Project Babyruth / Under Destruction

[NissanXEPilot]

My original build page is here, and has all the old begining pictures of my diamond in the rough, Babyruth. (http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth)

http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0018.JPG
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0010.JPG
This is my 1995 Nissan Hardbody x-cab. To say it has history is an understatement.
It originally belonged to my father, and is the same truck my brother Jason learned to drive in.
It’s seen well over 300,000 miles and after it became to unreliable for the road it was used on the family farm.
I took it over back in 2006 after separating from my 2nd wife, and the dirty witch forged my signature and sold my ‘04 Frontier. (Long story)

The hardbody, while it ran, was seriously abused both mechanically and bodily. I knew it would take work making it road worthy but I still felt it was cheaper than buying another truck.

My first task was the engine. The wiring had been hacked on by my brother and chewed up by rats. I elected to drop the oil pan because after starting what would be just a basic tune up and lube I discovered that the oil was gritty and didn’t want to drain like it should. I scraped a lot of grit and sludge out and later learned from my dad that the oil and oil filter hadn’t been changed in years, he’d just add oil as it needed it. Well I at that point I decided to just tear down and rebuild the motor.

To date the engine has received the following treatment.

- JE dome top pistons,rockers,rods, and valves
- MSD Ignition
- Silicone intakes 16” electric fan
- New radiator
- Heavy duty alternator
- K&N air filter
- New clutch
- New Transmission
- Painless wiring kit
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0021.JPG
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0022.JPG
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0023.JPG
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0024.JPG

The interior of the truck was just as bad. The interior is gray, but had a red drivers seat, the carpet has so much mud caked and packed on it I originally though that it had been worn through to the floor board. The stereo and speakers were shot. The center console was busted with a warn out armrest. The door panels were falling apart and the steering wheel had been smashed in by my brother after he developed a severe case of the “ass”.

Well the first thing I did was ditch the factory steering wheel and install a Grant steering wheel. I then added a oil pressure, ammeter, and voltage gauges. The stereo now consists of a Sony X-Plod multi-disk head unit w/ remote. 4 Sony 6.5 inch speakers, and a Sony X-Plod 265w amp, powering a pair of 8 inch Polk MOMO subs in a custom fiberglass box that’s mounted to the back wall of the truck. The center console was repaired and remounted and the arm rest fiberglassed. The doors have been redone in gray and blue vinyl. The dash trim, speakers and console arm rest have been painted in Dupont Bubble gum candy blue.
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0001.JPG
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0002.JPG
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0003.JPG
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0004.JPG
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0005.JPG

I’ve worked on knocking out dents and hit the truck with gray primer. A set of Eagle alloy wheels were added but had to raise the suspention back to factory hieght because these wheels wont tuck. I’m taking my time with this build, doing what I can has time and money permits, I've deceided my next wheels will be a set if factory Titan wheels, and flairing the fenders for a static drop. I'd love to start bagging the old truck but with the way the economy is looking it may not happen, everytime I save a dime, i end up spending it to pay a bill. :evil:
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0014.JPG
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/under_destruction/2008_1011under_destruction0019.JPG

[Jokr]

is the msd ign hard to install?

[NissanXEPilot]

no, I installed it in less than 45 minutes. The back of the unit has the wiring instructions on the back, unless youre color blind you wouldnt have a problem. But the wiring harness that plugs into the side of the MSD is NOT used, thats the tach wiring and the tach signal comes from the ECM and not the distributer like the Z24 engines.

[Jokr]

i got a z24 in my 87 would this be harder to do?

[sparkinframe]

nice looking int. i like the subbox, clean ans outa the way.

nice job so far.

[NissanXEPilot]

i got a z24 in my 87 would this be harder to do?

I couldnt say myself because I've never worked on a Z24, but I cant imagine it'd be much harder work on. Seriously I spent most of the time getting the wires exposed, and then retaping everything to protect it from risk of water or grounding out. You'll need self tapping screws to mount the MSD, a good sharp knife to cut insulation, wire connectors and a crimp tool. The first MSD I hooked up took me a little over a hour, and that was on a '97 hardbody I had. I did it in less time the 2nd time around simply because I knew what I needed and what needed to be done.

[mrs.drginazz]

nice what are your plans for it ?? nice interior and clean engin bay

[NissanXEPilot]

nice looking int. i like the subbox, clean ans outa the way.

nice job so far.

Thanks, there is still so much more I want to do. The carpet for sure needs to be replaced, and eventually I'm going to redo the door panels, I used some crappy vinyl on the upper door sections and really want to change that. I'm probbaly going to do it in fiberglass though. Im working on a box to mount behind the seat in my Sentra so I figure that would be the best time to tackle the doors again.

[sparkinframe]

make sure to post pics :D

[88hb]

thats alot of work on the engine. looking good man!

[iRay808]

nice sound setup! :thumb:

[NissanXEPilot]

I know I'm gonna static drop it again, I'm waiting on the pull-a-part to get in either a Titan or a Danali I can snatch some wheels off of. I'd be happy trying to make my current wheels work but I dont think I could flair the fenders enough without screwing up.

[steadywestcoastin]

howd u get the subs to hang off the back like that?

[pacific coast]

Kool how you saved & brought this HB back from the dead. Everything looks clean & well put together.

[NissanXEPilot]

The box is held in place by two bolts that run through the back of the cab. I used some clear silicone to seal from moisture and nylock nuts to make sure things didnt loosen up over time. That box has been in place for over a year and wont budge a bit. I've seen my kids rest thier head on it and take nap while I'm cruzin down the road.

[NissanXEPilot]

It's been awhile since I posted update on the truck. Just recently I had a mishap with the driver side marker lamp. It broke, got fouled up between the tire and wheel well. wires were stripped and shoprted out the electrial system for my lights. My brother Jason did me a super big favor and traced down the bad wires and replaced or repaired them on his 2 days off. This is a pretty big deal for me. my weekends are shot sinces I have to work overtime at Nissan, and Jason opted to fix my truck instead of working on his project 240SX.

THANKS JASON!

Well I decided im gonna fiberglass the dash and have started on it. heres my progress so far.

http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_gutted.jpg
Hers the gutted interior of my truck. It's a ugly and daunting looking job ahead of me.

http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash1.jpg
here's the dash, a blank template, ready for cutting up. No ricer shit here. In true Mini Trucker attitude.
CUT YOUR RIDE SISSY! :evilb:
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_concept.jpg
Here's a rough photochop idea I'm going for.
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_freshcuts_1.jpg
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_freshcuts_2.jpg
This was a snap for a dremel tool, a perminant marker, and a little patience.
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_mockup_1.jpg
Here's a mock up for the 3 guages I'll be using. I found that 2" sch 40 PVC pipe is a damn near perfect fit for my SunPro guages. I found a little electrical tape snugs them inside the pvc better than any damn A pillar pod.

Ok, so it's just another excuse to put the hardbody under the knife..

next I'll rough up the dash, clean it off and start laying down fiberglass. :thumb:

[JD Snake]

Reminds me of the Mitsu 3000 GT, w/ the gauges like that. I think it will look good

[crunchytaco]

Looking good i like that subbox. keep posting pics.

[NissanXEPilot]

Got to lay fiberglass on the dash this Thankgiving weekend. Heres some pics of my progress.

http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_glued-foamed.jpg

Here I've injected foam to bridge the gap i'll have between my guage mounts. Proabbly a little overkill in this department but I want it to stay as flat as possible when I goto lay fiberglass resin down. I also hot glued the sections of PVC to the top and underside of the dash. The mounts are solid as rock now.

http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_fleeced.jpg
Fleece layed out and stapled into place.

http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_glassed_injected_1.jpg
In this picture and the next 2 shots I fiberglassed the dash with a single coat of resin. In the cavites that were formed I drilled a series of holes and injected in more expanding foam. After the foam cured I cleaned the excess off and layed down more fiberglass resin.
http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_glassed_injected_2.jpg

http://www.ghostcatstudios.net/babyruth/after_shots/2009/dash_glassed_injected_3.jpg

In this shot you can see where I drilled and injected the foam, as well as fresh resin layed down. The inperfections will have to sanded down and some body filler worked in, followed up by more fiberglass resin.

[Brad Sims]

that hard work will pay off in the end

[sparkinframe]

what does the expanding foam do, raise the low spots?

[NissanXEPilot]

What the expanding foam does is reinforce the fiberglass from behind and greatly reduce the chance of cracking. It wont raise the material. there were enough openings that the foam had room to expand and the excess seeped out of the drill holes and where the guages will mount. After the foam cures I can cut the excess off with a knife or sand it down. The low spots will have to be filled in with resin or body filler, the expanding foam even after it's cured would be too soft.