project drivabeater

[dusterbd13]

ok, i got to missing a truck in my stable, so i had to get one. the last one i had was a 98 dakota extended cab with a warmed over 5.2, 5 speed, 3.91 posi, and full hotchkis suspension and poly bushings. great truck, until it was hit head on by a truckload of illegals.



so after a year of not having one, i decided it was time especially now that i bought a house.
i did some swapping, doing a rehash on a 92 pontiac grand am. my labor in exchange for a 95 chrysler cirrus with a supposedly bad tranny. fixed a leak, and daily drove it for a few weeks. then, i found a guy that was willing to trade the chrysler for a GMC S15.







so far total investment is 20 hours labor, and 15 bucks. not bad for a running driving truck with a clean title. oh, and the pictures are AFTER i cleaned it up. a lot.

when i got it, the guy said it wouldnt crank for him, so he parked it. started right up for me after i reconnected the coil wire. he also said the tranny might be going south. after readjusting the TV cable, i found no problem with the tranny. in the process of this, i found that they had pulled the terminals from the ends of a couple of plug wires when they put brand new plugs in it. but they left the wire dangling in there hoping it hit a plug. so add a new set of plug wires, cap, rotor, PCV, Fuel filter, and can of seafoam. total parts now invested: 68 dollars.
i also put on some wiper blades to get it to pass inspection: 20 bucks.

lastly, i found why it quit running on me last weekend. the ignition module went bad. so add another 26 bucks in there.

grand total to this point: 114.

i am now in the process of finishing the interior swap, blacking out the trim, and getting the suspension not so scary.

as far as the interior,
replace the trashed door panels.
put in carpet.
install stereo.
Install buckets.
Overhead and between seats consoles.

the goals of this tuck are to have a decent looking beater that i can dive anywhere, through anything, and park anywhere. it also has to handle and stop exceptionally well, and be cheap to build and operate as well as cofortable to drive.
to that end, the overall plans are to rebuild the front suspension, using 2 inch drop springs, tall upper and lower ball joints, poly bushings, bilstein shocks, and a 33 MM sway bar. the rear is still up in the air. id love to 3 link it, but dont want to cut the bed and still need to be able to carry loads. Truck arms are out due to wanting to retain the stock gas tank. so i dunno. Brakes will eventually be C5 corvette pieces at all 4 corners under 17X9 black wheels wrapped in 275/40/17 or 315/35/17. depends wht will clear.
body will recieve a 300 dollar paint job, cowl hood, fender flares, 92 grille, 92 tail lights, sport mirrors, roll pan, and filled tailgate. maybe a tanneau cover if the budget allows.

anyway, im keeping this thread to show others what can be done on an extremely small budget, as well as a running tally of expenses.

i'll post updates next week when i take some more pictures of the current progress on the interior and body.

Michael