pizzaman09

If you don't have a press, park the truck near a very solid object, like a tree, then use a bottle jack to carefully push the bumper back to shape, probably with a 2x4 piece at the contact point with the bumper.

I work for a company that makes panel bonding adhesives that OEMs use. In this application I'd probably use a urethane based adhesive. Make sure you choose an adhesive with a decent working time, there is a wide range from 30 seconds to 15+ minutes.

I got into autocross racing driving a 2002 BMW M5. The one with a 400p hp 4.9L V8 and a 6 speed manual. It was fun, but a big car for autocross. Definitely not all that competitive. I image the Caprice will be similar.

I've been successful with the welding technique on similar bolts. It might take a couple welding applications and a few nuts to pull off. The heat from welding helps the nut break free. I recommend getting as much heat into the bolt head as possible if you are trying this.

Lol, it's all about perspective. I purchased big brake kits from Willwood for my 99 BMW M3 because the Willwood kit total, was 1/2 the cost of purchasing OEM replacement calipers. Compared to Jeep parts, this brake kit is mega expensive. I simply purchased some Hawk high performance bake pads for the front of my Comanche for about $50 during a sale and couldn't be happier.

The newer Jeep wheels set it off well. New paint is awesome. This looks like it was a decent high trim truck when new. Any idea what trim it is?

If you have a local driveshaft shop, take it there and have it balanced Way cheaper usually than buying a driveshaft.

I love my REM clock panel! Absolutely the best investment you can make for a Renix Jeep.

Beyond checking the water pump, also check the harmonic balancer condition. It is possible for the outer pulley to slip on the rubber layer and not actually transmit enough torque to run the pump, alternator and power steering. It might not look bad but usually it will look like rubber extruding out the sides.

The white center wheels look awesome.

Someone has some graphics skills!

This thread made me curious to see what Venmo is, apparently it's a variant of PayPal.

I autocross a lot, am pretty involved in my local SCCA club. The last few years I have been racing a 1999 BMW M3. The M3 is also a daily driver, winter beater and has just rolled over 200k miles. This year I plan to race a 2009 Honda Civic Si, my new tires for it showed up today! The Comanche makes frequent guest appearance at the autocross, used to tow the club trailer and pick up cones on track.

I like the plan.

Since this was a fresh build, I'd double check your manifold bolt tightness, intake and exhaust header bolts, they are known to come loose and it sounds like this was a slow change so it can be something that came loose slowly.

I have a friend with a 2 post lift, when lifting I use the subframe locations noted in the manual. The truck is a bit nose heavy but not too bad. I've definitely lifted from the axle tubes using a hydraulic jack then stuck jack stands under it. Though these trucks are tall enough that in stock form I usually just shimmy under the axle when it's on the ground on its tires.

Sweet rear window louvers. That would be awesome for hot summer days.

Been upgrading the seats with new upholstery and heated seats! See the build thread! Final seat install. Dash switch location.

Wiring time! Surprisingly easy. There are three wires to power the heated seats, a ground, a primary power wire, and a relay trigger. The ground for each heated seat is attached to the ground point under the dash above the parking brake release. My truck has an extra ground wire here, the green wire that I added per Cruisers tips to improve the dash ground. The main power, large red wires, I put a spade terminal on each and used the two free spots at the top of the fuse block on the right. These are supposed to have constant on power. The trigger wire is to be attached to an ignition on source, this arms the main power relays for each heated seat. I tied both together in one spade terminal and connected to the bottom left most spot on the fuse block. I placed a 5 amp fuse next to it to provide power to that location, see the brown fuse to the right of the small double red wire. Tied all of the extra wiring up and shoved it up along the knee panel of the dash, I have cruise control so the yellow computer just held all the wire bundle in place. Wires for each seat were routed under the full length center console I have. One could certainly run them under the carpet which would be more typical. Ran the wires to the outside of the transfer case lever. They run down from the dash at the front edge of the console. Final install of dash switches. The light in the left switch is too bright, I'll have to sort out a way to frost the lense or something.

While you are at it, it is worth checking to see if your intake and exhaust header bolts are tight at the head. They like to come loose on these engines and you end up with some of the symptoms you list.

It was similarly warm where I am at. What is funny is that I do not drive my truck in the winter, but there are plenty of times where I have the heat on and want a heated seat.

To fit the toggle switches, I cut the blank switch panel out to the right of the steering wheel. Used a very sharp chisel to shave away the original melted plastic until the panel could be pulled away. Cut the holes out carefully with a sharp wood chisel. Might be easier with a Dremel and a cutoff wheel. The flange on the provided switch is very similar in size to the raised boss for the switch blanks. Glued the switches in under the flange to the raised boss using LOCTITE plastic bonding system. Melted the plastic panel back to the dash using a soldering gun with a plastic soldering tip. The final product, turned out brilliant.

I've not looked closely at the reverse wiring in these trucks, but why do you say there are two unused wires?

Got the seats back into the truck. They look amazing back in place. Hoping to get the heated seat wiring sorted out in the next few days.

I see you already chose a machine. I am very pro Thinkpad as I grew up with them since my dad spent his career with IBM. Of the various laptops I have used recently, the Thinkpad are the best quality, particularly when it comes to firmware. I have no experience with HP, but the Dell machines I have used all absolutely suck when it comes to firmware. I hope your new machine works out for you!