94 Noma is back

[98dango]

After spending much time trying to match this truck i just got it back.

Some of you hear may remember the spring and summer of 2010 my trips around east WY and south dakota. Well I did all those in my Sonoma It got beat on and run hard but never left me. I had traded this truck January of 2011 for a Ramcharger to a good friend of mine Corey. He did not want it so much but knew I wanted the Ramcharger. Well life being what it is the Ramcharger is gone but not forgotten she went for a good cause. I back in Wyoming my first stop was out to Corey's. There it sits almost exactly where I left her. Just now minus the rear diff. Corey offers me a deal I cant pass up. So I have my truck and my memories back.

So for some back story.

I got the Noma in December 2009 just after my 91 jeep Cherokee was stolen. Corey had it knew I did not have the money to buy a truck at that time as I only had basic insurance on my Cherokee. He offered me 2 choices a 96 geo metro or a 94 gmc sonoma that had clutch issues all I had to do was watch his house while he and family went hunting. Easy enough and the gestures on both parts where much thanked. Corey is not rich but dose have over 40 rig its like a chevy grave yard this comes in handy. So the next few months are spent fixing up the Noma with the little extra money I have. Being a car buy working at NAPA is not always good. The noma now in tip top shape the fun starts. A female friend of mine who worked at Orillys calls me one day and says we have a body lift in stock for your truck 50 bucks been hear 5 years. I run right over at lunch not a big fan but its 2wd so why not. So its now march i have a body lift and in need of tires. I stop by the tire shop my work uses and I have delt with plenty. I ask Mike what he has for inexpensive mud tires in a 235 to a 31. He tells me about this set of bfgs that where shipped as 31s but are 32s and for what ever reason no one wants. I get these mounted on new wheels and out the door for 675 and full off road hazard coverage. The kid tossing them in the back tells me they will never fit Mike assures him ill have them on by the end of the weekend and they will fit just fine he knows me to well. I head for Corey's to install the body lift and new 32s. With the lift and 32s installed and the bumpers ripped off they look well just not right. One call to my friend Speelmon im off to his shop to use the bender to make some bumpers. A full Saturday of lift and bumpers we make plans to go for a test run Sunday.

Once we are out i love the handling this truck. It is holding the road like never before. Taking corners and back roads like a champ.

 

[98dango]

After a many months of hard trips and hard miles I reach my yearly trip to see my dad in Or. However the pretrip inspection revels some gremlins. The upper a arm is cracked every where and the transmission where the mount attaches is not held in by much.

I call my dad to break the news that I may not be able to make this years trip. He reminds me of my younger years building a truck from a pile of parts in a weekend just to destroy it the next. With his Harsh words of encouragement and my Good friend Corey telling me hell help any way he can we set out to fix the little truck. A game plan is set in place to fix the transmission and build some upper and lower a arms. Calling my dad back he asks me why I am doing so much work to keep it a 2wd. He reminds me of the much nicer truck's converted just because I had a shop to work in. looking at Cory we figure dad has a good point all this work its still 1 wheel peel and im heading to mud country. New game plan we go walkabout in Corey's grave yard of parts. Having done this a few times in the past i know right what i need and had ideas where to look before we set out. Finding most every thing we need already pulled or easy to pull but at least on the property we figure this can be done on our shot time. Knowing that I have to be on the road and in Yellow stone WY by the 10th to meet my dad and this is the 27th of July we got our work cut out for us. Oh and I have to drive this truck every day except the 31 and the 1s we got to plan this well. I call my dad back up and give him a list of what I need my dad at 60 works part time as a fabricator in a 4wd shop after selling his own shop. With parts list's in hand we all 3 set out to find what we need. My dad collecting me things he can Corey getting thigs moued from the lower property to the shop and me getting what I can orderd from work we get every thing in one place on the 30th.

Pile of parts

76 k5 blazer 44/12 bolt with 373s and gove lock
700r4 rebuilt in the front seat of my mud truck
208 laying next to the shop who knows what off of
front leaf springs stolen from my mud truck (rear s10 springs)
86 G van front brake lines orderd from work
06 f250 rear shocks
ford front shock towers sent by dad
rear spring perches sent by dad
High steering sent by dad (boxed wrong left side no good)
Astro van sterring box pulled from astro in Corey's yard

This should get us started
Getting off work the 31st at 12 I arrive with oils break clean and beer. Getting started right away we get the rear axle and the transmission out. A short break for drinks and out comes the torch off goes the front suspension. cleaning up our mess we figure this is a good stopping point for today and things will go smoothly after a night's sleep. The next morning I am woken up by the smell of breakfast Coreys wife and daughter are cooking up a storm just before they leave for church. Corey and I now over feed and wanting to go back to sleep head to the shop to see what we left. We find a Noma on blocks with nothing in it but a motor and a bunch of parts on the floor. The game plan for the day is to finish it. We figure the rear is the easy part so lets start there the truck will be more stable and ride will be set off this. The axle was cleaned and purches cut off slid under and new purches set in place. The truck now sitting on 2 tires we fell that things are getting done. Corey installs the transmission as I set the front axle up with springs and mounts. After the transmission is in we bolt the transfer case up and corey figures out how the shifters are going to work I get the front axle in place ready for welding. After every thing is tack welded and measured about 8 times I start to throw weld as Corey find transmission line some thing over looked. He comes back from the grave yard about a half hour later with brand new prebent transmission line in a package. Not caring where it came from just hoping it fits he tells me its for a 95 s10 with a 4l60 so it should fit like a glove and dose. Corey get to instilling the line's as i go on the hunt for drive lines.

 

[98dango]

ON my walkabout to find drive lines and not having much luck. I almost give up and figure I will just have to build some I look over at a suburban and Light Bulb the front and rear will work perfect. So on my way back to the shop with my find I hear the sound of 6 cylinders with no exhaust rumbling. Corey has all the fluids topped off my walkabout taking longer than I thought or he's fast. So we get the drive lines in and I weld up the rear perches. Corey works on rear shocks and brake lines as I finish up the front axle and front shock mounts. Nearing 2 on the last day we have to finish the truck we are close to done and excited. The transmission in the axles in shocks on. Now the suck happens my dad sent me a Read knuckle machined for high steer well its a left knuckle I need a right so this aint going to work. After a quick regroup we decide on a z link not the best but we are running out of time. So with my sterring not right but done we take it for a trip around the property. With every thing but the shifters working correctly we head back in to the shop. Corey has to be at work at 4 am me not till 8 I can get some more hours in. Hooking up my ratchet shifter stolen from my mud truck so I can limp this thing to my house then the exhaust shop.

 

[98dango]

It's getting late I look around the shop trying to clean things up a bit and what do i see. A really nice Y pipe from a 96 blazer. So Lets try it and vola it clears every thing. So i run back up to my mud truck that has a few pieces of 2.5" exhaust in it. Digging about in the shop I find a Trush muffler in the box I'm sure bought for some thing. 20 mins later I have a nice quiet ride so drive her home. Pulling up to the house after a very nice ride. Time to get some well needed rest. Alarm at 7:30 time to head to work. Second nice drive the truck handles amazing. Boss askes me how long it took me to find a twin to my 2wd all i can do is laugh and say it is 2wd. Over the rest of the week little things are taken care of. She sits butt low and will for the next year. but she is ready to head out on the great trip.

 

[98dango]

So the truck works great on the trip not a problem. Hanging out in Or for a few months with my dad was great. I will always love the truck for this time and memories. Then the return trip from Or she starts to get the worst fuel millage. Half way back i toss the fuel cap this helps a bit but still down to the 12 mpg. Running it around town and for what ever reason I get rid of it. But now shes is back for good. and the new plan starts.