mjeff87

Literally anything you put back there is better than the OEM backup lights......I've never had a vehicle that was so hard seeing to back up at night. Part of that could be the window tint on mine, though. I like that hitch silencer thingy you got....I need one of those. I scored a reallly nice hitch basket from Northern Tool last year, but it bangs around like nobody's business. They had an el cheapo one on sale that I went to get, and the nice sales lady said they had a nicer one (like +$200 nice) that was a customer return so they couldn't sell it as new. She said she'd mark it down to $99 for me, but I had a coupon for $20 off a $100 or more purchase, so I told her I'd give her $101 for it so I could also use the coupon I walked out of there with it for $81. edit: it's this one....looks like they kind of came down in price a bit. It's foldable, too, but I have to use a hitch extender to fold it up otherwise it hits the spare. https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200622233_200622233

We rented one of those things last summer out at Smith Mountain Lake. First time in my life I ever piloted a watercraft larger than a jetski or a rowboat. I didn't kill us all, so........yeah. Nice boat

Oh, and I also installed a new passenger inner fender I pulled from the junkyard. They're only like $25 new, but the 'yard gave it to me as a freebie. But they charged me $8 each for the two door latches Win some, lose some....

Not sure which of the trim levels came with them...the funny thing is that they leave the factory with the filter box and a plastic mesh "screen" (think hardware cloth, but made of plastic) that snaps into the top. You have to pop out the screen and throw it away.

Spent pretty much all day Sunday and yesterday working on it. New: oil/filter plugs coolant transaxle fluid cabin air filter (there wasn't one there at all, lol....they came from the factory like that) serpentine belt battery box air box fixed driver side inside door latch (adjusted) replaced 3rd brake light fixed turn signals washed it I've got new motor mounts showing up today via UPS from 1A auto, I'll put them on tonight or tomorrow. I also need to order a timing kit and find the camshaft holder/crank pin somewhere to reset the timing.

Got it home today.....a good hour run down the interstate. Burned off all the leaked oil on the block and exhaust manifold, lol. It's got some electrical gremlins going on in the dash, and it desperately needs new front struts and motor mounts, but she ran strong the whole way. It's got some aftermarket 16's on it, and the speedo is about 5 mph off (fast) per my GPS. Spent the afternoon cleaning the interior....it's good enough for now, but I'll pull the seats out on Tuesday and scrub them, along with the carpet.

Do you ever dress in anything other than carhart bib overalls? I remember a really old post/pic of you pushing a shopping cart full of beer through a snow covered parking lot wearing a pair of shorts or something.....so I guess you have a full wardrobe. Lol.

So the general consensus, asking around to some guys who actually know what they are doing, is that the later models are a whole different platform and OEM parts won't swap over. That leaves me with an aftermarket kit that costs more than I paid for the whole vehicle. That's a hard no. I might play around with it once I get it here and get some miles on it (and it warms up some). I did some shopping today for it. From the junkyard, I grabbed an inner fender, battery box, rear cargo net, some baller thick rubber floor mats and a front metal plate holder, all for $18. Advance auto got me a new serpent belt, 5 qt jug of castrol 5/20 high mileage oil and a motor craft filter, a gallon of coolant and 2 gallons of distilled water. $60 total after all my speed perks discounts. Also grabbed a 5 qt jug of castrol 5/30 conventional oil and a Puralator filter for the KJ, they were on sale for $28 total. Ford dealership netted me 2 qts of genuine motor craft manual trans/transaxle fluid, $16. Finally, ordered a set of motor mounts (all 3 pieces) from 1A auto for $50, they should be here by Monday. Guess what I'll be doing all day Tuesday? I took the day off, it's supposed to be in the 70's here. I'm also gonna give it a bath and clean the interior too, hopefully.

Classy I have to hit the junkyard today or tomorrow to get some stuff for my new-to-me Focus, and also have to grab some KJ stuff. I royally stripped out the aluminum bleed plug/screw on the water neck housing. I might just grab a whole new timing cover just in case I can't get the old one out with a pipe nipple extractor and just change the whole sheebang out altogether. Also need to grab a new pair of 8.25 rear brake drums....each of mine are originals and have a pretty good score mark inside. I'll grab new ones from a KJ or an XJ, clean them up and paint them and let them dry for a few days before installing them. It's supposed to be in the mid 70's here on Tuesday, and I've already put a leave request in for the day off. Vehicle appreciation day. ill ll be spending most of the day on the focus though. I've got new engine mounts on the way, plus an oil/filter change, trans fluid change, coolant flush/refill, serpentine belt change, wash and wax plus an interior cleaning are all on the schedule. All mixed in with a healthy amount of beer

Not to spoil anything, but if you read ahead......dude almost burned down his (attached) garage working on it, LOL.

My buddy had a 904 behind a 2.5 in a YJ and he grenaded it.......we ended up swapping in an AX5 and a clutch pedal. Not sure why the 904 died, though. I'd be a bit concerned putting it behind an LS Take that for what it's worth though, I'm not an auto trans guy. Voodoo boxes, I call them.

OK, I'm bringing this thing home to my house Saturday morning. I have to hit the junkyard for a couple little misc parts.....needs a new battery box, passenger inner fender skirt (the shop that did the A/C work apparently didn't reinstall it......), and a front license plate holder since it came from GA and they only run a rear plate there, VA runs front/back plates. Dumb question time......can I convert the rear drums to discs, using junkyard parts from a later model ('12+)? I see conversion kits out there for ridiculously stupid amounts of money and I'm not going down that road. I've been searching Focus forums, but most of the posts I'm seeing are old (like, before the 2012 models came out with stock rear discs), or the owners are all ricers and are bolting on the $1500+ kits along with their fart can mufflers. Precious little "homebrew" tech threads out there, much like the KJ forums LOL. I'm looking for something like an 8.25 disc swap using OEM parts from the pick-n-pull. It looks like the rear spindles have to be swapped, some brake lines bent around a bit, and new e-brake cables (along with rotors/pads/calipers). New disc dust shields as well, and I should be good to go. Anyone know if the later model stuff will swap over to an 03?

Yeah, no kidding. I was reading back on it some last night. Whatever happened to CWLongshot? I'd still like to know how Bob (Wildman) is doing.....

Is that a drywall screw? love it.

Yeah, that could probably stand to be updated LOL.

Again, no. My main reason is the "target audience" trying to be reached. The vast majority of them have no freaking clue as to what the Gladiator was, let alone care. Enthusiasts and die hards like us know, but by and large our demographic is just a tiny blip on their marketing radar screen that we don't matter. They're not going to make bank on us, and they're not even trying to. It's just a legacy name from a legacy brand that they're just trying to cash in on. I genuinely got pissed off watching it get put into the crusher, there's no other way I could feel about it. The new generation won't give two craps about it, though. Just open your wallet. And get off my lawn. Rant over.

No.

No lens protectors. The aux lights match the profile of the headlights.....I think the guards really look out of place compared to the bare headlights. If they were mounted somewhere else it probably wouldn't matter so much, but my eyes are instantly drawn to them because they are so "non matching". Just my humble opinion, though. Interesting GPS mount you have going on there. My wife bought me a stand-alone Sirius XM receiver a couple years ago and it's still sitting in the box in the garage. I can't find a decent place to put it so it looks clean and not hacked in. Don't think your GPS location would work so well for me though, cause in VA that's where the annual inspection decal goes on the inside of the windshield. For years, it was centered in the windshield but last year the rules changed and they got moved over to the lower left corner. I was thinking I could pop out that little dash piece you put your switches in, but on the other side of the steering wheel, and mount it there somehow. It would be alot easier to access it from that location. Or else eliminate the ashtray and put it there somehow.

Yeah. I mean, really, when is the last time YOU built a camshaft from scratch? (among many other incredible things in that thread.....I'm only up to page 5)

Stole this from Garage Journal (I'm mjeff87 over there too), incredible tech thread about a Ferrari. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/frankenferrari-v12-ferrari-308/148959/page1/ I won't spoil it, just click the link and read. Wow.

Not quite sure how to search for it, but do we already have a "show a picture of yourself" thread going on here somewhere? If not, I think it'd be a good idea to start one, or if we have one that's old we could update it with newer pics (and any new members can post in it) Jeff

Again, just like the supposed new Gladiator, no real usable bed space there. I do like the body lines more, and can't lie and say I'm not all tingly about that configuration with a 'niner under the hood (what a blast that would be to drive), but completely impractical for use as a pickup truck.

Yeah, you really don't want the emergency heat running, unless you go out and oil up the meter beforehand. She'll spin like a turbo. Heat pumps are good down to about 40 degrees, and they drop off exponentially the colder it gets from there. I'd rig up some temporary space heaters, even electric ones (like the oil filled radiator type) and block off unused living areas with hanging blankets or some such for a couple days if you can. Good old fashioned kerosene heaters always work well too in a pinch. Or you can just start setting fire to pieces of furniture you're not too fond of

yeah, that^^^^ If you Canucks are gonna send us all of this cold air, you could at least send a few of those cold beers with it, LOL Stay warm, and don't forget about any pets either!