old beat up Isuzu Trooper finds a new purpose in life
- Thread starter RoadBoss
- Start date
GingerBeardMan78
New member
This is very cool! Some good ideas in here that might have just uprooted my previous plans... Hmmmmmmmm
GingerBeardMan78
New member
Also, I would love to know how you reinforced the doors. I am also putting the hi lift and an ammo can full of chains and recovery gear on them. Worried about the longevity of the hinges.
I've also toyed with the idea of putting a spare on the hood. Looking at the pic you have with it up there, I think it would need to be a narrow tire to improve visibility. I was worried that it might look silly or be the butt of jokes. We'll see.
I've also toyed with the idea of putting a spare on the hood. Looking at the pic you have with it up there, I think it would need to be a narrow tire to improve visibility. I was worried that it might look silly or be the butt of jokes. We'll see.
the hinges are actually pretty heavy duty, I'm more worried about is the sheet metal eventually tearing through, but we'll see what happens I guess!
on the small door I ended up welding some 1.5" x 1/8" steel strap on both the outside and across some of the inside bracing to kind of sandwich it all together. Also I think probably the most important part is that piece is actually resting on the bumper when the door is shut. I also put a latch between the top inside of the door so the weight can't pull the top away from the body/seal, which I think it what will eventually tear away the sheet metal.
and on the other side, I welded some 3/4" square tubing across and it also bolts in place where the spare tire mount bolts to the back door, which I think should also add some strength to that mount. The base of the hi-lift also rests on the bumper, though I don't think this piece weighs enough to really cause much concern.
not pretty, I know... welding 1/4" steel to thin sheet metal is not something I have a lot of practice doing.
Smileyshaun
Observer
I've always loved these old Troopers if I didn't need something to tow my Jeep and boat I probably would have ended up with one can't wait to see you get us thing out on the trail
GingerBeardMan78
New member
Ah ha! I see. That looks pretty stout.
For the ammo can, I did this on the inside.
That's clear RTV gasket oozing out to keep it all air tight. I used the license plate boots and the long bolts pass through to put more bar behind to sandwich. I
My hi lift is mounted to the spare. But here is how I mounted the antenna
I used the bolts from the spare to mount it, but ended up putting in a self tapper to stop the flex which was happening. If I were going to put the hi lift there, I would use these bolts as well. I might move all of it to the roof rack in the future and mount a box back here to hold the kitchen.
Chris
For the ammo can, I did this on the inside.
That's clear RTV gasket oozing out to keep it all air tight. I used the license plate boots and the long bolts pass through to put more bar behind to sandwich. I
My hi lift is mounted to the spare. But here is how I mounted the antenna
I used the bolts from the spare to mount it, but ended up putting in a self tapper to stop the flex which was happening. If I were going to put the hi lift there, I would use these bolts as well. I might move all of it to the roof rack in the future and mount a box back here to hold the kitchen.
Chris
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well I ended up spending a bunch of time doing maintenance on this thing, which is boring AF so haven't been updating much.
-Changed oil in trans, tcase, front diff, rear diff
-fixed front diff breather, as the fitting had broken and let water into the front diff oil
-new fuel injectors and FPR
-new exhaust gasket from left bank to y-pipe
-added rear coil spring spacers (has OME 919 springs in it already) to make up for the extra weight I've added, went ahead and fit some Nissan frontier nitro shocks which are about 2" longer extended, an only about 1" longer compressed. also made a bracket to space up the rear brake line Tee so that the brake line won't stretch, as well as extended the rear diff breather.
and after all that I realized the exhaust system needed to be changed as the cat was clogging up after it got hot, and it would start to cut out under high throttle input, and the rest of it was rusting out.
so I decided to get all budget racecar with it, since that's the only way I know how to make exhaust systems.
ugly welds, don't care. it works. also retains all the factory hangers which I'm pretty excited about, and I can't tell any difference in volume when cruising on the highway, which is great. around town with the windows down is slightly louder, but not bad.
the truck runs really good now too, though I probably lost a little low end torque from the bigger exhaust. and after all the maintenance it no longer has a weird shudder at 55mph, which I thought before was just wind noise.
-Changed oil in trans, tcase, front diff, rear diff
-fixed front diff breather, as the fitting had broken and let water into the front diff oil
-new fuel injectors and FPR
-new exhaust gasket from left bank to y-pipe
-added rear coil spring spacers (has OME 919 springs in it already) to make up for the extra weight I've added, went ahead and fit some Nissan frontier nitro shocks which are about 2" longer extended, an only about 1" longer compressed. also made a bracket to space up the rear brake line Tee so that the brake line won't stretch, as well as extended the rear diff breather.
and after all that I realized the exhaust system needed to be changed as the cat was clogging up after it got hot, and it would start to cut out under high throttle input, and the rest of it was rusting out.
so I decided to get all budget racecar with it, since that's the only way I know how to make exhaust systems.
ugly welds, don't care. it works. also retains all the factory hangers which I'm pretty excited about, and I can't tell any difference in volume when cruising on the highway, which is great. around town with the windows down is slightly louder, but not bad.
the truck runs really good now too, though I probably lost a little low end torque from the bigger exhaust. and after all the maintenance it no longer has a weird shudder at 55mph, which I thought before was just wind noise.
then I decided it was finally time to cut a hole in my roof
now I have a fully functioning desk/bench in the back, and can completely stand up as well, which is really cool. need to figure out still how to finish the edges and build the fold up cover/mattress support, and after that it should be ready to test out in the mountains.
also, I was trying to order a 4Jg2 motor set but that fell through, so I ended up ordering a front air locker, and rock sliders, and hopefully my front torsion bars should be arriving fairly soon. BUT, i'll probably try and get a bit of camping in before I go to the trouble of installing all of that stuff.
now I have a fully functioning desk/bench in the back, and can completely stand up as well, which is really cool. need to figure out still how to finish the edges and build the fold up cover/mattress support, and after that it should be ready to test out in the mountains.
also, I was trying to order a 4Jg2 motor set but that fell through, so I ended up ordering a front air locker, and rock sliders, and hopefully my front torsion bars should be arriving fairly soon. BUT, i'll probably try and get a bit of camping in before I go to the trouble of installing all of that stuff.
GingerBeardMan78
New member
Coolest hole I've seen in a while!
LazarusLost
New member
Damn dude! Love the progress and gave me a ton of ideas to build out my 99'. The hole was ballsy and really paid off, I don't think I'll be able to do that. I'm still in repair mode while keeping it a daily driver. Maybe I missed it but did you install a 2nd battery?
utherjorge
Observer
This all looks pretty great. Nice work.
yep, I probably forgot to take pictures of it. I just put a 35AH gel agm battery bolted to the floor underneath the passenger front seat.
a little on the small side, but I don't have much running currently other than LED lights and usb charging. plenty of room left to add a second 35ah in the same location though.
work got busy again so haven't had a lot of time to work on this thing, but I finally got around to making some stuff
from underneath
probably gonna figure out how to attach some hinges, at least on the drivers side. I don't mind having the smaller pass side panel removable though. Also gonna get my mom to stich up some new covers for the separate mattress pieces now, which should also help them slide into place a bit easier.
from underneath
probably gonna figure out how to attach some hinges, at least on the drivers side. I don't mind having the smaller pass side panel removable though. Also gonna get my mom to stich up some new covers for the separate mattress pieces now, which should also help them slide into place a bit easier.
