Crunchy Taco? - 1st gen on 35s BS

From what I have estimated I'll spend about $800 on vinyl itself. Wrapping it myself seems like it'd be a PITA, especially over the body damage on the fenders and bed sides. I checked a shop that wanted $2-3k for a wrap install so I think I'm gonna rule that out.


I'm kind of thinking a Rust-Oleum or Majic tractor paint DIY. With lots of sanding and polishing it should shine up nice and will be easier to touch up when a tree or rock goes through it.

Not sure what I'm gonna do. I've considered cutting and polishing the current paint to brighten it up a bit but it's still bleh

 

Hey Jake, I still need to deal with the little bit of grinder dust and paint overspray that got on my paint. Do you think a clay bar followed by a cut and polish would do the job?

I don’t care too much about the paint job, obviously, but I also don’t want that stuff to continue to bond to the clear coat and look super ghetto. I’ve also never been a guy who detailed his stuff, so I’m basically clueless

 

Me either, man. The example I got from my parents was maybe hosing the car off every now and then and waiting a few years to complain about the paint job going to shit from the UV sun damage


I've been watching a ton of YouTube videos on how to do paint restoration and there isn't a ton to it but it is tedious.

I think that would work, you could try a small spot by hand to see if it comes out like you'd expect. I did a hand cut on my hood and started getting through some of the oxidation but it was a ton of work so I decided to put that on the back burner. I'm curious about trying the cheap black and Decker buffer/polisher Amazon sells for $30 but I haven't ordered it yet.

 

I’ll probably give it a go and see how it turns out. I’ve been wanting to rebadge the truck as well so maybe I’ll do that first to motivate me to do the rest

 

It's worth a shot, even if it doesn't turn out perfect! Let me know what products you decide to try. I used Meditation cut and polish but I've heard great things about the Chemical Guys products though those seem professional oriented

 

Figured out my PS cooler mounting to keep it away from the AC line and the condenser so hopefully no damage occurs.

I need to pull the center section off and paint it then it's ready to get hooked up and stuff

 

Ugh I thought that was wheeler lake! Near breck right? My wife and I went on vacation to breck last summer and saw wheeler lake looked like a fun trail nearby. When I come out there to do the alpine loop, tougher trails like that are on my list as well.

 

Wheeler is gorgeous and definitely worth the visit. It'll be worth setting aside a whole day because I don't think I've ever exited the trail before 6pm

 

If wheeling didn't kill my power steering pump I think I just did. I hooked all my lines up, filled it, and started it to bleed the air out and it immediately started making noises. I had a pinched hose and it was running for the minute it took for me to find it.

After draining the fluid from the res, rerouting the lines, and refilling it's still making dinosaur noises. There was also some glitter in the fluid so unless Valvoline ATF is more fabulous I've got a problem.

 

All bolted in


Here's what I came up with to keep the cooler from rubbing the condenser or its lines

 

So I guess getting an aux cooler in will keep me from ever getting lights in behind the grill again huh?

 

I was surprised at how constrained things were in there when I put my cooler in. With the AC lines and brackets and stuff it just doesn’t leave many spaces open for the cooler itself, much less a couple decent size driving lights. But maybe there are some light options out there that are a bit thinner profile? I know my cheap 7” leds would still be too deep to fit behind the grill.

 

You may be able to swing it if you go with something like this. I suppose it could be mounted on the crossmember that the rack hard lines go across as well.

HotRod99 12" Satin Aluminum Finned Dual Pass Heat Sink Cooler Transmission Cooler Black Includes Two 1/4 NPT Fittings

https://www.amazon.com/HotRod99-Aluminum-Finned-Transmission-Cooler/dp/B01EC4G9JA/

 

Got some more photos of the wheeler memorial run for my buddy RIP Shaun


We camped outside of Fairplay Sat night before our Sunday run up wheeler

 

I tore into the truck today and the fluid that came out of the high side line looked like a nice candy apple paint job while the fluid between the Magnefine filter I added and the reservoir was nice and clean. Nice to know the filter works. The pulley shaft also has at least 1/16" inch in/out play so I think it's safe to say the pumps bearings are done.

Since I had to pull the reservoir off to transfer it to the new pump I cleaned it the best I could with brake cleaner. I was having a hard time getting everything off of the screen so I dumped a few ounces of acetone in, covered the holes, shook it up, then used my shop vac on the top where the cap would go. As far as I can tell the screen is nice and clean now.

Decided to go with a Napa reman pump since I trust their house parts the best. I still need to install the new pump and put everything back together.

 

Sucks about the old pump, but it looks like you're fixing it the right way.

Just hope it lasts....

 

We'll see how it holds up! I got the new pump in and got the system bled, then put the air box and all that back in. The pump makes noise at full lock but I guess that's normal (can't remember if the old pump did or not). I put a bunch of miles on the truck today and it drove pretty great for what it is and I suspect the cooler will be more than sufficient in keeping this pump alive.

 

I went back and forth on ordering gears and the front locker but I really don't have the motivation to tear things down again right now so I'm just gonna rock the truck as it is til I feel ready even though the gears are sucky

 

Wait till Black Friday?

 

I’ve had a front diff with 4.88’s already installed for over a year now... still haven’t gotten the motivation to complete that project lol