Got Another Daily Driver

[Chickenbone]

In the beginning of December I was t-boned in my Ranger on my way to work. I never got collision for my insurance so the other kid's insurance company paid for the value of my Ranger. It took a while to set everything in motion because the accident happened close to Christmas and you know how crazy it gets around that time. In mid January my Ranger was towed away because it cost more to fix it than to sell it. I didn't think it would be hard to find a V6 truck with a 5-speed, but I was wrong, every friggin Ranger I found had an auto. Then fortune smiled upon me and I found a '92 S-10 with a 2.8L V6 and a 5-speed. I was feeling kind of fortunate, or so I thought. The first night I drove it to work, the starter died and I had to push start the truck to get home. When I changed the starter, I found out that at least two lugs on each wheel were stripped or really tightened down; almost like the mechanic who sold it to me put a crazy pnuematic impact on it. When all of that was done, I noticed my gas mileage was really crappy. After another day of driving it to work I noticed a strong scent of gasoline on my way back from work. The next morning I noticed a large puddle of gas under the driver's side door. I got under the truck and found that the gas tank had rotted through. So my father and I spent a few days under the truck trying to get the 17 year old lines and other fuel related crap apart. In the end I had to cut the lines apart because they were siezed onto the flare nuts. Then NAPA decided to use my situation to pay their rent and wanted $750 for a new tank, fuel pump/sending unit, straps, and filter (still had the original filter on there :evil: . I told them where to stick it and purchased the filter only. I got a mechanic across town who said he'd replace everything for half the price. I will be going over there tomorrow morning to pick up my truck (pun intended).

So far this truck has been pushing my buttons, but here's the thing; I have invested too much at this point to let it go. When the time comes, I will get my revenge. It doesn't know me. I can make the truck live a long and hard life, meanwhile torturing the crap out of it. When it thinks I'm through, I'll just throw a 6.0L LS engine in there and continue the torture. It should have been good to me. I would have treated it in a civil manner. When I am finished with my parent's vehicles, I will focus all of my attention on this truck. I had a friend who had different classes for each guy she dated. There was an A, B, and C class. The C-class were guys that in her mind, didn't treat her right, but she would hang with them until the moment was right and then she'd make them pay. This truck just became my C-class b*tch. I'll post pics when I get the truck back and cleaned up a bit.



Chickenbone

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Damn, and I thought I had it bad because I have to buy a new LCA for my pickup and it's $110!

 

[Blake442]

Sounds kinda like my '89 1500 I bought for my new bomber.
I was told "oh yeah, everything's fine" by the previous owner, a friend of my moms. They had purchased the truck a few years ago from my moms ex-husband, so I knew the truck.
Drive it home, brake pedal goes to the floor. Fantastic.
Master cylinder is empty. Fill it up and find the leak back behind the tank.
Fill it with gas, it leaks all over the driveway. Now I'm really thrilled.
Fuel and brake lines were rotten inbetween the frame and tank, which these trucks are notorious for. The truck sat untouched in my driveway for 6 months until I finally decided that my Malibu wagon was too worn out, and I decided to take the plunge and spend the money to fix the truck.
Found a new set of correct fuel lines for $120.
Drop the tank after pumping out the 35 gallons of fuel (glad I filled it... ) with a tiny electric pump, only to have the sending unit lines crumble as I attempted to disconnect them.
A $245 fuel sending unit later I was back in business, only to have to go fill the thing up for $110! :shock: damned $4 gas...
So for $500 purchase price, $400 in parts, $350 for new tires, and the time it took to buff out my buddies Challenger for letting me use the hoist at his shop, I finally had a dependable truck. Now if I could just get off my *ss and replace the worn out latch on the drivers side, I wouldn't have to crawl across the damn seat to get in and out of it...
I should've just rebuilt the front end on the wagon...

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

You guys make me very happy with my Japanese mini truck. 99% of the functions I need a truck for can be done by my small truck, and it's reliable with none of the small issues you seem to have. Heck, the hinge pins are still tight and it even has the original door handles after 314,000 miles of delivering pizza.

 

[Blake442]

I'm still very happy with my truck.
The latch deal is a pain, but a common problem. The hinges are worn as well, but that also is common. The fuel and brake lines are also a common thing up here in the rust belt. My truck was not the first vehicle I've had to do them on.
Everything else except the a/c on the truck works perfect (power everything), and it just rolled over 200K last week.
My mom's ex was a contractor, and this truck was his rolling office (you should see the baller car phone). The driver door may be worn out, but the passenger side works like new! :lol:

 

[Chickenbone]

I don't feel quite as bad, but I'm still mad at the truck. I also have to scrounge some money together and get the code scanner for the truck. I believe there's a vacuum leak somewhere as it can't seem to idle below 1100 rpm. All of the lines look like they're in good shape. When I get a good weekend and the truck decides to behave, I will change the TBI base gasket. They're cheap enough and an easy fix to start with.

The plan is simple. I am going to rebuild the top end of my father's 292 I-6 in his C-20. I plan on setting up the cylinder head on his work bench and bolt up all of the brackets on the driver's side to see how the headers are going to fit. When we finish with whatever mods we need to do, I will install the headers and see how his 292 runs. I will send the cylinder head and intake down to the machine shop to have them ported, polished, and port matched. Then we will bolt the rest of the upper end together and see what we get.

My mom has an '86 Crown Victoria that I have been slowly modding. I have saved up enough money to get the car painted this summer. I have a few body pieces to get (bumpers and another hood) B4 I get the car painted. Then I will save up for the EFI 351W build. I will build it conservatively enough that my mom can handle the car at the track.

When that is done, I will focus on the S-10. I will eventually swap in an Escilade motor and a 6-speed. I have been gathering info on that swap since I bought it. The day will come when that truck pays its dues. The truck doesn't realize how good my memory can be when it is filled with spite.



Chickenbone

 

[STL84Calais]

should have stuck with a ranger, never had any problems with mine, totaled mine out too. Now I'm getting another one.

 

[Chickenbone]

I looked for about a month for another 3.0L/5-speed Ranger to no avail. The few that I did find cost an arm and a leg. Then I found this S-10 locally. I saw a kid doing wicked burnouts and a donut in his Escalade over a year ago and I was impressed. If I still have access to one in a year, I will buy it and store it until the swap. Here are some pics of the S-10.

As you can see, I didn't get to the lower valance. Next time the weather breaks, I will do a complete wash, polishing, a wax job on the truck.

Chickenbone

 

[Bowtiefan]

Chickenbone:

I will say it is a nice LOOKING truck! Too bad it's been such a PITA! In another post you made mention of getting a code scanner for it.....This truck should just use a "key" or a paper clip in the ALDL connector and then you count the flashes of the SES light on the dash. If you need the scoop on how to do that, PM me. The 6.0 swap would definitely be sweet though!

 

[Chickenbone]

Thanks Bowtie fan!!!! I already got the code scanner that plugs into the port under the steering wheel. The truck passed the key-off test, but it said that the truck was running in constant open loop (constant/quick blinking) when the engine is running; and that was after 15 minutes. I'm thinking that the ACT temp sensor might be dead and/or the T-stat is sticking open or non-existent. In any event, I have an idea of where to start looking. With any luck, I'll be able to get the other projects semi-completed and get the LQ9/6-speed swap done within two years. I'm not sure, but I might call the girl that I sold my old Malibu to and see if she still has the Cragar SS wheels that I gave to her. I don't want to open up that can of worms again, but I would like to have tires with more grip than these stock 14" wheels and tires.



Chickenbone