m tr4nch's restoration/build thread !! (56k = death)

General discussion forum about the 240sx, and a great place to introduce yourself to the board!
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splintercell
Posts: 1742
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:28 pm
Car: 1989 Nissan 240sx HB
1991 Nissan Silvia
Location: Virginia

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thanks bro i cant wait to see your car and my car finished! Im not working on any more cars after this.


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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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got a couple more little things done recently.

took advantage of some black friday deals and scored stance toe and traction arms to complete my rear adjustable arm collection.

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also grabbed the spl rear z32 knuckle monoball bushings for a steal.

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got a little more painting done, just about the last of it i think.. everything done in the same ford tuxedo black as the subframe and crossmember are. did the subframe stay bars and cup looking things, steering rack mounting brackets, and the front hub center caps for the hell of it. also did the tein front tension rods since they were green and will match nothing on my car, and cleared all the adjustable arm hardware which might have been overboard but whatever.

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and last but not least, i decided to fill in the new nismo trans mount with urethane to make it a little stronger/stiffer.

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that's all for now, thanks for looking!

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Hijacker
Posts: 15759
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2003 4:57 am
Car: '92 240sx Convertible
'94 F-150
Location: Fredericksburg, VA

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You'll love the SPL monoballs. They press in pretty easily. If you have a small 12-ton hand press, you're golden. I was quoted something absurd like 2 hours of time at $70+/labor hour to have them pressed in, and found a used press on craigslist for $75. Problem solved.

Are your knuckles from a HICAS or a non-HICAS model? HICAS models need a larger toe arm bearing than non-HICAS since the ball joint has a slightly larger OD than the bushing. SPL keeps that as an internal P/N and doesn't make it obvious on their site. I had to call and order a set specifically for a TT Z32 when I did mine. Oh and if you jack one up like I did, SPL's pretty good about hooking you up on new shells without raking you over the coals.

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-It's hard to tell in this pic, but this bearing went crooked when I was pressing it in. The aluminum shell lost the battle thankfully and didn't screw up the knuckle. SPL charged me $20 for new shells. I just popped the bearing into the new shell halves with the press and put it in.

A helpful note if you're pressing these in yourself, make a table with deepwell impact sockets (I used my 36mm, 30mm, and both my 32mm sockets) and a flat piece of steel (my press has the two 1" thick plates to press into). The bearing race for the camber bearing is at such an odd angle, the only way to get it flat to the press arm is to make a table to support the race while you try to hook the rest of the upright under the table. Freaking pain in the a**. I'll try to snag a pic of it later if you want.

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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yess thank you for the info, i'm going to need all the tips i can get hah. i actually got a 12 ton harbor freight press as a christmas gift so i will definitely be putting it to good use with those and all the other bushings i have to do. i'm pretty sure the knuckles are non hicas, as i helped pull them off a non turbo z years ago with the hubs/ebrake assemblies, but i will measure everything to make sure. and yes pictures would be excellent if you could! i know some of them will be a pain to do but i'm all about figuring things out. :biggrin:

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StricNyne
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Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2003 1:11 pm

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yooo b**** lets put this togeather !!!

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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StricNyne wrote:yooo b**** lets put this togeather !!!
whoa you're still on here?! we will very soon :biggrin:

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Hijacker
Posts: 15759
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2003 4:57 am
Car: '92 240sx Convertible
'94 F-150
Location: Fredericksburg, VA

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I haven't been out to the shop for a few days, but I made some time today to mock this up for you.

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-I use 4 of my axle nut sockets to make the 4 legs of a table. The base is angled so i can bring the knuckle in without the press' frame getting in the way. Make sure the big notch is lined up with your knuckle. You'll need the clearance.

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-The table top.

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-The RUCA pickup laid flat on the table top. Doing the table method allows you to maneuver the other pickups and caliper bracket so they're not in the way. I tried a few ways to line this up, and none of them were stable. This was the most stable method. Oddly, my other method worked for one knuckle, but ended up FUBARing the bearing shell when I pressed it in the other knuckle. I was trying to use the short edge of the base, and they have a taper. I thought once the bearing started and was mostly in the race it wouldn't be an issue. I was wrong. The angle ended up causing the shell to deform with the vertical force of the press. Even got my socket I was using as a drift stuck. Thankfully, it didn't deform the knuckle, and a fresh bearing was able to be pressed in.

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-Last shot showing the knuckle's flat.

That press was more than worth the purchase IMO. Every shop I talked to wanted near $200 to press these suckers in. I wasn't given any price estimates when I had the old bushings pressed out, but it ended up being over $100, and the old guy pressing the crap out didn't even have to deal with the ball joints as I had those pressed out a while ago.

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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thank you very much kind sir! that will definitely help me out when i get to it. i agree the press is well worth the money even if you only have a couple of bushings to do compared to what shops want to charge. yours looks like a HF one too. i just need to find a spot to put mine in the garage and put it together.
thanks again for the pics! :bigthumb:

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Hijacker
Posts: 15759
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2003 4:57 am
Car: '92 240sx Convertible
'94 F-150
Location: Fredericksburg, VA

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I have no clue where mine came from. It was a craigslist special for $75.

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300ZXttZMAN
Posts: 7807
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:07 pm
Car: 1990 300zx Twin Turbo 5 spd pearl white.

My Daily: 2008 Frontier NISMO package, 4x4 Crew Cab.
Location: Sulphur, LA 70665
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Subscribing to this tits thread.

:dblthumb: Keep on rocking dude!

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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300ZXttZMAN wrote:Subscribing to this tits thread.

:dblthumb: Keep on rocking dude!
:bigthumb:


finally unwrapped the RB-
still good! cranked it by hand and everything still turns smoothly. also finally peeked under the exhaust side valve cover and it is cleaaan as f*** inside there, which of course i'm happy about.

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i think i'm going to get a new flywheel lol-

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got the turbo and manifold off without too much trouble. you can see one of the studs for cylinder 6 is broken inside the head :mad: but it was like that when i bought it. and surprisingly no other studs broke!

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i'll be slowly pulling more stuff off in preparation for parts replacement and install into the chassis.



also.. spent a LOT of time with this next thing here.. :crazy: making these damn plastic clips that hold the brake/clutch hardlines to the firewall, and the plastic clips that hold the fuel hardlines together under the car (just in case).

making silicone molds of these was a b**** since they are small pieces and super complicated. whoever designed these things needs to be punched in the face for making them so unnecessarily complex. :rolleyes: took me hours, if not days, just to even figure out how to go about doing it. all of the pieces i did (or attempted) are discontinued from nissan.

the setup-

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the result so far- the piece in the middle and right are the ones that go near the top of the firewall. the piece on the left goes on the firewall a little lower off to the side of where the trans tunnel is.

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works perfectly!

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original on top-

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this piece clamps around the fuel lines under the car. didn't *need* this piece but decided to mess around with it while i was at it. black is original, grey is copy.

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i have to do some more experimenting with some other types of plastics and casting techniques (especially to get rid of some small bubbles) but otherwise these came out great and are perfectly usable! :biggrin:

will have more soon i hope!

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Hijacker
Posts: 15759
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2003 4:57 am
Car: '92 240sx Convertible
'94 F-150
Location: Fredericksburg, VA

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Seriously, I will pay you for a set of those clips. I have shed many a man tear that Nissan no longer carries them.

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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:rotfl i still have to mess around with them a little more but i'll definitely let you (and everyone else) know!

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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little bit of an update..

started tearing down the RB a little, everything is pretty damn clean so i'm pretty happy with it so far.

turbo stuff off-

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under the valve covers-

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started undoing timing belt stuff-

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sandblasted a few bolts and had them re-plated-

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also put my press together and started doing all the bushings! coming out great so far.

rear hubs and bearings together-

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spl monoball's in the z32 knuckles-

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got some whiteline press-in bushings for the RLCA's-

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also had a bunch of stuff powdercoated! partly to take care of my mistake of using s*** rustoleum on some parts a few years back.

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aluminum subframe bushings powder coated and installed-

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also did the valve covers and timing cover to match-

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i'm sooooo close to actually putting stuff back on the car. FINALLY.
:bigthumb:

dray3OOO
Posts: 592
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 8:20 am
Car: 90 rb20 hatch HKS everythang
77 corolla stroke 2tg 40mm mikunis

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put it all back together, then drive it, and then shrink wrap it, put it away for a museum or something

Cruz23
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:15 am
Car: Black 97 Kouki , Green 97 Kouki
Location: From the city of Boston

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i just read all 21 pages and this is so inspiring that i just wanna see more on this build. keep up the excellent work and thanks for inspiring me to keep working on my car. much respect

danshaz82
Posts: 9894
Joined: Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:08 pm

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so pumped to see this finally on the road!

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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Cruz23 wrote:i just read all 21 pages and this is so inspiring that i just wanna see more on this build. keep up the excellent work and thanks for inspiring me to keep working on my car. much respect
danshaz82 wrote:so pumped to see this finally on the road!

thanks guys! i am pretty much done with all the bushings and stuff so i am happy to say i can finally start the building! i just need to figure out putting the chassis back on jack stands and the sequence of putting stuff back on. should have more updates soon. :biggrin:

waxdnuggz
Posts: 260
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:51 pm
Car: 90 240sx hatch SOLD
91 240sx hatch SOLD
92 super sweet daily (freezing cold a.c., working ps and pw)
93 240sx hatch SOLD
94 240sx vert SOLD
Location: orlando florida
Contact:

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I second wanting to buy those clips. 3-4 sets actually. Throw me a number. Also if your gonna do the ac line clip ill take a few of those as well. Paypal ready!!!

Fbomb19
Posts: 192
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2010 9:15 am
Car: 1989 hatch
1996 zenki
1993 se hatch
1998 silver moss kouki
1992 base hatch
1990 hatch - CURRENT
Location: Around and about.

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I wish my build thread was this extensive. This is so awesome. Hopefully when im older ill tear it back down and do this! Sweet build man. Sweet build !

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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waxdnuggz wrote:I second wanting to buy those clips. 3-4 sets actually. Throw me a number. Also if your gonna do the ac line clip ill take a few of those as well. Paypal ready!!!
i may have to use some different plastic to make these, if i can figure it out. these test ones i did are too flexible. i might actually end up making some aluminum ones.
they hold the lines in place, but they aren't too stable as is-

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Fbomb19 wrote:I wish my build thread was this extensive. This is so awesome. Hopefully when im older ill tear it back down and do this! Sweet build man. Sweet build !
thank you! it's been a lot of work.

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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lots of updates!! :biggrin: :biggrin:

i made a new fuel check valve bracket out of stainless sheet since the stock one was all crusty

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THE BUILD HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED! i've been waiting for this moment for the last 9 years since i started working on this car. feels really good!

fuel & brake hard lines are back on with all new fuel hoses and clamps, along with the new fuel tank installed.

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aaaand...

front suspension is on!

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didn't put the sway bar on, going to leave it off until i get the engine in, just in case it gets in the way. and i still have to swap out the tie rods and ends. everything is hand tight for now, i'll torque it all up later.
feels good opening all those new nissan bags with all the nuts and bolts finally. :)
i've literally only spent a few hours over 3 days getting the fuel stuff on and suspension on, so it feels like i'm flying now! rear suspension is up next. :bigthumb:

Fbomb19
Posts: 192
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2010 9:15 am
Car: 1989 hatch
1996 zenki
1993 se hatch
1998 silver moss kouki
1992 base hatch
1990 hatch - CURRENT
Location: Around and about.

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This thread is beautiful :/. I could cry tears of joy right about now lol.

waxdnuggz
Posts: 260
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:51 pm
Car: 90 240sx hatch SOLD
91 240sx hatch SOLD
92 super sweet daily (freezing cold a.c., working ps and pw)
93 240sx hatch SOLD
94 240sx vert SOLD
Location: orlando florida
Contact:

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Aaaaaaannnnnnnnnnndddddddddd I need to change my boxers.

Sick and speechless.

Keep the pics coming.

Done

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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Fbomb19 wrote:This thread is beautiful :/. I could cry tears of joy right about now lol.
waxdnuggz wrote:Aaaaaaannnnnnnnnnndddddddddd I need to change my boxers.

Sick and speechless.

Keep the pics coming.

Done
haha :bigthumb: :bigthumb:

waxdnuggz
Posts: 260
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:51 pm
Car: 90 240sx hatch SOLD
91 240sx hatch SOLD
92 super sweet daily (freezing cold a.c., working ps and pw)
93 240sx hatch SOLD
94 240sx vert SOLD
Location: orlando florida
Contact:

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Let me know please how those clips turn out. Im using those reusable zip ties with the plug on it that sticks in the hole where the clips used to go (z32 guys know what im talking about if you ever took your fenders off) thats where I stole them from there was like 30.

MORE PICS MORE PICS MORE PICS!

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splintercell
Posts: 1742
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:28 pm
Car: 1989 Nissan 240sx HB
1991 Nissan Silvia
Location: Virginia

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oh snap...impressive.

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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waxdnuggz wrote:Let me know please how those clips turn out. Im using those reusable zip ties with the plug on it that sticks in the hole where the clips used to go (z32 guys know what im talking about if you ever took your fenders off) thats where I stole them from there was like 30.

MORE PICS MORE PICS MORE PICS!
i'm in the process of making some aluminum ones. they are coming out pretty good so far, i'll post some pics of them soon.
splintercell wrote:oh snap...impressive.
thanks man!

i have most of the rear suspension on right now, just need to take some good pics of the setup. they'll be up in the next couple of days!

10psitx
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:22 am
Car: 1989 Nissan Skyline r32 GTS-t Sedan 1989 Silvia clone Two Tone coupe 1990 Type X clone hatch 1995 s14 coupe 1986 toyota Mark II twinturbo

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Finally!!!! assembly time...been following this thread since you started great work.

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m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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moar pics/progress!


rear suspension is on, just missing the diff/axles and sway bar. the subframe was a huge pain in the a** to get back on with the aluminum bushings. i had to whack the s*** out of it with a sledge hammer and block of wood to get it fully on. that thing is never coming off that car lol. if i ever do another s13 build i'll probably go with energy bushings just based on that alone.

all the adjustable arms were eyeballed to stock oem lengths for now.

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got the e-brake cables routed and all set up -

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some more cool gopro shots -

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just put on the new tie rods today but no pics yet. hopefully i'll be doing the brake calipers tomorrow!
:bigthumb: :bigthumb:


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