were only 2 bolts in the torque converter, and three holding the trans to the motor. none of those three were even finger tight.



once the automatic as out, we installed the five speed. pilot bearing, flywheel, etc all went in without a hitch. no messed up threads, nothing. it was great!! ive never had a big job go that easy.

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture333.jpg)

my buddy Dustin, my father, and myself spent most of yesterday putzing around with it. between bench racing, looking at stuff, cleaning parts, eating, and just general BSing, we didnt work that hard. 10 hours later, we were done.



(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture336.jpg)



at the end of the day we worked on stuff like the shifter, the clutch hydraulics, etc. that was the hard part.

dustin cut the most anal retentive floorboard hole ive ever seen. he even used a straightedge guide for the air nibbler, filed the opening, etc. spent way too much time on the hole for the caliber of this truck.



heres a picture of him doing it.

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture334.jpg)



while he was doing that, i was puting in the hydraulics. i had to gring the firewall opening with my trusty dremel to get the master to clear, but that was the only bad part. and getting the hose routed around evertything. stupid plastic hoses.



but eventually it got done.

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture335.jpg)



we then drained all the fluid, hosed the innards of the tranny out with 2 cans of brakecleaner, and refilled it with fresh ATF. gotta love having a bunch of open bottles of stuff to use up.



when we first started the truck, is strated in gear with the clutch depressed. we gravity bled the clutch hydraulics. nothing. wound up pulling the slave completely out of the truck, and rotating it all over while gravity bleeding. clutch engages right at the floor now.



when we wint to test drive, the tranny would not go into any gear, though the the clutch was now fully disengaging. turned out that we had to let the fluid get pumped all around the tranny again after the brakecleaning i gave it. once that happened, it shifted great! no noises, full throttle up and downshifts, good holding on the ZOOM clutch, easy pedal pressure, etc.



we buttoned the interior kinda back up after removing the mechanical speedo cable, and running the new wiring for the reverse lights and electric speedo. the parts truck didnt come with a shift knob, so i sued the stock one from my old Dakota. threads matched and everything. i still have to fix soem under dash wiring and HVAC issues, fabricate the panels to put the Autometer gauges in, and redo the rest of the interior.



(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture339.jpg)



my though on the interior is to do all the light grey, dash level-up stuff in gloss black, and leave the dark grey alone. what do y'all think?



the truck runs a lot better now, and is a blast to drive. feels like theres at least another 20 horse in it, probably due to all the parasitic loss of the busted 700-R4.



i also bled out the brakes today while i was down at the shop. feel a lot better now.



Michael

That's some quality work.  Wish my motor swap went that smoothly.  Keep it up and she'll be shiny in no time.

looking good man, it's always nice to do work with good buddies.


...well at least when u can get them off their lazy asses and help. haha

looks like you got all you could out of hte 700r4. lol

parts and pieces keep rolling in.
 
up first: the solution to my speedometer problem. 102 bucks worth of autometer gauges in a custom panel. panel is still getting finished, along with the auxiliray panel where the radio used to be. 9 dollars in lexan from lowes.
 
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture355.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture354.jpg)
 
and a picture of what was left after a whole bunch of cutting
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture356.jpg)
 
the panel will reuse the factory indicator lights, be hooked up with a 12 pin quick connect from radio shack, and fit in all factory openings with all factory hardware. unfortunately, i could not reuse the factory lexan cover, so hopefully it all looks good when im done. still have to find a spot for my radio though...
 
next, i got a free set of Falken tires for the 15 inch Z28 wheels. so i pulled the old bald tires off...
 
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture343.jpg)
 
and cleaned them. paining them black, and need to find a set of center caps in silver or chrome.
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture352.jpg)
 
i got the LCA bushings and ball joints pressed in at a local shop for 45 dollars (my time has recently become much more valuable to me, more on that in a minute)
 
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture357.jpg)
 
and my uppers came in from UB machine. these are prototype pieces set up for the tall ball joint conversion on G-body's/s-series trucks. were running them on mine, and seeing what we get. the upper ball joint is from an 82 1500 2wd chevy truck, and is a 1/2 longer stud. circle track guys have been doing it for years, just never really caught on with street guys. until SC&C did theirs with the Howe ball joints and SPC arms.
when UB machine finally releases these arms, they will have bushings on the cross shaft. right now, there metal on metal.
 
im impressed with the quality of these pieces so far. good weld penetration, thick tubing, burr free holes, raised lip on the ball joint plate, etc. did require a little clearancing on the upper ball joint, but only by a couple of thousandths on the inside edge of the mounting flange.
 
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture350.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture351.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture349.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture353.jpg)
 
ill gove a report as i et them on and tested out. well see what kind of alignment and clearance i have with them.
 
and last but not least, my daughter was born last week. she wasn't due till the 17th, but shes healthy, and so is my wife. im not getting much sleep now, and all my priorities have changed, but its the greatest thing thats ever happened to me.
 
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture344.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture341.jpg)
 
 
budget total for the truck (minus ball joints, as i have to find the reciept) 1296.29
 
ill update tomorrow with suspension rebuild stuff if i can get shop time in with my daugter being fussy.
 
michael

good update!

btw, lookes like you have 5 z28 wheels....
i have 3 z28 wheels....
thats 2 full sets...
lol

*hint hint*

congrats on teh baby!

glad to see the truck coming together, those UCA's look nice.

Congratulations!

I'm surprised you've gotten as much done on the truck as you have since your baby came along, or was that all before she came along?

all been while ive been on part time. you know, drop stuff off on the way to pick something up at wal-mart. pick it up later the next day.

baby and momma asleep. go outside for a few.

did the lexan work at work on my smoke breaks while ive been doing the part time thing.

ok. mary's done eating. back to bed.


Michael

Congrats on everything man!  The truck looks great and so does the little girl!  Looking forward to hearing how the UCA's work out.

mini update:

the front end is rebuilt. the new UCA'a went in well. needed slight gringing on the upper ball joint mounting flange for me to be happy with the fit. pulled out all the alignment shims to get a baseline when i take it over to the alignmnent shop. the problem came when i sat it back down on the ground. the IROC's hit the ball joint mounting flange pretty hard. so i ground on it. still hit. a pair of 3/8 spacers have solved the problem for now, but i need to buy a set and get some longer studs. anyone know the Part number for the longer studs?

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture361.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture360.jpg)

also got further on the Autometers. cluster is built and painted, but not wired. same with teh auxilirry panel.

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture359.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture358.jpg)
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture362.jpg)

michael

looks good man...although...i couldn't live w/o a radio in my truck. lol

u gonna mount a headunit under the dash or something?

eventually ill get the headunit mounted bak in somewhere. probably build a lexan plate to flush off the glove compartment, recess theheadunit in, and put a pocket in for the registration and insurance card. at least thats my plan.

but we all know how my plans go.

god laughs when i make them.

on a side note, i got my parts store coil overs built, the rear leaf.shackle ushings in, and it back on the ground. the rear is really stiff.


ryo: what are ou hinting at? sending me the three you have so i can have a set for slicks? that would be cool.

Michael

haha ill let the 3 i have go for like $60 if you come pick them up

ive been to michigan once. i didnt forget anything, o i have no other reason to come back. hell of a drive for me for cheap wheels. especially now with the youngun.

if you ever come down this way, we'll work something out. im thinking road atlanta at the year one event.

michael

haha yea.... sadly i dont think i have time/resources to head all the way down there for that.

but you should come up for the motor state challenge

as much as i like to, i dont have the time/resources to do that either. diapers are really expensive, and my time with my daughter is more valuble than track time.

so, yeah. thats about it.

sorry man.


hopefully tomorrow ill get down in the shop and do my final torquing on everything, as well as start the aligment.

michael

they have a solution for that...

(http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/eb/7/AAAAAhGcokAAAAAAAOt27w.jpg)

...not sure if the SCCA would let they fly...u might have to weld it in. haha

that is so cool. but i dunno what id do if i balled up the truck and hurt my daughter.

still gonna have to get one.
michael

yea! the forum's working again!

haha, yeah they are pretty cool.  think they run around $150.

i think the same way about car seats as i do helmets.

if you have a 10 dollar head, buy a 10 dollar helmet.
if you have a 30 dollar kid, buy a car seat from wal-mart.

ill pony up for the simpson. whered you find it?

on a side note, the alignement is done, and the truck is back on the road.
ill give picture and real updates tomorrow.

Michael

summit has them.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SIM-90000&N=700+115&autoview=sku

the front suspension is almost back in again. after having to put SEVEN shims on either front stud to get caster out of the front end (had like 20 some degrees) i figured out i had the upper control arms on the wrong sides. then i got food poisoning. haven't done crap since. so today i spent an hour working on swapping them over, but im still moving slow.

anyway, first impression of this swap, even with the screw up, is that its frickin incredible to drive compared to before. a lot more stick, lot ore predictable through sweepers, and a lot more responsive on sudden maneuvers. i do think that i added too much spring in the back, inducing understeer and front body roll. once i finish the front AGAIN, ill see what i think.

ill post up more when i can.

michael

wait... isnt food poisoning supposed to make you crap?

vomit, shake, squirt, dizzy, etc.

and beg your wife to shoot you for 48 hours.













wait, i just got that. damn im slow.

lol

first off, let me say that i lied. it was not food poisoning according to my doctor. it was some nasty stomach flu thing thats been going around.



budget: was 1296.29

removed rear pinion shims, as the new tranny (actually being bolted to the motor now!!) made the pinion angle right. so 1241.29.

the ball joints were 17 ea for the uppers, and 22 ea for the lowers.

25 worth of longer wheel studs, 10 in spacers, and another 8.62 in wiring supplies from radio shack for the gauge clusters.

grand total: 1362.91 not bad, but still more than i wouldve cared to put into getting to this point in the build. have to do what you have to do, though.



so, i got the UCA's swapped around. turned out that i had them on the wrong sides, as well as upside down. so i didnt actually need to grind or clearance anything, nor did i need the wheel spacers to fit my IROC wheels. did need them to clear my z28 wheels, though.

still have to realign it, but im MUCH closer to where i wanted to be with no shims now. amazing difference in initial negative camber and positive caster. should require less shims with the tall lower ball joint, or with more drop in the front. shimless specs are:



PS +1.6 degrees camber
DS +3.4 degrees camber

PS +2.6 caster
DS +.1.8 caster

i blame crappy GM tolerances forr these numbers big so far of side to side, as the arms are built exactly the same. or my trucks been hit sometime in the past. dunno. but it should align out nicely, with plenty of exhaust clearance. so ill finish aligning it, and make sure im happy, and then call UB machine and they'll start making and selling them.



i rebuilt the rear suspension while i was at it. the poly bushings with the 1.5 diameter from energy suspension fit the belltech leaves perfectly. they sucked to do, but worked out great. i also added some parts store coil overs i used to run on my duster while i was under there. really stiffened the truck up, and i raised the back about an inch in the process. finally levelled the truck out. its almost too stiff, but well see how it handles the next time i drive it.



(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture370.jpg)

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture378.jpg)



next, since i really havent felt like aligning it yet, i worked on finally getting some working gauges in it. they all work (kinda) as well as the warning lights. i need to fix the ground at the sending unit for the fuel gauge to work, and put in the water temp sender for it to work. Ill do the temp sender when i do the radiator and port the intake.



(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture372.jpg)

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture373.jpg)



finally, i put some new shoes on the old girl. a friend of mine gave me the Yokohama tires that were on his nissan when he upgraded. really pretty new (best tires ive ever had on this truck. they actually have some tread!!) 205/65/15. mounted them on the Z28 wheels that i was painting black. really gives the truck an evil look. and the mounting and balancing was free, as i have a friend that works at the tire shop. he did it one night after work.



 (http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture376.jpg)

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture377.jpg)



and i also have to give credit where credit is due. i learned how to do my own alignments from david farmer, a friend of mine. i use this tool

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture369.jpg)

bought from sears for 25.00 (tools i dont include in the budget)



thanks for looking, and ill update as i make more progress. the next event is a novice school at knights stadium march 14th, and i WILL be there. maybe even see some of y'all out there.



Michael

i should invest in one of those laser level angle finders too.,

i love it. only problem is i try to get too accurate with it.

how many decimals can it measure to?

This is the one I have. If you get lucky you can find them on ebay. I like it because you can clap it into the finger holes of an aluminum level.
http://www.vansantent.com/digital_levels.htm

mine goes to  one decimal place. accurate enough for what i need. hell, im not a good enough fabricator/alignment guy to do anything more accurate.

michael

time for another update.



i realized my pictures in the previous post sucked. so i took better ones.



(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture385.jpg)

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture389.jpg)



I got the radio reinstalled. had to trim the glovebox a bit in the back, and reroute the defroster hose, but it went in. currently held in with some self adhesive velcro that my wife had in her craft closet.



(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture390.jpg)



i changed alignment settings. 8 degrees positive caster, 1.5 negative camber, 0 toe. drives a bit better now.



also, i spent another 56 bucks. 50 on the seats, 6 on some steel down at AL lowders. with the economy in the tank, price of steel douns there had dropped a lot. at least theres one positive to the economy....



(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture386.jpg)

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture387.jpg)



yes, i know thyer barney purple. no, theyre not staying that way.

yes, i know APC seats are ricer seats, and suck. No, i dont care. once i get a little more time, im building a set of lowered, fixed mounts for them out of the Lowders steel, and just swapping them in when im oing to the track or mountains. rocking the Blazer buckets for DD duty.



grand total is 1418.91 as i drove it to the lawnmower shop today.



also, got a noxice school thsi weekend. maybe i wont get rained out this time, and can get some pics of the cop truck on track.



Michael

seats look nice man, look pretty comfortable to me compared to the scat seats i tried in my truck.