May 5 2016

Poor man’s side by side.. Work Truck..  4×4..

Soo..  I actually bought this little truck for my business.  I’m doing a lot of running around picking up repairs and getting parts..  Using my big truck with the BIG motor is costing quite a bit.   so now I can buzz all over the valley for cheap.  The little truck has business insurance on it.  On the first day of having it I went out and picked up a lawn tractor for repairs.

Look at that..  actually fits with a bit of room to spare..  but shows how small the truck is..  Both Dave & I with the tractor.. no problem.   so for the business Perfect !

Side by Side ?

Ya.. It can be.  This little truck has a 550cc motor with a low geared 4 speed manual transmission.  4×4 with hi / low range,  diff lock,  auto hubs.  It’s lifted two inches.  Has 12 inch wheels like my quad..  but they are skinny..  The whole truck is only 54 inches wide..  Narrower than some of the side by’s in our club.  So fitting on a trail.. no problem.   Now here’s the bonus ! cab heater !  licensed for the street !  Rain is no problem..  No one wants to steal it daily..  Yes that’s a problem with ATV’s.

Poor Man’s ?

Ya..  With side by’s costing 14 grand and up..  and even a used one is more than $6000.   This little truck is a bargain.   These are quickly catching on with the hunters..  because they carry more.  It’s fun to drive too.. and does not need a trailer to pack it home.

About This Truck:

The odometer shows 24700 , but there is no sixth digit. And since no one drives these much on the highway, we will presume the worst would be 124,700 kms.  That makes sense due to the motor needing new rings.  The motor is a three cylinder 550 cc  Suzuki  ( not a motorcycle engine)  but similar to what was in the Sprints and Swifts.  These little motors rev very high to produce the power needed..  So the rings tend to be the first thing to wear out.  The motor uses a carburetor and simple points ignition.  NO electronics ! not even a warning buzzer for seat belts or key left in the ignition.  Very simple to work on..  I would say the only complex parts are the tons of vacuum hoses from the carburetor and the relays / solenoids that activate the differential lock and front hub lock.  YES push button hub lock..  don’t have to get out and turn in the hubs.  And it all works perfectly.

The interior is in perfect condition..  Just the way it came from the factory.  I will change out the “mono” AM radio for a better “stereo” and two speakers instead of the one.  I’m going to change the cigarette lighter out for a proper power point plug.  Also I’ve added LED day time running lights to the front with a switch on the dash.  Not much room in the cab.. so have to be careful what I add..  cup holders would be nice..  but I haven’t found a place yet.   As far as the body goes.. there is very little rust..  nothing like the rust holes in a Sidekick..  or any of the north American models.  These seem to be better steel.  Just a bit of surface rust that rubs off..  Not bad for something 26 years old.   I have a few dents to take out too..   So away we go….

A bit of Fixing :

I had some spare time ..and I wanted to polish the doors and box sides before I put decals on.  But I got a bit carried away and did some touch up painting too.  Just to get rid of the rust.

May 24 2016:

Time for a Motor Makeover:

I’ve been driving around for a few weeks now.. I love it.. fun to drive.. And it runs great.   I’m getting used to the right hand drive.   But It smokes  ! a lot.  and I don’t want to plaster my name all over a smoking truck..  So now that the shop is free.  and clean..  Time to fix the motor.

There are two ways to get the motor out of the truck..  Fastest is to use a hoist and drop the hole shabang out the bottom.   The other is to remove the box, and remove the transmission and slide the motor out the back.   Since I have no hoist in my shop…  I’ll remove the box.

And that is just what I did..  Look at how easy it is to get at stuff..  Plus I want to clean the dirt and the rusty bits while I can..  even throw some paint on the frame.

Even though the truck is simple compared to newer vehicles.. there is a rats nest of lines to deal with..   Next step is to give this mess a bath.. And some short videos too.

I’m not the fastest mechanic by any means..  so I expect the truck to be out of commission for a least two weeks.  I have other things to do.

May 27 2016:

All the bits are here now.  The new 13″ alloy rims, the gasket set for the motor.  The power keyless locking system, The stereo too.  So I’m not waiting for anything..   Right now the transmission is out on the floor.. and the motor is coming out in a day or so.  I’ve also been thinking about some painting.  My logo will be on the truck..  and I would like to improve the look.  And be unique !  So I’ve come up the idea of following the Kubota color scheme.  Orange and grey.   I’m leaving the cab mostly white..  But I’m painting the frame and it’s parts grey.  Then running an orange stripe down the side .. which includes the lower part of the box.  Here’s a mock up of the idea.

I haven’t drawn the frame in the picture .. but it’s the general idea.  I also included some wood side boards.  I would like to do that too.  So add to all this the nice new rims.. and we are stylin !

I’m thinking the motor work should be on a new page.

 Motor Work:

Now that the motor is out and in the work stand..  Time to talk about that..

Wow that’s a huge motor !  And.. it was very easy to pull the motor out the rear.. onto a piece of plywood..  once you remember to disconnect all the hoses.   In fact it was faster than I thought.. Took longer to get it mounted to the work stand.   And so I did a lot of careful removing of the bits..

Here’s a short Video on the progress…

So the motor sat there on the stand for a week… maybe a bit longer..  Seems I’m busier than I want to be..

June 7 th  2016:

Finally got at the motor..  Dave came and in a few hours we had nothing but a naked engine block.   Everything is laid out carefully on a table.   It’s sure hard to tell there is anything wrong with the motor..  The cylinders are perfect.  All we did was a quick honing to take the shine off.   Dave’s gone away for the week, so the plan is when he comes back I will have all the parts clean and painted.. ready for re-assembly.  All new gaskets / seals/ rings and main bearings.   The top of the motor was done so not touching that.

As you can see I’ve cleaned and painted the block.   Yup Orange.  !  That’s part of the color theme for the truck.

Here’s my table full of goodies..  And …

Here’s the new & improved oil pan..  Grey.. once again following the color scheme.  A lot of cleaning , polishing and painting.. but look at the bits & pieces !

As before the whole motor block is orange.  The exhaust is completely painted with extreme high heat silver ( better than rust) . I decided not to paint the transmission..  It’s aluminum.. but I did paint the rusty steel parts.  I am ready for re- assembly on Monday.

Monday June 13 2016:

We got the crank back in with the new bearings and seals..  But when we were changing the rings we ran into problems.  The new rings do not fit the pistons. !  So I did some phoning and will have to wait now for genuine Suzuki rings to come.  So The motor will have to wait once more ..  But if I’ve gone this far I only want it done properly.   I’ll switch gears on the truck and fix up the frame  and box.

New page for that work…

  Page 2

March 28 2016

Painting the Exterior…   RED !

All Primed and ready for the color.  I had trouble getting the color I wanted.  So I settled for a Honda Civic color ..  interestingly a slight orangy kind of red..  very different.  Lots of pearl in this red.. so I’m hoping I like it.

So far I do !   Have to wait 30 min and then the clear coat..

This is where I realize I’m not a good painter..  In my lust for laying the clear on .. I got a few runs !  Damit.. !  On the second coat.  So Hopefully they will polish out.. This color is going to look different… in different light.  looks orange here..  after I turned off the halogen work lights.   Going to be interesting to see it outside.

Anyway It’s looks good with the black trim.  You would have to take apart stuff to know it was once white.

May 10 2016:

The Suzuki got kicked out of the shop for a month while the lawn tractor repairs were happening..  And now I have sold the blue Tracker.. and have potential buyers for this one too.. So !  Finally got the Suzuki back in the shop.

Welcome back..  time to Get R Done.   I’ve transferred the insurance from the sold Tracker to this guy..  so once we are on the road I can get a new window.   and I’m determined to keep the momentum up on the finishing.  I’ve now got the exterior all back together.

Bumpers, grill, rocker panels and mud flaps on done.   And the mirrors too.  So now I’m moving to the interior.  The power locks are first..  The carpets and the rear door panel all done now to..  I’ve been working on the dash.

Had to wire in the locking system.. and install the new muti-media stereo.  The ash tray is going back.  Only a USB port and a 12 volt power plug.  I’m keeping it simple.

May 19 th 2016:

I’ve been busy..  Got most of the interior back in..  and the locks working good…  just the door panels and the seats to go..   When I tested the electrical I found that none of the rear lights work..  Then I remembered I skipped over the broken wire behind the left tail light..  sure enough the connector was in bad shape..  So I rewired that and all is good..   Here’s a new video..

All Done !

I really put in a full day and got all the rest of the Sidekick finished up.  All that’s left is to take it to Kelowna and get a new windshield.

Looks good runs good.. time to sell it..   and move on..

March 14 2016

Painting the interior:   Black !

Half way through March now..  Still waiting for the power locks to show up.. but I can carry on with the interior.  Big job changing the all white to all black.  Well not all..  but lots.  what’s not covered with a panel or trim.

Needs a second coat but you get the idea..  I don’t want any white showing..

Here you see the black panel that surrounds the door and windows..  I like this accent, it justifies the black interior.  Again once this paint is cured the doors go back on and the side windows too..  I now have the power locks to install in the doors..  I can put the headliner back as well..

Here’s the headliner back where it belongs…  All clean and the two little rips repaired.  And it smells better too..  I found mouse poop up behind the liner and yucky batting for sound proofing..  All good now.

I have tinted the rear windows and they are also back where they go..   The plan here is to seal out the dust and make it easier to mask off the windows.   There is still lots to do inside .. but it’s time to get to the last of the body work and get the Zook painted.

March 23 2016:    Exterior fixing.

Today I got busy and installed the rear door gasket, and the door sill moldings.   Then set to work on the fenders.  The new left side fender went on without a hitch.. fits great… no more binding on the door.

It’s always a pleasure working with new parts that FIT !   The right side fender however was a bit of a challenge.  There was too much gap on the lower part of the door.  I made the bolt holes a bit more oval.. and got that gap to a reasonable one.  Banged out some dents and it fit good..  The hood did not fit good.  So I removed it and made some adjustments to the hinges..  Fixed the hood prop too..  I can now move on to the yucky stuff.

Turned out not too bad.  In two days I had all the bodywork done..  I’m not being fussy with the rocker panels because they are covered with the plastic trim.  And the rest was easy too.   Talk about color change !

I decided to paint the yuckyness inside the fuel filler.  Normally I would have used the black here…  But I had some red spray paint… so it may not be a perfect match to the red I have mixed for the body… but I can live with a little difference.   I saw a nice yellow Tracker for sale .  Nice until you open the door and the original light blue color was everywhere.  Not Cool !  One more video before painting

Time for a new page..   Painting

   Page 5

Feb 12 2016

The Bodywork..  Fixin Rust:

First I need to finish taking things apart.  got the dash out..

Some house cleaning needed here.. yuk.   Now it’s easier to see the floors.  The only thing I found behind the dash (other than dust) was a stereo install gone terribly wrong.  Doors and hood next.  Oh and the ECU is clearly visible on the right.  Totally original.  No rebuild writing on the top and I have a spare.

Feb 13 2016:

I’ve had the Sidekick for a week now..  and making good progress.

All the doors and hood are off.  The rear windows are out and in a safe place.  Bumper covers off.   I even got the headlights out.  It’s been warm enough outside to use the hose.  So I washed the dash, the bumper covers and the heat ducts.  Those are things I can stash away where they will stay clean.  Here’s another video…

Feb 16 2016:

It was so warm outside that I was able to paint the underside of the hood in the sun.  I’ve also removed the two fenders and the front cowl.

Which leaves a very naked looking Sidekick.  I now have the opportunity to clean and paint all the nooks.  I’m painting inside the motor compartment as far as I can reach.  I also built a new Battery tray.

The old one was in bad shape.  This one will have the proper hold down and a rubber mat.    As far as the fenders go…  I’ve ordered a new left side one.  The one that I took off is cracked and bent.. and not worth fixing .. A new one is cheap.

Feb 27 2016:

I’ve done a few things more.. but it’s been slow..   Distractions ! lots.

I’ve got most of the floor patches done.  I’ve built new seat belt mounts on the rear fender wells.  Welded in place.  when I start chipping away at the rust more of the metal disappears.. So the patch ends up bigger than planned.  That’s ok..  Surface rust you can grind and treat ..  the Rotten stuff needs to be cut out..

All done the interior patches now… and I have a new favorite tool.

The air / hydraulic riveter..  yes.   I rivet  a lot of the pieces in..  cause it pulls them tight.   Generous amounts of sealant..  and good to go.

Here’s the floor patch on the passenger side..   I also got the rear wheel wells painted with spray on box liner..

There’s no covering for these, so this is the way to keep them nice.  Never used this product before… we’ll see how this works out.. it’s pricey stuff.

March 6 2016:

Last week we pushed the Sidekick outside and covered it  to make room in the shop..  The Argo 6×6 snuck in for a quick fix.. and is still there.. but there’s lots of room to work on the doors.

Here’s the right side door.. I started on that one because the door skin was loose from the door and needed to be welded back in place.  Other than that.. it’s in good shape..  Two dents to take out and some black paint and good to go.  I’m still waiting for the locks to come.

so changing a white door to a black door is no big deal.  The semi-gloss black is very nice..  hides imperfections better than gloss.  I’m dragging my heals with the doors because I’m still waiting for those locks !  Weeks and weeks .. go by.  Oh well I’m finished the right side door.. It’s all assembled ( except locks)

So it gets put by the door.. for later.  This time I put the weather stripping back on before the final paint..  I’ll mask it off and it will keep the paint from dusting the door frame.

March 14 2016:

The doors are all painted and rebuilt , ready for the power locks.  So I’ve put them aside tidied up a bit and moved the Sidekick back into the shop.   Next is painting the interior.    Time for a new page:

On to Page 4..

Feb 2016

The Mechanical Stuff:

I’ve ordered a new exhaust system, and a valve cover gasket.  So far.   Tomorrow we do an oil change and a complete inspection.  Who knows what else we find..  I do know there is an oil leak,  but not sure where.  I’ll clean the K & N filter..  turn down the idle, and see what happens.

At The Auto Shop:

Really the only things revealed from the inspection was the front CV axle boots, ( 3 of the 4) and the exhaust header gasket.  Since there is a little play in the CV joints, it’s a better deal to replace the axles as a complete assembly.  So we are doing that tomorrow as well as the gasket.  It’s a big job, so we need all day.  Today we replaced the muffler and tail pipe.  I also changed the oil and filter.  Then we tackled the valve cover.  When we removed it we discovered a broken gasket.  It was leaking oil out both rear corners.  Perhaps 90% of the oil we see all under the motor was from there..  Some other oil may have been coming out the drain plug!  the plastic washer was broken.   After installing a much better looking valve cover I had with a new gasket..  We fired up the motor and turned down the idle.  It ran smooth !  Really smooth.  Why the F**K was the idle so high ?  Who the F**K changed the oil last ? After all that I could not find any other things needing fixing.   We even got the plugs out of the diffs and the transmission.. oil in those is good.

Feb 11 2016:

I went to the shop early.  And while waiting for my help I decided to clean the underside of the Sidekick.. motor, transmission and parts of the frame.  All have oil on them.  Now that it’s clean any leaks should be easy to see.  While cleaning I discovered a loose U-Joint on the front drive shaft.  So I had another sent up.  Dave arrived in time to see me removing the drive shaft.  We pressed out the old and pressed in the new.  Done!  Then set to work on the exhaust gasket..  Took till lunch just for us to do those two things..  But we did get the two axles replaced by the and of the day..   The Suzuki is back in my shop.. mechanically sound … mostly..  I’m sure something else will pop up.

So here we have the motor .. looks much the same except for a better looking valve cover.   Runs way quieter !  And idles like it should.  So what got done?

• New muffler and tailpipe
• New front CV axles with boots
• New valve cover and gasket
• New U-Joint for the front driveshaft
• New gasket on the header pipe flange
• Oil change and filter.

With the known mechanical stuff out of the way..  it’s time to Pimp..  No wait I’ve some holes to fix…. and other stuff.

Feb 12 2016:

Good news (so far) NO oil leaking onto the floor.  NONE.  Lets hope we have all the leaks fixed.   Onward to other things..  The seats have been a real thorn in my plans..  It would really blow the budget to have them redone.  So we came up with a solution.  Since this is the one I’m fixing to flip.. and I’m keeping the Tracker.. then the nice seats from the Tracker will go in the Sidekick..  and these bad seats will get seat covers for now.  I’ve ordered them, and I’ll install them semi permanently.  Now I feel I can make some color & design decisions.  Here’s what is planned for the sidekick:

• New Red paint job exterior, with black trim.
• Paint the exposed interior metal semi gloss black.
• Re-upholster the door panels and rear panels in black.
• install keyless power locks
• New stereo and new speakers
• LED interior lights.
• LED driving lights
• Tint the rear quarter windows.
• Transfer the alloy wheels over from the Tracker.
• Transfer the front seats over as well.

So all that said.. lets start a new page for the bodywork..

PAGE 3

Feb 5 2016

It’s the beginning of February….

So.. what the hey.. lets start another project while it’s still yucky outside.

Introduction:

Here below is a photo from the ad.

Folks from down under call this a ZOOK.  A Suzuki Sidekick.  They also refer to this model as a TIN TOP to note the difference from a convertible like the 92.  This version comes in a 2 door or a 4 door.   I went to Vernon and bought this from a guy who does drywall taping.. Which is very evident when you see the interior.  Used as a little work truck.  But it was being used.. not sitting for years or even months.

To be fair I was warned..  I don’t care about messes in cheap vehicles.  And yes . another cheap one.  A little bit more than the 91 Tracker.  BUT I drove this one back home no trailer needed.   So that’s got to be worth a bit more.  I wouldn’t say it runs good.. needs a bit of tweaking.   But gets you where your going.  What I like about this little ZOOK is that the things it needs are the things I’m good at..  and I have most of the parts ! It’s a cosmetic disaster not a mechanical one.  It has less rust than the 91.  And it has all of the body parts..  So a great place to start.  I’m going to do a walk around video tomorrow and talk about the  ZOOK.  And I’ll post that on youtube.  But I’ll still write that stuff in this post too.  Without putting the Zook on a hoist , pulling the wheels… etc..  The mechanical needs are mostly unknown.  But after driving it for 3 hours through two cities and 300 kms of highway.  I can say there is no issues with the clutch or transmission.  The motor is running cool and not puffing smoke.  In fact it has good power, and climbed the hills without slowing.  The steering feels fine , and the brakes are doing the job.  Even the park brake works good.  What is noticeable is the idle is quite high.  And starting from cold the motor stumbles.  The check engine light came on briefly when the stumbling happened, but never again.  Peter will help sort these thing out.  Also the muffler is most likely toast and once again no tail pipe.  My ride home required ear plugs… wish I had some.

The Cosmetic Stuff:

This must be the very base model.  No center consoles, No cigar lighter, no tachometer, and flat ugly door panels.  But the dash is all there, no missing bits.  Love those cup holders,  Totally hillbilly.  but handy for my  Tim’s icecap on the way home.

The inside drivers door handle is broken,  as well as the window regulator.  I have those parts ! YAY.   The seats are way worse than the 91..  So that’s a problem to solve.  The carpet looks rough too..  Seat belts are rough as well..  Again I have extras.  As for the body:  The registration shows a “rebuilt” status.  That means it had an accident bad enough for ICBC to write it off.  On a 26 year old vehicle that wouldn’t take much.  I suspect the front drivers corner was hit.  The fender, grill and headlight are newish. But probably came from a wrecker. And the fender is not fitting proper ( rubbing the door) so it was fixed at home.  Once I pull the bumper cover the truth will be revealed.  Aside from that it’s the normal rust repair for me.   Check out the seats !

Yucky…   These seats are exactly the same as the 91 Tracker.  But oh so wrecked.   The rear seat is ok, just dirty.  This may be pricey to fix these.  I’ll need some quotes from the two upholstery guys in town.  I would like them to have a more black look to match the dash and the door panels.   Which brings me to color choices.   Red came to mind first.  I found a red one on the net that I liked.

Don’t care for those gray panels though.  Good thing  I kept the rubber body trim from the Tracker, I also have the rocker covers at the bottom.  And I like the paint treatment on the bumpers.  This time I might paint the mirrors,  door handles and grill.  But that’s just me running ideas through my head.

Here’s the video introduction link..

After making that video…  I got anxious and I couldn’t resist turning a wrench and spinning a screwdriver.  So I fixed the drivers door.  Replaced the window regulator, and the inside handle.  I also removed the drivers mirror to see why it was hanging off..  It’s broken.  I have another.  Dug through my spare parts bins and pulled out the bits a will need.

I also couldn’t resist taking out the rear carpet.  Expecting to find more rust..  I was pleasantly surprised to find a clean shiny white floor !  First one I’ve seen in a while.  However typically the bottom seat belt bolts are rusted so bad that the metal will fall apart when you try to remove them..  So I will just pull them out and weld new metal plate there.  I need to get the carpet all out soon as I’ve found it to be damp.  I think buddy spilled a lot of water and drywall mud in there.  Or the wet is coming in from the road..  Could mean more holes.

Here’s one more Video.  I plan to do videos more.

Feb 8 2016:    Not much going on today.. so I wandered out to the shop.. and started stripping more stuff out.. seats, carpet, right side door panel, seat belts.  Now I can see the extent of the rusty floors.  Turns out the wet carpet was from me driving it home.. The holes are big and on the passenger side it’s right up where your feet go.. behind the tire getting all the muck.   So four holes to fix in the floor and three in the rear.  Not bad.

Two small patches needed here.

One bigger one up front in the passenger foot well.  This one I did not see coming..  The drivers floor I knew about.   I now need to fix the sliders on the drivers seat and put it back in..  We plan to trailer the Zook over to the auto shop to do the inspection..  While there we will install  a new muffler and tail pipe.

One more video..  then it’s the Mechanical Stuff.

Onward to the next  PAGE 2   the Mechanical Stuff.

Jan 31 2016

Final Page – End of the Project:

Nine pages!  could have been shorter if I want each post page to be longer.  But I don’t like to scroll down so far..  So this last post is a wrap up.. and thoughts on my second Tracker project.  The first being the 1989 Tracker I restored in 2008.  Please note this is the third Tracker I’ve owned.  I had a 1989 back in 2001.  I really like these little 4×4’s.  And I’m not alone ,  They are very popular, and when in good shape command a higher than normal price for a 26 year old vehicle.   Anyway I took this:

Sad, beat up , not running , rusty and un-loved Tracker..  To this:

Happy, bright blue, running, rust free and much loved Tracker.

It took three months of my spare time, and a modest budget to get to this.  I had a lot of help when I needed it from my good friend Dave and my Nephew Peter.   I was able to use Peter’s Auto shop for some of the mechanical work.  And his parts discount for all the parts that had to be purchased.  Otherwise this would not have happened.  I don’t have a hoist or the vast amount of special tools for auto repair.  I do have what it takes to make stuff look good..  I’m by no means a good body guy.. or even a good painter.. but I can do it .  Pimping things is what I do..  I tried to be reasonable with the pimping.. so I kept it to things I had on hand,  Like the LED running lights, and the power locking system.

I would like to do a recap list of what this Tracker is and what’s been done to get there.  I started with a :  1991 GMC Tracker 4×4, auto trans, power steering,  removable hard top, convertible.  First the Mechanical stuff :

• Used but good motor swapped for non running one.
• New timing belt
• New belts
• New battery
• New valve cover gasket
• New front rotors and brakes
• New front axle boots.
• New exhaust tail pipe.
• New rear shocks
• Used alloy rims installed
• Service Transmission / flush and filter
• Run injector cleaning  for 30 min
• Oil change and filter
• New spark wires, cap and rotor

Then there’s the stuff that makes it look pretty.  Remember I wrecked out a free 89 Suzuki .  These are the things that it donated:

• The motor
• Both doors
• Hood
• Tailgate
• Dash and gauges
• Steering wheel
• Tailights
• Speakers
• Door switch
• Heater fan rheostat
• Front seat frame

And this is the other stuff I spent money on:

• Used left headlight ( expensive)
• New winch with remote
• Repaired upholstery on the front seats
• New lift cylinders for the rear gate.
• Newer spare tire
• New trailer ball
• Sound deadening foam and rubber
• Under felt for carpet
• Lots of paint and undercoating
• Power keyless locking system
• USB, clock and power plugs

There was a few things that I had in my shop already.  I had bought them a while back.  Like the LED lights and the bush guard.

Although I’m  now driving the Tracker and consider it done..  There is a few things still that need attention and replacement.  The Anti lock brake sensor on the differential is broken. This causes the brake warning light  to come on.  They are hard to find.. and even harder to remove the old one.. WE TRIED.  The other thing I’ve noticed is the throttle kick down cable for the transmission is frayed.. not broken yet.. but could.   And I would like to service both of the differentials oil, but the plugs are seized bad. The windshield needs replacing as well, but that needs to wait till spring.  These things will be fixed as I get to them.

Conclusion:

The total cost for this Tracker is half of what it would sell for on the market today.  So the temptation to make a profit is there.  But this one and it’s features are on the rare side..  I much prefer the automatic to a standard.  And the power steering makes zipping around town so easy..  and I’m certain that on the back roads I’ll like both those things even more.   The hard top will out last any soft top..  and those are not as cheap anymore because of our low dollar.  Also the hard tops are in demand, and folks are always looking for used ones.  A new hard top is over a thousand bucks.  I would like to make a Tonneau cover  like in this photo below:

Because I don’t care about squeezing 4 people into my Tracker I’m not bothering with the back seat anyway.  Also I like the idea of the sliding rear window..  like a tiny truck !  A mini Avalanche !  Too cool.  Ah but that can come later too..  I’ve ordered a new stereo that is just a AM / FM media player.  No CDs.   It’s also Bluetooth , so this brings the Tracker even more into the times.

If you need to go back to where this all started ..   HERE

Jan 26 2015

Page 8  The final work:  Almost done

Here it is back on the new feet, and all done except the canopy.  We pushed the Tracker forward for room to work on the tiny canopy.

Fixin The Hard Top:

I removed the rear lift gate so It would be easier to fix a few things.

One of those things was the rear window defrost grid.  Both the connectors were broken off..  So I soldered them back..  a little messy but they work good..  And since I went to the trouble to wire this feature back up..  it’s nice to have.  I also repaired two cracks in the plastic where the hinges attach.

Then I needed to have a look at the problems with the top.

Both rear corners have broken pieces that someone fixed with resin… But they cracked again because their resin did not adhere to the plastic ?  I could easily peel the patch off.  Maybe they did not sand and clean good enough.  These corners where the gasket goes is the only part holding the top from flexing.  The mount for the lift cylinders goes here too.  I’m thinking a long curved metal plate would add enough strength to keep the cracks form happening again.  But first I must try to resin and glass them back together.

I could use aluminum and put the plate on the outside to make a sandwich with the lift mounts.   But !  once the repair was cured it was strong..  Not so with the repair on the door..  The way the hinge is mounted wants to crack.  so I had to go back and use fiber cloth to make it stronger.  And adding thickness was a good thing too.  The door was too low.   Here’s a video I just did .. remembered I had a GoPro..

And here’s two “after” pics..

Still a few small details left..  And a day on the hoist servicing the transmission, installing new shocks, repairing the anti lock brake sensor plug and a bit more undercoat.

Jan 28 : Took the Tracker out for a drive with Dave today..  All’s well.   So I made another video after it can back in.

All done for now..  Let’s do a 9th page as a wrap up.. and final thoughts:

   Page 9 The End