Peppy, my little mule: A build thread

Thanks for the comments. Rangerin, when you get ready for the swap, feel free to PM me and I'll help walk you through it if you like. Start finding your parts NOW, they are getting harder to find by the day. Thanks a lot, cash for clunkers.

Been busy busy. Got my rear seats in, along with most of my interior trim:


The brackets and rails were all painted, the seats SOAKED in super-clean, scrubbed and hosed. They came out ok, but I was disappointed with all the permanent stains... Anybody have any tricks on getting them out?


Front seats in, they sit nice and look WAY better than my original bench seat. I'm leaving the console out, I feel that it makes the cabin feel much bigger than it actually is, I prefer the open feeling. Besides, the console in my explorer squeaks and rattles enough to drive a man insane.

My next order of business is to get a replacement headliner. My factory one has pretty much fallen apart from years of leaky drip rails. The scrapyard has a decent one for $20, I plan to pick it up this weekend and get it re-upholstered. I also think I'm going to ditch the hokey wood-grain dash panel. I prefer the all grey dashes. I also still need to find a Tilt, manual shift column shroud, since mine still has the big open hole from the column shifter.

My dash lights have always been dim and spotty, so I pulled out the cluster, detail cleaned it, re-painted the centers of my needles, and put ALL new bulbs in the rear. Then I polished the plastic cover with Turtle Wax ice, it took out the great majority of the haze and scratches. Bolted it back together, hooked up my speedometer (hint, it is MUCH easier to reach if you drop the column!), and it looks great. Before:


After:


Much brighter at night, I'm tickled with the way this came out.


With my taillights still out, I cleaned up and undercoated the area behind them, cleaned up the harnesses, added all new bulbs with dialectric grease, and added a new trailer light harness. All bolted back together:


It's really came a long way. I couldn't stand the wait any longer, so I actually got it out on the road. It has some vacuum issues, the clutch may need bled just a bit more, but it does FANTASTIC. I am very happy with the progress so far.



So, this is where I am at today. Please, disregard the little bitty Barbie-doll tires I have on there now, I promise they WILL be changed out in the future. A bit more body work, and it will be ready for paint. My next mechanical chore is to do a FULL brake job, new lines, calipers, everything. Then it is on to the D35 swap, new suspension (3 inch lift or so), and tires. I'm also wanting to service the rear 7.5, flush the oil and add some type of lunchbox locker, maybe a Powertrax? There is still a long road ahead.

Thanks for reading this so far. I am fully planning to keep this thread updated as progress is made. Signing off for now.

More to come!

Very nice build. Everything is very detailed too! The hydraulic lines from Napa is pretty cool! I had no idea they had that.

Good luck with the rest! I look forward to seeing it rolling!

Great work. Its nice to see a B2 resurrected instead of being hauled off to the crusher. I bought my 3rd 89 XLT last October. It wasn't a project car, but any 25 year old vehicle needs constant attention. I look forward to seeing your progress.

Mr. Tarkanian said:

Thanks for the comments. Rangerin, when you get ready for the swap, feel free to PM me and I'll help walk you through it if you like. Start finding your parts NOW, they are getting harder to find by the day. Thanks a lot, cash for clunkers.

Click to expand...

NP. May hold ya to that. I'm used to working on the truck, but a tranny swap + 4x4 conversion can be a bit daunting for a fella who's only been turning wrenches on personal vehicles for 2 years.

Looking really nice. The only cure I know of for permanent stains in seats is seat covers. But I have had some luck with laundry soap with oxi-clean in it and also resolve. But I'm pretty sure you've probably tried those types of things.

I'm glad to see people are reading my thread, thanks for the kind words. This is turning out to really be a fun and fulfilling project. There is simply nothing like building your own vehicle, the sense of pride and accomplishment makes it SO worth all the sweat and frustration.

I made some more progress this weekend. I went back to the junkyard and scored a VERY nice dash bezel and ash tray. It is wood grain (what I was trying to get away from), I couldn't find a grey one, but it looks pretty good popped in place. I also got the seat belt slides cleaned up and bolted in. Here is a pic of the dash:


After the picture was snapped, I swapped in a CD player from my daily driver explorer, which is on the verge of biting the dust. It is a 91 sport 2 door 4x4. It has been a trusted, loyal friend, but it just clocked 208K miles and is in desperate need of an engine rebuild. I don't have the time or funds to do it right now, so I'm going to use what I can off of it to get my Bronco going. It is still in great condition, and is too nice to scrap or part out (plus the fact that is was my grandpa's DD, I'm quite sentimental to it), so I'm going to park it behind the barn and throw a tarp over it for the time being. I'm contemplating a 5.0L/M5odR2 swap in the explorer in a year or two If I could find someone who would build it and appreciate it, I would sell it, but I would HATE to see it beat to crap with the top chopped off of it and destroyed. Anyway, I robbed the rear speakers out of it for the B2:


It sounds ok. I was afraid the front speakers were busted, and indeed they are. But they sound ok so long as the volume isn't cranked really loud. The rear speakers have some type of "tick tick tick", I think it is interference from the engine, because it ticks faster at higher RPM. I'm not sure what to do about that.

I also robbed the wheels/tires from my old explorer. They are 30x9.50's, I had to lift the front just a bit for it to look right. I used those crappy twist in spacer things in the coils. I know, I know. But it is just temporary until I can afford to build the front.


It drives better with these tires, they are so much smoother and quieter. I think these are about the right size, they are big enough to make the truck feel sporty, and give me enough altitude for some light hunting trails, but they aren't so big that it is a pain to drive. I might not even have to re-gear the axles, it pulls pretty hard on acceleration. When I get my new tires, I think I will be going this size.

I also scored a passenger front fender at the 'yard ($15), but haven't had a chance to strip it yet so it is still sitting in the garage. I'm hoping to update my thread at least every week. I hope you guys are enjoying it.

So, I didn't get so much done over the weekend. My boy has not been feeling well, so much of my free time has been spent in the house while my wife gets caught up on the housework.

I changed my oil, first time in about 3 years. I also fogged the vacuum system with SeaFoam. I pulled off the grille guard, the lower valence, and pulled out the A/C Condenser and Auto Trans cooler. Those are the last remnants of both systems, every little bit of weight and added crap I can delete from this rig, the better:


I can't believe how much dust/hay/mud was caked into the front of the radiator. Its a thousand wonders this thing never overheated, definitely a good move to remove the condenser. I'm going to trim the bottom of the grille guard, so it doesn't stick down below the bumper (I'm leaving the plastic valence off for ground clearance and tow-hook access), and I'm going to clean it and re-paint it.

I'm not sure about the chrome. The front and rear bumper will be the ONLY chrome on the entire rig. My pa thinks I should leave it, I'm leaning more towards black paint. Anybody like to voice an opinion?

I had to snap this pic at the junkyard. I looked down to find this thing staring back at me. Kinda freaked me out a bit. I don't know if I'm going back HAHA


It gets lonely in the shop. Here is my little helper, Molle:


We will be making our first trip to town in a LONG time this week. My goals this coming weekend/Monday (my day off) are to replace the ghetto-hillbilly "cold air" intake on it now with a factory airbox/intake system, try and find some door sill striker plates (or repair mine), and find some seat covers. I'm also looking at adding some tow hooks up front.

Problems:
-Clutch is still "grabby" very early in the let-off cycle. Maybe more air in the system?
-Radio works well, but the speakers all die simultaneously about 20 seconds after turning the volume up. Maybe I need to re-route power or ground wires?
-NO high beams. The indicator still works in the dash. Is it possible both bulbs shot at once?



Overall, the project is going well. More to come.

I had to replace the calipers sooner than I expected, the driver's side was sticking. You can see in the picture how hot the rotor got. It's amazing that it didn't warp. Good thing is, D28 and D35 both use the same caliper, so they will work on my D35 swap. I need pads and rotors too, but they will have to wait for the D35. Please disregard the wussy auto hubs, their days are numbered.




Also fixed the Hi Beams. BOTH bulbs were shot, contrary to my expectations. I REALLY wanted to do the 9007 bulb conversion, but I need lights NOW, so I just put in stock 9004's. A few bucks and 10 minutes fixed that problem. No argument from me.




I drove it to work today, her first time in town in many moons. Good news is the clutch is getting better all the time, I guess actually driving it is help breaking in the disc and working out some of the air. I love this thing, I've only had it on small hills around the farm, but it climbs like a goat. I can't wait to get my rear locker in it. Throwing around the idea of a Jeep Limited Slip in the front D35. Poser shot!!