nfpgasmask
Adventurer
OVERVIEW
I like to write, and I like to take pictures, and since I have never seen a full blown Trooper build on here with photos and reviews, I decided to put this build thread together.
And for those of you who don't like to read or flip through multiple pages, here's a before and after.
From this:
To this:
I am a firm believer that the key to happiness in life has less to do with getting what you want, and more to do with understanding and eliminating the things you don't. This philosophy leaves you with only good things, good experiences and overall peace of mind. And one thing I know I don't want is complexity. Over the years I have owned a lot of vehicles and driven a lot of rentals. And I always come back to my older Isuzus. To me, simplicity is king, and manual is the way to go. So when I found this base model 1991 Isuzu Trooper S, I was pretty stoked. It had around 72,000 original grandma miles, and was in immaculate condition save for an exhaust manifold leak and a bad thermostat, both of which were easy fixes. I paid $2,500 for this Trooper. It came from the factory with no a/c, no cruise control, manual windows and locks, and a 5-speed manual transmission. Perfect!
Having gone through three other 4-door gen1 Troopers before, finding this one in this color and condition was a true stroke of luck. But I also had to take immediate action before someone else did. Today, most older Troopers you find are in fairly beat up condition with high miles and a grocery list of issues. But there are still some gems out there. In my opinion, early Troopers are an excellent choice for base overlanding rigs. They are relatively small in stature compared to the larger, more common overlanding rigs like the Land Rover Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser, but they have a great deal of cargo space with their box on wheels profile. A gen1 Trooper is definitely big enough for me, my wife, two small dogs and loads of gear.
Now, people generally shy away from Isuzu because they are no longer selling and supporting passenger vehicles here in the USA, that is, if you even remember the Isuzu marque in the first place. Also, Isuzu has a nearly non-existent aftermarket, and that can be intimidating for normal folks who would rather just buy a cookie cutter Jeep off the shelf and pick parts out of a 1000 page catalog. But for me, there are really only two other makes, mentioned earlier, that I would even consider buying for an overlanding rig, and both of those vehicles would require me to take out a second mortgage on my home.
I will admit, older Troopers do have some shortcomings. Mainly, they are slightly underpowered for their size. The 1987-1991 Trooper came in two gas powered flavors: an Isuzu 2.6L 4 cylinder, or a GM 2.8 60 Degree V6. I've owned a few of both, and I can honestly say with 100% confidence that I prefer the Isuzu powerplant over the GM motor. The 4ZE1 is simply put, what belongs under the hood of the vehicle. The GM motor is ok, but I believe the 2.6 makes more power and is overall just as simple and easy to work on once you wrap your head around the spaghetti bowl of vacuum lines. That said, a good clean 2.8 Trooper is nothing to pass up. The GM motor is very common and parts are plentiful and cheap. And while the 2.8 is notoriously gutless, there are some fairly simple swaps that can be done to get you going faster. Either way, I am committed to the Isuzu 2.6.
Another issue that some folks have is the IFS. But to me, a solid front axle is really only a concern if you plan to do a lot of hard core rock crawling. Otherwise, IFS works just fine for general travel and trail use. I won't deny that a solid front axle would be simpler to maintain and stronger in the long run, but I have never had an issue beyond dry rotted or broken CV boots that need changing. So the IFS doesn't bother me at all.
So here she is, a few days after I bought her from the original owner's son out of Chico, CA.
I like to write, and I like to take pictures, and since I have never seen a full blown Trooper build on here with photos and reviews, I decided to put this build thread together.
And for those of you who don't like to read or flip through multiple pages, here's a before and after.
From this:
To this:
I am a firm believer that the key to happiness in life has less to do with getting what you want, and more to do with understanding and eliminating the things you don't. This philosophy leaves you with only good things, good experiences and overall peace of mind. And one thing I know I don't want is complexity. Over the years I have owned a lot of vehicles and driven a lot of rentals. And I always come back to my older Isuzus. To me, simplicity is king, and manual is the way to go. So when I found this base model 1991 Isuzu Trooper S, I was pretty stoked. It had around 72,000 original grandma miles, and was in immaculate condition save for an exhaust manifold leak and a bad thermostat, both of which were easy fixes. I paid $2,500 for this Trooper. It came from the factory with no a/c, no cruise control, manual windows and locks, and a 5-speed manual transmission. Perfect!
Having gone through three other 4-door gen1 Troopers before, finding this one in this color and condition was a true stroke of luck. But I also had to take immediate action before someone else did. Today, most older Troopers you find are in fairly beat up condition with high miles and a grocery list of issues. But there are still some gems out there. In my opinion, early Troopers are an excellent choice for base overlanding rigs. They are relatively small in stature compared to the larger, more common overlanding rigs like the Land Rover Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser, but they have a great deal of cargo space with their box on wheels profile. A gen1 Trooper is definitely big enough for me, my wife, two small dogs and loads of gear.
Now, people generally shy away from Isuzu because they are no longer selling and supporting passenger vehicles here in the USA, that is, if you even remember the Isuzu marque in the first place. Also, Isuzu has a nearly non-existent aftermarket, and that can be intimidating for normal folks who would rather just buy a cookie cutter Jeep off the shelf and pick parts out of a 1000 page catalog. But for me, there are really only two other makes, mentioned earlier, that I would even consider buying for an overlanding rig, and both of those vehicles would require me to take out a second mortgage on my home.
I will admit, older Troopers do have some shortcomings. Mainly, they are slightly underpowered for their size. The 1987-1991 Trooper came in two gas powered flavors: an Isuzu 2.6L 4 cylinder, or a GM 2.8 60 Degree V6. I've owned a few of both, and I can honestly say with 100% confidence that I prefer the Isuzu powerplant over the GM motor. The 4ZE1 is simply put, what belongs under the hood of the vehicle. The GM motor is ok, but I believe the 2.6 makes more power and is overall just as simple and easy to work on once you wrap your head around the spaghetti bowl of vacuum lines. That said, a good clean 2.8 Trooper is nothing to pass up. The GM motor is very common and parts are plentiful and cheap. And while the 2.8 is notoriously gutless, there are some fairly simple swaps that can be done to get you going faster. Either way, I am committed to the Isuzu 2.6.
Another issue that some folks have is the IFS. But to me, a solid front axle is really only a concern if you plan to do a lot of hard core rock crawling. Otherwise, IFS works just fine for general travel and trail use. I won't deny that a solid front axle would be simpler to maintain and stronger in the long run, but I have never had an issue beyond dry rotted or broken CV boots that need changing. So the IFS doesn't bother me at all.
So here she is, a few days after I bought her from the original owner's son out of Chico, CA.
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