NitroRoo
Member
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2011
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
Hey guys!
An unexpected job change (read: layoff) brought me and the family over to the Charlotte area from Texas back in May, and I sold my car to help fund the move.
Soon thereafter I was needing a new set of wheels, and the budget was tight. My wife stumbled across this little guy on Craigslist one day:
..and $800 later I brought it home! Think I got a pretty good deal on it... It's a '91 Suzuki Sidekick with a 5 speed - unknown miles since it was towed behind an rv for a lot of its life. ODO is showing 80k on it now. Doesn't leak any oil, has used about 1/2 a quart in 3k miles which isn't bad. The guy I bought it from messed with the wiring a bit. Supposedly he replaced the throttle position sensor because it wasn't running, or wasn't running right. I seem to be getting around 22 mpg, up to 26 on a hwy trip. Oh yeah - fuel gauge doesn't work either.
Already taken it camping a couple times. Fits the 4 of us and all our gear pretty well:
So, after using it for a couple months in stock form (and getting back on our feet after the move), I'm ready to start the modding. Honestly I wasn't sure if it would be worth putting much money into, since I bought it so cheap. But this happened recently and changed my mind:
Oh and I'm no stranger to these situations either... Here's our Land Rover stuck in Florida:
Luckily I was able to find help relatively quickly both times... First things first I'm getting a hitch and a utility trailer (gotta have something to haul the dirt bikes again!). I'm probably going to go with the Trail Tough bumper/hitch combo:
After that I'd really like to do a suspension lift and mount up some good meaty tires. Also think I'm ready for a winch (my wife agrees!). I think the trail tough front bumper looks pretty good too (and it's not too pricey).
Anyway, as this Suzuki thing is new to me, I'm all ears when it comes to suggestions. I'm still learning a lot when it comes to mechanics - I'd say I'm average. I want it to stay road trip worthy for camping trips to the mountains, etc - but I also want it to be fairly capable off road.
Mostly I just wanted to say hi, hope to maybe go wheeling with some of you guys in the future!
An unexpected job change (read: layoff) brought me and the family over to the Charlotte area from Texas back in May, and I sold my car to help fund the move.
Soon thereafter I was needing a new set of wheels, and the budget was tight. My wife stumbled across this little guy on Craigslist one day:
..and $800 later I brought it home! Think I got a pretty good deal on it... It's a '91 Suzuki Sidekick with a 5 speed - unknown miles since it was towed behind an rv for a lot of its life. ODO is showing 80k on it now. Doesn't leak any oil, has used about 1/2 a quart in 3k miles which isn't bad. The guy I bought it from messed with the wiring a bit. Supposedly he replaced the throttle position sensor because it wasn't running, or wasn't running right. I seem to be getting around 22 mpg, up to 26 on a hwy trip. Oh yeah - fuel gauge doesn't work either.
Already taken it camping a couple times. Fits the 4 of us and all our gear pretty well:
So, after using it for a couple months in stock form (and getting back on our feet after the move), I'm ready to start the modding. Honestly I wasn't sure if it would be worth putting much money into, since I bought it so cheap. But this happened recently and changed my mind:
Oh and I'm no stranger to these situations either... Here's our Land Rover stuck in Florida:
Luckily I was able to find help relatively quickly both times... First things first I'm getting a hitch and a utility trailer (gotta have something to haul the dirt bikes again!). I'm probably going to go with the Trail Tough bumper/hitch combo:
After that I'd really like to do a suspension lift and mount up some good meaty tires. Also think I'm ready for a winch (my wife agrees!). I think the trail tough front bumper looks pretty good too (and it's not too pricey).
Anyway, as this Suzuki thing is new to me, I'm all ears when it comes to suggestions. I'm still learning a lot when it comes to mechanics - I'd say I'm average. I want it to stay road trip worthy for camping trips to the mountains, etc - but I also want it to be fairly capable off road.
Mostly I just wanted to say hi, hope to maybe go wheeling with some of you guys in the future!
. I'm actually going to pick up a set of used goodyear a/t's today from another member on here. They are 235/75-15's - which I believe is about as big as you can go without a lift. They are cheap and will hold me over 'til I can lift it and fit 30 or 31" tires.
