My First Cruiser

[Bowtiestang]

Most of this is a repost from Mud...sorry if you seen it already:ylsmoke:

"Just got home with my 97 Cruiser. Here is how it all went down....

The owner contacted my by email a week or so ago stating he was in Afghanistan and had a Cruiser in AZ for sale! Well with the over seas thing and all I figured SCAM...but after a few emails and then got to talk to his wife on the phone haggled price a little we set today as the meet up day and I drove to Scottsdale to pick it up. The Cruiser was in a little bit of a crash by the son but it had everything I wanted and the owners were realistic on price and great people to deal with.

The stats are...

Locked Front and Rear:grinpimp: MAJOR BONUS saves the cost of ARBs
New tires ( I will be upgrading soon so the Tundra can have them)
No running boards or roof rack from the factory...sweet!
All stock! Non hacked....even factory radio and wheels (just like I wanted).
Color I can live with...wanted it to be white,green or gray...got gray

It drove great back to Tucson and got 17.45 MPG....BETTER than the Tundra did on the trip, Tundra got 16.59....******?? Thought these things got bad mileage!!

Only issue I found so far is the thing turns much tighter to the right than the left.
After the crash the previous owner took it for an alignment so there son could still drive it....I see they replaced a tie rod but something isnt right Will check that out in the morning. and the low beam is out on the RH side:hillbilly:

Here are some pics to start things off..........."


ouch!!

Cleans up well for an old wrecked Cruiser

 

[Bowtiestang]

annd:

Now the tear down:

Done the CDL switch mod. used a hazard switch from a 91 Toyota PU.

Thanks to all the Mud members the body work is coming along nice. Got the head lamps and markers replace and the bumper installed. The valance should be here soon. Just need to get a fender or fix this one.
Spent all day today cleaning up surface rust under the vehicle.Also removed the 3rd row seats. Rest of this week I need to service the beast. Doing boring stuff like Diff,TC,tran and engine oil.

Cant wait to lift this thing...:cheers:

 

[MoGas]

Nice find.
Be sure to look at the splines on the output shaft of the steering box to make sure they aren't twisted.

 

[RangeBrover]

Looks awesome man, congrats on the vehicle and the find. And don't worry it's not damage, just character. I'm sure you'll be putting it through the paces soon enough yourself.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Congrats on the new Cruiser!

x2 on the steering box inspection, 80's seem to be a little temperamental with them under hard use let along a front accident that may have stuck the tire.

 

[Bowtiestang]

Nice find.
Be sure to look at the splines on the output shaft of the steering box to make sure they aren't twisted.

Good idea...I will check that.

I think the steering issue is an alignment issue. I have approx 1.5 turns to the left with the steering wheel from center and 2.5 to the left I dropped the relay rod/drag link and the turns from center lock to lock are the same (hope that makes sense). I think the alignment guy had the wheel off by one turn when he replaced the tie rod....
We will see this weekend when I do a driveway alignment

 

[RangeBrover]

It does sound like he must of had the wheel turned when he replaced the tie rod and completed the alignment. This happened to our race car when we replaced the whole front sub frame, we didn't notice it till we blew a tire after it rubbed against the chassis.

 

[Sempertoy]

I have been watching your build on mud, glad to see its overe here now. I just picked up a cruiser myself, aren't they amazing vehicles?!

 

[Bowtiestang]

Sorry for the lack of updates...but here you go.

Had to replace the steering box...got the body work finished and starting a bumper build..

note splines!

and broken stud needed replaced

Paint and body

All better

And some bumper fab

 

[MoGas]

Sorry for the lack of updates...but here you go.

Had to replace the steering box...got the body work finished and starting a bumper build..

note splines!

Called it.
Where did you get /how much was the new box?

Was this rust or was the metal ripped by the flare mount?


It's really coming along nicely.

 

[PirateMcGee]

mmmm supra

 

[Bowtiestang]

Called it.
Where did you get /how much was the new box?


Was this rust or was the metal ripped by the flare mount?


It's really coming along nicely.

Cheapest I found it was NAPA for $295 but was out of stock...got it at BAP here in Tucson for $375.

The fender was a rust spot that started where the flair mount is. The body is now rust free..

 

[NM-Frontier]

Good work on the body, now you got one clean Cruiser! I cant wait to see the bumper when done, do you have plans for a swing out or anything else special for it?

 

[ScottyDog]

Nice work. I'm envious, you got the Moonglow Pearl with gray interior. At least all the other 80's I've seen including mine with this color have the beige interior. My steering box is leaking too.. I'm just have a hell of time trying to break the lines at the steering box! Any pointers? Even with a line wrench it feels like it wants to try and start to round the corners..

 

[Driver-Navigator]

Cool to see the progress. Nice work!