The Trooper/Blazer I call Blooper.

pappawheely

Autonomous4X4
Another beautiful day out so I did some repairs to the frame. Fixed the rear shock mount and a crack up where the steering box mounts. There's rain in the forecast so I think the parts cleaning station will see some use later this week. Time to start rebuilding the front and rear axles.

IMG_20250210_135221626 copy.jpg

IMG_20250210_140619339 copy.jpg
 

pappawheely

Autonomous4X4
A little Trooper history. The Trooper came out in 1981. The original, first generation, had round headlights. People call them "round eyes." That's the Style I am building. I think they look the coolest because of the old school round headlights. They made round eyes from 81 to 86. One other quirky thing about the design is that the wind shield is entirely flat, no curves or corners. Another interesting fact is the Trooper was badged as an Isuzu in the US, but was a Chevrolet in Indonesia and some parts of South America.

MRP_5701 copy.jpg

In 1987 the front end was changed to square headlights. Still a good looking grill, but the round eyes are still the most popular. The change was cosmetic only. It's popular to put a round eye grill and headlights on a later square headlight truck. I'm looking for another round eye grill and corner lights if anyone has them. Many people on the Trooper forums talk about 3D printing round eye grills, but I've never heard of anyone actually doing it.

1989_Isuzu_Trooper copy.jpg

In 1989 they went to a redesigned body style (2nd Gen) that was rounder and much less appealing if you ask me. I like the simple boxy body lines that made the gen 1 look utilitarian instead of the minivan like 2nd generation. Like many early Japanese designs they are small on the outside, but big on the inside. The seating position is upright and the door cards are flat panels.
 

pappawheely

Autonomous4X4
Waiting on parts. I hope they fit when they get here. When I'm stalled I look for inspiration on the internet. The first design principle I'd like to achieve is not too tall, but with big tires. I think this follows along with functionality. If I lived in the swamps, it would be different, but most of the terrain I go in is desert or mountains.

Here are some examples:

298047469_10219077859571985_7128118356477595943_n copy.jpg

294488088_441047328029328_1958927263248929027_n copy.jpg

275223405_4975143079201186_3568727508571950518_n copy.jpg

I am a big fan of how they build their trucks in Australia. Some have a bit too much farkle, but overall they are "equipped." They are well organized and super capable.

227894936_5928293253878897_4788104095508257840_n copy.jpg

225044107_5893386840702872_7683968767593602402_n copy.jpg

Lastly, I want to have a comfortable camping experience. I might have to go up! These are soft sided, but I've got a hard sided pop up rolling around in my brain. It's a high roof that also pop's up.

278622323_4985558354905472_353081868231649873_n copy.jpg

27797-254c704b9cb962a986d3b3fa117e92b4 copy.jpg
 

Forum statistics

Threads
188,756
Messages
2,909,899
Members
231,030
Latest member
dterrell
Top