@woodtickgreg - OK Greg... Back at the house so I can get at pictures to answer your question better. Posted this up once before in reply to someone's question on what kind of side by side did we have.
Mini Truck was an auction sale purchase. These things typically start around 5 - 6 grand in running order. This one ran, but had issues, I picked it up for $1900. Bought an '89 Chevy 3500 in front of it, thinking I was bidding on this, wound up making over $200 on it after the auctioneers' cut, and never took it off the lot. Told them what happened, we ran it back through the sale the next month.
Top end on these little things, older carbureted models was around 45 - 50 mph, I want to say around '97 - '98 they went fuel injection and they'll top out around 65 - 70. Got it running to load it, battery was shot, so I replaced that. Ran, but it spit and sputtered up 'til you hit 3rd gear then started losing power. Mechanic buddy came out and we tried running codes on it. Nothing about these things is OBD II compliant. Supposed to be, but after 4 scan tools, the last being a $6500 Snap On Scan Tool, we gave up. Pulled a compression test, that indicated head gasket leak, so we pulled the head, had the valve train reworked and the head decked. Replaced timing belt and water pump while it was all apart.
Replaced struts and shocks (
they were all shot), left CV joint (
boot was torn and it was snapping and popping), repaired the exhaust system (
it was about half torn off and leaking everywhere). Decided to go ahead and do the 2" lift kit while replacing struts and shocks just so we didn't have to take it all back apart again. Spacers above the struts on front (
E-Bayed kit. PITA to install!!!), added a leaf in rear. (
Bought those through Jeg's as best I recall. That's questionable on these because they don't weigh anything and it tends to stiffen the suspension to the point it lifts tires off the ground constantly on un-level terrain, but I intended using it to work around the farm, and the extra leaf just about doubles payload. You go from 900 lbs. to 1500.) That necessitated new U-Bolts, and plates underneath the axle as well, but we still came in under $250 on the lift.
Added an auxiliary fuse panel to carry the driving lights, added driving lights and rear cargo lamp/backup light, (
ordered a kit for all that, relay and switch were about the only thing that wasn't modified on it, completely rebuilt the wiring harness), replaced radio antenna and radio, plumbed it into the auxiliary fuse panel as well. Stock fuse panel is utterly impossible to get at on this model, and there is some issue with wiring on the after-market radios and the lights in several mini-truck threads I read so that was an easy choice to make.
Left front fender was caved in, pulled it and beat it out straight, had to do a little patching of rust on the cab post behind the fender, little bondo work on rust on the hood, and a few other little dings on the cab. Otherwise it's pretty sound body-wise. Side panels were froze up, got them all working like they're supposed too; fold down and slide off. Was going to replace the front bumper, mini-truck dealer told me to heat it up, straighten it out, epoxy the crack, and save the $350 unless I was building a show truck.
Still hadn't got but about 37 mph out of it at that point, got on the net and started chasing mini-truck threads and found there is a problem with rust in the gas tanks on these things. The housing around the fuel pump acts as the primary filter, it plugs up, and they starve for fuel. If you take it out and clean the housing up, clean the tank out, and put fresh gas in them, they'll run a whole lot better. We went ahead and found a replacement pump as long as it was out. (
Pays to know your local parts man well and catch him on slow day, when he needs entertainment! We handed him the fuel pump, told him we needed one just like it. He asked what it fit, we told him he didn't want to know. He insisted! We told him!! He said, we were right, he didn't want to know. After pulling about 20 different pumps off the shelf, finding one close but it was plumbed opposite of what we needed, call to the manufacturer questioning reversed specs on that pump, pulling another 10 or so, found one that required about 2 seconds with the die grinder and it was exactly what was in it.) Took it out for a test drive, picked up about 5 - 10 mph in the first 5 miles. Made the loop in the drive at the office, turning around, it hiccupped once, and was a whole new truck!!! We were scratching studs in the first 3 gears. Went back by the house at 68 mph!
Mini-truck dealer in Jackson, MO where I bought about 90% of my parts, (
actually only about 4 - 5 miles from a friend's house there in Jackson), had a sale on tires and wheels that spring, bought the whole set, new, mounted and balanced, for about half price. Had to trim a little off the corner of the bumper, and beat about 3-4 inches flat in the back of the fender to clear them, but that was it. 20 minutes and I was done altering for tires.
Needs paint, I still need to fabricate an end gate for it, want to fabricate a receiver hitch on front and bumper with receiver on rear, and put a winch on it. Could use the seats recovered, driver's side is split all the way across the seat. Otherwise runs like a top! Dirt road it'll spin the back tires in all 5 gears with the ATV tires. Taller tires cut my top end about 5 mph according to GPS. Blast to drive, but this is supposedly the smallest cab of all the minis, so there simply isn't much room in it. My knees are pretty much on the dash!
Before picture, day I drug it home...
After a couple months and several thousand dollars tinkering...