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A Tail of Two Sisters - Build Photos and Videos


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So it's time for it to begin.

This is a tail of two sisters. Both have lived a long tough life. The younger sister suffers from cancer and was given 6 months to live by her previous owner. Her new owner plans on fighting the cancer and giving her a 2nd shot at life. The older sister has had a rough life. She was abused by multiple owners and put down to die. She was brought back to life and given a pretty rough new life. She's basically ready to get a make over and relax while looking good for the remainder of her life.

This will be a long slow process but I'm looking forward to these two builds. God willing nothing will get in the way of my plans. For the first time in my life I finally have the tools to undertake a project like this. So with a little luck and support these two builds will become a finished product for you all to enjoy.

Most of you know what my 91 SE (235,000) looks like but here are the before pictures. And no I didn't feel the need to clean her up for her before pics. I wanted you all to see what she looks like on her worse days. My plans for her have changed. As of right now she's getting custom interior and more than likely the dash and a few things out of her sister. New paint, roof rack, wheels, and Calmini steering will also be in the plan.

 

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Here is the 1995 XE (130,000) that I just picked up. She need allot of work but I think I can save her. If I can save her, her frame will be the base of an all out buggy style rig. How much of the body I will use if any is still up in the air. She will be street legal here in NY if all goes as planned.


 

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That is pretty cool. I just picked up a 93 Pathy XE-V6 5-speed today with 285K on the odometer. I found her for sale on the forum and the owner was in my hometown. I think it was destined to be. I will try and get some pics posted soon of it and my 86.5 XE-V6 5-speed which has 202K on the odometer.

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Depending on how much of the body you plan on cutting out think about it this way, If you remove the whole body section from the B pillar back it will make cutting out the rust and welding in new metal a whole lot easier. You could even cut out the rear section of the frame and make a custom rear section like in the photo below.

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If you click on the photo you will get a high res version.

Edited by Leo94
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Depending on how much of the body you plan on cutting out think about it this way, If you remove the whole body section from the B pillar back it will make cutting out the rust and welding in new metal a whole lot easier. You could even cut out the rear section of the frame and make a custom rear section like in the photo below.

 

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If you click on the photo you will get a high res version.

 

The rear will absolutely be cut off. I need to keep it a 4 seater though but I need to come up with a plan. Maybe winging this isn't the best approach but it's what I plan on doing. My only issue is that it rains up here so I need to make sure it's sealed from the outside elements. I'm not a fan of being cold and wet while wheeling lol.

 

Any and all ideas are very much welcome. Just bring pics like you did so I can see what you're talking about ;)

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Great to see two flogged out Pathies getting a new lease on life, but usually when I see two sisters with tails I suspect inbreeding. :D

 

Well given that they will be exchanging parts I guess you can still see it that way lol. Little bit of lesbian sister action lol.

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OMG I have never seen a pathfinder or any car still on the road with that much rust. You could say that the rust is the only thing holding this pathy together. Will be watching your builds as I always need inspiration for my own.

 

James

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It's a central NY car. That can happen out here. They put so much salt on these roads out here. You might as well drive in the ocean lol. Shockingly enough the body don't seem to be in that bad of shape. Not sure about the floor just yet but the doors are all ok and the main part of the body seems like it has very little rust. The frame might not be worth trying to save. If that's the case expect a tube frame buggy with pathfinder parts. But again, we'll see how things go as I keep taking this apart. The tow truck I was expecting to work on today might not be showing up until later tonight or tomorrow. So looks like I'll start tearing off anything attached to the engine itself. I need to get a good look at that block and see how much rust is on that. I'm a little worried right now Need to climb under it and look at that trans too.

I'm not going to loose any money off of it regardless. I only paid $500 for her and I'm going to get way more than that in parts. I've got a plan b, c, d, e and f already in the back of my mind depending on how much of this I can actually use. This just shows me that I need to do everything possible to protect my 91 from rust. And my Saab for that matter. Looks like I'll be buying a ton of Chassis Saver while living in this state lol.

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Hey ME where did you get your roof rack, I like very much. :aok:

 

Thank you I built it out of scrap metal. I like the design but it's sloppy. I plan on making a new one. This one will be for sale soon but only to people that want to come pick it up. My new one I'm hoping to design it where I can box it up and ship it. We'll see though. I have allot of work to do before I get to that point.

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Holy RustMonster!! :ohno01:

Good luck with that one, it has to be totally re-done. It looks a lot easier to change the timing belt with that entire front clip removed though... :lol:

 

Good interior and same color as mine so I'm cheering for you all the way.

 

For the first time in my life I finally have the tools to undertake a project like this.

Congrats, I know the feeling. I don't have quite the shop you do, but still adequate for some serious work and only improving. :aok:

 

B

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Didn't get much done today so I won't bother with pics or video. I did want to say this though. Anyone needing pics or information on how something is mounted or whatever please do ask before it's to late. This whole truck is going to be taken apart. Top to bottom, front to back.

 

Also I climbed under the truck tonight and the frame from along the doors us rusted but is very much salvageable. Still unsure what the plan will be. I'm sure once I get this completely torn down to nothing but the metal I'll spend a few hours staring at it trying to come up with a plan. The front part of the frame (fire wall forward will for sure be cut off and rebuilt It's a mess up there. The frame from the upper link mount back will be removed as well.

Here is the problem I'm having. The debate in my head. Maybe some of you with experience can chime in.

  • Do I want it to be street legal? If so I need DOT windshield and need to choose is I want to register it as a Pathfinder or a homemade vehicle here in NY. I plan on beating the hell out of it once it's done so I'm not sure street legal really matters because I'll more than likely want to tow it if I plan on beating it up like that. However It will be branded with my business name and I'd like to drive it around town just because. What's more important? This can get really damn expesive! Advice?
  • Do I want it sealed from the weather? It rains and snows up here plus it can get real damn cold when the wind is hitting you. Do I want a warm weather sun shine only rig?
  • Do I want to use any of the stock body at all? If so how much? Axle width and tire size is an issue. I plan on finding a matching pair of D44 or D60 axles or something equally as good. I'd rather not have to worry about cutting the axles to shorten them if I don't have to. The problem with that would be the tires looking really damn stupid sticking way out from the stock body. As a result I'm leaning toward building my own body over a tube chassis. My issue is that I really would like this to have signs of actually looking like it use to be a Nissan Pathfinder at one point in time.
  • Here is my last issue. Do I use the VG30 + auto trans + stock transfer case with a doubler or put a small block Chevy engine in running of propane + Turbo400 auto trans + and I'm unsure about the transfer case in that setup? I have the VG30 setup in hand other than the doubler. However I may have a 305 Chevy in my hands shortly. Even if I don't 350s are dirt cheap. The perks of a small block Chevy would be: I can get parts for it anywhere. I can replace it easily for little money if it take a @!*% on me. I can get a ton of power out of it with little money or effort. Far more power than I'll ever be able to get out of that VG30 for the price. But then again do I really want that power? That could lead to a bunch of broken parts.

    ADVICE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

    lmao Any and all ideas are open. How often do you have an opinion with someone else's build? Idea's followed up with photos would be awesome!!!

    And if anyone knows how to use that damn link calculator floating around pirate4x4 please PM me. We need to talk. I need to figure out what link setup I'm going to go with. I've made up my mind. I'm going to build it all myself. If I fskc it up I'll just cut it off and try it again lol.
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Interior is coming apart. Hopefully everything other than the dash will be out by tomorrow night. Need to be careful not to damage any of it because it's all going inside my 91 Pathfinder. I'll finally be able to get rid of that ugly blue crap that's in there right now.

 

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