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Long intro.

1K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  yellowbug 
#1 ·
I'll post some pictures later today or sometime tomorrow...


I've had my '04 since my dad and I traded in the '89 blazer I bought from my brother and he paid for the rest of it when I was a junior in high school. I had a job detailing cars the summer before and was really good at it, so needless to say it was still a great stock ride (other than stereo, learned to upgrade that on the blazer and did so on the x as soon as I could afford to) while I had my parents money to pay for supplies to detail it. Lol, then I moved out in a fuss and basically quit caring due to lack of funds. I drive a rollback for my dad now, and I make enough that it's high time I get to work getting everything I can out of this thing. Well, I have started actually, but I just kind of try to figure things out as they happen, which I have already figured out can be very dangerous/expensive. Whatever... the only 4x4 shop here is a bunch of douches, so I'm not going to work there. I have plans to have my own shop, but I can't wait until then to start working on the x. I got my grandmother's '88 camry that had been sitting in her yard for over a year and used the wheel lift on my rollback to put it on blocks and do my first ever real maintenance on a car (by myself.) Got the battery charged and all of the fluids handled and she's still kicking so I've got something to drive while the x sits on blocks for a while.

I put the xterra up on some concrete blocks with a wood block on top and started trying to get the exhaust manifold off on Friday... so I'm sure you know I'm dirty, frustrated, tired, sick of going to buy tools, and I have bumps/cuts all over me. I plan to get that finished today and then start working on getting my Doug Thorley long tubes on there. Questions so far: a lot. I'll look around and see if I can't get things figured out when the time comes to buy more parts and get everything down there put back together.

Stage 1: (Working on it. I'll be done in a few weeks-months.)
Fenders
Headers-back exhaust
Headlights
Corner Lights
Grille
Bumper
Washer Fluid Tank
Volant CAI
Airaid TBS

Many future mods to come. This may take years.

Parts yet to order: (most I have yet to consider-ADVICE AND EXPERIENCE PLEASE)
02 sensors if needed
Suspension lift kit $1029.95 Part # NP12500 purenissan.com
Body lift kit?
Calmini steering system- $599.99 part # NP12450
Calmini sway bar disconnects $89.95 part # NP12520
Sick muffler
Two catalytic converters
Wheel Spacers
Sick Headlights
'01 xterra style blinker
Sick lights everywhere else
Roof Rack
Ladder
Rear Passenger Trim Piece (Current is damaged.)
Tires
Wheels?
Rear tire hang bumper
Air Compressor/Tank
Winch
Some sort of toolbox somewhere probably.

Raw Materials/non automotive store parts:

Piss Tube
2-1/4" Exhaust Pipe
?" tubing and/or plate steel for bumper
honeycomb grille mesh
(found a place to get a sheet for $90 or so, but I really don't want a whole sheet.)
Washer Fluid Container
(just going to use any old thing to save $. the rear window pump is already not working... will fix or replace.)

Outsource Work:
Possibly cut, definetly shape fenders
Headliner
Replace driver door panel







TLDR: I finally decided to stop paying for school myself and get some loans, and I'm about to pay and work my way to a pretty sick xterra.



Someone hmu if you have done a header install yourself, I've got a few things I'd rather ask someone with experience than learn the hard way.
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to the club! :biggrin:

Tired of going to the store to buy more tools, lol oh man do I know that one.

Have you already got the parts for your stage 1 stuff? I've seen people around here have issues with the DT headers if they haven't got a body lift as far as extending the sensor wires to reach.

There's a lot to comment on with your post lol. I'll just say it looks like you've got a really good idea of where your X is going. That suspension lift kit is really complete which is awesome, and a body lift is really up to you as you can fit bigger tires on the X with it, but raising the center of gravity might make things a little unstable in certain situations.

As far as some of the stuff you have listed under "outsource work" there is a really good DIY around here on the headliner that people have used to get really creative with it. And the door panel too is actually a pretty easy thing to do if you pick up one in good shape from a junk yard.

One soap box item I will get on real quick, if you can pay some for school while you're in it, do it. My student loans are the only reason I didn't start my own business and do so many awesome things years ago. The Fin-aid people said, "sign here" and now I'm stuck making a mortgage payment without a house to show for it for the next fifteen years still... Having school paid for is the best way to start the rest of your life.

Good luck on your X, and be sure and look around; there is some awesome information on help and all sorts of mods in these pages. :biggrin:
 
#4 ·
All I have is the headers, CAI, and TBS. I'm debating disabling EGR while i'm already working on the exhaust... I know plenty of people who have done stuff like that here and not had any problems with the police or anything. I need to get in touch with some folks that have already done it before I feel comfortable enough to do it myself... I'm scared of codes and check engine lights and stuff... all new to me. I know I want to send my CPU to 4x4parts.com or somewhere to have it tuned for all of my mods once I get everything performance related installed. Stage two is probably going to start with the body lift if I decide to do it so I can have it sitting right when I fabricate the bumper. The outsource work is going to a body shop that the towing company my Dad co-owns (it's me, my dad, his partner, and my mom on the books. That's the company.) shares an office with, so I'll be getting it done for a price that's worth it to me to save the trouble of doing it myself. I have already paid off my first student loan that I got, and I paid for the next semester out of pocket. Tomorrow I go to school and talk to the advisor about how long my credits last... I was going to try to get a pelgrant this semester since I have finally gotten a year of independently filed taxes under my belt. Unfortunately and ridiculously, that doesn't mean a thing to the people that decide if I get money from the government to go to school unless I'm 24. I still have to apply for financial aid under their taxes. I shat many bricks over that one. So I might just wait until I'm 24 to get back into school, if not I'm going to either have to stop everything with the x (not going to happen) or get loans. They will be paid off VERY quickly though. (Community college. Cheap.)



Lol I didn't even sleep last night, I was on call with Auburn Police for wrecks last week (during GA game) and then had to do a ton of HW/clean the office (second job) last night/this morning. The phone rang as I started this thread this morning and I just got home from driving all around Lee County and Georgia today. I'm on call with Opelika this week and have a test/speech to do. So uh.... not really sure when I'll have time to finish installing the headers, but it'll get done. I'm a busy young man.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Some pictures of what I've got going on at the moment. I only had enough time today to get my tools and floormats out from under the car and get them dry... they got just a little wet during the rain yesterday. I'm currently at school about to start studying for my calc test now, and I've got to finish a barely even started speech in time for my 8:00 class in the morning. It's going to take everything in me to get home from class tonight and write that speech rather than going out and finishing getting those headers put on. Oh priorities...




 
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