finally got a chance to start the makeover on my u42t...began with a thorough de-greasing and steam clean..yanked out the floor mat (if it can be called that ) and sanded down the floors and footwells..then sprayed all the seams with rust reformer and coated with about 3mm of rubberized rocker guard coating...once that dried I sprayed granite fleckstone on the exposed footwells just for appearance...centre console removed degreased (gross but there was sooo much greasy human detrius on the console it had to be sanded off)and repainted with grey vinyl/plastic dye....shortened the shifter 3 inches and retapped the lever so I could use the original knob....working on the steering wheel mount and carpets atm....only before pics...no after yet ..
some after photos..for some reason my old garage camera adds red dots in low light...the brownish smudge on the floor is a super thick old rubber undercoat I had around...comes out odd coloured but will be covered by carpet anyway...you can see the caked on human grot on the unfinished handbrake handle!!! nasty!
A bit more work done this weekend (not as much as I'd like but a blown pass side strut has me seeking options that don't involve $300 struts) After the rubberized floors and footwells dried I made a carpet set and heat molded it to the floor's shape.. Can't have that original steering wheel,so the easiest way is to make your own adapter from the original wheel boss...sliced the wheel apart and removed the horn contact ring from the bottom...welded on a 2" tall 3 1/4 diameter thick walled steel tube to the original wheel centre..drilled/tapped/mounted the horn contact ring to the tubing ..then drilled and tapped the top of the tubing to accept the aftermarked wheel..covered the finished wheel boss with black leather...and "viola" no more stock wheel on the knees
Wow, nice CLEAN truck... looking at yours I think I have about 90 hours of cleaning to do, after what I did to mine hunting this past month. I need to re-do my floor mat situation in my truck, this gives me a good idea I think I can steal...
Thanks....Nope just plain old rubber backed low pile industrial carpet.....heat the areas you want to form with a steamer and hold them in place till they re-set....you can use a heat gun,but they sometimes are a bit overzealous
Can you see the difference? Ha! dash mounted hideaway cuphoders courtesy of a 1998 nissan sentra..slice the top off the cubbybox below the stock stereo and this sucker nearly inserts itself..okay a bit of 5 min plastic epoxy to mount to the sides of the cubby box but 15 minutes start to finish isn't bad...can still fit mail,pixie sticks and licorice in the amputated cubby box...Oh yeah,,had to cut another 2 inches off the shifter so it would get under the cupholder...shifting will not get in the way of my coffee..but it will fit under it...shifter almost as short throw as my Miata now
Buzz naked..avert yer eyes..poor little guy..sctratches and dings gone..almost ready for new paint............. A trick I learned years ago and may be useful to anyone painting a vehicle at home...removing the front and rear windshields is a PITA and always carries the risk of breakage..but you want paint under the window seal...tuck a polyester (dont use hemp or natural fiber it will fray and make a mess)rope all around the circumference of the window(rear shown) it will hold the rubber lip off the body (tape the seal of course)and you can get paint under the seal and once dry just remove the rope and the seal lip will sit nicely on top of the fresh paint...no lumpy edges.......
That's the best cupholder I've seen for a mini Fupa! Props on that one! Good trick with the rope, buddy taught me that one!
looking good. hmm the cupholder thing has me wondering of one from a 90's dakota would fit in my truck....
miles that must a b a low miles one, the 4x4 decal on my lever has worn off and my gas pedal has worn through on the edge and yeah i have the original gray plastic seats.. cloth would be neat for AZ
Seems that some people are having issues with which wires to use when installing an aftermarket stereo....I did the hookup today on Buzz(mits u42t) and in case anyone needs to know the wires to use ........ the factory plug on the back has 5 wires NONE OF THEM ARE NEGATIVE !!! Ground is through the chassis bolting to the metal dash support...the plug is divided into 2 wires on right for the single dash speaker..cut em chuck em they are useless...the 3 remaining on the left are as follows...reddish brown is constant battery 12v at all times...thicker gauge blue/white is ignition on power 12v when key on...last thin blue?green (i think it was blue green) is headlight switched power...cut off and tape up unless you have use for an accessory that comes on only with the headlights....I have a feeling this is the wire causing all the frustrations as it would appear to be the only wire left that could be the ground wire...but it isn't..maybe this will help someone and save a few fuses
just an old Aiwa am/fm/cd deck I had sitting in the garage....unlike the daihatsu the Mits. can take a normal single or double din deck
Nice work cleaning! My truck is due for a re-painting, probably this spring... but he's getting a full coating of bedliner. Inside and out... I'm rhino lining the entire truck I figure it'll be more durable than paint, especially with the amount of plowing through brush and small trees I do. Also since it's roll-on and doesn't really run it should be a little more straightforward than a paint job albeit more expensive.
A bit of an update...painting has been a pain with the weather going on and off..colour sanding done on the front and drivers side(shop heater can only be on one side at a time) it's a bit shinier than the photos show and not bad for the $50 worth of tremclad it cost me...interior is torn out again to add sound deadening in the door panels and outer door skins...around 3mm of rubberized undercoating on the inside of the door skins and 2mm dense cotton/wool rag sound absorbing pads glued to the back sides of the door cards,and under the seats (huge difference at idle..much quieter)...."the beast" abs speaker is mounted above the rear window..yup..looks kinda funky but sounds sweet..had to break down and drill through the rear cab wall and used 85lb toggle bolts into the speaker body..6mm rubber mat between the cab wall and the speaker tube so no rattling ...wiring hanging waiting to be run under the headliner/double walled door tops, and down the A pillar....ran out of propane for the heater so work ends for the night
I'm digging that speaker setup. I made an 8" subwoofer tube last weekend that I still haven't mounted that I'm planning on putting in that location
Firstly..I apologize for taking video with a few beers in me (I'm a bit of a lightweight)...camera doesn't pick up audio all that well,but the deck and speakers are all in and done..happy to report clearance with a cowboy hat on ...why is it you can strip a truck in an hour and it takes a week to reassemble??..anyhow heres some tipsy video of the speaker in action and finished interior http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73NkVqR2q3I
haha nice! hmm reminds me that i saw a pic of a mini with a net basket up in that area.. guess there would be no problem if they can put that up there to! lol
buzz gets some new shoes...courtesy of an old 1987 mazda 323 gtx...155/80/13s...no clearance probs. maybe 5mm from the strut so I'll grab some 2mm spacers and call it a day..no lift as of yet..still working on my mission to find struts...found some heat shrink axe handle covers at Princess Auto.($4 on sale)..fit perfectly over the tailgate chains..they take a lot of heat to shrink though..you need a heat gun..don't think a zippo will do it
95% done..headache rack painted and bedliner done...trim finished installing most lights converted to LED bulbs..daytime running lights hooked up..waiting on struts....
