My sons 98 kicker

[Ole-Boy]

I bought this for my sons first vehicle (not even in drivers education yet)...lol. It's immaculate inside, great interior, 2wd, 5sp, 1.6. The top has seen better days and will be replaced by a white hardtop very soon.

Speaking of hardtop, I am going to British Columbia, Canada to get a matching white two-piece (mint) unit tomorrow for $400.00.

The wheels you see I managed to find in a salvage yard in Bellingham, WA for $100.00. They were in great condition aside from a LOT of nasty brake dust on them. Six hours later, here they are with new Cooper 15/245/60 series tires. Notice the Center Caps



Oh, if anyone wants to know, the wheels are off a 1985 Dodge Van. Ultra wheels, 15x7 / 5x5.5

Custom flaps held on with stainless hardware.

[jOwaBelz]

sweet car!...

[kirk r]

if you get at the hard top (installation & mod's) soon,....post some pictures. I'd love to see what you run into as far as mounts / clips / bolt patterns / etc...I will be doing mine (96 sidekick...putting on a hard top from a 94 sunrunner) as soon as I can get the cigeratte smoke smell and stains to disappear!!...this may take a while?....bought it for $250, it's in great shape other than the smoke issues....little elbow grease and lots of vinigar should take care of it

[Ole-Boy]

Pictures....Will do. They'd be good reference for thos like yourself.

As far as the smoke smell goes, there is an easy remedy (if it's carpeted inside) Odds are that the crushed felt is adhered to the inside with contact cement (waterproof) Test for sure by peeling a less obvious corner up. Try to wipe the glue with a wet rag. If it doesn't come off on the rag, you're good to go with my method. Get some white vinegar and dawn dishwashing liquid. Stand the top outside on an old blanket. Propped against something so it wont fall over. Use about a cup of vinegar to a gallon of HOT water. Then add the Dawn dishwashing liquid. Enough to make suds. This is where a good pump-sprayer like you use to spray weed-killer will come in handy. Rinsed of course. Then spray that concoction all over the carpeted areas. Soak the living daylights out of it and let it sit for an hour. Then rinse it all off with the hose until it looks like clear water as rinsing. Let it stand and drain off for a couple days.

MAKE SURE THE GLUE THAT ADHERES THE FELT IS WATERPROOF BEFORE THIS PROCESS

NOTE: Repeat as necessary. Use a shop-vac to decrease wait time by vacuuming out the water.

When finished and dry, spray with a good mist of Febreeze

[kirk r]

do you mean the white foam (semi-white foam) when you say crushed felt?....the top (inside) of both parts -front & back- seem to be lined with a white foam??

[Ole-Boy]

Originally Posted by kirk r

do you mean the white foam (semi-white foam) when you say crushed felt?....the top (inside) of both parts -front & back- seem to be lined with a white foam??

Ahhh.........they used foam as a liner. NOT GOOD. Scratch my idea as mentioned above.

I suggest you spray it good with febreeze...MANY TIMES!!

[iluvbeatles]

Wow...Sweet car...

[onestoptakeaway]

Sweet.... I like your rims. I am looking around to get my original steel replace too.

[Bex]

For smell, here is solution I learned from very old dry cleaner. Works every time, and no matter what the fabric, glue, etc. Get a shallow tin of some sort, and fill it with unground coffee beans. Put this in the car. Now park car in sun, roll up all windows, etc., and let interior get warm. In a few hours, smell should be gone. Coffee beans will absorb the smell in the car. This method has worked for me every time. No work other than to sit and wait (and have good sunny day to do this).

[fuzzy1]

Nice looking Kick, lucky kid!! Are you sure it has the 1.6l? I ask because it has the 'Sport' molding with flares & 1/2 door covered. I thought this was only available on the Sport model... if it is a sport it should have the 1.8l DOHC, unless maybe it was swapped out for the more common 1.6l? Very nice looking car in any case.

Fuzz