27 replies to this topic

[rxleone]

Was wondering if any of you guys had any sweet little tricks or tips for cool things to do to your sooby? I'm 18, student, and broke but love working on my old girl, but with limited funds, I find it a bit hard...

Anything would be appreciated; engine, trans, body, interior, anything. Hopefully we can get this thing snowballing and keep it in here permanently

[87glsubie]

DUDE ME TWO. 19 broke and just enrolled in college. hah. ************.

[hatchsub]

Well common sense would say not to spend any money on the car other than whats nessisary since you are broke college kids. I kno this doesnt work first hand since i was a broke college kid too and still spent money on it. Cheap things to get you going that i can think of off the top of my head.

-Stereo and speakers....the stockers are pathetic

-Fog lights...you can pick up an install kit at walmart (or equivalent) for about 20 bucks...or even cheaper go to a junkyard and find a car with fogs that you like and pull what you need from that.

-depending on junkyard prices and your skill levels (welding and such) you can do new seats. I have seats out of a 99 impreza RS in my 83. It requires making custom brackets though to mount em. They are not just bolt in.

-Another thing thats not just bolt in is a rear sway bar from an RX or XT6. Again welding comes into play.

Those should get you going for a bit.

[87glsubie]

at one point i was paintn all kinds of stuff on car a desert camo brown. i painted all kinds of stuff. hell i made some foglights out of those french vanilla cafe can thingys. they worked too.(i got them in the pic inserted around my grille) hah. i hacked off the bumper wraps with a grinder cuz the screws were rusted and inconvenient to get to. made a cold air intake out of random stuff laying around the house plus an air intake hose off a jeep cherokee. got the cone filter from shmucks. Tinted my tail ights with black spray paint. glass pack for my exhaust. (20 bucks). ditched the catalytic converter. wired up an under hood light. stripped the interior. its all been fun.

Attached Files

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[zyewdall]

Rattle can paint jobs are fun, and pretty cheap. adding racing stripes, two toning it by painting the lower parts under the trim, etc... It'll oxidize in a year in the sun, and not be shiny any more, but you can shine it back up with some rubbing compound (or do camo, which you don't want shiny The hammerite stuff seems to not oxidize so much in the sun compared to regular spraypaint.

Try to find a cheap wirefeed welder and an angle grinder... it's so much fun to make stuff (roof racks, bumpers, whatever) for it out of scrap steel. They're under $200 from harbor freight, or about $350 for a nice one from Lincoln. Or, if you can find a used one on craigslist.

[derburger]

Drive it! Only $20 for a tank of gas

[MilesFox]

i am fond of the spray paint. or try roll on rustoleum. put carpet on the door panels. make a trashwagon out of it.

[Ricearu]

spray paint. -$15
Stencil materials -$5
Roof Rack- FREE
Wheels and tires - $50 (used)


Self created "urban assault vehicle" - Priceless!

[rpholz]

clean it,

it's free and makes you feel like you have a new car.

[backcountrycrui]

I second the welder. I picked up a used (barely) harbor freight wire feed welder for $100.00. I wouldnt trust my welding for anything structural(?) I happen to have a bunk bed frame and intend to use it as a rack just like another guy here. I scored some 1x1 square tubing from the local Deere dealer and will use it to make the sides of the rack. The two inch home built suspension blocks are great and easy. Plus you can put 27 to 28 inch tires under it then. I got the scrap for that project for free. I wired up some additional back up lights on top of the rear bumper that turned out great. $10.00 for those new. Made a suprising difference. I picked up a set of Toyota Tacoma wheels and redrilled them to fit the sub bolt pattern. $50.00. As soon as I find a decent deal on tires Ill mount them up. Had a CB in the garage from years ago, put it in the sub for when we wander around the woods. Free. I think I will buy some of the limo tint for the back windows. Not real dark just to make it harder to see inside the back of the car. And the list goes on and on.
Mike:)

[Dantes Inferno]

Tuck in the front bumper. Free.

Pull the black bumper plaster off the rebar. Take out the foam and trash it. Cut about 4 inches off the two edges. Trim the top part of the bumper so it comes closer to the grill and headlights. Now the front bumper is really short and looks better, better approach, etc.

[Markus56]

broke college kids FTW!!

I've only invested about 1200 dollars into my car including purchase price

[hardtail_pride]

Hey Dantes Inferno. Do you have a pic of this bumper hack? Its got me interested.

Tuck in the front bumper. Free.

[TheLoyale]

Hey Dantes Inferno. Do you have a pic of this bumper hack? Its got me interested.

Yea, I want to see what this chopped bumper looks like aswell. Sounds interesting

-Tom

[rxleone]

Tuck in the front bumper. Free.

Would also love to see this. The bumperless wagon look is definitely a winner.

I'm also going to rip out the undercoat in the rear compartment in my wagon where the spare tire would go in anything less then a Sooby, POR-15 it and turn it into a mobile cooler with beers and ice

Oh, any by the way Markus, is that snorkel rainpipe? Because if it is then that is sweet lol

[corvette6698512]

My $600 GL. Planning on building a roof rack, and maybe a front tube bumper. Probably spray 'er down with some nice camo colors, just for fun.

[Dantes Inferno]

Yea, I want to see what this chopped bumper looks like aswell. Sounds interesting

-Tom

Im not sure ive got any pics of this. I scrapped the car soon after I did this so I could use its rear subframe to save my XT.

[Dantes Inferno]

You could suck the bumper in even further if but i Didnt cut enough the first time and was too lazy to take it off again.

[Dantes Inferno]

See the stock bumper sticks out way more.

[Dantes Inferno]

Spring cleaning roof racks, and flea market tractor lights is almost free!



Then go get it dirty for the most badass free upgrade!

http://s32.photobuck...nt=MOV00159.flv

[TheLoyale]

Oh I see, looks diffrent!

You really cut the shlt out of that car, geez Lol.

-Tom

[Dantes Inferno]

Oh I see, looks diffrent!

You really cut the shlt out of that car, geez Lol.

-Tom

Ya, I suppose if you took more than 10 minutes you could make it looks good too!

[corvette6698512]

So how do you guys mount your roof racks? I want to put on on mine, but cant figure out how to mount it.

[TheLoyale]

Are you gonna use a basket, or just the crossbars? Most of us go with a gutter mount (As its stronger then the mounting slats on the roof)

Just get some cross bars and then get some raingutter feet for them and bolt it on

Hope this helps and merry christmas,
-Tom

[Markus56]

So how do you guys mount your roof racks? I want to put on on mine, but cant figure out how to mount it.

A bed frame hose clamped onto Thule bars works great