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ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: Digger on September 17, 2005, 08:23:08 PM
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I'm starting a new project. I'm going to be trying to keep costs down(especially since I anit rich! ;)) and I'm going to try to keep track of the budget in case(miraculuosly) the budget is worthy of bragging about when I'm done. ;D
Here we go...
My neighbor came over to me a couple months ago and told me about an unloved, neglected 4 door kick that his wife's aunt owned. He said it was just falling apart in the woods next to their abandoned trailer. He said that she needed money and told him to sell it to the junkyard. The junkyard offered him $75 for it, so he thought he'd ask me if I was interested since it looked like a lot of the parts would interchange with my 2 door. I went up to look at it and this is what I saw:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252830.jpg)
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252826.jpg)
It had 53k on the odometer and a 16 valve under the hood... The story goes that she bought it a few years ago, paid $5-6 grand for it, drove it for a couple years until the ECM went bad. They couldn't find an ECM for under $800, so they pushed it aside and ignored it. Then they moved away, leaving it behind. Some of the parts had been stripped off of it, like wheels, tires, battery, starter, alternator, belts, radio, speakers, etc... But I said sure, I'll give you $75 for it! ;D ;D ;D
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I'm starting a new project. I'm going to be trying to keep costs down(especially since I anit rich! ;)) and I'm going to try to keep track of the budget in case(miraculuosly) the budget is worthy of bragging about when I'm done. ;D
Gonna post pics?
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Sorry, I accidentally hit post reply before I was finished! LOL! :-[
Anyways, I called my friend up and he brought down the tow dolly and a set of stock rims/tires from his sammy and I temporarily borrowed the lug nuts and brake drum nuts from Silver and we went and picked it up. With a little wipe-down during some rain, it didn't look half-bad:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252824.jpg)
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252820.jpg)
My original plan was to use some of the parts myself and part out the rest. While this was underway, the rear hatch was sold as well as the engine and various other pieces here and there. Then it sat like this for a few days:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252818.jpg)
(I still have the front clip minus the headlights, it was just removed to facilitate the engine removal)
Terminal rust cancer and damage to the Goblin's frame presented itself during the very next trail ride, and a plan was hatched to save Goblin's life! The more we looked at the frame of the Goblin, the more it became clear that repairing it would be more work than modifying the 4 door's frame. Out came the wrenches again and within an hour we were up to this:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252847.jpg)
(nice body hoist, huh? ;))
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252840.jpg)
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252838.jpg)
We rolled the frame over next to the Goblin to compare it:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252835.jpg)
This one shows the difference in wheelbase:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252833.jpg)
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Damn, I wish I could find someone to sell me a dead trackick for $75, would make getting a hold of a tranny and tcase a lot easier.
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please tell me you are going to leave the long wheelbase and make a 2 dr long wheel base, cause that would be BITCHIN ;)
jason
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Next we stripped the tranny, T-case, exhaust and fuel tank out of the frame and strapped it back onto the dolly for the trip to my feind's shop. Along the way a quick stop at a coin-op car wash got it nicely cleaned and ready for some work to be done to it. It was dark by this point, so no pics of the washed frame. The plan is to take this un-bent, un-damaged frame and while the body is off, reinforce it for offroading. Strengthening the strut towers and a-arm mounts as well as the rear lower control arm mounts and other places here and there like the idler arm mount and the front and rear crossmember/bulkheads...
While all of this was underway, I started comparing the overall condition of both the Goblin's body and the 4 door's body and it was evident that once we tried to remove the Goblin's body from it's frame, there wouldn't be much left to move to the new frame :-\. There were several rust holes in the floor, the rockers are pretty much gone as well as the metal below the tail lights and the sides have been pretty well crushed in. There's not a straight panel left on the entire trucklet except for maybe the top of the targa section! :P None of the doors close right, either. But one thing it's got going for it: the thing runs excellently! No smoke, doesn't use oil, gears shift smooth... So guess what engine and drivetrain I'm using for my project? ;) Anyways, the 4 door's body is in much better condition with a lot less rust. But I don't want a 4 door! ::) I like my 2 door soft top for running around in the woods! Oh well... something will just have to be done about that, but first the donor body must be stripped completely bare for minor rust repair and bedliner application. Ever see a completely empty 4 door before?
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112252832.jpg)
And now for a quick budget update. Total cost of the 4 door: $75. Total from sold parts so far: $450. So I'm actually $375 ahead right now and there's still a bunch of parts I wont be using that I can sell(like the tranny and T-case).
Well, that's where the project is at so far. I will add more pics as it progresses.  ;D :D ;) 8)
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please tell me you are going to leave the long wheelbase and make a 2 dr long wheel base, cause that would be BITCHIN ;)
jason
Hmmm... A Sidekick Unlimited, eh? Interesting... what other ideas does anybody have for this thing? It's up in the air right now. We have a sammy for parts, just bought an LJ and even have a Fiero in good condition we could play with, so we're not sure just what we're going to do yet, but whatever we decide, it will definately be one-of-a-kind! LOL! ;)
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Check your PMs!
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How about welding the rear doors shut, cutting the roof off about 4 inches behind the front edge of the rear door down to the bottom of the windows?
A rollbar, a sheetmetal back wall, a fabbed tailgate and you have a longbed Kick PU!
Or, cut off the back, install a cab wall, rollbar and whatever else you want!
I drove my '96 Tracker two door on the interstate today for the first time after driving my '93 Sidekick 4-door for a month. Wow! What an improved ride! Imagine the bigger improvement with everything in the back gone...
Keep posting pics!
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ok, here iis what i've been planing on doing to one, i just haven't mesured it yet to see if it will work.
take the 4 door body, t=cut the solf top section off a 2 door body, put it in place of the rear section of the 4 door, the to finsh it off, take the top that goes over the drivers head and put that peace on also so you have a convertable 4 door!
but thats just me. ;D
Stu
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ok, here iis what i've been planing on doing to one, i just haven't mesured it yet to see if it will work.
take the 4 door body, t=cut the solf top section off a 2 door body, put it in place of the rear section of the 4 door, the to finsh it off, take the top that goes over the drivers head and put that peace on also so you have a convertable 4 door!
but thats just me. ;D
Stu
My head hurts just thinking about that.
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Sort of like a 4 door Amigo like thing, huh? :)
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Your the kind of neighbor I need, at least we'd have a common interest and would complain about he amount of dead zooks in each others yard ;D ;D ;D
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How about welding the rear doors shut, cutting the roof off about 4 inches behind the front edge of the rear door down to the bottom of the windows?
A rollbar, a sheetmetal back wall, a fabbed tailgate and you have a longbed Kick PU!ÂÂ
Keep posting pics!
Hey !  A Pick-up,  :oÂÂ
That's my ideia but use the factory 4-dr gate for the back wall, and use a conv gate for the back tail gate.  I'd trim the bed lines down lower then the window, I'd go to the line just above the door handles and lay sheetmetal over the door seams for a smooth body.  Leave the sheet metal just a few inches over the top bed wall body line. Place some angle iron behind the line and hammer the sheet metal over to make the edge, Cap it with some diamond bed rail caps and line the inside with aluminum sheet or diamond aluminum.
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Sort of like a 4 door Amigo like thing, huh? :)
well i drive my 4 door daily, and its my first street driven car/truck. i have never driven a convertable daliy or even had one that the top sealed fully(2 door is a rollover, but its getter better right now) so i'm just not sure how i would like it. its just an idea(among many others) floating around in my head. but cut that thing up, i don't think i've ever seen one with the back cut off or anything, so you might be the first.(i'm talking 4 door, not weisles(sp) rig)
Stu
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interesting project you have going here. Take more pictures and I really like the idea of a LWB kick.
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Next beater 4-dr I get is definatly subject to the trck style conversion.
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Well, I might as well show you all what's going on... I can't keep secrets very well and besides, I want to be the pioneer of this incase someone else is doing it as well...
It's really amazing what you can do with a sawzall in just a few minutes:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112369333.jpg)
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112369329.jpg)
And here you get an idea of what's going to happen:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112369325.jpg)
And I managed to do all of this without breaking a single window!
Anyone need the cargo side glass and side rear door glass for their 4 door? I'll make you a heck of a deal! ;) LOL!!! ;D ;D ;D
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Hi Digger,
Could be a real kick ass rig when you have finished.
Thought about keeping the wheelbase? ( SWB 86", LWB 96" ).
Why dont you beam the front to get more lift than a IFS rig. This will make up for the longer wheelbase.
I could give you some info on how to sort out some of the issues of such a build. Basically I will give you some pointers on "The short cut method" to beam the front. But you need to be able to weld ;)
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I'm already planning on keeping the wheelbase. The body already fits the frame perfectly, so it will be much simpler to just keep the extra length. What is this "beaming the front end" you speak of? Something along the lines of a front suspension sub-frame?
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A beam axle front end - SAS to my American friends ;)
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And here you get an idea of what's going to happen:
([url]http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112369325.jpg[/url])
And I managed to do all of this without breaking a single window!
That looks real awesome, man if I only could get a four door cheap ;) but I guess I wouldn't be able to afford keeping 2 cars on the road :-\
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Awesome dude....
I've thought about this one for years, XLNT project.
Zag
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Been done before with other vehicles... MY XJ will receive similar treatment once my new house is done and the shop is installed.
Always though Suzuki should use the XL7 platform to build a small truck... One that can haul all those Suzuki ATV's and Bikes around in... Could cross market the truck to ATV/Bike dealers like Buy a Suzuki ATV or Bike and get so much $$ off a new Suzuki truck. There's a market for an inexpensive 4wd truck out there. Cause the cheapest now is $19k with all discounts (employee included).
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that is too cool! If I roll my kick thats what is going to happen to it! I like where you are going to put the back. Any smaller and the seats wouldn't go all the way back.
Now mount a pre runner style spare in back with a cool roll bar and it will look t*ts!
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Yeah, I am 6'5", so making sure that the seat went all the way back was important! LOL! ;) The bed really isn't as big as you'd think, so a prerunner-style spare mount would fill it up. I actually want to use the bed for the cooler and possibly camping gear or something. I don't know yet...
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I actually want to use the bed for the cooler and possibly camping gear or something. I don't know yet...
cut an old soft top up and use it as a tonneau cover ;)
Stu
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I actually want to use the bed for the cooler and possibly camping gear or something. I don't know yet...
cut an old soft top up and use it as a tonneau cover ;)
Stu
Possibly, but that's a later stage thing, first up is finishing the frame mods, the body work and then build the two trucks into one working one. I'm just not sure where I want to put the spare yet, but I know that the tailgate is pretty much out because my spare is a 33" and unless I do lots of reinforcing, the tailgate wont hold it well...
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Wow that rocks, i like it!
You could maybe fit a lil' dirt bike in the back there quite nicely.
that is too cool! If I roll my kick thats what is going to happen to it!
I did roll mine lol, a 97 kick sport. Now I am trying to figure out what to do with it, but I dont have half the sense of digg here as far as what the heck to do.
Digger do you think it would be possible to cut the whole front end of the roof off too and just mount a windsheild frame from somethin like a yj, stick some rollbars in it, and just make the whole thing a softtop? I havent found anyone thats ever done it, but you are pretty close with your truck. How are softtops for winter? I would guess they would be lousy but what have all you 2drs found for heating etc?
Dont spose anyone wants to take a vacation to Alberta and help me attempt it lol.
I thrashed this driving back from army training in wainwright :(
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You could chop it and reweld a straight roof on it. Then repair the rest from their.
I'd be cautious loosing the roof altogether as it is part of the body's support structure.
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meeee need roll 97 sport.. sell it to me sell it to me sellit to me( ;D)
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Hi veritas,
Is that a V6 model :) - sure looks like one to me 8).
Keep the front end reasonably intact and hog the back and front wheel archs for bigger rubber. Those LWB Vits climb real good when tweaked.
Zeuszuki ( soft top SWB ) runs the same wheel base as a LWB Vit - works sooooo good as an all rounder ;) It climbs up and over very well and is still quite nimble - a good compromise in my book :D
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Well, I took some measurements on the frame today and I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that the rear frame section of a 4 door where the gas tank sits is pretty much exactly the same as a 2 door, just slightly longer(just over 5" front to back). Outside left to right dimension is 34", inside is 29-3/4". Mounting tabs for the tank are |removethispart|@19" center to center from left to right both in front of the tank and behind it. The inside measure between the rear cross member and the one just in front of the tank is 20" on the 4 door, 14-3/4" on the 2 door.
The 4 door tank is longer front to back than the 2 door tank and also slightly wider left to right. However the pinch welds on the 4 door tank are wider than the frame opening which is why the 4 door tank can't be lifted without some work to bend the pinch weld over or cut it off. Or if your body mount is high enough, you might be able to set the pinch welds on top of the frame rails, but you'd need a 4 or 5" body lift at least...
I'm not sure which tank I'm going to use in my project yet, both are in servicable condition. But I'll figure that out later. Next up is removing everything else from the frame, Basically everything that will unbolt, then I need to scrape off all the old undercoating, strip the paint and rust, weld on the reinforcements and repaint it. Then start re-finishing the suspension components and put them back on.
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hey i found a pic of a sport that is doing what you are kind of
(http://www.omghi2.us/april05/576869_25.jpg)
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Cool pic. I was toying with a similar idea, but I decided to maximize bed space and front seat room...
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Between last night and today, I spent a good bit of time working on the frame.
I started last night with this:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112732533.jpg)
After some more teardown, I was left with this:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112732529.jpg)
Send in the strippers!!! :o Oops, sorry, got a little excited there... I meant time to start stripping the frame! This is the worst spot on the whole frame:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112732526.jpg)
After spending the better part of the day scraping and wire brushing, I had roughly 1/4 of the frame stripped and a light coat of primer applied.
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112732525.jpg)
Being temporarily burned out on frame stripping, I sent the upper Y link through the bead blaster and primed it:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112732522.jpg)
Now if only I could figure out if I want the frame and suspension basic black when I'm done or some brighter color... It's not like it really matters since it will all be mud brown after it's first trail ride... LOL!
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Looking good digger.
i have attached a photo of my Escudo ( Kick ).had to try the pic attach feature out ;) Hope it works.
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I spent the afternoon working on the body some. I managed to scrape out all of the old sound deadening material from the interior floor as well as expose the worst of the body rust that needs repaired:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112902090.jpg)
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/112902086.jpg)
(that was a lot of scraping, what a pain! LOL! :))
The front floorboards/wheelwells are going to be cut out and replaced with fresh steel, but moved back a couple inches for more tire clearance, sort of "virtual lift" style so my 33's will fit without a 4" body lift! LOL! The rear wheel wells are also going to be cut out and replaced with fresh steel with the inner fender coming straight out from the highest point, no curve down at the outside edge, no fender "lip", so to speak. With this treatment, a 3" body lift should be more than enough with my 2" suspension lift to fit the 33's...
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Looks sweet. Can't wait for some more progress pics... looks like fun :)
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I haven't updated this for a while, but with all of the adventures recently, I really haven't had much time to spend on the project. Well today I spent most of the day working on stripping more of the frame:
(http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL72/842221/8360886/114173471.jpg)
It's slow going, but the frame will be very nice when I'm done. 8)
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Update:
No new pics to add yet, but today I finished scraping out all of the old sound deadening material from the floor and cargo bay of the body so I can repair the few rust spots and do the body work for the bed area. I also have done a lot more scraping of the frame. It's not done yet, but I plan to get to work on it tomorrow and have the frame completely stripped and ready for the welding and painting. I'll have a couple of pics to add tomorrow night of the frame.
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Anything new? It's been about a month since the last post.
I wish I could even try to do that kind of stuff.
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Not much. I plan to do some more soon, though...
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i will watch this project with my full attention, as i am planning the same with my 4 door.
mines on toyota axles at the mo, so its only the body i need to play with now.
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Where does this Dig-Man live?
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This is no pickup... This is an SUT.
How's it coming along? This is uber intense and I'm in uber aw.
Thought about bobbing the bed?
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weather and monster truck season sorta put a temp hold on the build, but I plan on getting back to it soon...
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Ok Digger, is been a year, and I know you got x-90, and quit the spacer manufacturing. Have you gone back to this project yet?