Russell_G's 87 longbed build up. The door panels and interior wrap up.

[THK Matt]

Messy as it is. the end result will be phenominal bro.

Props to you, for doing such a clean and thorough swap/build.

[pumkin toy]

   looks great!  it will be nice to have it all sealed up and not have to worry about rust

[Russell_G]

Thanks guys, The bed is my only worry. Im scared even tho the 2 rust spots i have are surface rust and small that even with a patch pannel and all the rust treatment i will be doing that it will come back at some point.

I went up to grab my CB to put in the FJ for wheeling and now that the spectrum is dry it made a huge difference. I cant wait to get the rattle trap on the floor and the Edead on the roof and a mix of the 2 on the doors. With new door and window seals i think event eh swampers will be quiet to the passengers of the truck

[Russell_G]

Cleaned most of the overspray from the noise killer off this weekend and have a tine bit more to do. I blocked the cab and bay so i see paint in the coming week for atleast the bay and undersid/inside the truck.

Here's a cab i have been doing for a friend of mine.
before

bay after

rattletrap and jute padding(about the setup im going to have but i will go 160mill rather then 80mill)


playin with an 18inch wheel that was laying in the shop....this is how it sits.

new carpet, dash parts...going to have some pieces wrapped so it will be a clean truck...Just cause they are crawlers doesnt mean you have to give up the nice interior.



Its making me really wanna jump in on mine.

[pumkin toy]

damn that looks super clean!  is your crawler gonna be that nice too?

[axled89]

a crawler that is going to be kept. nice, that's un herd of.

[pumkin toy]

lol yeah i tried to keep mine nice..... then i just stopped caring!  then i ripped out the carpet and took the doors off and now its always dirty inside

[86rustbucket]

lol yeah i tried to keep mine nice..... then i just stopped caring!  then i ripped out the carpet and took the doors off and now its always dirty inside

x2  now its trashed

[Russell_G]

lol yeah i tried to keep mine nice..... then i just stopped caring!  then i ripped out the carpet and took the doors off and now its always dirty inside

In the summer i take the doors off. This year i will have rock doors so it will be a bit better.

x2  now its trashed

Mine was trased to start but it was always clean inside.

damn that looks super clean!  is your crawler gonna be that nice too?

Mines going to be way nicer. His We didnt wet the floor or even pull it in the booth we just stood it up and sprayed it then pulled it down and sprayed it. Mines going to a booth, All the cutting and mounting and welding is done so its just put it together and be done. Everythings getting cleaned,painted,polished or replaced (most of it has been replaced already)  His interior is just a cleaned up and re dyed stock interior with some civic seats coming soon. Mine is a leather wrapped taco dash and full leather interior and tons of stereo equipment and twice the noise killer and old seals. mines 100% damage free with all new seals.

The truck will be a daily in the winter and i built this rather then buy a new tacoma so it will be a new looking 87 with all the stuff i liked in the newer rigs.

a crawler that is going to be kept. nice, that's un herd of.

I think lots of people have nice rigs, Look at Marlin, We wonder if he has a stock pile of parts already painted incase he smashes something on the trail. Seriously tho im OCD with cars and trucks so it will stay nice...maybe not perfect but it will seem that way to most people i think.

[THK Matt]

I think lots of people have nice rigs, Look at Marlin, We wonder if he has a stock pile of parts already painted incase he smashes something on the trail. Seriously tho im OCD with cars and trucks so it will stay nice...maybe not perfect but it will seem that way to most people i think.

You sound like me.... i like it looking nice.

[86rustbucket]

man i would be a stress case on the trail tryin to keep that thing clean. you should enter it in a couple of car shows before u drive it.

[Russell_G]

man i would be a stress case on the trail tryin to keep that thing clean. you should enter it in a couple of car shows before u drive it.

Im going to i think. But i will be driving it before then. I have all kinds of brake in to do so the first week + im driving it will be a tease. I figure i will get it on the road for winter and as im driving it finish the small details like the canback/ sleeper build. Im doing a false floor to store my tools and gear out of view and the top will be padded for a sleeping surface for camping.

You sound like me.... i like it looking nice.

Just cause its used for wheeling doesnt mean it has to look like hell. I want to be able to take it to dinner or drive down the highway and not think about all the dirty looks i would be getting if it still looked the way it did.

[86rustbucket]

i take pride in my beat up pile

[Russell_G]

i take pride in my beat up pile

most do...not my style i guess

[Russell_G]

When i say i have ocd i dont think people believe me 100%

This is my 500 dollar daily i had. It was primed with dirty blue tweed interior. This is it before i sold it.

my $350 jetta

my $2500 bmw driver



I just cant leave anything alone.

[THK Matt]

Thats crazy!


but when i see a nig enough dent, broken glass, broken lense, etc... .you bet your ass its getting replaced/fixed.
I like having carpet.... mine gets shampoo'd and vacuumed constantly, always being washed and detailed.
So i totally understand... things have to be pleasing to the eye for me... no junk or I wont drive it

[Russell_G]

exactly! Even my 95 maxima with 303k miles looks like its in good shape. Not dirty inside or outside. The truck would get washed everytime it was off road or once a week because it would get the bmw dusty. During the winter they couldnt sit in the garage together cause the ice would fall off and splash the bimmer. I guess being that high it gets some good speed cause id go out in the morning and the bimmer would be soaked and water spotted.

303k miles on this car. Got it for $500 after my dad and i both used it as a company car. He got it in 96 and drove it for a personal car to about 150k and passed it on. Its been beat on for a car id own but held up amazing. I replaced the original alternator at 293 and a battery, re lube a bearing so the belt didnt make noise in the morning and im replacing the original rotors tomorrow. Im amazed with this thing and passed up buying the new project car(ls400) a few months ago cause its turning in to a game to see when or if it will die.




Back to the truck. I drilled the final holes in the door jam and in the firewall for my new wire routing yesterday and will hang the doors for the holes in them and i can finish prep and paint. I was going through boxes of grommets to the perfect ones and i wound up using 92 Vw corrado door wiring grommets for the doors and a 93 corrado door grommet for the ecu wiring. Perfect sized. The year change had longer rubber inside the pannel on the 93. I will get pics later today.

[THK Matt]

that maxima looks amazing for that many miles....
insane!! gotta love imports.


& son, !!!!

[BUDDERS]

My buddy had a Maxima just like that one and around 310k miles a trans cooler line blew and shot all over the catalytic convertor.  By the time we realized he wasn't following us anymore, his car had turned into a car-b-q.  They got out ok and he bought a new tundra the next day.

BTW, if you ever buy a LS400, don't buy one with a air pump or a '95.  The ones with the air pump are noted buy the auxillary small tube going to the air cleaner (some 92's-94's).  They have a larger diameter EGR pipe wich makes them very hard to replace when it cracks (and they all crack eventually).  The 95's have catalytic convertors that go bad and for that car, the parts alone are an easy 1k.

They all have rear carrier bushings that deteriorate, rear cv boots that leak, P/S pumps that leak and the newer ones have strut rods whose bushings deteriorate too.  The first few years they were made were about as bulletproof as they come and the engines on all of them will go an easy 300k.

[Russell_G]

The maxima wants to die LOL I thought i would treat it to some new bits because the belt is quiet now so i replaced the original rotors(warped when i got it and pads were trash) they were paper thin too. So i replace all 4 rotors with powerslot rotors and pads.....Get done stand back and think ok now to drive it and the starter lets the magic smoke out. Replaced the starter, rotated the tires and the car drives like never before. Needs CV's soon cause the boots just busted open so im going to get those and the 02 and the car will be perfect again. I figure i drove it a year and paid $500 for it. If i put another 300 in to it i will be just at 1800 total and will be giving back to my dad so it can be used while i fix the familys cars(only f''n car guy in the family) and i wont have to put plates on it. The car will be nice for the remainder of my build and i will get more then my moneys worth. I have put over 15k on it in less then a year(80 mile drive a day+ )

Im kinda thinking about getting back to my roots and building another mk2 gti or an mk1 swallow tail but im not sure. Its just a thought. The lexus is looking less and less interesting to me. The other idea is a new ls430 or something. I wanted an old one but im kinda tired of the wrenching and come july will be selling the shop and moving to a new house to build my own shop behind the house...I can always drive the truck for a while while i look for something.

[BUDDERS]

I hear ya when you say you are the only car guy in the family.  Everyone always comes to me first when they have a car problem too (I was a toyota and lexus master tech for years).

I've always likes those old VW's but haven't gotten into them since I don't know much about them.

The LS430's are real nice road cars.  I got to drive one from San Diego to the Bay Area to deliver it to a customer a while back and it handled like a dream.  Finding one will probably set you back a bit more than you've paid for other cars, but at least you wont have to work on it for a while 

[Russell_G]

Thats the idea, I rather buy a car thats even a few years old and spend 20ish and not need to dump any money in to repairing it then buy a car for 5k and in the first year be nickle and dimed to death. Im not worried about going fast anymore even tho the gti  and the bimmer are both fast they wont be on the road much. I miss the slow e36 i had where i could cruise comfortable at speeds.

The focus with the truck right now is get it moving and driving and painted so all i will have to do is interior work and stereo work after its moving. Looks like winter is coming fast and the maxima will suck in the snow if it gets too deep.

[Russell_G]

Got the inside done today...I havent had much time for the truck cause i have been cleaning out the shop...Seems i have gathered up enough spare 22r/re/rte parts to fill 2 truck cabs and i still have another cab that wont fit on my trailer to go to scrap too.

Pics coming later

[THK Matt]

GEEEZ

[86rustbucket]

you should start up a for sale thread with them 22r parts. They'll go like hot cakes

[Russell_G]

I had some guys come the night i posted that and they grabbed most of it. I had some guys come lastnight that aer on the forum and one of them got the fiberglass bed i had FS and i threw him a steering column with all the stalks and wiring to fix his lighting and some door locks so it will all match and work. I told him to post up cause he saw the build before seeing the truck in person i guess.

I painted my buddys truck all day and im not super happy with it but he is...hes not a freak like me and he plans on wheeling the hell out of it. More pics coming asap.

Russell

[86rustbucket]

i notice weird stuff,  i like your car trailer with just the rails for the tire and no B.S. i bet its pretty lite.

[Russell_G]

The trailer is nice, ITs been through hell and still pulls straight. For cars its perfect cause the bed tilts and the first step up is only about an inch so lowered cars fit. We got it from a couple that used it to haul an m3 race car around and it fit my old show car perfectly because my frame rails could sit between the inside rails. I had a winch on it but it needs to be replaced.

[Russell_G]

Went to paint the bay and when i was dusting it off with the airpen the chassis saver came off in sheets. F that stuff. Im stripping it all back out and just going to scrap that idea.

[pumkin toy]

thats no good man