ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: supermanwv on July 24, 2006, 05:39:35 PM
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I found a 89 Sidekick for $400. It runs and 4 wheel drive works great. Only problem is some of the body mounts are rusted out and the front inner finders are in bad shape. And where the seatbelts hook to the floor for the rear seat...(WHICH I NEED A REAR SEAT FOR CHILD SEAT)...are rusted out. Can all of these panels be fixed? And how much lift can be put on a sidekick without problems?
Is this a good deal and should i buy it? NEED ANSWER QUICK.
ALSO...it is an automatic.... is that a problem, or is that good. Or should I look for a 5 spd? It is also fuel injected.
Clark
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imo walk away. the rust can be fixed, but by the sounds of your description, i wouldn't waste the money. if you really want one keep looking foe one with no rust on the body mounts. seriously by the sounds of it, it probably has more problems.
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The rust is actually the floor of the body, the body mounts on the frame are awesome. The whole frame looks good for that matter. Just the body is rusty.
Clark
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well if it's not that bad then $400 is a cheap starting project.
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The only real problem I have is all of the rust around the body mounts. The motor is awesome...no leaks or anything. Starts right up. No hesitation. I just want to be safe on the trail. So I want to know for sure that I can fix the floor around where the body mounts to the frame. If it is possible I will get it.
Clark
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sounds good, you will have a hard time finding a trackick without rust under the rear seats. You can put about 5" of lift on a sidekick safely. 3" bodylift and 1.5" coils spacers will let you clear 30's without trimming and possibly 31's.
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sure anything can be fixed. if you could post pics then maybe everyone can get a visual idea, and give better advise. fixing rust is either time consuming doing it yourself or costly getting someone else to do it.
are you up for it ?
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I hope you own a welder, cuz paying somebody to fix that will get to be $$$$$$$
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Probably buy it and drive it. Put no money into it (yet). Maybe just the bare minimum to make it safe to haul a kid. Keep it and use it for parts when you find one with a bad drive train and good everything else. Seems like maybe worth it for parts. Assuming the engine and rest of drivetrain is tight and not leaking. For me it would be easier to swap parts around then to deal with an endless list of rust repairs. Adam
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I do own a welder....but a welder I am not....at least YET anyway. Is it possible to buy the pieces to weld in, or do you have to form them yourself. How thick of metal would I need to use to fix it. It is the body mount where teh floor behing the driver seat goes ___/-----.
I don't know what to do. I know its a good price. Are the automatics worth it, or should I hold out for a 5 speed?
Clark
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Theres rust in WV ? George is my name, Rust is my game, Bring it to my house I'll show you my fame! For a price. LOL
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hi, having the same body mount rust issues with my '91. not a welder either so i'm tackling it in stages. found a good body shop with reasonable prices was the first thing.
then i had them do the ones in the back after i scraped off all the bed liner myself to save some labor time. that was their suggestion... they're real helpful like that  :). cost me $250 and they did a real good job. dropped the gas tank to get to all the rust so there won't be issues in the future. undercoated the under body welds and top coated the patches inside.
this weekend i sprayed the rubberized undercoating all inside behind the body panels and then truck bed coated everything else including the back door.
next for the body shop in a few weeks will be the mounts behind the seats and in the front floor. after that will be the rockers and the batttery tray. i'm guessing should be about the same charge for each trip to them. more than worth it to get a good professional job. just my $.02.
;D
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Sounds good. Do you know if you can buy inner door panels and track stuff to get the window working properly and a door handle for the inside so I can open the door?
Just wondering if there was someone out there that sells this stuff after market.
Clark
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One other thing I have questions about. The front hubs do not seem to turn. They just look like hubs that would turn. Is there a way to put turning hubs in them, or are the ones it has good to have? Or do they suck? Are they hard to replace if I need to, or if I just want to put a set of lock in/out hubs in it rather than keeping the auto hubs.
Clark
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you can put in locking hubs from any samurai (please someone correct me if i am wrong) but one thing i would check is the frame brace in the rear that goes in front of the gas tank. if that is rusted through i would either pass it up or buy it and part it out and get more then you paid for it out of parting it. IMHO
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That brace accross the back is rusted rather badly. Is there no way to fix that, or should I just steer clear of this Sidekick and keep looking?
The only problem is, I only have limited funds to purchase a project with. Like $400-$600 dollars. Its hard to find them at that price that still run, or whatever.
Does anyone have any ideas for me.
Clark
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I had probably the worst repairable rust ever on a 1992 toyota pickup...... Rear frame rails were rusted through on three sides, cross brace near gas tank was gone, rear spring hangers were practically hanging in mid air.
I have a good working relationship with a corner garage that has a pretty good welder. He got some plate steel bent into angles that matched the frame and rebuilt the frame and the cross brace. COst 400 bucks for the right side frame rail and cross member, im watching the left frame rail for signs it is about to go, maybe it will last a year.
I figure at those rates that im looking at maybe 1000 bucks in rust repairs to the frame over the 5 year life of the new engine i just put in.....(god i hate this truck) :)
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I would like to get some info from someone who has a sidekick or tracker that has had major problems with body rust and frame brace rust.
Come on, I know someone out there can give me some info.
Clark
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If this rig is beyond repair...does anyone know where I can get one in my price range....$400-$600?
Clark
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I seem to remember someone repairing the rear brace using another piece of tube with an outer diameter the same as the inner diameter of the brace. They drifted it into place and then spot welded.
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I think I'm gonna have to give up on this poor little SideKick and look for another one.
Does anyone close to West Virginia happen to have a Tracker or SideKick that has everything but a motor....and isn't rusted all to heck on the frame bracing and such. As long as the floor and body mount areas are good....I can deal with rusted up body parts and such. As long as there is something to weld to, and the frame is solid. I am willing to pay $400-$600 even if it doesn' t run well. Or doesn't run at all. But I need it to be close enough to pick it up easily unless someone is willing to deliver.
Let me know if you have anything.
Thanks alot for all your info and help.
Clark (SUPERMANWV)
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Clark, you coming to MJ7? If so, I might have something for you to look at... ;)
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Where in WV you located? I'm in PA about 10min from the Mountaineer Racetrack/Casino in Newel WV. I have a almost spotless 95 Tin Top with no motor or trans.
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Digger: I PMed you, so deffinetly get back to me. I'm interested in hearing what you have. I doubt I'll make it to MJ7, the details are in the PM I sent you.
joe_and_jeep: I PMed you also. Details in the PM.
Clark
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DIGGER:
Where you at. I'm waiting to hear from you. PM me.
Clark (SUPERMANWV)
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joe_and_jeep: I PMed you a couple more messages.
DIGGER!: Where you at. You get me all excited about a RIG and then you dissapear for a couple days. I hope everything is ok. PM me.
Clark (SUPERMANWV)
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Sorry, man... I just got home from working a 48 hour shift with no internet access, so please forgive me if I couldn't get back to you right away... you have an email...
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Hey yall.....my time has come.... ;D ;D ;D ;D
I got a telephone call back this morning from a guy in Clarksburg, WV who had a 1988 Samurai in perfect running order. It has the expected rust, but it is alot better than any of the others I've seen. It is inspected. It deffinetly needs some body work, but for the most part it runs and all the 4 wheel drive stuff works great. It has 5 brand new Cooper Discover tires (Stock size). The only problem is the shifter aligning washer that usually goes bad in them has gone bad, so I have to replace it....but it seems like an easy fix.
It has a new water pump, new battery, new tires, new timing belt/chain whichever it uses, and it starts right up. Oh it also has a new soft top. All carpeting is in it and all the seats are in it, and it also has all door handles and none are broke, the window roll up and down, and it even has a working radio, all inner door panels and such are in there...SOME ARE NOT PRETTY....but they are in there for me to use for templates.
AND TO THINK....ALL OF THIS FOR $400 dollars and a Compound Bow.
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT HAPPENED.
I own it and it is sitting in my parents yard, until tomorrow when I can take it to my house and put it in it new home to be worked on.....THE GARAGE.
Later
Thanks for all the info.
Clark (SUPERMANWV)
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Congrats. :)
Put some pics up once you get time. It would be great to see this steal you found.