new winter beater

[wezeles]

picked this up about a month ago for gas millage and cheep 4x4 really... didnt think it would turn out to be fun at all lol

2000 chevy tracker 4x4 2 door convertable 5 speed...it had 70,000 miles in really good condition and had an optima battery in it, i just tossed a k&n filter and some 29 inch mud terrain tires on it they were a squeeze but fit fine on the stock suspension... future mods is a 2-3 inch suspension lift and maybe a 2 inch body lift to get some bigger meats on it... and exhaust for sure on it adds a good 25-30% power increase on this little thing its fine now little 2.0 motor is peppy with the 5 speed but a little more wouldnt hurt and the exhuast improves fuel economy so i have a good excuse..lol


tell me what you think guys, i know its small but i like it

[wezeles]

the wierd thing is how solid of a vehical it is its got a full boxed in ladder bar frame and 4.62 gears in the axles... only down side to that is in the winter i hear they tend to spin out on ice "better then flipping over like the previous generation lol" im planning on tossing in a limited slip in the rear and lockers in the front both of which will cost less then 200 bucks the suspension lift cost the same... its cheep and "real" 4x4 not a common thing these days in vehicals

[Formula Z]

not a bad winter beater at all

[DanO]

Not bad.. thats a pretty sweet winter beater!

but anyhow.. my 0.02 i'd stay away from the lift and big meats. You'll kill gas mileage and it may have 4.62's but they are very little ones.. and im sure the axles and brakes arent strong enough for the big tires. It can be done.. yes, but reliably.. prolly not.

It looks good as it is, i'd say

[JAdair]

Ohh and the pictures come out lol nice dude

[wezeles]

thats the thing though the upgrades for this thing are so cheep... i have no clue why the low end suspension "2" lift is only 135 bucks consist of only polyurathane spring spacers and strut extenders,and new shocks buts its not cheep by any means they actually are shapped to fit the first couple curves of the spring so they wont pop out and its said to improve the ride quality making it softer with or without new tires.
if i went all out with drop spindles, new springs sway bars double piston calipers its still only like 750 for the full kit for a 5 inch lift, i doubt i will go that far with it...

i picked these tires because it wasnt crazy big only 29's really but the stockers were 26's but with that gearing even with the .777 over drive i was pushing about 3,300 rpm doing 70 on the e-way its not much but it takes off a bit of the r's closer to 3,000 giving me a tad better gas millage it gets about 29 now it was averaging about 25 before, any bigger tire though and it will acctually start to hurt it being too big to push...
if anything i will probably just do a 2 inch suspesion lift to get a little better tire clearance im taking it out to the local bog tomorrow to see how well it will do in mud eaither way im happy for the price and what it has been able to do so far

[badinfluence]

my ex girlfriend had one of those...I always fantisized about fitting a chevy 350 into it...

But yea, the 4x4 helps alot with those things in the winter, she would spin out often with 2wd

[meissen]

Pretty nice! I need to figure out what I'm doing FAST because I really need a winter beater.

[BP_Z28]

gj.. wanna sell me it lol..I need a beater also... FAST!

[WMCC Dino]

only down side to that is in the winter i hear they tend to spin out on ice lol"

Doesn't everything tend to spin on ice??LOL Good lookin winter beater,only thing that would worry me is the top. Might be alittle cold in the winter,does it seal up good

[wezeles]

ya its a good design for a soft top...all tripple flap zippers and velcrow kinda a pain, they also make a hard top for it pretty cheep...

[JoeliusZ28]

does that thing have a solid front axle???

[phoenix_rising]

Sweet DD! Dave your still alive!!! Where have you been man???

[wezeles]

no its solid rear independant front but a good setup beefier than needed parts... i took it out to a local bog meet up though and it did some damage for a little thing, ill toss up some pics when they post them on there forum... i had water over the hood and the thing still plowed through just about anything in 4Low and 2nd gear, no one was really going at it till i started... i think i made them feel bad with there big lifted trucks still clean..lol

[ITSSLOW]

Cool! Sure beats my Grand Marquis in the snow!