Project Sidekick: A little work goes a long way

So as you may remember, I bought a '95 Suzuki Sidekick (aka "Project Teal-Tastic"), and yes, there has already been work done. Not the "fun mods" kind of work, the "stuff I need to get it running/looking/working right" kind. But a little work goes a long way.

For starters (no pun intended), I replaced the battery. The battery that came with the vehicle would no longer hold a charge and it was the incorrect size, etc. I called around and got a great deal at Batteries Plus. Now the Sidekick starts up first twist of the ignition. Total cost? $57.

While replacing the battery, I noticed the metal battery tray was totally rusty, and there was a bit of rust on the inner fender panel, too. I wondered what would cause this because A) I'd driven the truck in the rain and it didn't leak and 2) the Pacific Northwest doesn't use salt. With the battery out of the truck I found the culprit: A pinhole leak in the windshield washer line. It had been likely been leaking, albeit slowly, for some time. A quick trip to NAPA and $1.26 fixed that leak. However, it pains me to think that $1.26 would have prevented all that rust in the bay. So be it.

A week-and-a-half ago, I took the trucklet up to my dad's garage to give it a good interior cleaning. If "amateur detailing" was a hobby, that'd be his. The interior now looks magnitudes better than when I received it. All this cleaning allowed me to get up close and personal with the vehicle, too, which allowed me to noticed other things that needed replacing.

So what's next? A new radio surround bezel, replacement manual crank window regulators, new trim for the soft top (so that it actually attaches to the truck. As you can see at the left, the trim is missing), and a new driver's side door handle. And when I mean "new" I mean "new to me."  In fact, I've got a trip to Eugene, OR on Sunday to pick up a bunch of parts. And that saga continues.