MedigoFlame
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- 6,213
- Maine
- MedigoFlameX
Figured I'd make a new thread to document my progress with another childhood "dream" car that I recently purchased. Been obsessed with the VehiCross longer than I can remember and found myself wanting a second fun car. As much as I enjoy my daily driver 2018 Lexus GS350 F-Sport, I figured I'd get something different to it. I'll admit I am not a track driver with how few accessible race tracks there are locally, other than the local autocross. But I always found myself intrigued with off-roaders and wanted something I could take down a logging trail without worry. I've only owned one SUV, which was more of a winter beater than a dedicated fun vehicle, a 2001 Jeep Cherokee 60th Anniversary Edition. Despite my short time with it, I felt a want for an SUV after selling it. Not a huge SUV/truck person, but there's a few that I'd want to own, with the VehiCross being rather high up the list. Sorry about the rambling, but here it is! My 2001 Isuzu VehiCROSS in Proton Yellow with little to no modifications. This particular one was the exact color I wanted and with no major off-road modifications, which sadly seems to be the common issue. Either turned into a rock crawler, winter beater, or mud slinger.
Acquired on August 18th, 2022. Purchased from Illinois and had it shipped to Maine for $989.
Arrived in Maine the next day on August 19th, 2022. The previous owner was...quite the sports fan and had a lot of stickers all over it.
First thing done was removing most of the stickers, apart from the ones on the paint that required a heat gun later on.
The dealership the previous owner had bought it from had painted over the cladding to refresh the commonly faded plastic. But most of it was starting to flake off and I couldn't help but notice that the Isuzu emblem itself was painted over. Scraped off the black paint to bring back the chrome.
Before:
After:
Got it registered and figured I'd dig through and see what it'd need to pass the state inspection. Unfortunately required for vehicles under 25 years old, but it's nice to make sure it's safe for the roads. Turns out, it wasn't with quite a few things to address in terms of the inspection.
Ordered some new Falken Wildpeak A/T tires to replace the dry rotted BFGs. Much meatier, but unfortunately there was damage from the previous owner's neighbor who backed into the front, so it'd rub while turning right. As I found out, that caused the radiator to leak and didn't realize it until I drove it 10 miles home to find my temp gauge almost maxed out.
Old dry rotted tires:
New Falken tires next to the old BFGs.
Before with the old tires:
After with the new tires:
Had the rear cladding off to try and access the plate lights, but they were beyond my basic tools.
First drive home and....I barely made it before overheating.
So I had to get it towed back to my work where I originally had it. But with how busy the techs are, I ended up towing it a second time (or third if you count shipping) to a friend's shop about 40 minutes north. Hoping he'd have more time to help with several things such as the radiator, plate lights, axle, etc.
Unlike my previous threads, I hope to ACTUALLY keep this one updated. Hope you guys enjoy as this was something I had always wanted, deciding that I may as well try to enjoy things while I can.
Acquired on August 18th, 2022. Purchased from Illinois and had it shipped to Maine for $989.
Arrived in Maine the next day on August 19th, 2022. The previous owner was...quite the sports fan and had a lot of stickers all over it.
First thing done was removing most of the stickers, apart from the ones on the paint that required a heat gun later on.
The dealership the previous owner had bought it from had painted over the cladding to refresh the commonly faded plastic. But most of it was starting to flake off and I couldn't help but notice that the Isuzu emblem itself was painted over. Scraped off the black paint to bring back the chrome.
Before:
After:
Got it registered and figured I'd dig through and see what it'd need to pass the state inspection. Unfortunately required for vehicles under 25 years old, but it's nice to make sure it's safe for the roads. Turns out, it wasn't with quite a few things to address in terms of the inspection.
- License plate lights were dead, hopefully just the bulbs needing replacing, but the lens covers were stuck with extremely rusted screws.
- The tires were dry rotted.
- The CV axle boot was torn on both sides.
- Power steering leak.
- Valve cover gasket oil leak.
Ordered some new Falken Wildpeak A/T tires to replace the dry rotted BFGs. Much meatier, but unfortunately there was damage from the previous owner's neighbor who backed into the front, so it'd rub while turning right. As I found out, that caused the radiator to leak and didn't realize it until I drove it 10 miles home to find my temp gauge almost maxed out.
Old dry rotted tires:
New Falken tires next to the old BFGs.
Before with the old tires:
After with the new tires:
Had the rear cladding off to try and access the plate lights, but they were beyond my basic tools.
First drive home and....I barely made it before overheating.
So I had to get it towed back to my work where I originally had it. But with how busy the techs are, I ended up towing it a second time (or third if you count shipping) to a friend's shop about 40 minutes north. Hoping he'd have more time to help with several things such as the radiator, plate lights, axle, etc.
Unlike my previous threads, I hope to ACTUALLY keep this one updated. Hope you guys enjoy as this was something I had always wanted, deciding that I may as well try to enjoy things while I can.
Wish I got a photo of it in or around the rally stage off road with the mud coverage, but felt exhausted and kind of wanted to get home.
