1997 Nissan Hardbody - Dads old truck!

I'm glad he got it, must be a tricky job if even the pro took 2x to get it.

Really enjoying this renovation/build, keep up the great work!

 

Thanks! Appreciate it!

 

Truck is home, smogged and taken off non-op status! It sat for so long I had to spend two days driving around to rack up the miles to get the monitors back up and monitoring.

Good news:
Truck is fixed and running great
Passed smog with great numbers, legal and back on the road
Wheels feel great, almost exact same size as stock but we jumped up from 14 to 16 in wheels

Bad:
Mechanic forgot to install one of the exhaust manifold bolts, or didnt tighten it and it spun off
Oil pan leaks - My fault shouldnt have used a cork gasket with the Ultra Grey
Oil Pump is also leaking - Not sure who would be at fault here. Im gonna say mechanic because he pulled this after I did, and clearly didn't use a new gasket or something.
Either way, I called the shop. Owner was pissed his guy messed this up. Im bringing the truck back so he can make good on the issues.



Ill be redoing the oil pan, so it can sit for 24 hours so the ultra grey can fully cure. In the meantime the oil pump is such a small leak it can technically be driven without any oil hitting the ground but Ill still keep it at home. Now that its done, its days of being stored in the garage are over so I added full coverage on it in case it gets stolen from outside. Cost me an extra $10 bux a month lol.

Immediate plans are going to be to get this rust removed. Below photo is the worst of it. There are few other minor spots. Going to at least get primer over it, and I have some OEM Nissan paint in a spray can. I think I want to wrap the truck in the future so not too concerned on the paint appearance.

 

^^^^^^
All right!

 

Truck is going back to shop on the 27th. Get the oil pump leak fixed. Until then Im going to redo the oil pan for the third time.

In other news, I commissioned this artist I follow on Instagram to draw a photo of me and the boy in the truck. Im going to print it out and hang it in his room as a surprise, and one for my garage. I might even print some stickers just for fun and to hand out in his birthday cards and stuff.



Non dads truck related but a position at my office I've been waiting for opened up sooner than planned. I finished up 2nd interview yesterday so I am really hoping I get the position. If I do, I think I might actually be able to buy a new Tacoma. Maybe even this year... although I've been reading the 2022 order thread and it could be up to a 6 month wait. Which I'm fine with, I've waited 8 years... what's another 6 months or so.

 

Great picture and a neat idea!

Good luck with the job.

 

Well, didn't get the position I applied for. Looks like a new truck will have to wait another year...

Was poking around the truck before I bring it back to mechanic and I found this



If you are pulling a transmission to replace a clutch and flywheel and don't see this, or think to correct it, or at the very least notify the customer... did you even pull the transmission? Did you actually replace the parts you said you did? What a shitty weekend man. Always something.

 

Keep the Faith. You’ve got this. They want you to give up but that’s not gonna happen

 

Thank you Steve! In my specific situation, I think I was just out experienced. My interview was great. Probably the best I have ever had. I was told my experience and quality of work stood out, but that it was a very tough and experienced pool of applicants. But Ill stick it out. I am hoping they open up more of the same position. We will see. I'm also going to start looking for this position at other companies.

 

Oil pan replaced, still leaking. possible locations were oil pump, timing cover and transmission.

So far one of the leaks was found. It was the PCV breather assembly. I probably didnt put RTV on when I re-installed.
1 down 2 possible to go. Runs great though. Had a rattle at high RPM I always assumed was the loose chain, turns out it was a loose mount for A/C line near fire wall. That's done. She's at a local shop hunting down the last of the leaks. I'm also looking for a body shop to install rear roll pan. Everything else I plan to do to it in near future can be done while I drive the truck. So first on the list is fixing all the rust spots on the body.

 

You have come a long way, looking good.

 

My uncle rolled a red 510 into a ditch, once and came out smelling like a rose

 

Ouch! I've had mine sideways but fortunately never anything serious.

 

They run better after you roll them a few times

 

So it was leaking from the PCV valve and also there is a gasket where the shifter inserts into transmission. While that was out, I noticed a busted lower shifter bushing so replaced that as well.

So.. no more oil leaks, and she runs like a champ. Only issue is I found a few drops of coolant on the ground this morning, so im thinking a looses hose clamp or just a bad hose.

This weekend I tackled a few projects that didnt need the truck running to repair. Rust.. rust all over. Now, before you body and paint guys freak out.. 1. Ive done this only 1 time before. 2. Im not worried so much about the looks of the truck, more so stopping the rust from damaging the body panels. I plan to have the truck fully and professionally repainted but my son is only 6 and no where near driving age so I have time to save $$ and also use the truck.

This is the worst spot out of all of them



The rust was bad here, had to pull out the grinder. Afterwards I soaked it in the rust remover for 30 minutes as extra precaution then hosed her off and sanded it smooth.



There was pitting from the rust, and a few dents or low spots so I did my best with some body filler as light as I could.



I remember seeing a video or something about using rolled paper to help feather the paint out when you are trying to paint match... Trying to reduce those hard, straight lines. Again, not to worried on looks but if I can get this smooth I do have OEM paint in a spray can I can at least cover the primer later to hide it better.

 

Looking good!

 

That pitting will cause you trouble, you have to get the rust out or it will come back.
Grinding isn't the answer because you remove too much metal.

These Norton disks are very expensive but also work very well. Used carefully they will last a long time. The woven material is impregnated with silicon carbide abrasive, as it wears new abrasive is constantly exposed. These do a good job at getting into the pits without removing metal like sanding/grinding.



If you have access to an air compressor a spot blaster like this will really get the pitting clean. The abrasive recycles so you use a long lasting high quality abrasive like silicone carbide or aluminum oxide. "Sand" won't work as it instantly turns to dust.

Since you are only blasting a small area about the size of a quarter at a time these will work with a smaller compressor providing it is a tank type and has a 3/8" hose.

This ALC brand is a quality unit.



Remember, primer is porous, it will allow water to pass through to the metal (rust again), make sure you put a top coat on it.

 

Thank you for all of those tips, including this one. I didnt know. I guess I will be now!

 

It aint that pretty, but 1. The rust is gone, hopefully for good. 2. I wont have a bunch of primer spots all over the truck lookin like I just left a body shop ROP class 3. Im gonna wait to have it profesisonally repainted before the kid starts driving so no sense in doing it now.

 

I should probably be focusing on figuring out the temp gauge issue, but I cant stand listening to the radio so I needed to get some kind of bluetooth stereo in the truck. I went back and forth with the idea of getting a double din screen, with Netflix and car play and blah blah.. but all that is where I live is an excuse to have your windows broken.

I ended up going with a JDI Ghostbox 2.0. It will allow me to totally remove the stereo all together. Not sure how it will work out, everything is controlled via the phone so Ill have access to whatever I need there. If it doesnt work out, it wasnt expensive and I can go with something else.



Surprisingly easier than expected to remove this considering it has been parked outside in the sun its whole life. I half thought I would break all the tabs haha.



Found this lovely surprise when I removed everything... I think whome ever installed the stereo most likely had noise coming through the speakers so these capacitors were put in to stop it.



I think it might have actually been a ground problem because the the ground wire was attached to plastic here..



I debated if I should remove them or not, but after talking with a friend I went ahead and removed it all and started wiring up the JDI harness.





Speakers arrive in the mail today. Probably finish up wiring tonight and test it out.