This is a condensed version of my Nx's, since neither were just bought & not needing work.
9/4/14:
My first Nissan and my first import.
Got this gem this week from DFW, Tx. Drove her home through Tx, Ok, and Ar.
Left out 7am on 9/1 made it back at 3pm on 9/3.
Took a lot longer than we had planned, we were on time up until DFW and the I75 & 121 mess. Then it turned into a nightmare.
We ended up near Grapevine and Sentraga came to save the day (seriously, we were hot & frustrated lol) and he guided us to where the seller was.
Not to mention he negotiated a better deal on the car for us and rescheduled our meetup time as well.
So here she is, sorry that some might be disappointed in it not being a SR20. I wouldn't have minded one but I was open to either or and wanted good mpg & reliability and this one was super clean.
Really wish it was a 5 speed but after dealing with the trip we had I am glad I had one less thing to worry about.
Stayed the night...
We realized she needed some immediate tlc so the next day after picking her up we took her in to a nearby Tx shop. She had a bolt in the left rear tire, wires showing on another, needed a brake job & tune up. After getting there and looking her over more she also needed a left axle (boot no longer existed). We spent half the day at this shop.
Here is our little B13 convoy back home. Stopping just inside OK and rejoicing. By this time my back was killing me, she rode rough.
Stayed the night in Durant, Ok found a motel just before sunset only had about 4 more hours to go but my back couldn't take anymore.
Today finally my back is starting to feel better and starting looking at the car more. Found it had coil spring pinchers on the front & the shop that put the tires on only put 35psi in the tires when they're suppose to have 50psi. Took her out for a spin today and it was SO much better, really wish I would've looked into it before the trip. Drove her around quite a bit today with the t-tops off for the first time... really enjoying this car already!
Anyways, here she is in Arkansas at home
Rockin' the no tags look. We've gotta do something about that tiny tailpipe though, open her up and let her breathe a bit.
Assessment: needs an alignment bad, pulls hard & steering wheel is way out of whack, needs a new oil sending unit, and a fuel injector is bad.
Here is her buddy, my project car. I swear I don't have a thing for rare cars, it just sucks that what I like wasn't popular and mass produced more than a few years.
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9/8/14:
Took her in for a much needed alignment today and got some (sorta) bad news - she needs a right tie rod, left rear control arm & an oil sending unit.
2 door Sentra xe parts car to the rescue... thank goodness!
Will eventually put new tie rods on at a later point.
ETA: Went ahead and just got a new oil sending unit.
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9/11/14:
Tie rod fixed, rear control arm done. Having a hell of a time finding anything that'll fit that oil pressure switch/sending unit to remove it.
Took the valve cover off to repaint...
Looks nice in there.
Got this in today (old vs new)...
Finished product, camera flash makes it look lighter. Still have to remove the muffler (which is the original stock muffler) in preparation for a better muffler...
Awaiting a short ram air intake to come in.
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9/13/14:
The short ram air intake came in yesterday and installed.
I've got a lead on an Nx nearby. Haven't had the chance to go look at it yet but have talked to the owner. He didn't know what model but it sure sounds like an Nx2k and possibly a hardtop. Says motor is apart, we'll see how bad it is. Worse case scenario I have a parts car lined up. Will have to find a time good for both of us to check it out.
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9/15/14:
Anyways, got all that s*** fixed on my Nx (oil pressure switch, rear control arm & tie rod, air intake bolted on) drove her in for an alignment today. I've been driving this thing with the steering wheel out of whack some, so-much-so that I couldn't see some of my dash gauges.
They did "the best they could do", which was better but still not right. Also went ahead and advanced the timing a smidge, someone had her retarded pretty bad.
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9/30/14:
Been noticing it had been taking a little longer to start here lately. Usually 1 full turn of the key=nothing (about 5 seconds or so) and then another= it starts.
Figure it might be the TPS going bad. And since I have a ga16de b13 parts car pulled the throttle body off it and gave it a slight port (probably a couple mm, tapered to the stock plate) then slapped it on the Nx. Fired her up (cold start) and she started first try. Will have to verify this again later (from another cold start).
Noticing a slight miss at idle when cold, will have to look into this next. Probably replacing the injectors next since I have a spare set sitting around.
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10/8/14:
Finally found the time to go look at the Nx2k that's nearby. Owner is hard to catch.
He says he got it from an auction years ago, thinking it ran but couldn't open the hood. Once bought he found that the engine was in pieces.
He stated it has been sitting at his place for years (and so have a lot of other cars) and doesn't seem to care if it sells or not. Also by looking at some of the other vehicles on his property he doesn't mind them sitting and rotting away either.
He did not know the year or model other than it was an "Nx" but I had deduced from a phone conversation and him stating "the speedo goes to 160mph" that it was an Nx2k. When asked if it had T-tops he had no idea so we were thinking it was a hardtop. But we decided we needed to see it instead of asking questions that he obviously had no idea.
Needless to say it IS a T-top, 91 or 92, manual with 123k on the clock.
I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. Though we took more than this a storm was rolling through and it was pretty dark so some didn't come out (we were having to use our flash on our phones as flashlights). Plus where & how it was sitting it was hard to get some pics...
^Ouch! Very sad!
Electric windows. Guess it was a good thing I picked up those window cranks from Speedricer already lol.
1 of the rear strut towers, the other looks the same the pic just didn't turn out.
Now for the engine that he said was "torn apart"...
Actually we have no clue... this is what we found- a nasty a** nest that we did NOT want to dig through.
I am in need of quite a few odds-n-ends bits & pieces and like I said worse-case scenario this could be my parts source.
I always factor in the price of certain parts plus shipping versus the actual cost of a whole car to be used for parts. And usually unless they are asking a fortune $$$$ the price of just having a parts car around is cheaper in the long run.
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10/16/14:
New front struts on Little Blue, she was feeling a little floaty.
And what a huge improvement!
So I have just been driving her around and really enjoying her now.
A couple weeks old interior shot. Got window cranks now (thanks to speedo).
A short drive by clip made today. Nothing special but she is being enjoyed :bigthumbup:
[video=youtube_share;ZPzYA_uHaeQ]http://youtu.be/ZPzYA_uHaeQ[/video]
Think I am done for a bit. Other than probably the stock rims from the rat's nest Nx2k (still need to coordinate with the seller to get it) & some new tires.
And eventually some upgrades (from the Nx2k, if it isn't salvageable that is)- brakes, TB, MAF, ECU, possibly trim, etc.
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11/6/14:
A small update today.
Got this in the mail the other day, painted it up last night and installed...
Then took her out for a spin. Can tell the body roll is down and handling is a bit better as well.
Also confirmed the 1 odd fuel injector was causing quite a few of my issues, that are now resolved.
Still need to replace the water pump as it just recently started leaking.
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12/26/14:
Finished up the water pump ordeal. Had the flu & bronchitis there for a long tme.
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1/26/15:
Haven't stopped work on her, just always slower in the winter...
Gathering stuff here and there as usual:
-P10 console lid & reupholstered myself (not the greatest)
-Nx console that supports a lid/armrest
-auto shifter control cable (just got this today, still need to install)
She still has work that she needs ahead, but we're getting them knocked out bit by bit.
Today got this all in. (different console & now with an armrest/lid) Feels pretty darn nice now.
My lift struts have been messed up since I got the car, just hadn't bothered with them until lately. The driver side is missing the strut mount that mounts it to the body so the strut had been just flopping around in there. And apparently it is some aftermarket setup, so looking for the stock mounting setup.
But until then we did some redneck engineering on it, which works... for now. Hopefully will have the stock parts before I get chopped in half lol
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3/10/15:
Got working oem lift struts on her.
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Then on 3/30/15:
Project name: Chupacabra
Mission: possible total resto ?
Stages 1-2: acquisition & cleaning
Pulling it from the weeds/woods it has called home for years.
Loaded and ready to roll...
Home free on friendly soil at last...
The close-up of the growth that covers the entire car...
The nest has grown since the last pics (from Oct. 2014). Hopefully the critters have evacuated on the bumpy ride...
A nice surprise. I hope they clean up well...
Halfway through it's 1st wash in at least a decade.
This takes a lot of elbow grease.
And yeah those are the little beasts old 17's on it now since 1)the stock rims have been claimed by another & 2)these hold air.
Cleaned the engine bay up some & trashed those nasty a** seat covers.
Since it is Spring and we do have rain coming we decided we should focus on cleaning all crevasses of all debris to keep rust at bay. Plus check for rust along the way.
Later that same day:
Other Finds:
Well end of day accomplishments
Car pretty much scrubbed. Yeah missed the right side of the windshield & a bit of the top there and some of the nose.
Engine now as it sits. Still got a lot of cleaning to go...
2nd spark plug cover missing, but the spark plug probably still has the combustion chamber sealed.
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3/31/15:
Chupacabra fits as we didn't know what would come out at us from the nest & IT did emerge from the forest.
Today's discovery:
Crank pulley, crossmember, oil pan, downpipe, radiator fans & plugs, and dipstick are MIA.
More MIA parts:
-a few plugs/connections
-circuit breaker for pw/pl
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4/1/15:
Continued rust hunting.
We did do a pre-purchase run down for rust but back on the day we went in Oct 2014 we didn't have much time to look it over really good 1) seller was needing to go somewhere else soon 2) a storm started coming right when we got there & it got pretty dark 3) where it was sitting in the woods it was hard to get around it to look very well.
So today with storms coming we decided rust hunting and gunk cleaning was doable in the allotted time we had before they came.
Got all t-top drain tubes flowing. And cleaned all gunk from under/around in the t-top area. Got inside fuel door cleaned up.
Finished getting all the gunk out of around the hatch.
Checked both A pillars & door jams, towers, and took 1 side skirt off so far (this is so damned clean and straighter than even my Nx1600's).
front right
front left
rear left
rear right
They all need a good wash and/or wipe down.
Though the tin for the rear speaker supports is rusty, looks like some major surface rust going on there.
As it sits now. A lot more cleaned up...
But yet a lot more cleaning to do.
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4/6/15:
Lately I have been rust hunting on this thing like crazy to figure out what the Chupacabra's fate will be.
Been taking off the side skirts, cleaning and checking A pillars, door jams, windshield cowls, strut towers, etc.
The left rocker (right looks the same)...
Windshield cowl...
Right rear fender well (left looks the same)...
Right door jam area (left looks the same)...
Now to the dirty part. The only rust we have found...
This was once a battery tray, but more recently the Chupacabra's critters bathroom. The tray was really bad so we yanked it out to clean out under and around that area and to see just how bad it was under there...
The (left front) inside of the fender opposite of the battery tray area/critter bathroom...
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4/29/15:
I needed some T-top therapy badly today.
Beautiful sunny 70* and to get my mind off the Chupacabra & my recent string of bad luck.
But I haven't really got to drive Little Blue much since changing out the wp due to the alignment I had gotten on it back in September. Was afraid to be eating through tires, especially after changing out the rims & tires too.
To refresh memories, this was my "After" alignment from Goodyear in Sept 2014.
The steering wheel was out of whack some still.
We played with the left knuckle to possibly help some but still didn't want to drive it much until it had another alignment.
So today I took it in (to a different place, was told this place had a couple of the best alignment guys in town). Probably helped that I asked a local guy that owns his own shop that also happens to be a cop and he referred me to them & I went in and told them that the cop had sent me
I brought my copy of the "After" that Goodyear gave me.
This is their "Before" reading...
The alignment dude came out with this, said he recalibrated his machine twice but had the same results. Looks like we got rid of the camber but in turn gave it some toe.
Here is their "After"...
Felt a bit better and steering wheel is now straight.
Took her out for a nice drive, let her stretch her legs for the first time in quite a few months and got my T-top therapy in as well...
Hello from the beautiful Ozark Mountains!
I love these rims & tires, much nicer ride than those 17's... this was also my 1st time out since changing them out.
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5/1/15:
Scavenged the TB from the Chupacabra (since this engine is shot & not all there anyways).
Port matched the TB to the intake manifold.
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5/2/15:
Just got off work a bit ago and got take the little T-top Beast out to test the upgrade (Sr20 tb & port matched plenum)... and my oh my, what a change!
A lot peppier, it has more oomph and the sound has quite a bit deeper tone to it along with a high pitched suction of air through the intake (almost like the sound of a BOV but of course for a different reason) when 1st opening up the throttle.
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5/3/15:
Today finally got the Chupacabra in the bay prepping for its amputation. Though no engine yet.
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5/4/15:
Todays progress (Yeah, got a bit sidetracked with taking the Little Beast out for a nice spin) took forever to get this damn thing off, fighting with all the rusty bolts in the nose.
Removed the hood and starting to remove things from the bay (intake, distributor, t-stat & starting to unplug things).
Removed the headlights, the inner metal bumper & the right fender after this pic.
Tomorrows plans (unless I get sidetracked again. I sometimes wonder if I have ADD) will be remove the trans & engine. Knock the dent out of the right fender. And detail the nose, lip & headlights.
Found some surface rust inside the main beam that the bumper mounts to that'll need some addressing as well.
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5/6/15:
Getting work done...
More dismantling...
Lots of cleanup...
fenders, lip, nose, headlights
Attempt #1- through the top didn't work since the transmission wasn't breaking loose.
So through the bottom we went...
The Chupacabra is now heartless...
Did a little cleanup & calling it a night.
Tomorrow's plans is to go through the engine bay and assess wiring (have already seen a few ends/connectors gnawed off), look for any more rust and fix & clean engine bay... prepping to repaint.
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5/13/15
Went to a jy that was 3 hours away (the only 1 I know of in the whole state that has an Nx or Sr20 anything) Had a list ready to check things...
Things with an "X" next to them they wouldn't sell w/o the purchase of the engine.
Things circled were in decent-to-good condition and the things circled with a line through it we were interested in but had to pass on them due to prices and the bill getting a bit higher than I could do.
********The engine and trans was labelled as "parts only" & they said they do that when they can't start it for 1 reason or another (i.e. broke timing chain, blown head, etc). When I called them on Monday I asked if they had a guy there that tested engines, they said they did but he was out that day. So I specifically asked if he'd be there on Wednesday and they said he would. Well he wasn't and apparently no one else but that one guy can test the engines.
Not to mention this yard is weird, they won't let you touch the car and definitely don't let you pull anything yourself. **********
None of this stuff will go in or on the Chupacabra until it is quite a bit closer to being on the road.
Picked up a few things for the Chupacabra that it needed...
Seats look blue due to the flash, but they are grey.
Picked up all the weatherstripping it had...
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5/14/15:
Just working on piddly stuff to distract myself from the real matter at hand now (needing an engine).
Rear side of the lip... Notice anything different perhaps?
Front side- you probably can't tell what I am doing here and have been working on but yes, it has had some work done to it. Is it finished? No, but should be very soon.
Needless to say I also still need the AC fan as well.
On a sidenote: Pulled the TB off this jy Nx (93 Nx2k) to put on another GA B13 but it's not quite so plug-n-play like the one I took off the Chupacabra to put on the Little T-top Beast. Not sure why there is a difference.
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5/19/15:
Something appears to be missing in the Chupacabra...
Not much work being done with it. Did cut out the bad area of rust around the battery tray (hey, maybe a future good spot to run a cold air intake), ground down the good stuff to bare metal and slapped a ton of Penetrol on it.
Everytime I mess with this car anymore I just get pissed & frustrated that it could've been further along than it is... I hate f*** thieves!
So decided some T-top therapy was in order.
First, had to take her out and treat her to a drink....
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5/29/15:
Get ready for story....
Oh yesterday, how I am glad it is now in the past. We picked up the borrowed truck the evening before only to find out 1 of the hard brake lines was leaking profusely. So that HAD to be address, with what time I had before s*** closed I made umpteen phone calls (auto parts stores= nada, Ford dealerships= part is no longer made --> WTF!!!). Anyways, some of these people saying to get a universal then bend, add connectors and flare ourselves. Others said Napa would do it, called them "Nope".
Finally got someone telling me of a small auto parts place that I somehow always forget about (don't know why, that was my dad's go-to place back in the day). By then s*** was closed, so waited until morning. Called this place and they said bring it in we might be able to. Well ran to town, they looked at it and said "Nope but we do have this easier to bend tubing that already has connectors and is flared." So we took that back home with us in hopes.
Got it bent all around... Yay it fit. Then had to bleed all the brakes.
By then we were 4 hours behind our schedule.
We had planned with 2 people and to get to both places all within 1 day (from here to Fayetteville, AR then to Springfield, MO- suppose to have been a 7.5 hour per what the maps said trip).
Because I already had the Springfield, MO one lined up like a week ago or so, but the Fayetteville one popped up- a craigslist ad for a 96 G20t engine w/ auto trans & 136k mi for $50 (just couldn't pass that up). On the way to Fayetteville we apparently got behind a nasty accident that was almost a 2hr delay (semi I can only assume had a blow out or 2 & played ping pong back & forth due to all the rubber marks & tire pieces across 1 of those super tall bridges on I49 then his truck caught fire, by the time we got passed it, the cab was just ashes. If dude survived (hope he did) I bet he s*** his britches at least 2x's 1 for almost going over the very small wall ledge of the bridge multiple times that is hundreds if not thousands of feet above anything and 2 for the fire in the cab). Also hit a torrential downpour when we were getting near Fayetteville dudes place.
So running super late @ this point....
Fayetteville dudes story when we got there didn't seem to add up and he did say it has been sitting for a few years in his shop... but whatever still worth it in parts & crankcase looked clean.
Didn't stay long, needed to head to Springfield. So fueled up and started heading that way.
Package 1 of 2 picked up @ 3:50pm
Uneventful (and bit more pleasant of a) trip to Springfield other than my GPS on my phone getting stupid @ times (nothing new but still annoying). And of course Springfield's idiotic intersection things (not sure what they call them but they are worse than a round-a-bout).
Found Nate for the 1nd engine...
Super cool dude & his brother. Got some nice damn cars too.
Was nice to meet you & a privilege to do business with you.
We talked for awhile, learned a few tidbits of wisdom.
But we had to leave as it was getting dark, wanted to get out of the big cities before it was dark and on familiar roads.
Made it home a little before midnight... what a day, what a looooong day!
Package 2 of 2
We got them unloaded. Found out we aren't well equipped to unload multiple engines. Doesn't help that we don't have an actual shop, just a carport with a dirt/gravel floor. And not much storage area here either. We finally got them all unloaded though.
This is Nate's engine, which will be the one that's going into the Chupacabra. Still work to do between the Chupacabra (gotta fix the wiring issues, look at the gas tank, detail the engine bay, etc.) and the engine needs a refresher (belts, water pump, switch it from hydro to cable clutch and I can't remember what other things Nate said he would do to it). Did notice it had/has an oil leak on the front side (pulley side), that will need to be cleaned up and looked into.
Sorry don't have a pic of the other engine due to weather restraints.
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5/31/15
Gas tank inspection day...
Pulled, looks nice on the outside but what did our momma's all teach us "don't judge a book by its cover"
Got this tar-like substance in the fuel lines.
We'll have to figure out how to go about this one... Remove & take to a car wash?! Possibly
Drained the tank. This is just a tad (total was about a 1/4 gallon) of the liquid substance that came out of the tank.
Sloshed some water around inside the tank and poured out onto this white insulation... This is what came out.
Inside the tank.... Yuck! And this is AFTER sloshing water around in it a few times.
After some scraping with a putty knife to see what it possibly looks like under the goo.
Went and picked up some acetone & while we were there a new water pump, belts, degreaser, rhino liner, paint, etc.
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6/1/15:
Started on the acetone baths last night.
After 2 rounds, this is the sludge it brought out...
Finished the acetone baths today.
After 3 acetone baths (the whole gallon now gone) I stuck my phone in as far as I could & started snapping pictures to get an idea of what it now looks like...
On another note popped the vc to see what it looks like underneath...
I get sidetracked way too easily.
I keep thinking about what's left on the Chupacabra doesn't seem like a lot but then I start REALLY thinking about it and it seems like we have A LOT left and seems a bit overwhelming.
Also a bit discouraging every time I turn around it seems like there is something else it needs and/or is missing.
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6/3/15:
Had just enough time tonight to crack open the Chupacabra's original trans (we were curious & didn't have snap ring pliers until today) to look into possibly why it was stuck in gear when it was in the car.
Looks pretty clean in there but we'll have to do some digging to find what the issue was.
1st time cracking open a transmission. Not sure what all I should be looking for @ this point. I gots a lots of learnin's to do.
Thinking if this 1 can be fixed we might use it with the 99 G20t engine for now since the G20t trans would need to be converted to clutch cable & we could take our time with it.
ETA:
Been slowly starting to mess with the engine when we get a chance. Planning on cleaning it (once we pop the trans off it) & possibly painting it. Plus change out some things (wp, belts, sparkplugs, plug wires) beforehand.
But mainly trying to finish up straightening up the Chupacabra & its issues (trying to prioritize the list incrementally, since certain things cannot be done before others).
Did this the other day when I had a little spare time...
Figured out since it was missing the crossmember & mount and the shifter bushing was bad that was the shifting issue.
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6/4/15:
Decided to make a list (trying to do it in a sort of chronological order) just to see what all needs to be done on the Chupacabra still... Looks like a long way yet (& acquiring some of these items needed still).
This is just the bigger things. And this isn't even counting the cosmetics, interior or figuring out the electric windows or anything like that.
Probably hard to tell in a pic but dug into cleaning the engine bay pretty thoroughly today. There were still bits-n-pieces of nest debris in every nook and cranny, not even counting the dirt. There was what looked like bird s*** here & there along the firewall & the master cylinder. Not to mention the critters somehow got a TON of nesting debris in-between the master cylinder, firewall and fender there.... PITA!!!
My best friends today were the shopvac, water, sponge, a toothbrush & a long screwdriver.
Found a couple more wiring issues that need to be addressed then we'll be done with that.
Also the other day we sprayed out the fuel lines and ran some acetone through them as well and also been drying out the gas tank since cleaning. Took out the fuel pump & shopvacced in there. Now have it sitting with some gas in it to kinda get it back to normal. Debating on if the fuel pump is good or not... maybe I should price them & then decide.
Still need to acquire:
-driver axle
-radiator
-AC fan
-some sort of air intake since factory stuff was f***
-all fluids
-sparkplugs & wires
-battery
-brake pads
-probably should have rotors turned @ least (if allowed)
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8/1/15:
I know it's been awhile since I have updated this (for those that care and/or are following this).
Work had not stopped on the Chupacabra. There were times where I wondered if it would ever be possible for this (and me) to be done.
This is my 1st EVER swap of any kind and a definite learning experience.
And we're not out of the woods yet, as there's still things IT needs and fixing that still needs to be done... but this is a light at the end of the tunnel that I have been waiting for in anticipation needless to say.
The day has come for the Chupacabra...
[video=youtube_share;fC1dr2PjHg0]http://youtu.be/fC1dr2PjHg0[/video]
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8/2/15:
Made a photo/video compilation.
Tracking the Chupacabra:
[video=youtube_share;1Jx_24Hb-Vk]http://youtu.be/1Jx_24Hb-Vk[/video]
And a longer video from yesterday as well.
IT's alive 2:
[video=youtube_share;vuogA8Tq4oM]http://youtu.be/vuogA8Tq4oM[/video]
Don't know why my phone decided to record it sideways.
A short test drive around the yard just to see IT move on ITs own...
[video=youtube_share;_VjO1OLJ8IQ]http://youtu.be/_VjO1OLJ8IQ[/video]
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9/10/15:
Long time, no post. Got IT going as stated previously but then the PS hard line burst like an over-due volcano. The Chupacabra was spitting PS fluid like a severely pissed off spitting cobra. So everything was halted.
Went to every auto store in town, no one could replicate the hardline mainly the couplings. SO an even longer hunt & wait. Got all the PS stuff from twsii (thank you) parting out his Nx2k. Got it all since the PS high pressure hose (from pump to hardline) was chewed in half from critters, even though we had gotten that fixed w/o it leaking anymore (better safe than sorry).
SO yesterday we installed all of that. Then today did balljoints and on to burping the PS line... found it was still leaking some where the hardline connects to the junction on the rack, a little extra tightening took care of that.
More burping. Tires put back on and a few romps through the yard to test things.
The Chupacabra got the green light to test elsewhere.
1st test run.
So today for the 1st time in at least a decade the Chupacabra laid all 4's on asphalt.
Just a small test, about 1,000 ft down the road and back- got into 2nd gear and up to 4k rpm's and IT's definitely ALIVE.
Got more work still. Gotta get IT put back together. The interior is pretty stripped out between getting into the gas tank and into the shifter, gotta clean everything up and put it all back together. And put the exterior back together too, mainly the nose and the side skirts and fixing the leaky taillight. And whatever the issue is with the speedo, odo, trip plus the temp gauge & electric windows.
Luckily, somehow the turn signals started working about a month ago out of the blue (even after changing out the stalk & bulbs), and just the other day the fuel gauge started working (though not sure how accurate it is, but at least it isn't on E now. Put about 5 gallons of fuel into it before all the starting, running, and running around the yard a few times and down the road & it's reading 1/4).
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9/13/15:
Whelp, it's begun :'(
The tear down to start the hunt for electrical Gremlins.
Got speedo, odo, trip and temp gauges that aren't working.
And now on top of it my turn signals (that started to work out of the blue) too.
Upon an initial exam, everything wiring wise and connection wise looks good, intact and operational.
Nothing definitely standing out.
My kind of luck...
I DESPISE electrical.
And DO NOT look forward to it one bit.
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9/29/15:
Put the dash all back together (needed some cleaning behind it also) & checked all wiring (looked good).
Got speedo/odo/trip & temp gauge working.
So after the 2,000ft test run we decided to push it a little further for testing.
On 9-22-15 (2nd test run) decided to run it down the road a mile:
looks better with the tops off...
A bit nervous but all went well. Didn't hear or feel anything out of whack. Though the exhaust or lack-thereof (just a downpipe) was pretty damn loud, so could've over looked (aka not heard) some things but we also had the passenger window bracket loose from the door. So all I really heard was exhaust & rattling from door.
It definitely will need an alignment too.
Back in July I did this:
2 are better than 1 I suppose, maybe someone would hear me.
Then on 9-22-15 changed to this:
beats little beep-beep, now they'll hear me.
And did this:
This was the leaker from before I got it. Cleaned up the swimming pool on day#1 & it hasn't been outside in the rain since. But finally got to this.
9-25-15:
Got the passenger door mechanisms switched out (was testing the motors per FSM) and burnt out the passenger motor. Changed that out & got it all back together. Traced more wires & grounds. Found IT was missing this circuit breaker...
So got that ordered and now waiting on it.
So that's where the Chupacabra is at currently, for those that care and/or are keeping up with this thread and ITs story/resurrection.
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9/30/15:
Yesterday the Chupacabra got a new (really just an old but better one) door weatherstripping for the right side, since either critters chewed the hell outta it or it rotted away... either way just the end pieces still existed. And new (really another old but better thing) interior door (A & B pillar) and t-top moldings.
Windshield cowl cleaned and reinstalled today.
And also today the Chupacabra now has power windows due to that missing circuit breaker.
And icing on the cake?
IT also has power locks too.
3rd test run today: Just took the Chupacabra for another test run (about 3 miles this time).
Doing good. But having some backfiring/stumbling during/shortly after each shift, not sure if it's something on the Chupacabra's end or if I need to fine-tune my clutch release. We know IT's still a bit retarded, and still need to dial that in sometime.
Got it up to 4th gear @ about 3,500rpm each shift.
