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Mazda Projects \  BlueB's new, old truck: Fix, make road worthy/modify

BlueB's new, old truck: Fix, make road worthy/modify

Mazda Projects
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replies 20
following 12
 
blueb   +1y
I've heard you like progress reports, and pictures here.

Joined 9days ago, and introduced me and my truck here:

Been busy since.

Repaired a broken vent/defrost selector switch.
Repaired a broken heat switch.
Replaced the cigarette burned cruise switch.
Replaced the cigarette burned fan switch knob.
Repaired a blower resistor. Had one coil of wires broken. Took some thin wire I had bent it to replicate the broken wire, soldered it in.
Found an ashtray (mine was MIA when I got it).
Freshened up the marker lights.
Replaced about 5 or 6 bulbs in various locations of the dash.
Found a great set of cheap used tires, and a buddy mounted them up for me.
Cleaned twenty+ years of grunge off the chrome wheels (at least the grunge seemed to keep the rust away!).
Knocked some of the worst two dents out.
Built an adapter plate for an aftermarket CD player, wired in some boxed 6x9's, and $15 ebay front speakers for now.
Replaced the rubber seal around the shifter handle (the one you can't see with the shifter boot in place).
Shortened the shifter by 2".
Installed "8-ball" shift handle. Nice heavy one, not like the ones sold at Autozone.
Removed canopy.
Removed bed liner.
Installed tonneau cover. It was for a 94-? Mazda, so needed to make some custom brackets, and a spacer as it was about 1" short.
Cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned the moldy, nicotine stained interior. The white towels I was using to clean the inside of the rear window were black when done! It looked like I'd just wiped down the exhaust pipe.
Hmmm, ...You'd think all that second hand smoke would have killed off the mold...
Just have the headliner left uncleaned. Not sure if I want to try to clean it in place, pull it to clean, or do nothing and just not look up.

Future plans:

Find a replacement slider window latch, or flat glass to install.
Re-retire the half working deck, and get a newer one.
Install carpet.
Find/install some decent bucket seats.
Replace front bumper.
Either replace, or just remove the rear bumper.
Repaint grill.
Tint windows.
Door panels.
Lower it. I'm risking nose bleeds at this elevation.
All as funds/time allows.

and some pics, which you've probably already skipped ahead to view:
Before, then after where appropriate.











Post was last edited on Mar 11, 2009 05:03. This post has been edited 1 times.
sosatheshark   +1y
welcome to the scene man ,i see you have alot of work to do ,i look forward to progress pics keep them coming
h2omelon(nick)   +1y
Looks 100% better already!
91b2200(cody)   +1y
nice to see you took me advice n paint em corner bud.

now lets see this thing get lowered and that rear bumper removed. lol
dzminiz   +1y
Welcome! Cruise!? LUCKY
blueb   +1y
Finished the front end repair today.

Found a used bumper on craigslist a couple weeks ago. Came with the valance and end pieces, but the bumper had been dented, pounded out poorly, and dented/tweeked again.

Spent about three hours hammering and twisting it back into shape. Then some filler, primer, paint. Re-colored everything black to match the tonneau, mirrors, and whatever you call the plastic panels on the rear of the cab.

Why mess with a screwed up bumper you ask? It was only $15 for all pieces.

Sanded and repainted the grill also. Used a medium silver on the headlight area, and honycomb inserts.
Stripped the paint out of the grill emblem, and remounted it all chrome.

I used Dupli-Color adhesion promotor and Dupli-Color bumper coating for all the paint. It's for plastic bumpers, so I'm hoping it will hold up for awhile.

It's not perfect, but it's presentable, and much better than before.

I hope everyone understands that I'm not posting progress to brag or anything. I've been inspired to pry myself out of my lazyboy and get to work by watching builds progress on internet forums, and TV for years. These are the kinds of posts I like to see (and more intense work), so I post my progress.




h2omelon(nick)   +1y
New bumper made a big difference. Funny how it's the little things isn't it?
toddluck   +1y
welcome to the scene trucks taking shape for sure
dropped90(justin)   +1y
damn that is one hell of a face lift. that looks really good man. makes me wanna go outside and pull my faded chipped chrome grille off and go ahead and paint me up a black grille.








-justin
91b2200(cody)   +1y
wow man.. thats looking real real good...