'98 R50 R.I.P......New '03 in the works

[arcano]

I am sorry to report that my '98 Pathfinder SE, which had been a great ride for the 11+ years I owned it, has died.

 

Here is a recent picture, lookig sharp right after washing and waxing:

 

 

An older man ran a stop sign and pulled right in front of me in a Suzuki Grand Vitara, with both of us doing about 50 mph. No time to even hit the brakes. I hit him square on the front passenger door. Luckily there was nobody in the passenger seat of the Suzuki, or I would have surely killed that person. I was spun 180 degrees, and the Suzuki flew about 5 meters, and landed on the side of the road.

 

I was wearing my seatbelt, but my truck has (or had) no airbags, so I was lucky to come out with only a bump on the side of the head and a sprained shoulder. The driver of the Suzuki was not injured, thanks in part to the multiple airbags in that car.

 

Here is what mu Pathy looks like now:

 

 

I am still waiting for a final word from the insurance company, but I am sure the truck is totaled.

 

After looking at all my options, I decided that another R50 was the way to go, so I could take advantage of all the mods and add-ons on the '98. The logical choice was a late R50, with the VQ35 engine, ABS brakes and airbags (which my '98 did not have)...

 

So, here is what I bought last night:

 

 

What do you think???? It is a 2003 Pathfinder SE, 4WD, automatic transmission (the '98 was a 5-speed), and 'only' 83K kilometers (about 50K miles). I purchased the truck directly from its original owner, and has had its maintenance done at the dealer every 5K kilometers since it was purchased. No accidents or major breakdowns, and the previous owner just did the whole front suspension bushings and strut mounts, so the ride feels real tight (but nowere near as nice as my lifted '98 with the OME/KYB/Rancho setup)

 

Here is a preliminary list of the upgrades/mod that survived the crash and I plan to move to the '03:

 

• US Wheels 15" steel wheels with the right backspacing for 31" tires (I need to check that the wheels clear the brake calipers and have no other clearance issues, since the '03 has 16" wheels)
  
• BF Goodrich AT 31"x10.5" tires for 15" wheels (must be able to fit the 15" wheels)
  
• Custom rear bumper with tire carrier
  
• 4Crawler Rock Sliderz custom nerf bars with air storage option
  
• Black Panther Armor 3-piece custom skid plates (front, middle and rear)
  
• Complete front and rear differentials with 4.6 gears and ARB rear air locker ('03 has open rear differential and 4.3 gears)
  
• ARB compressor
  
• ARB switches and wiring harness for locker and compressor
  
• Stillen crossed-drilled rotors and metal matrix pads (if not excesively worn out)
  
• Goodridge front and rear stainless steel brake lines
  
• Front and rear OME 1" lift coils
  
• Rear Rancho adjustable shocks (not sure if these will fit the '03)
  
• Front KYB struts (if not damaged)
  
• Custom 1" front strut spacers
  
• Warn manual hubs
  
• Yakima bike rack, basket and tire carriers
  
• KC 6" halogen lights (if not damaged)
  
• KC 4" halogen lights (rack)
  
• KC light switches, relays and wiring harness
  
• Radio Shack CB Radio
  
• Radio Shack CB antena and antena mount
  
• Kenwood Exelon head unit with bluetooth and iPod support
  
• Kenwood powered subwoofer
  
• Alpine 4Flex amplifier
  
• Kenwood Excelon door speakers
  
• Front and rear leather seats (the '03 has cloth seats)
  

 

I am also considering additional mods for the new Pathfinder:

 

• Krypton Fabrications 4" SFD lift (since I am switching out the front differential, seems like the right time to also install the SFD. Plus, I will have spare steering components to modify)
  
• ARB (if I could find one) or custom front winch bumper (in order to be able to install the winch, since the Warn bull bar I had was destroyed)
  

 

Please chime in with comments or suggestions!!!

[Precise1]

I just wanted to say I'm sorry you lost her like that, you certainly took good care of it. That said, I'm glad not one was seriously hurt!! That's what really matters, steel can be replaced...

 

Sounds like you knopw what you are doing and will have the new one set up soon. Make sue to post pictures of the progress!!

 

B

[Howie]

The winch survived, huh? Great choice on the 2003! It's going to be a sweet ride when you install all those mods. And condolences on the '98. I've had my faithful old '01 since 6 miles on the odometer, and I still love it. Drove the newer version when my wife had it as a rental, and liked mine way better. The R50's are definitely the way to go!

 

--Howie

[Pezzy]

Wow, sorry to hear about the old pathy, it looks like it was in great shape. That after picture makes me sad. But YAY!! New to you R50!! Good luck with the mods!!

[01silvapathy]

Sorry to hear about the old, it was a killer looking truck dude! But ya you will love the new one and esp the VQ Id def go for a sfd if you have the money to do it, one of the best upgrades I have ever done to the truck...as well as the JWT Pop Charger, it wakes up the VQ.

[Northernpathy]

Glad to hear that everyone walked away. But it is too bad that the pathy was badly damaged. It looks totaled to me as well. Worth more than the truck is worth to rebuild the front end and anything else that is damaged.

 

I am sure you will be happy with your new R50. The 3.5VQ has a lot of zoom to it and runs really well. Only thing I would really recommend is getting some manual locking hubs for the front end to save you some fuel and wear/tear on the front end.

 

I look forward to seeing the upgrades installed!

[SilverPath]

Dang sharp looking truck Glad all are ok, your '98 didnt have airbags? Was this only an option? My '99 has both driver and passenger bags Thank heavens. Good luck to on the new R50 though!

[Timmons]

How can I pick up some of that interior? I need to replace a couple of panels in my R50 and you have the same interior as mine?

 

Thanks,

[DanAK]

That's really to bad mate, glad everyone is okay. Enjoy the extra ponies!

[nunya]

Sorry for the loss of the 98 (even if I personally like seeing mangled cars, some people understand why). Looks like you got a decent plan to help it live on though with some time and effort you might be able to get that front bar back in useable order as well worth it? Prolly not but still could be possible...

 

Nobody hurt though, a truck (no matter how sentimental and "part of the family" it is) will always still be a material object...

[Kingman]

Sorry to hear about that man. Looks like it was a hell of a nice rig. Glad everyone is alright though, that's really what matters.

 

The new '03 is a good looking and 50K is seriously low miles!

[Hawzzy]

From yur list of Mods there...thats a lot of hard work down the tubes...i bet you enjoyed it tho...looked great...glad everyones Okiedokie...hope to see the new Rig built up like that...i love the colour matched bumpers/flares on the new one!!!

Tye

[skulptr]

its amazing how much that bully bar took, and didnt even distort! you could probably use that again from the winch tray up, and just make/have made new brackets for it! something that looks that good after totaling 2 rigs, is worth fixing and keeping!!

[TooQForYou]

What he said ^ !

If there's anyway you can salvage that bar, do it!

[ferrariowner123]

So im going to bump this old thread, and PM the OP so i can see the transformation of the 03, sorry about your 98, that looked like a nice rig,

 

But can you post up some new pics, that be SWEEETTT

 

Thanks

 

-Kyle

[90seven]

I wanted your rear bumper with the tire carrier. Any blueprints from it if not parting it?

Edited February 13, 2013 by 90seven