My Pathfinder, Project Berny

[Feds]

Man, I hate to name a car, but when the license plate is BERN ###, you have to play the cards you are dealt.

First, what I gave up: My beloved 1984 Mazda B2000. I was SLOW, but could tow upwards of 3000 lbs, and handle ~1800 lbs in the bed. Don't ask me how I know


Now, on to my Pathfinder:


1998 Chilkoot 5-speed. Black, the only proper colour for a vehicle. I bought it for a lot of reasons, but mostly so I had somewhere to put this guy:


Now, being 10 years, and 178,000 kms old, it needed a few things. Cosmetically, the roof rack bars and the side steps came off, and the tires were replaced. I haven't got an "after" shot of the truck, but here's what happened on the tire front:



Off came the stock sized GrandTreks, and whatever the ones behind it are, and on went 10x9.5x15 Goodyear AT/S's on Isuzu Trooper wheels

And a tread-view:


If anyone wants some stock steelies (or side-steps) and good tires, let me know.

After that, I changed the oil, trans and diff fluid, and flushed out the brakes. In flushing the brakes, BOTH rear bleeder screws broke off, so $40 to my friends at Automotivewarehouse, and 2 hours later, I had new rear wheel cylinders...

Next it was on to the rear lower control arms. I got into a death wobble situation once, and I didn't want to go back there, so off to my friends at Mike Barney Nissan. For a total of 221.85 US, I was on my way back to Ontario with a set of new lower control arms in the back of the Pathfinder. No real issues installing them. Had to use the blue-tipped wrench on the rear bolts, and drill out the parking brake clips, since the studs sheared off, but otherwise, no issue.

So what is next? Front brakes are warped, and I would like to replace the upper links. Both parts came to me by way of Autopartsway.ca. Excellent price and delivery. Japanese-made rotors, and Nissan made upper links. Those will go in between now and 2008 (hopefully with some better pictures).

Also, there are a couple of cosmetic issues. This:


Which I mostly don't care about, unless someone is throwing out a stock rear bumper.

And the interior was/is a disaster:

Damned Smokers


Damned Dash-holes...

Actually, the PO had covered the hole with a stick-on compass/temperature thingy, which left all the glue residue. I am in the process of Goo-Gone-ing the residue off, and once it's gone, I'll try my hand at reparing the hole with one of those vinyl repair kits.

So that's where we are now. Once Christmas gets paid for, I need to find a hitch, and someone to show me some trails in Niagara.

[Bow_Tied]

Great pics. A buddy of mine had nearly identical Mazda.. cost him a bit in repairs... what killed it was the rear dif cover rotted and let out all the fluid while driving.

What size are the steelie rims? And where is Fencwick?

[Nd4SpdSe]

Fenwick in in the Niagara Region, a small town west of Welland. Same basic area at Fonthill and Pelham.

Hehe, Mazda's are awesome. Too bad your friend Bow_Tied had a problem with his, they make good vehicles

Feds, check out so4x4.com. They're a local club, mostly based around Welland and Port Colborne, so they know all the trails Technically I'm from Port Colborne, but I put Niagara Falls because most people know Port Colborne like they know Fenwick, lol.

BTW, if you become a registered member, you can have your thread in the "Owner's Rigs" section

[Feds]

The steelies are stock size. 15" rims with (I believe) 265 70 15's on them.

My B2000 was pretty reliable. I had 2 alternators fail, but they were both 20+ year old used jobbies. I just got tired of tweaking the carb constantly. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it now. All of my options lead to me cutting it up so far.

As Nd4Spd said, Fenwick is right in the middle of the Niagara Peninsula. 10 minutes south of the QEW on Victoria Ave. I am back and forth to Hamilton fairly often, and travelling to both London and Ottawa over the holidays.

[Bow_Tied]

Shoot, I don't think 15" will fit my 02 pathy brakes.

[Miner]

My B2000 was pretty reliable. I had 2 alternators fail, but they were both 20+ year old used jobbies. I just got tired of tweaking the carb constantly. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it now. All of my options lead to me cutting it up so far.

That doesn't seem like a good option .

[Pezzy]

Shoot, I don't think 15" will fit my 02 pathy brakes.

If they are steelies, they MIGHT. Could be worth a test fit.

[Bow_Tied]

Thanks Pezzy.

If you are coming through London and have an hour or so to spare for me to try a test fit.... I realize that may not be worth the hassle for you.

[Feds]

Sorry I missed you Bowtied, Was a bit of a whirlwind trip.

Either way, an updated shot with the new rims and the removed steps and roof rack. Nothing crazy. I've actually been working on getting the interior up to standard before I do too much else.

[PiDGE]

found this for that rear bumper might be a help http://kingston.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicl ... dZ92780665" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bow_Tied]

Sorry I missed you Bowtied, Was a bit of a whirlwind trip.

No biggy was pretty busy myself. Rig is looking good!

[Nissanboy97]

I've got some interior parts if you need them for cheap. Truck looks good so far outside looks in pretty good condition. What type of rims are those, they dont look like pathfinder rims except for the centre caps!