Rebuilding a 1988 GMC S-15

back in 2011 my dad and i purchased a 1988 s 15 for 100.00 with a title. the truck had not been on the road in over 7 years. we had to obtain and engine and transmission with a new gas tank. we purchased another engine and transmission and gas tank from a guy on Craigslist. this process took us about 4 months to install the engine and transmission and painted. we also had the full exhaust system from the other s-10. the body of the truck was in decent condition the rust was really bad on the roof. the color we painted it was a blue metallic. i cleaned and sanded the engine compartment n painted that, the box had been removed and the frame was sanded and painted also. the front and rear bumpers were sanded and painted black irid old color we found in our paint collection. the truck turned out really nice. we ended up selling it for over 1600.00 cash. also we had new tires and cleaned up the rims also.the interior cleaned up really well also. new carpet installed also.

here is a time lapse video of our work on the s-15 plus other videos of it.

Building a Drift car Nissian 240sx

we recently painted a Nissan 240sx for a customer. he had a custom full roll cage threw the whole car. custom front and rear bumpers also. he had test fitted a LS1 engine with a 6 speed manual transmission. the customer wanted the car white with a purple roll cage. this whole process to pain took just under 2 1/2 weeks to complete lots of sanding and body repair. here is the video of the whole process.

 

Body Panel Replacement instructions

have you ever thought about replacing a door or fender or hood or trunk lid or bumper cover front and rear? the whole process isnt that hard here is a quick guide to help you along the way.


starting with Doors and fenders

your vehicle has 2 hinges, 4-6 blots that hold the hinges to the vehicle, might have to remove the fender in some cases. open the door and look at the hinges can you access the bolts? if you can then it just got really easy, make sure you have a marker so u can mark the hinges locations, if you do not mark the location it will make reassembly a pain to get it all to line up. if you cannot access the bolts to the hinges then you will have to remove the fender 1st most newer car if you need to remove the fenders you have to start by opening the hood, look at the fender you are removing there should be bolts running down the length of the fender. you will also need to look at the attachment points to the bumper cover in the front of the car. also you will have to take the tire off if possible to remove the inner splash shield to gain access to the hidden bolts inside of the fender 1 upper and two lower generally. some cases the head light has to come out (Dodge,plymouth, stratus,neons,sebrings,avengers are this way) check online to make sure. once you have removed the fender. gently set it to the side. the door is the tricky part make sure u mark the hinges on the A Pillar with a marker. with the help of someone make sure the door is closed and latched at 1st. remove the bolts holding the door on, if you have power windows or speakers in your door there will be wires going into the A piller remove the kick panel and locate the connector and disconnect it. before removing the door remove the door stay usually its just a flat curved piece of metal with a pin holding it in place remove the pin. now with help holding the door, reach to open the door and while holding the door set it down. to repeat the process just go in reverse order.


Hood and deck lid

here is a quick guide on hoods. lets say you have a nasty dent in the hood or the deck lid (trunk lid) and you dont have the money to have it painted n repaired what do you do? well go thru your local wreaking yard or yards to locate the same color as your car with a good hood. once you have the panel the next step is to remove yours. open the hood or the trunk u will want to mark the location of the hinges with a marker. failure to do so will result in about 1 hour or so of re-aliment. 4 bolts hold your hood on with either mini struts also depending on your vehicle. once you have removed the bolts and struts if equipped. with 2 people gentle remove the hood or deck lid from the car repeat this procedure to complete the job


Front and Rear Bumper covers

most modern cars have plastic bumper covers which are held in place by Clips and nuts. this job is pretty easy to do. back in the 80s the auto manufacturers moved away from steel bumpers to a more refined look. lets start with your cover you want to remove. depending on make and model it can take as little as 30min to have your cover over or it can take as long as 1hr to take it off. best tip i can give you is use google for instructions pertain to your make and model but i can tell u 9 out of 10 times there is gonna be a hidden fastener  or clip up in the fender or on the header panel (where the head lights,grill area) on ford mustangs this process is kinda simple remove the retaining bolts on the top of the header panel then remove the bolts underneath the cover by the fender were they bolt together. the header panel will want to come with it. so you have to remove the headlights and turn signals also. but of your make and model doesnt call for that then dont worry.  the rear covers are alot easier to remove they have hidden bolts behind the rear plastics in the trunk and screws to the fender on the inner slash shield. once you have removed either or do no damage the Styrofoam attached to the bumper reinforcement bar that is your 5-15 mile an hour protecting right there..lol reverse process to complete.

Basic tools for this job
 Socket set
Wrench set
needle noise plyers
dykes
flat tip and Philips screw driver 
Patience this is the big one

Power Window Problems and Diagnosis

most of us have experienced this problem at least once in our life. ever been driving along and it starts to rain and your window doesnt go up? ive been there. how about its 100 outside and your ac just stopped, u couldnt roll down your window? well here is the best way to confirm that your power windows are not working as they should it might be an easy fix with a new switch or it could be the power window motor and regulator.



1. do your power windows work as they should? (go up and down just fine)
2. do your power windows sometimes go down and not come back up (check the switch and check the connection at the motor in the door you have to remove the door panel to do this step)
3. do your power window not want to go up (check the switch and connections as in step 2)
4. is the window stuck in the up or down position and u dont hear a click from the door panel you have to listen to check this
5. does your window while going up or down look like its going sideways or off track is the term (the regulator might be the problem most modern cars have a cable system in them and often more times then not, the plastic guides have failed.
6. if you push the switch off to one side does the power window work (replace the switch)
7. if your power windows do not work at all have you checked the fuses and relays (they are located either in the vehicle compartment on the drive side kick panel or the passenger side kick panel or in the glove box on some gm cars and on the driverside dash by the A piller n door Dodge Neons and some gm and fords
8. replacing the power window motor and regulator with ones out of a wreaking yard is a cheap and affordable way to correct the problem average cost 29.99-49.99 depending on where you go. if you purchase new they range from 80-150 a side


the tools required to perform this job are very basic set of hand tools
screw driver
flat tip screw driver
basic socket set
a door panel removal tool it looks like V with a handle most parts stores have them even harbor freight or tool place will for under 15.00
torx bit set


here is a tip when you are trying to pull the door panel off make sure you get all the clips that hold it on DO NOT PULL HARD until you are sure they are no more clips or Screws holding it on. Always Check Google for more specific instructions to your make and model

Engine Noises and Diagnosis

Noises from the engine can be a bad thing. most people dont understand what the noises mean. here is a list and what they mean.

1. Clicks (normal often from the injectors)
2. Excessive Ticking (not normal) possible overheated once or bad oil, lots of miles,failing lifters or valve springs
3. Upper end Pinging Knocking slight (possible bad fuel or sensor related)
4. slight thumping Noise coming from the lower engine near the serpentine belt (check your accessories, alternator, water pump,AC pump,power steering pump
5. squeakily noise (change the belt, also inspect the tensioners)
6. Grinding with a thumping noise (locate the noise if its coming from the accessories then locate which one, if its coming from the engine then locate upper or lower end
7. Loud Upper end knocking (connecting rod wrist pin)
8. Lower end knock (Connecting rod bearing or crankshaft bearing
9. Sucking noise (Check for vacuum leaks) 
10. Whining Noise (power steering pump most fords have this noise its a ford thing, if it gets worse when you turn or louder suggest replacing the pump)
11. Pat Pat noise (exhaust leak look at the exhaust manifolds or fold check for white or black marks around the head to the manifold)