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The Punisher

178K views 584 replies 51 participants last post by  Jakenoack 
#1 · (Edited)
I guess I need to do a build thread. My 03 is starting to show it's age so I started fixing it up in march. Did the roll on Herculiner bedliner on the bed and sides of the truck, I've been playing with LED light bars, I've already ordered the Calmini 3" lift. I have the Moto Metal Skull wheels 17x9 and I am waiting on the Kumho Road Venture Mts 265/70r17 which should be here friday.

I have been toying around with the idea of a 70s style air dam on the front. It would be made from diamond plate and sprayed black. This is a mockup I did in cardboard. I don't think it would effect clearance too much as it doesn't extend past the Go-Rhino Push bar. Still not sure about it.

Year:2003
Model:Crew Cab shortbed
Trim:6cyl XE 2wd
Color:Super Black





More pictures of the progress in my profile pic album for those who haven't seen it.

The Calmini is backordered so I don't know when that gets here. I will also do the ARB locker over the summer since my frontier is the 2wd model.

I also put in a new Sony head unit, Kicker speakers and an underseat Kenwood SW11 mini subwoofer. Sounds clearer and more full range than the factory sound. I just put in new leather from Leatherseats.com. VERY happy with those. Will gets pics tomorrow maybe. Lots of work but they look factory installed. I'm going to get the punisher logo embroidered in the headsets. :)

These are the wheels.



EDIT:



Per request these are some old pictures of the truck in the good ole days. Probably only a couple years old in these. ::smile::

This is when it would sink like a rock in the sand and I had to be super careful. First thing I did when I bought it was put that brush guard on it (it is still on the truck) and those cheap autozone offroad lights. I didn't even hook them up for the first year..lol Then I welded in the ATV ramps in the bed and that was it. Ignored the poor thing until May of 2014.








Here is when I brought it home. You can just make out the date in the temporary tags.







 
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#264 ·
Did you happen to take note of weather conditions both times? how many times did you run with each setup? just one run doesn't tell you the whole story. Any wheel spin at launch? could you have left the line with any more RPM's with the 5.14's?

BUT.... if you look at all numbers you made an improvement. 60' time is better, 330', 1/8 mile time and MPH even if it was a small improvement.
 
#265 · (Edited)
I did more than one I picked those two runs for the video because the reaction time was nearly identical. I couldn't break 19 in any of the runs. (4 total 2 each night). It was also a cool night in may, we had a cold front move in. So the air temp was nice and cool like in january. I actually couldn't tell if the wheels were spinning but I doubt it since I had the locker on for the runs. As for leaving with more RPM I wanted to do the runs exactly the same. I tried to avoid doing anything different just so I could see if the gears made a difference.

You are right about it making a difference, even if it was very small. :)

EDIT: oh and If you look close the (right) video doesn't match the time slip, I could only find one slip from the night in january, but luckly the reaction times were nearly identical to May, so it's still good information.
 
#266 · (Edited)
Project SUPERNOVA

Project SUPERNOVA LED light bar upgrade.

I actually did this last month but I had issues with the big bar. I actually removed it, but my coworkers convinced me to try and fix the problems.

First problem, it whistled like a friggen train! It was so loud over 40 mph that cars next to me could hear it. It was embarrassing. The wind was causing the cooling fins on the back of the bar to vibrate like a tuning fork. I fixed this by drilling sheet metal screws into the fins to prevent them for vibrating.

I experimented with how few screws I could get away with. On the way to Moab for example, it still made noise so when I got back I put some screws back on. It's fine now, even over 80 it doesn't whistle.

Second problem, wow did it create glare on the windshield. The windshield had to be spotless or the bar was useless. I tried to reposition it but it wasn't good enough. I had to break down and make a glare shield.

Not happy about that, but it works great now.

Third Problem, It really changed how the truck looks. I am still trying to get use to how the truck looks now. I can't decide whether I like how it looks or not..... Time will tell I guess. Like I said before, I have no problem taking this off and calling it a lesson learned. We shall see.


Project SUPERNOVA youtube video









The glare shield.. (truck beard 2 Electric Boogaloo)







 
#268 ·
It will definitely help at the sand dunes. That bar throws a long way. If nothing else I can just make it part of my dune kit. Paddle tires and big *** light bar... :) It comes off really easy, just four bolts. The mounting point is heli-coiled so no nuts on the inside.

I won't sell it now that I got it to work. Worst case this would be something I only use when going to Dumont, Glamis, or maybe a Nissan meet-up since it's so dramatic.
 
#270 ·
TOYS! This is my next project. Sean can follow me for a change..::laugh::. I think I'll call it Project Wheelchair. My crippled 2wd will finally have a wheelchair so it can go most of the places the 4wd crew go...

I still have to buy the 4wd transmission, and I have to re-gear and put a locker into the r200a front diff. So it will be a little while before this is finished. Also need cv axles and probably a new rear driveshaft.



 
#273 ·
okay just let me know, ill probably just sell the whole axle and hubs together. i know the hubs can be pricy for the automatic, because they're not made anymore. plus i do have aftermarket torsion bars as well, by sway away.
 
#274 ·
Eric,

You said you were going to stay 2WD, what changed your mind? I do really wish the boss lady would have got transferred to Vegas, I would love to be able to help with this swap.
 
#275 ·
I was thinking about it. My big complaint about the truck is the lack of horsepower. If you are 2wd at the sand dunes you can get away with it as long as you have enough HP. If you are 4wd, you don't need nearly as much HP to climb the same dune.

Sean told me someone in town was selling their front end after a SAS, so I asked myself, which would be cheaper, adding a 100 HP, or converting it to 4wd?

After thinking about for a week or so I decided to give it a try. I am going for a full locked 4wd, front and rear, plus the front will be 5.14 gears like the back. If that won't climb a dune I don't know what will. :)

Plus Sean and Mike can show me some of their 4wd only trails, although I am NOT building a rock crawler. Even after all this, it is still a dune machine first. You won't see me grinding the bottom of my truck on some rock at Gone Moab any time soon. ::grin::
 
#277 ·
Excited to see the new project take off! Happy to lend a hand if you need it too : )
 
#281 ·
Everything is on hold until I get a 2nd car. Finding a transmission that isn't way overpriced turned out to be pretty hard. Once I get a 2nd vehicle to take me to work everyday I am going to start the 4wd conversion which I will do piece by piece to spread the cost out.

I know it sucks waiting but i'm in no hurry. The truck is alot of fun how it is now.
 
#285 ·
Air locker leak caused me to bust an axle (best guess) so I have one on order. Took everything apart tonight and discovered the bearing was destroyed by the broken axle. Got that on order. But the side cover of the ARB was damaged too. I emailed ARB usa to see if I can get that cover but a little research by me shows my locker is discontinued so we shall see.

I believe it is just roughed up on the surface and will still function fine but if I can get a new cover I will.

I also am trying to buy some REGULAR o-rings for my locker instead of those stupid X-rings I have now. I found a bearing shop in the UK that sells some so I ordered a 5 pack just to see.... 30 bucks.
 

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#295 ·
That is a GY6 150cc swap in a Honda zuma lower and stretched.
GY6 are super easy to soup up, my first transportation was a Chinese moped that I swap a 150cc did a 50cc cyc kit to make it a 200cc larger carb, cam, cdi, tuned the cvt, exhaust, light flywheel And kept it registered has a 50cc moped so I would not need a driver license.
Thing was scary has hell to drive, got it up to 65 and back out of it.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#294 ·
The real 'punisher' needs to get back in the action, too many impostors out there.

Hopefully you're on your feet (or axle) soon man.
 
#296 ·
Bearings are here, the axle got dropped off at the machine shop so they can swap it out for me. They are also going to try and clean up the ARB cover in hopes it can still be used otherwise I will have to get a new one. If all goes well it should be on the road again by this weekend.

The new o-rings won't be here until the end of the month so the locker will be a separate project. Right now I just need my truck back.
 
#297 ·
Case spreader is finished. I know what you are thinking. Clearly this is a store bought item! Don't feel bad about your own welding skills. It takes years of practice to become a master welder like me so don't feel bad for yourself. You'll get there.

 
#301 ·
I would have had it done this weekend if it wasn't for the axle being so weird. The Chilton manual explains everything until it gets to removing the axle from the drum and then it just says - "take it to a machine shop".. no joke it really says that.
 
#303 ·
Had a slight delay because the machine shop didn't pull off the old bearing race from the arb cover like I asked them to. the race was on there so tight I broke a 3 jaw puller trying to get it off. All that got straightened out today and the diff is back in. Axles are back in. All that is left to do is re-install the brakes, bleed them, clean and instal the diff cover, fill with fluid and give it a try.

I tested the locker. It's working about as good as it was before. The way I got the damn collar over the rings was to use 4 feeler gauges between the collar and the rings, pushed the collar over and pulled out the feelers. When the new round type rings come in I will pull it all apart and hopefully get my locker back to 100%.

 
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