Project: Modify everything, even the aftermarket parts to fit...

I also got quoted out a pair of pieces of 6061 solid 1" hex 15.5" long for tie rods, came out pretty cheap so I may use that instead of the swedged steel tubes I had been planning. Any objections to 1" solid 6061 for tie rods? Might consider turning off the flats all but about an inch in the center too.

i would keep hexes on both ends, makes it easier to torque on or off jamnuts with one hand that way.
just watch out for thread wear. maybe look into helicoiling

PICS!!!  Looks great

PICS!!!  Looks great

Yeah, not bad for a 23 year old daily driver with 240K on the body and frame and almost 160K on the engine and tranny.

I also got quoted out a pair of pieces of 6061 solid 1" hex 15.5" long for tie rods, came out pretty cheap so I may use that instead of the swedged steel tubes I had been planning. Any objections to 1" solid 6061 for tie rods? Might consider turning off the flats all but about an inch in the center too.

i would keep hexes on both ends, makes it easier to torque on or off jamnuts with one hand that way.
just watch out for thread wear. maybe look into helicoiling

Possibly Hexes on the ends to torque the jam nuts and a center pad for the alignment changes and to re-inforce the very center.

Helicoiling the threads is a great idea, and on the list, now.

Got my front valence in! It's taller than I expected, I will measure it once it's unwrapped. I don't want to even unwrap it yet as I'll want to install it, and I don't want to do that until I either get a paintable no-trim bumper from the yard, or get a fiberglass front bumper. If a JY bumper costs more than about $50 for one in really good shape then I'll just spend the money and get the fiberglass right up front instead of pussyfooting around.

Went ahead and unwrapped the new airdam because I have nothing better to do tonight. Max height at the center is just over 5.5" and the lowest height, which is around the sides just before it curves off is right about 3.5". The opening in the bumper are right about 3.5" tall and 6.5" wide and they have a nice taper from the center, so they're going to get a lot of air in them. They are however rounded on the outside edge so making up a duct is going to be a little trickier than I had hoped, but it should still work very nicely. Got some nicer pics for you guys too.

Just ordered all the parts to do a sealed beam H4 conversion on the front with diamond cut lenses and 90/130W Hela bulbs and a new headlight relay harness.

Nice choice.  I'm pretty happy with my H4 conversion with stock wiring and lower wattage bulbs on the S10.  I did the full conversion on the Audi with 80/100 watters on just one side and it is brighter than the stock for both....

Yeah, I drive almost a 20 mile stretch of highway with absolutely no lights on it at all outside of three street lights spaced out about 5 miles apart on the main section and my stockers just don't do the trick, my high beam headlights are often outshone by people behind me with their standards on, and my low beams net me about 30-35 feet of useable light.

Had I relized I could do it so cheap if I did all the wiring myself i would have done it a while ago. The $130(on a good day) painless harness was my main road block. I got everything, including connectors, a 10 pack of relays, a 10 pack of fuse holders, the headlights with some 65/90W bulbs and the Hela bulbs for right about $110 shipped.

Not bad.  I traded my original lights and $30 for the S10 H4s IIRC.  The Audi I found the one for $40 which is quite the deal.  Still trying to source the other for not too much from someone who actually has it and just doesn't list 4 on eBay while stringing me along for a month.  I've been collecting the sealed Bosch relays from 2nd gen s trucks for awhile for these such conversions.  Much cheaper and with OEM quality that way.  Clearance spool of wire from a local harness manufacturer and factory connectors from Mouser and the Junk Yard and my wallet doesn't feel too light.

nice! my yota has pretty much zero lights too...
where are you finding these deals on the conversion housings?

The housings I found on Ebay for $24 shipped with glass lens, I'm guessing plastic housing. The ends I found on some rink-a-dink website, but they were like $1.50 each for males and females with double barrel crimp pins, the rest was from scouring Amazon.

Mouser is good for OEM pins and connectors, althought some connectors can be pricey.  Nothing a junkyard trip can't fix though.  Their catalog can be a bit of a pain, but I've got working P/N's for most of the common 2nd gen connectors and pins as well as the H4 stuff.

Now that we're back up I can update this.

Full Headlight install with new relay harness is in and done, went pretty well I think. It's a long afternoon project, but not tough at all. The results are AMAZING. I can't really tell how much each of the two upgrades did, but together they're astronomical. Pics will be up later today.

I also just yesterday won a full set of front calipers and abutments off a C5 for just under $150 shipped. As soon as I get my money back from the government I'll hopefully be able to do the full brake upgrade and this thing should stop on a dime.

I am however thinking that my third gear is going, so first stop after the money comes in will be Denny's transmissions up in Mesa. I can't afford to have my tranny go on my and I've been getting really strange stalls. The third to fourth shift has been coming really really late after the tranny heats up and maybe once a day, in third, the truck will act like I just popped it into neutral for a few seconds, then right back in gear and off we go. It's really strange.

I have got a whole new major problem. I finally got the rest of the carpet pulled, and found that the floor is cracked\broken at a couple of the seat mounts. I wish I could say I was surprised, but with the way the previous owners obviously took care of this thing, I'm just not. I guess I'll have to get a hold of someone who can fab and weld and get them plated. If that's going to cost too much, I'm just going to buy a welder, lord knows I need one if I'm ever going to learn to weld anyways.

Been comparing prices and it almost seems silly to get my tranny rebuilt with how cheap they are. A 500hp/450ft-lb 700R4 from monster transmissions is $1150. I can get a new torque convertor w/lockup, aluminum pan, TV cable and standalone cooler with lines for right about $1600 shipped. A rebuild is going to set me back at least a grand and won't come with the convertor pan or cooler, so I might just be replacing my tranny all together, that I can certainly do myself. I am waiting for some info back from one guy, then I'll probably go ahead and order everything.

I got an extra bonus from cashing out my vacation time, so I might go ahead and order the propane conversion and see how my engine does on that for the short term, till I can get my new engine built, still on the fence about what engine to use, but I'm thinking I'll just grab a TBI 305 and go from there. Possibly drop some L98 heads on it if I can get some for a good price.

That's to bad about the floor. Good luck on your choice of trans. I just had to replace my blazer trans. I ended up going with a junkyard one that came with a lifetime unlimited mile warranty for $850. If it breaks they pay the mechanic to change and cover everything, fluid, filter etc. I'm on my second one now and it's lasting so far. It's kind of comforting knowing I'll never have to spend another dime on the trans for my dd.

I wish I could get one of those around here.

Still waiting on my tax refund, the website said it was supposed to go through friday. I'm not holding my breath.

I forgot about pics of the headlights and hole, I'll get there, promise. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler, I'll try and get them after I get home from work.

I'm so bad about pictures, sorry guys, I'll get there. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. My company was bought out so I've been on my thumb for weeks, not sure if I would still have my job or not even, but I've just been banned from getting any overtime and have had my hours cut slightly. I was however able to completley wipe out my credit card debt with my tax refund, so I can try and assume my own mortgage in order to get my ex off of it, which is going to require 6 months of mortgage payments in an account at time of close, which is just slightly more than every cent I have left from my tax rebate. So progress will be slow again for a while till that can get sorted out.

I did however order a set of Speedway IMCA tie rods today for $105 shipped with seals, basically just because I need them rather badly and have waited too long as it is. We've had a ton of wind and I've inadvertantly changed lanes a few times lately. Hopefully they'll go on at the end of the week when I have some time off.

I finally got pictures of the headlight relay sets in place for you all:

I also got pictures of my tie rods, both on the ground and installed!

For the installation I took the time to center by steering linkage within 1/32 to either side, then install the tie rods at their smallest possible, then cranked them out to get myself to exactly 1/8" toe in. I haven't gotten it up to highway speeds yet, however it tracked down the roads around my house just BEAUTIFULLY, and steering got a lot more tight, I was surprised how much play was in the tie rods and not in the box. These make me really want the faster ratio box.

You'll all notice that I did not get the fully adjustable inner and outters, just the adjustable outers, the inners are actually Elgin Pro Stock inners and they're built very nicely, I was quite surprised. The only complaint I have about the whole thing, is that wrench flats on the tubes would have been REALLY nice, but you can make due without out them easily. I also have the heims as high as you can physically put them on the studs, and it's not high enough, it took out right about a quarter, and as you can see, they are certainly closer, but just not all the way there. I'll have to pick up the correct tapered ream open up the steering arm on the drop spindles I get to get them up the additional 3/8" to fully correct bumpsteer.