My wheeled projects.
Throughout my journey in life, there's something awry if I don't have a project vehicle that needs attention.
I'm always keeping an eye out for those 'mechanic's special' ads, searching for unique and different cars or bikes.
Here is my 2-door 1990 Toyota 4-Runner. Yeah, it's old, and I love it!.
Click on an image in the gallery for a larger view.
I'm always keeping an eye out for those 'mechanic's special' ads, searching for unique and different cars or bikes.
Here is my 2-door 1990 Toyota 4-Runner. Yeah, it's old, and I love it!.
Click on an image in the gallery for a larger view.
Here's the short story on some projects I've tackled:
1990 Toyota 4Runner: My first 4Runner. The 2-door model was only made for 2 years, and I love the style. Had to go into Oklahoma to get this on a trailer. Actually in pretty good condition once I got it started up. I've taken it mudding, rock crawling, camping, towing, and on long highway trips. She needs some love, but It's what I always wanted
Suzuki xs1100 Custom: Cafe racer style motorcycle. Custom extended swing-arm with chain drive conversion, sv650 front forks, anodized red accents, tank-swap, custom fiberglass rear fairing, some custom wiring, numerous repairs to carburetors.
Kawasaki 454 LTD: Purchased as is, this bike wasn't running. With some simple diagnostics and repairs, it's was running like a top! Super comfortable and smooth ride. What a great bike.
Kawasaki EX250: A super reliable and efficient bike, I purchased this from a trailer park resident, and it was literally crawling with poisonous spiders. A complete tear down to the frame revealed much work had to be done. Ended up replacing many parts, eventually restoring the bike to a like new condition.
Kazuma 200cc: Named the "Cheetah 200", this bike is a Chinese clone of the Honda CTX200. Purchased for $80 as a pile of parts, most parts were broken and had to be repaired, replaced, or modified. Loads of work, but with a fun payoff in the end.
1956 Mercury Monterey: Purchased without a title, without an engine, and with the transmission in the trunk, this mammoth needed more than a little TLC. After installing a period correct engine, and rebuilding the automatic transmission, this behemoth roared to life. Unfortunately, lack of funds and my desire to relocate forced a less than ideal end of life for this classic. But fear not, for it was not dumped into the car crusher, rather, it was sold to a fellow car enthusiast, with the intention of saving this classic.
Suzuku RV 125: A 2-stroke mini bike, with a street-legal title and registration, this little trail bike was an ideal choice for beach towns and campgrounds. The purchase inspired my friends and I to construct a dirt circle mini-track in our backyard, complete with ramps, whoops, and banked turns. Hours of noisy excitement and riding ensued. My neighbors were not as excited!
Suzuki RM 125: Drove way too far to pickup this bike, and overpaid for it as well. Rode it just a few times before I found out that I had some carb/tuning issues. Then it flat-out broke. Turns out I picked up a bit of a lemon. But it could not deter my desire to ride! Totally tore down the motor and found several issues. Yikes! Replaced what I needed to and put a new fresh top end on it. Runs ten times better now!
Honda XR80R: What a story on this one. One day when working on the Suzuki in my driveway, a wild eyed character approaches with a "great deal for me". He's got this story about a little bike he got on a trade for work and this and that and blah blah blah. Anyways, I ended up buying a little Honda motorcycle that was is pretty bad shape. Rusty seized forks, rusty chain, carb just dirty as all get out, rotted tires, etc. etc. Put a decent amount of work into this one to get it back up to snuff.
1997 Ford F-250 HD: 4x4 w/ the 460c.i. gas engine. Painted and installed the flatbed from an older Ford truck. This thing has a serious drinking problem...
1991 Ford F-Superduty (AKA F-450): Well, I put one flatbed truck up for sale, and so it was time to look for another... I'm usually just casually looking at Craigslist ads for trucks a couple of times a week anyways. It was about a year after I bought the 1997 F-250, and I went to look at another truck I saw listed for sale. Turns out it's the same guy I bought my other flatbed truck from! How about that. Ended up buying the truck I went to look at. It was in rough shape, with countless mud-dauber nests just jammed everywhere you could fit one in, fuel leaks, slipping clutch, slightly overheating, no speedo hookup, and just generally dirty and kinda rusty. I have since gone over most of the fuel system, fixed up most of the issues, and cleaned it up quite a bit.
1989 Toyota "Frankenrunner" 4Runner: Drove 9+ hours to New Mexico in a rented moving truck & trailer to pickup this thing from a pecan farm. Turned around and dragged it 9+ hours on the trailer back home. Got it turned over and running, just to figure out one of the cylinders was really messed up. Engine was shot so I swapped in the newer 3.4L I had in my garage, and wired it up. Ran great after a few miscellaneous new parts and tweaks. Hated to see it drive away after I sold it...
1995 Toyota 4Runner: Previous owner dropped in a Lexus 1UZ-FE (non vvti), and never finished the swap. I've got it at least wired up and running. Just need to finish up all the accessories and get it back on the road. Unfortunately it's only 2wd... :(
1990 Yamaha FJ1200: Got it cheap and not running. Engine has been bored out to 1350cc, and some minor upgrades here and there. Got it running, poorly though. Worked out most of the kinks and eventually sold it.
Suzuki xs1100 Custom: Cafe racer style motorcycle. Custom extended swing-arm with chain drive conversion, sv650 front forks, anodized red accents, tank-swap, custom fiberglass rear fairing, some custom wiring, numerous repairs to carburetors.
Kawasaki 454 LTD: Purchased as is, this bike wasn't running. With some simple diagnostics and repairs, it's was running like a top! Super comfortable and smooth ride. What a great bike.
Kawasaki EX250: A super reliable and efficient bike, I purchased this from a trailer park resident, and it was literally crawling with poisonous spiders. A complete tear down to the frame revealed much work had to be done. Ended up replacing many parts, eventually restoring the bike to a like new condition.
Kazuma 200cc: Named the "Cheetah 200", this bike is a Chinese clone of the Honda CTX200. Purchased for $80 as a pile of parts, most parts were broken and had to be repaired, replaced, or modified. Loads of work, but with a fun payoff in the end.
1956 Mercury Monterey: Purchased without a title, without an engine, and with the transmission in the trunk, this mammoth needed more than a little TLC. After installing a period correct engine, and rebuilding the automatic transmission, this behemoth roared to life. Unfortunately, lack of funds and my desire to relocate forced a less than ideal end of life for this classic. But fear not, for it was not dumped into the car crusher, rather, it was sold to a fellow car enthusiast, with the intention of saving this classic.
Suzuku RV 125: A 2-stroke mini bike, with a street-legal title and registration, this little trail bike was an ideal choice for beach towns and campgrounds. The purchase inspired my friends and I to construct a dirt circle mini-track in our backyard, complete with ramps, whoops, and banked turns. Hours of noisy excitement and riding ensued. My neighbors were not as excited!
Suzuki RM 125: Drove way too far to pickup this bike, and overpaid for it as well. Rode it just a few times before I found out that I had some carb/tuning issues. Then it flat-out broke. Turns out I picked up a bit of a lemon. But it could not deter my desire to ride! Totally tore down the motor and found several issues. Yikes! Replaced what I needed to and put a new fresh top end on it. Runs ten times better now!
Honda XR80R: What a story on this one. One day when working on the Suzuki in my driveway, a wild eyed character approaches with a "great deal for me". He's got this story about a little bike he got on a trade for work and this and that and blah blah blah. Anyways, I ended up buying a little Honda motorcycle that was is pretty bad shape. Rusty seized forks, rusty chain, carb just dirty as all get out, rotted tires, etc. etc. Put a decent amount of work into this one to get it back up to snuff.
1997 Ford F-250 HD: 4x4 w/ the 460c.i. gas engine. Painted and installed the flatbed from an older Ford truck. This thing has a serious drinking problem...
1991 Ford F-Superduty (AKA F-450): Well, I put one flatbed truck up for sale, and so it was time to look for another... I'm usually just casually looking at Craigslist ads for trucks a couple of times a week anyways. It was about a year after I bought the 1997 F-250, and I went to look at another truck I saw listed for sale. Turns out it's the same guy I bought my other flatbed truck from! How about that. Ended up buying the truck I went to look at. It was in rough shape, with countless mud-dauber nests just jammed everywhere you could fit one in, fuel leaks, slipping clutch, slightly overheating, no speedo hookup, and just generally dirty and kinda rusty. I have since gone over most of the fuel system, fixed up most of the issues, and cleaned it up quite a bit.
1989 Toyota "Frankenrunner" 4Runner: Drove 9+ hours to New Mexico in a rented moving truck & trailer to pickup this thing from a pecan farm. Turned around and dragged it 9+ hours on the trailer back home. Got it turned over and running, just to figure out one of the cylinders was really messed up. Engine was shot so I swapped in the newer 3.4L I had in my garage, and wired it up. Ran great after a few miscellaneous new parts and tweaks. Hated to see it drive away after I sold it...
1995 Toyota 4Runner: Previous owner dropped in a Lexus 1UZ-FE (non vvti), and never finished the swap. I've got it at least wired up and running. Just need to finish up all the accessories and get it back on the road. Unfortunately it's only 2wd... :(
1990 Yamaha FJ1200: Got it cheap and not running. Engine has been bored out to 1350cc, and some minor upgrades here and there. Got it running, poorly though. Worked out most of the kinks and eventually sold it.
