Raider Rebirth....Revival? I Don't Know

This is mostly to keep track of and serve has a kind of online notepad for the "build" of the Raider into something more fun than "just my truck'.  Don't know if I'll actually follow through, but we'll see.

So,  I've had my Raider since 2006. 

  It's the vehicle I've owned the longest in my fleet, and at around 294K miles, it's still running,  working and doing truck stuff.

However,  I can tell it's getting tired.  And with all I've put this thing through over the years, I'm surprised it's still moving under its own power. 

Which leaves me with a problem.   I know it's getting tired, so do I dump some money in it or replace it with something else?

If it looked like a typical 294K mile truck,  I'd probably sell it and find something else.  However,  after 18 years with the stupid thing...I'm attached to it.

It's a mid sized truck with a V8, and was built in low enough numbers that it's not common to see a lot of these in the wild.   Which pushes a lot of my buttons. 

  Plus, aside from general wear and tear, it still looks pretty good.  No rust, huge dents or serious exterior issues. 

It just needs a little love.  So, I'm thinking I'm going to dump some money into the old girl...eventually.  

I can't throw any serious money or make big moved for about another two years, so this is mostly me thinking out loud.

I never really thought about modifying it before now, because I always needed it to do truck stuff, and didn't want to take away from the functionality of the truck.

 Well, opinions change over the years, so let's get nuts.

When the Raider was first released, Mitsubishi sponsored a 3.7l DuroCross 4WD to run in the stock class of the Baja 1000 race.  

The truck is now belongs to the Boost Rodeo guys who have a channel on YouTube. 

I loved that truck, and always wanted something along those lines.  Lifted, aftermarket wheels, roll bar, tire rack, lights and a custom tubular off road bumper.  It was my computer wallpaper for a long time, and it's still a favorite. 

So, I think  I'd like to build something similar with the Raider, along with generally fixing up the truck and put a little pep in it's step again. 

My truck is a 2WD model, so more of a pre-runner type truck, and not a fully caged and prepped race truck.

So here's a general list/plan to deal with fixing any mechanical issues and eventual modifications.

Maintenance:

Rebuilt 4.7l Engine

Replacement Catback Exhaust 

Power Steering Rack

Front Struts

Coilover Rear Load Shocks

Rear End Rebuild/Replacement 

Mods:

3 in Body Lift 

Chase Rack/Light Bar

Front Light Bar/Prerunner Bumper

Oil Pressure/Transmission Temp Gauge/Water Temp Gauge

New Wheel/Tire Combo (33's) 285/75/16  Will work with 16x8 Wheels

Driving Lights

Stand-alone Transmission Cooler

Aftermarket Seats

Android Head Unit 

This is just a basic list so far and a general idea of how I want to proceed. Subject to change. 

The 3rd Gen Dakota/Raider doesn't really have suspension lift options other than shock spacers for the front and blocks or "add a leafs" for the rear.

A body lift seems like a real hassle to do, but it would retain the original suspension geometry without the additional wear that shock spacers would put on the front end to get more lift. 

Still undecided on the best way to clear for bigger tires.

Anyway,  that's my plan on spending money and time on yet another automotive money pit.

Has anyone done a body lift on a truck?  I imagine relocating certain components is probably a real pain, and I'm wondering how it's handled.  Radiator,  Steering Shaft, Brake Lines etc.

New Junk For The VW TDI

  While my 2005 VW Golf TDI is my Daily Driver, I occasionally like to give "The Helmet" some love.

  One thing that always bothered me about most modern passenger vehicles and the Golf especially, is the, lack of a proper Oil Pressure Gauge.

 In my opinion, all cars car should come with a Voltage, Oil Pressure and Water Temp Gauge from the factory.  Thankfully most manufacturers almost always include a Water Temp Gauge, although I do remember seeing some base model econoboxes that were only equipped with a Temperature Warning Light (Yikes!).  Not good.  I can understand trying to keep costs down, but some cars NEED these items at a bare minimum.  And another thing, if the car has some form of Forced Induction from the factory, include a Boost Gauge, you heathens!

  The Golf has a very nicely designed dash, with a very attractive set of factory gauges.  However it's missing a Oil Pressure Gauge, Boost Gauge and, while it works just fine, I suspect that the factory Water Temp Gauge is actually nowhere near the 190 degrees F it indicates, pretty much all the time.  So, something needs to be done to address this issue that plagues my OCD tendencies.

  Installing a set of aftermarket gauges is fairly easy, but I didn't really want to spend a bunch of money and time to install some gauges, especially with the limited space afforded by the Double DIN Head Unit installed and the factory airbags installed in the A-Pillar.

  I was going to go with a 3 In 1 Gauge from Glowshift, mounted to a single pod on my steering column.  The gauge in question is 60mm in diameter and  includes a Boost Gauge, Temp Gauge and Pressure Gauge.

Pretty neat, eh?  It even includes a nice Indigo Blue to match the factory back lighting on the VW

gauge cluster.  Priced fairly reasonably for around $140 or some from various vendors.  I wasn't sure about the quality of the product, and incorporating a sender for the water temp would require splicing in a Water Temp Adapter into my Upper Radiator Hose.  Also, I really didn't want to run a bunch of wiring if I didn't have to, so I passed on this idea, for the moment.

I have a Bully Dog Watchdog on"The Doorknob", (my 06 Raider Pickup) and it works great to add additional gauges and other features to the vehicle, rather easily.  Unfortunately it's discontinued and the closest thing that matched from Bully Dog was about $300.  Scratch that too.

Did some Googling and found the Ultra Gauge which offered similar features to the Watchdog, along with some it didn't for under $100.

I placed an order and it arrived today.  I haven't had a chance to install it or play around with it yet, but that should be taken care of fairly soon.  Unfortunately, it doesn't read Oil Pressure on my car, so it looks like I'll still have to install a aftermarket gauge after all.  I already have a AEM Oil Pressure Gauge from a past project that will go on the steering column, while the Ultra Gauge will monitor Boost, Water Temp, Voltage and display Real Time MPG along with other parameters.

  I just hope the stupid thing works as advertised.  If it doesn't, I'll be sure to document it here.

Until Then,
Alpha, Mike, Foxtrot......

Here We Go Again....

Welcome To.....This?

I know it sounds rather cliché, but “I really doubt anyone is ever going to see this” seems to be the standard line for pretty much every first post on a blog.  However, I really do think that aside from my girlfriend, no one is really going to be reading this.  Unless you’re interested in reading about poor decisions that lead myself into emptying my wallet, pounding my head against a wall and occasionally crying myself to sleep, then this blog might be just for you.

BTW, thanks to my awesome girlfriend.  She designed the look and setup the blog for me and I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  She has a blog as well that deals with running.  So if running voluntarily for long distances is something you enjoy, you should really check it out at: Reinventing Crazy Beautiful  

So What's With The Name?

  It's a play on the fact that some older Japanese cars are referred to as "J-Tin" and some Domestic Vehicles, are referred to as  "American Steel" or "Detroit Steel" by different people.  While I have a preference for Japanese vehicles, especially for RWD  or AWD Turbocharged models, I do like and respect Domestic vehicles as well.  So, I combined the name.

Besides, all the "good" names were taken.

 

 So Why Do A Blog Then?

All the cool kids are shooting videos on YouTube, searching for Internet Glory.  I’m too ugly for YouTube. 

For real, like hideous and stuff.

Honestly, I just wanted a place to document my car hobby without too much effort. Also I occasionally do enjoy writing sometimes, but it’s one of those things where if I have to deliver on a set schedule it’s not fun anymore.  Besides anytime I get on camera I have a tendency to say “umm” a lot.

No one wants to see that.

So, What’s This All About?

  It’s going to be all about my activities with my current fleet of cars, and the associated issues with living in an apartment in a new city, being lucky enough to have a garage on site and finding time to do all this while working way too much at night at my real job.  I’ll also probably do write ups on cars that I’ve owned before, and my crazy ideas for cars that I would like to own, perhaps one day.  Mods, maintenance issues, tips and tricks to try and help out other owners with their cars.  Plus it’s kind of therapeutic to get all this stuff down, and on record.  Also track the progression of the cars as I continue to work on them and maybe help a few people out while being slightly entertaining.

A “Fleet”?   Really?

Well, it's a really small fleet.  Currently the lineup consists of:

2005 VW Golf TDI “The Helmet”-   

My current Daily Driver and MPG Champion.  I have plans for this one down the road, if only it'd stop breaking little things here and there.  At least it runs and the ABS light stays off....most of the time.

1999 Mazda Miata “The Turtle”- 

 My current fun car, and devourer of most of my time and money when the VW isn't broken.  I also have some plans for this, that involve driving this thing in anger on a track.  It's fairly new to me, so I haven't decided if the name will stick.  Coming from a quick turbocharged AWD car before, this is still taking some getting used to.  They say it's more fun to drive a slow car fast rather than a fast car slow, so this is my foray into that realm.

2006 Mitsusbish Raider DuroCross “The Doorknob”-   

You might be able to figure out why it's called that, but despite the crass nickname, I do love this truck. It’s my current hauler of parts and the tow vehicle of  the broken and damned.  It’s got a V8 too, so it likes gas stations.  It's been with me the longest and is probably the most reliable one of the bunch.  I really should treat it better.

  So,  that’s pretty much it for now.  I plan on doing write ups on the vehicles to document where they came from and where they are currently.  Hopefully it's slightly funny too.

Until next time,.

Alpha Mike Foxtrot…..