EricMcGrew
Adventurer
To start things off, I'd like to state 2 things. 1st) I'm originally from the states, and have now lived in chile for 6+ years. 2)This is a recap of the build process already done to my Trooper up too this moment. However, with all that being said, there is still much to do. So, if you want even more of the details of what's going on with the Trooper, then I encourage you to check out my other 2 sites, www.ericmcgrew.tv, and www.beginnersfab.com.
Ok, so now that that is out of the way, I'll start my build post off with how the Trooper was when I found it.
First off, here in Chile, the Isuzu Trooper is badged as a Chevrolet Trooper, and even though it is well respected, it isn't very common to find. As I understand it these vehicles where only imported thru the dealer, and only upon Customer request. I've heard a few stories about how there were a couple Troopers imported by Isuzu/Chevrolet, and that these "show Troopers" would be sent from dealership to dealership so that the locals could see the product in person. However, during the early 90's, the economy in Chile was just then recouping and the mass population could not afford a trooper. Therefore, Troopers are not super common, and parts can be difficult to find. Also, as I understand it, the Troopers from 2nd gen onwards where not offered in the Diesel option for sale in Chile.
Here in Chile though, there have been various vehicles that have had the Isuzu 4jb1-ti or 4jb1-t motors in them. So, when I finally started to look at buying a Trooper, I knew that I wanted to do a motor swap from the beginning. Due to the high cost of gasoline (over $7 U.S.), and diesel (over $6 U.S.). Not to mention that we drive quite a bit down here living in the country.
Originally, I was looking for a Trooper that had the original 3.2l v6 in it and that was in good shape. My plan was to pull the original motor and sale it. However, somewhat close by, I found my current trooper for sale, and it had the 4jb1-ti motor already installed. Or, at least them motor was in place, and connected. Installed... Ummm... Not so much!
Even with some obvious problems, I decided to buy the Trooper. Four wheel drive vehicles are expensive in Chile, and even with the problems that the trooper had, I knew that it would be cheaper to do the repairs, and motor re-install, over starting from scratch. This trooper cost me $6400.00 U.S., and this is a good price. It was 22 years old when I bought it, and had a long list of issues to fix.
This how the Trooper looked when I purchased it.
Even though the Trooper didn't look like it was in terrible shape, it definately had some issues going on with it. But I'll get into that in the next post.
Ok, so now that that is out of the way, I'll start my build post off with how the Trooper was when I found it.
First off, here in Chile, the Isuzu Trooper is badged as a Chevrolet Trooper, and even though it is well respected, it isn't very common to find. As I understand it these vehicles where only imported thru the dealer, and only upon Customer request. I've heard a few stories about how there were a couple Troopers imported by Isuzu/Chevrolet, and that these "show Troopers" would be sent from dealership to dealership so that the locals could see the product in person. However, during the early 90's, the economy in Chile was just then recouping and the mass population could not afford a trooper. Therefore, Troopers are not super common, and parts can be difficult to find. Also, as I understand it, the Troopers from 2nd gen onwards where not offered in the Diesel option for sale in Chile.
Here in Chile though, there have been various vehicles that have had the Isuzu 4jb1-ti or 4jb1-t motors in them. So, when I finally started to look at buying a Trooper, I knew that I wanted to do a motor swap from the beginning. Due to the high cost of gasoline (over $7 U.S.), and diesel (over $6 U.S.). Not to mention that we drive quite a bit down here living in the country.
Originally, I was looking for a Trooper that had the original 3.2l v6 in it and that was in good shape. My plan was to pull the original motor and sale it. However, somewhat close by, I found my current trooper for sale, and it had the 4jb1-ti motor already installed. Or, at least them motor was in place, and connected. Installed... Ummm... Not so much!
Even with some obvious problems, I decided to buy the Trooper. Four wheel drive vehicles are expensive in Chile, and even with the problems that the trooper had, I knew that it would be cheaper to do the repairs, and motor re-install, over starting from scratch. This trooper cost me $6400.00 U.S., and this is a good price. It was 22 years old when I bought it, and had a long list of issues to fix.
This how the Trooper looked when I purchased it.
Even though the Trooper didn't look like it was in terrible shape, it definately had some issues going on with it. But I'll get into that in the next post.
