Ok so I have had my girl since 04( bought her from Car Max with 38k miles) and finally i am able to throw some money at her. Thanks to all of the build threads that have come before me I already have saved a ton of cash by finding out all the "upgrades" i wanted are a waste of money. I have done a few basics how ever.
Sheila now has 140k or there about miles on her so at around 100k i started using synthetic oil.
I also have a k&n rechargeable filter in the stock air box.
After market stereo and speakers. ( cuz who in there right mind keeps the factory stereo).
Flow Master 40 series muffler.
Believe it or not i still have the brakes she came with. Thats 100k on pads and rotors. They still have a ton of meat on em too.
After market keyless entry and alarm. ( Truck came with no power options)
Silver Star head lights.
Clear front signal lenses and amber lights.

I have built a custom tool box for the cargo area to keep my tools and stuff from bouncing around. Although it takes up a bit of room (especially in the small 2dr) it works fine for me because its just my fiance, my dog and myself.

The HALO collage is thanks to my fiance who knows im a huge geek and did that for me.

Got everything i could need in an emergency in there with anti slide grip crap on the bottom.
Heavy duty shackle type handles to lift out the box on each side if need be. and Snow chains in the ammo box on the right.

Have a posterboard display from Transformers dark of the moon as a geeky barrier between the box and spare tire to keeep it from rubbing. Also my foldable shovel under the spare tire.

I can pull the spare tire out with out any hassle at all even with the tool box strapped down. The box with all the tools weighs about 80lbs. but even so If i hit a dipped intersection it can catch air so i used 2 wratching tie downs to hold it down and i have a hook and eye to keep it closed.

I love my girl not to say she hasn't been trouble from time to time. ( like any woman she smells when you have extra money) I neglected an overheating problem i had a few years back and i paid for it. When all was said and done i was into it for a new radiator new water pump and engine flush. Heater core is still unusable.(bypassed it) Now it doesn't get as cold here in Southern Cali as it does for some of you guys but no heat is no heat. That problem is going to be rectified soon. Along with my A/c.

 

Ok so my next small project was eliminating the black hole or so called cd holder that is built into the center console.



I cut a thin piece sheet plywood to shape and used velcro to hold it in place.


I just got around to painting it. I had some black satin rattle can so i hit it with that. (seeing as how my interior is mostly tan but also black).



This is going to make a awesome place for any add ons that require a switch.
My first mission is to hook a door lock switch up and put it on there. (need help with that)
Details in another thread
https://blazerforum.com/forum/lighti...ks-help-83051/

But this will be a perfect place to also hook any additional exterior lights up to also. In that case i will probable find a more reliable way to secure the panel itself than velcro.

 

So thanks to the great thread started by Thogert https://blazerforum.com/forum/lighti...t-guide-80260/
i decided to start upgrading the lighting in Sheila over to leds. It was pretty easy to do overall and very cheap.
here are some before pics.




I started with the dome light pretty easy straight forward.

Then for the instrument cluster, Head light control and hvac controls i had to blow apart the dash.


Here are some of the bulbs.

Had some trouble with the instrument cluster.

Damn wiring harness did not wanna come off.
Also when i installed the leds not a single one worked.
After i cussed the crap outta it and my fiance giving them inspirational speeches. i figured out that the locking base provided by LED Lights, Bulbs & LED Lighting Accessories - SUPER BRIGHT LEDS made it so the contacts on the base would over rotate and miss the contact pads on the circuit board. So i rolled back a bit and hwala.


Any how this is how She looks now!

 

I do like how the leds turned out, and you tool box is a bit more refined than my milk crate solution lol. So whats your plans to make it a camping rig?

 

Thanks and good question.
As most of you guys know the 2dr lacks the cargo space needed for any kind of extended trip. I will be adding a roof mounted cargo rack. With some lights front and rear to help with set up or tear down of camp after dark. I will also be looking for a brush guard in the local junk yards( mostly for looks).

Also since Sheila is 4x2 there is not much off roading i can do so, some very mild trails and camping is all i can hope for. I will be adding a power inverter and either using the deleted ash tray that faces the rear seat on the center console or i saw rexmburns did a sweet one in the cargo area.
So Camping rig is more a term i would call it but it will be much better for road trips and such since thats where my road trips lead.

 

Your gauges look great. I wish could LED my entire interior so easily. Since I have that crappy automatic climate control all the bulbs are soldered in.

 

Thanks! I just finished fully converting my interior to leds looks great! Thanks Tajohns34

 

So ordered some speaker box carpet after getting an idea from rexmburns. Here is how it went.



I stared at it for about 10 min thinking about how i wanna do this



Turns out its very forgiving to do. almost done at this point.




Here it is all put back. I think it turned out awesome!

 

So I have been getting stir crazy at home so i asked pops if he knows anywhere that i can take my truck out to have some fun considering she is only 4x2. So we went about 40 min from the house to some old fire roads and forest maintenance roads and let her rip. Sorry no videos but here are some pics.




Took the Dog too he couldn't decide if he wanted to sit in the back or up front with dad.


The view from the top of the Trail. Santiago Peak.


For anyone that has an android phone try this app for tracking your offroad adventures (or any really) its free and called google tracks. it uses gps to track your movements and elevation showing you your distance traveled max speed and average speed along with a chart for elevation changes and speeds. here are some screen shots From this trip. (i turned it on once we reached to the top and forgot to shut it off when i hit paved roads but you get the idea)





Just goes to show you don't need 4x4 to have fun!