This month’s pinch question-answerer is Keith Sawyer of Nfamus Air Suspension in Mansfield, Texas. Check out the work his shop puts out at nfamusairsuspension.com. OK, you’re up Keith!
Dudes,
First and foremost, thanks for your expert advice and dedication to the minitruckin’ lifestyle. I’ve got an ’03 S-10 pickup with the windows rolled all the way up. At what angle degrees should the window cranks be at? Like at factory settings. Like usually everybody’s are different on either side. Thanks for your help.
Sam Burrell Jr.
Elyria, Ohio
| 1110mt 05 Electric Life Power Windows Lock And Roll Window Crank Bracket
Sam,
After conning an older gentleman to let me use my degree finder on his basically untouched truck, I got a measurement of 45 degrees with the knobs pointed towards the dash. The other alternative for making the cranks match each other is narrowing down what type of driver you are. Do you cruise with the windows down or the window up? After you decide what driver you are, pop the window cranks off and reinsert them so that they clear your knee while cruising around.
Dear Mini Truckin’
I purchased an ’03 S-10 Xtreme in February, and it’s my daily driver right now but I am looking to parking it and doing some major work both cosmetically and performance wise. I would like to replace the 4.3L with a new Camaro V-6 that comes stock with 302 hp. I would also like to use the six-speed tranny and then possibly change the rearend so that it would have independent suspension just like the car. Is there a kit, and how hard would all of this be to accomplish? Next, I’d replace the cab and bed to a four-door crew cab off of a 4WD S-10. I wanna swap it out and keep the low stance and performance. Any help and information would be great. Thank you.
Jody D
Jody,
The caliber of a project you’re speaking of is going to require a lot of time and fabrication skill as well. First, start with the motor and transmission. I believe you’re talking about adding a newer LS engine out of the more current vehicles such as Camaros, and the ½-ton trucks. There are multiple sites that offer parts to make installing the motor a little easier. One site you can look into is s10v8.com/store/home. Here, they offer brackets to adapt the motor to your engine crossmember. To my knowledge, I don’t know of any kits that will help you bolt this part on. This is where you have to break out your fab tools and start cutting and welding. I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience with fabrication. But if you’re feeling a little adventurous and think you’re up for the job, be sure to measure, measure, MEASURE! Build yourself a small frame table or fixture of some sort to hold everything square when you’re cutting out the old stuff to make way for the new IRS suspension. Once you set the new suspension, be sure to keep measuring a top priority. Make sure the IRS unit is installed square and at your perfect ride height. In the past other guys have done the cab idea, and it’s also a pretty big job in itself. Listen, we could go all day on things you need to do and ways you can prepare for such a big install. Just be sure to do plenty of research diving in. Also check out s10forum.com. for more insight.
Hey MT Staff,
I am in need of your opinion and help. I have a Tacoma with ’bags, and I popped a front ’bag and cannot find 4-inch diameter replacements. I bought the ones I had from some guy on Ebay that seemed to be for a Tacoma but were way too big and those were 6-inch ’bags. Long story short, I need a small ’bag. Any suggestions?
Juan C Arguelles
Via Facebook
Man, it sounds to me like you need to take a look at Slam Specialties. Look at the RE5.’bag specifically. Basically, it’s a 5-inch diameter ’bag specifically designed for customers like yourself. These ’bags are great for minitrucks that are tight on space in the front suspension area. But when installing any bag you need to always make sure the ’bag has at least an inch or so of clearance all the way around it. If you don’t have that kind of clearance then you need to break out what we in Texas call the gas hatchet (cutting torch) or you can stick to the basics with a cutoff wheel and some grinding wheels to make room for the ’bag. Once you cut and remove what’s rubbing the ’bag, try to plate the frame back in for the needed support to hold the motor and frame together. Keeping the front frame strong is always a must!
to submit a question, email: mini.truckin@sorc.com
