Bradzuzu's 2000 Amigo rebuild...

[bradzuzu]

So long ago I started out with my 91 amigo built it up, loved it to death, and for my family traded it to my friend along with my boat for his toy hauler. Good score for the most part , if you like dry rot repair.... Around the same time a good friend of mine was loosing his house. He had bought a brand new 2000 amigo for his wife (she had always wanted one) after doing a few mods here and there, say a years time of them enjoying it. She was ran off the road into a concrete barrier smashing the whole right front side. Her dreams where crushed !!! They bought it back from the insurance co. figuring on fixing it. Dreams and plans withered, time went by... 4-1/2 years infact !!! Left to rest in a field waiting...
It just so happened that he really wanted a Manx buggy and I just happen to have one !!
Dongle trade commenced and I was the proud owner of a totaled 2000 amigo with 32,000 miles on it. What more could anyone ask for !!! Flat tires and and bein stuck in the dirt are a real bad mix !!! Got it loaded on the trailer and back to my shop/work to begin inspection. At this point I had no idea if the engine block itself was broke/cracked. Winter and the accident two bad combo's !!!
One thing the battery tray was practically imbedded in the right valve cover. I chained my company bobcat to the hitch and grabbed a trackhoe to start pullin. Valve cover had chunks busted
Out of it some fell in.... Bad start !! But the hood was down and no aparent water damage had taken place. A good note the engine looked fine even though the motor mount was smashed into the frame no breakage. My friend also in the trade gave my another 99 amigo (parts rig) running and driving vehicle that had been put on it's side ... And last but not least a frame from a 99 Honda passport with a stripped but good body. Guy had parts let me tell ya lol. He knew I would get the fire and do something with all this stuff... So after pulling and unbending the mess I wanted to atleast hear the engine run, before going any further. After a few attempts of a no go, I started lookin deeper. Ahhh !!! Cut wires going to the crank sensor ... Bam she fired up and purred.




So trying to figure out the best grand scheem of things I started pulling the 99 apart first. I needed a good chassy to roll on. Oh course my buddy just had to take that one to the coast for a beating and bent the frame on it to. Somewhat easy fix after pulling the body and power train. Good ole bottle jack/plate steel and a welder. Now that that was ready ,I pulled it out to bring in my 00 to begin final inspection and prep for assembly .... So I thought !!! In the process of getting the 00 running ,crappy rusty water was leaking out from underneath ???

After removing the other body this one went a little quicker.
Back to the engine and the rusty water... While pulling the body I removed the clutch slave soaked with water and rusty as hell ... Now what !!! With the engine sittin on the floor I separated motor and trany, not to my surprise but sadly full of water ,rusty nasty mess.... Clutch WAS brand-new !!!
I cleaned up the bell housing / flywheel and back of the engine, lucked out. New clutch and that part was done.

[bradzuzu]

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i46 ... 9f7326.jpg
This should show a better pic of the over all damage ....I ended up needing both valve covers. The driverside got a hole punched in it from a bolt sticking out of the firewall. That and number 6 coil was destroyed. Having the patience to wait for valve covers over came me, so I proceeded with putting the body on.

I cut the front core out of the doner passport body and fit that onto my inner fenders using the mounts for support and my jig. For the most part all the spot welds matched up and it went on pritty good. Finally the valve covers showed up in the mail !!! While in the middle of removing the old ones, I was really wishing I would have waited to put the dam body on lol. A couple of more days later I was pleased to receive the last piece of the puzzle my coil. When I initially put it together I used the 99 front grill/lights and bumper. I was also under pressure to get it done so I could trade off my 91.


Not something I was all together excited to see go...but a new project that I hadn't even driven yet
Was calling me !!!! So I put insurance on it got that excited feeling and drove it home for the night. Finally had it put together enough to drive. The rack and pinion is really nice handling by the way. My kids where in love !!! Daddy had another amigo....



This is my buggy I traded my buddy....
Now that everything seemed good and the new amigo was becoming dependable, I was getting the itch to use the 44 front axle that also came with the trade... Next was to pull the old bent up frame back into the shop and start cutting. I wasn't sure if the back half of the frame was bent or not. I didn't want to rebuild anything that was cursed !!

After much thought and thero inspections, I decided to cut the front off of the amigo frame. I cut the front off of the passport frame leaving an excess of 10" 's so I'd have some working room.
Nice thing about these frames is they have a box frame with a seam. I cut the two halves opposite and double and triple checked to make sure they where the same. They locked together quite well and with some clamps my welder and a tape measure I had the 2000 frame repaired.
Next was to figure out how to do a four link and clear the exauhst, oil pan and frame. From repairing the 99 frame I was driving on ,I figured plating the front rails frame rails crumple zone was my first exercise. I cut all the mounts and usable pieces off the back half of the passport frame in preparation of the four link.

I slowly plugged away at the new frame, mounting all the supports and making sure they would be strong enough to take the punishment of off roading. I got a steering box out of a first gen down at a wrecking yard and put bosses into the frame and mounted it up.



I think I used the cooler tube from the first gen just had to reform it a bit. As for the supply/pressure side I used a hydraulic compression fitting to connect to the factory tube.
All in all it looked good and looked factory for the most part. I still didn't know how it was going to clear the body once it was on lol (fingers crossed) !!

[bradzuzu]

Well it was finally ready for the body and power train. I went to a specialty/hydraulic shop for my conversion brake lines and fittings. I ended up going back three times to get everything correct. They screwed up a couple times (not happy) at this point. I set a goal of just how fast I could do the swap, yet again. One more time pulling the bumpers/body and engine. The 99 running gear was 4:10's easier to match to the 44 front axle. So also I would be changing out the rear axle along with shocks and coils. On Monday I was all jonesin to get on it, so I pulled it in and went to work, Bumpers - e brake cables - gastank filler - plug on the bottom for the rear wiring- body bolts - ac lines - heater hoses - and radiator... Having a sun roof is perfect for lifting !!! I pulled the body up an rolled it forward and set it down on saw horses. Next was to pull the drivelines/motor and trany !!! Big explosion of parts at this point... I rolled the 99 chassy out from under the engine/ trans, and rolled the new chassy back in. At this point I was pritty excited and happy it was coming together !! I set the engine down in it new modified frame/chassy. The day was about over I think I had time to throw the rear driveline in and get !!!

Tuesday morning-- I'm refreshed and ready for more !!! I finished bolting in the drive lines and engine and fuel lines. I plated the cross member to the trany so I had to refit the fuel lines. The front driveline actually worked I just had to pull the front flange, and put the u joint into the yoke... Time for the body to go back on. Oh Ya !!! Everything went back together and cleared steering box wise. Mainly all that was left was to build the steering shaft,the first gen shaft inserted perfectly into the late model. Somehow I turned the steering colum all the way one direction, in turn destroying the connection for the horn wiring. Lucky for me I had a second chance with my parts rig. That came later !!! Co worker showed up and helped out with the radiator and heater lines. Everything else was reconnected / attached. Time to fire it up !!!

The brakes still had to be bled but that was about it. I was concerned that the abs would give me issuses being as though just one sensor remained (the rear) it was spongie for a bit, even with all the air out if the system. One fricken new fitting was seeping !!!! Got that fixed and it was time to test drive.... The steering felt good ,a little stiff but I atributed that to the front ball joints being old and overly tight. I drove it home that night !!! Awesome but scary , I had a few misdemeanors/bugs to work out. For starters the toy drop pitman arm I had left over from my 91 project popped the splines when I tested the suspension after getting back to my work the following morning. Talk about scary ----!!! I had to man handle the tires to steer it into my shop. Way not happy about that !!! I took the old isuzu pitman arm cut it and made my own custom one. It's not like you can get one anywhere ??? I ran two bolts through both pieces just for peace of mind.... I also had to re-adjust the lower link arms, bring the pinion down and increase the camber. Future project will be to cut and rotate the knuckles so I can re-adjust the pinion angle. Input a modified Toyota front driveline in with the zu front section welded to it. Still could use a better angle but it works really good. I did the same set up on my 91, cut and rotated the knuckles only difference is it had a toy axle in it mounted on leafs. Another project for another day !!




This is how it looks now .... Still needs paint, but it has turned out to be a really good project/vehicle. The D44 brakes have plenty of stopping power along with the rear amigo brakes !! No complaints there ....
I've re-adjusted the ride height a couple times now. I'm using jeep front coils front and rear in the amigo...

[psguardian]

Man you weren't kidding, that was a lot or writing lol. One hell of a work out too.
I've got to see that thing on the trails. Time to heft myself in gear lol.

~psguardian

[bradzuzu]

Thanks Guardian!!! It was a project alwright lol, but a successful one...


My storie is as follows.. My buddy bought it brand new for his wife and after a year or two of ownership she wrecked it, destroying the frame and right front corner.. After sitting for 4-1/2 years in a field he was forced to move and asked me if I would trade him my Manx buggy for it.. RIGHT !!! I thought to myself.. So I went and checked it out for mold growth on the inside, wasn't bad so I trailered it to my shop.. Just to get a look into the engine, I had to chain it to the bobcat and pull the front out with a trackhoe... From there I could start to see the damage.. Right front valve cover destroyed... Left rear coil, completely smashed.. Front core,hood, and fender was garbaged.. Next I put a jack stand under the right pillar area and pulled forward and down to straighten the frame and inner fender well.. At this point the front of the frame tore off, and the core support was roughly 3" higher than the other side ...

Along with the trade was another 99 amigo that had been put on its side, ran and drive fine.. Motor was his though..
I pulled that one into the shop and removed the body, followed by the engine and trans.. He had bent the right front of that frame playing down at the coast... So with a bottle jack pushed it out and plated the frame... So that part was ready..

Next I pulled my mangled mess of an amigo into the shop (hardly rolled) , removed its body and stuck it on my trailer so it was out of the way.. In the process of getting it started rusty water seeped out of the bell housing, so uppin removal of the engine and tranny, I split them apart on the floor to find a big rusty slury of a clutch and throw out bearing... I was able to clean the flywheel up and save it..
The right motor mount was bent up against the block, motor mount itself was toast !!
The left valve cover ended up cracked in the back from slamming a bolt on the firewall... So I e bayed the valve covers and a coil.. The clutch so far was the most expense $345 bucks E bay parts $100 I think...
At that point a dropped the engine/trans into the new frame , transferred the tires and wheels.. Next was dropping the body back onto the new/used chassi that needed repair in itself..
Another unmentioned chunk/deal of the trade was a stripped Honda passport body and frame (body cut in half by buddy)

The core support was perfect so I drilled out the spot welds and carefully removed it.. It matched up really good on the amigo body and installed with a spot weld at the previously drilled spot welds.. So the silver hood and fender came off the 99 amigo , and the black fender came off of the passport, hence my multicolored beast...
Prity much once it was put together I put it on the road and have been modifying it from there..
Other surprises where removing the rear speaker grills and getting a strong stench of mouse pee, followed by rubber gloves and digging out a nest .... The frame rebuild is a whole nother storie..

[bradzuzu]

Finally got some decent pics of the front bumper...




The back is still not so easy.

[93 Blue Rodeo]

Wow that is wicked

I used to have a 69 VW manx with a 72 super beetle engine with dual carbs, same blue color as your old one!
I've always wanted another one but no extra time to tinker around much anymore!

I love the build with Amigo, I'm jealous you have the tools and skill to weld etc!
Keep it going!
My 93 is pretty much rust free and was always indoors, best $1000 I have spent, cause my real passion in my sportbike on the track!!

Cheers

[bradzuzu]

Thanks man !!! It's cool you had a Manx !! I keep hearing everyones horror stories of rust and salt roads. I'm so glad they dont do that here !! I really enjoy the challenge and reward of building stuff. Buy a welder and start playin I bet you would have a blast !!!

[shooter]

That is one cool build. Amigos are my favorite Isuzu. Nice work.

[93 Blue Rodeo]

I don't 4 wheel enough to warrant a welder but maybe one day!

I have had Rodeo with pre runner Calmini lift for 2 years and replaced most bushings and cranked torsion bars etc.
But haven't really put it through its paces yet!
I have to head up north tomorrow so maybe I'll get a chance to hit some trails with the new tires and see how they grip!

Cheers

[bradzuzu]

Thanks Shooter !!! It was a big jump and a big unknown at the beginning. Still a bundle of wires and crap !!!
I hope you have fun Blue !!!

I miss my 91 amigo it was a fun project probly gave plenty of blood on that sucker lol...

[bradzuzu]

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i46 ... a7b927.mp4

I was having fun the other day and did a quick video if jumping lol

[bradzuzu]

This is the front toy/zu driveline .... I pulled off the front flange and it's a direct fit to the 44 front axle yoke.
The original driveline did fit and work but the travel as very limited !!

[bradzuzu]

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i46 ... d5d75e.jpg

I did a little haulin today with my big trailer. Got that lowrider feeling a bit
It pulled really nice !!! I don't think I'd be towing a car with her but the brakes where more than enough to stop with. If you notice that mudpuddle, it was all mine !!! Yep forded the thing

[littlegray]

That's a big trailer for your little Amigo!

[Selahdoor]

So, when you going to paint that cute little thing, pink ?



You should paint it pink, then put big sharp teeth on the front, and flames on the back.

Amigo beast !

[RamAirZ]

Truck looks great Brad! I'm still looking for a 44 or Toy front axle for my Passport. Love the way you did the coil/link setup on the front. Are those stock Jeep coil buckets up front? What size tires are you running btw?

[bradzuzu]

All the parts I used are isuzu rear stuff except for the coils... Can't have to much jeep in her that trailer is over 16' long and on the verge of being illegally over width. It looks funny to see my amigo hitched up to it.
Seledor...lol I think you watch that BBC America car show where they're always playin pranks on each other .... All I can say is your lucky you don't live closer to me ... Although the movie pritty in pink is kind of sexy !!!!

[RamAirZ]

Gotcha, cool deal. I had considered chopping the mounts off a wrecked coil'd Jeep, would be fairly simple and give you good spring/coil-over options.

[bradzuzu]

Ya that would be a good way to go to. Not sure how the top mounts would work or cut out ???
Being unibody I wonder ??? Maybe someone should do a little repor-- Ramairz



I thought I had put this pic in here!! The jeep coil (just a Cherokee) is on the left , compared to my amigo and rodeo coil's.






This was the last mod that I did a post on... I put a 92 automatic trooper t case gear set into my late model. It's nice going from the 2:01:1 to 2:66:1 I can tell a big difference.
Must test.....

[RamAirZ]

Ya that would be a good way to go to. Not sure how the top mounts would work or cut out ???
Being unibody I wonder ??? Maybe someone should do a little repor-- Ramairz

I was talking about a Wrangler coil setup



Taking that bucket assembly off and putting on our frame

[bradzuzu]

Well slap me and call me patty lol that would be slick !!! That pic sure has alot of pieces hangin down lol.... What are you thinkin for mounts on the axle ??

[RamAirZ]

I could chop the coil mounts off or run some of the stuff from ballistic fab:

[bradzuzu]

How do those lock in ??? Do they utilize the center hole ??

[RamAirZ]

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Coi ... _1179.html