132 replies to this topic

[takesiteasy]

Boy, what a labor of love. Fun to watch.

[chnlisle]

What he said.

[Foy]

I've always felt that the Isuzus were very tough little trucks.  I forgot to mention I'd had a 1980 Chevy LUV from 1980 until 1987 (rebadged Isuzu KB-40) . It was in fact the primary reason I decided upon the Trooper in 1989 and why I avoided the GM 2.8 liter V6 offered as an "upgrade".  No thanks, I'll take the fuel injected I-4.  The 1980 LUV had a durable little I-4 of maybe 1.8 liters displacement, a 4-speed manual, and fairly short gears (maybe about 3.73 or so?).  It gave audible indications of piston slap when cold but I ran the heck out of it for several years after the slap noise first appeared.  Took good care of it but drove it all over the Eastern, Southern, and Midwestern states during my mineral exploration days working out of Charlottesville, VA, and she always got me home.  Sold her 3 years after changing careers when my second child was in the oven.  We could just squeeze ourselves and a carseat in the cab, but no way to seat 4.

 

Digging the Isuzu build.  Keep 'em coming.

 

Foy

[Squatch]

Foy cool stuff. The LUV was the 1st 4wd truck sold in North America with independant front suspension. Pretty far ahead of their time. Yes they are very tuff. Which brings up my next subject.

 

I have read all the stuff on here about GVWR concerns many times. Point made, Please don't bring it up here. This is a small truck and like other small trucks I will be flirting with the edge of the numbers. There is a reason I have an Eagle shell and not a built Eagle camper or a Fleet. It's because I'm consious of this stuff. The chassis will handle it no problem. Will I be over the published numbers sometimes? Of course. The limits on this truck will be engine size not the chassis or brakes. I spent most of my life as a road cyclist. Anyone that knows one understands we are all about light weight. But I like to think my build will be a lot like my 4WC: As light as possible, as robust as needed. 

 

Numbers can get dumb. This truck is from a vintage when much of the number crunching had more to do with import taxes that real payload capacity. That and ride comfort. These are real international trucks. They were sold world wide. Overseas they were rated for much higher payloads than in the US. One of the reasons is all US spec Isuzu's got the "soft ride" suspension. It's lighter sprung than what the rest of the world got. That and they got some wonderful 2.8 and 3.1 intercooled diesels we can only dream of. This truck has a very stout fully boxed frame. That's an asset and their achillies heel. Box frames rust from the inside out. This one is in good shape and rust prevention will be addressed as well.

 

Just to give an example on the numbers. Isuzu made a full 1 ton rated version for these trucks in the US. It was a long bed standard cab. The only difference between that truck and the regular longbed was lower axle gears, heavier rear spring packs and E rated tires. Payload and GVWR on the door sticker was over 1,000lbs higher. Same frame, brakes, drivetrain, engine. This truck will have most of that stuff as well. But like I said I intend to stay as close to and within rated GVWR as much as I can. For what it's worth the numbers on this truck are the same or higher than it's more modern equivalents such as a Taco. Except the newer ones have higher tow ratings due to bigger engines. Red Beans (My Trooper) is built with extra HD OME springs and such, lower gears, upgraded steering components and brakes and much more. It easily handles twice it's rated hauling and towing capacity. But as with this truck It's not something I regularly do. When I do I realize the liability is on ME! BTW the boat and Loaded truck is within my legal limits. Truck and trailer full of oak probably not.

 

 

 

The point of this is to say. I intend to build my truck in stages to do what it needs to do. I have no intention of putting myself or anyone else in harms way. If I do It is MY responsibility. And I'll work hard to keep my truck and load within the rated numbers. I'll also build it so that it isn't sressed at all even when well over those numbers adding an extra margin of safety. So consider this part of the subject discussed and closed.

Edited by Squatch, 01 June 2015 - 02:48 AM.

[Squatch]

On a lighter note I have been agonizing a bit over this build. It would be easy to just duplicate the Trooper build and call it a day. Well almost. The Trooper has a very rare in the US set of Old Man Emu 029 Springs in the back. They have a crazy high load rating yet still ride pretty good. Only a few sets were brought into the states and they are no longer available. The standard OME 028 HD's are still available. These are the Isuzu version of the HD Dakar springs everyone uses on their Taco's. But that kind of build get's out of hand and the costs build up quick. Now that I'm retired I'm a Cheapskate. At least for a while till things settle down. Before I had more money than time now I have more time than money I want to part with. That and I already have a lot of stuff and ideas I want to try. So I'm going to do something different with this truck. So far anyway.

 

The Pickup is lighter than a Trooper. The difference is pretty close to the weight of my Eagle shell. I have some good Trooper springs so we'll try those in the back 1st. I'll also probably replace my bumpstops with a set of Tmbren rubber overloads. There is a lot of interchangability in Isuzu's of all vintages. That's part of the fun. So we'll work with that a bit. Last night I put down the game plan in writing on another forum so I'll just cut and paste it here.

 

"I have a fairly clear plan for the rest of this build for now anyway.
>Reseal and assemble the engine with a Calmini cam and stock exhaust manifold. I have another Calmini header and that and the exhaust will get upgraded later.

>Reuse new stock style clutch that came on the engine.

>Already have new Powerstop HP stock sized brakes so I'll stay with them for now. I can add big brakes later.

>Install the 4:56 open diffs in both axles. Truck now has 4.30's.

>Install the new Sway-a-Way HD torsion bars and keep the new already installed Skyjacker Nitro front shocks. They might get cranked up a tiny amount. The factory steering damper has been replaced with a new one.

>Replace rear spring bushings with poly ones. Install rear Trooper springs and Timbren overloads.

>Replace rear shackles with Indy4x HD ones.

>I may have to replace the new Skyjacker rear shocks with longer ones. They are a bit on the short side anyway even though they are supposedly for up to 1" lift. I have a brand new set of KYB shocks that are longer.

>Install the new Camini front and rear anti-sway bars.

>Run 30x9.50x15LT Dunlop Rover At's on Snowflakes

>Paint the rest of the frame

>Install new spare Carter fuel pump

For the most part this list is mainly work and not much money spent. I already have most all this stuff and it's still an upgrade over stock for weight carrying."

 

The last few days I have been cleaning engine parts and doing some painting. The person who built this engine had sandblasted a lot of the parts. Unfortunately he also blasted the protective finish off some of the steel nipples and such that are part of the various aluminum engine assembly's. They were starting to rust. So yesterday I put these parts back in a blast cabinet and cleaned them again. Then cleaned that with solvent and clearcoated all the pieces. And did a little trim painting. I think it's going to be hard to get this one dirty when it's done. So here are a few teasers.

 

Clean parts.

 

 

 

Paint before the clear coat.

Edited by Squatch, 01 June 2015 - 02:50 AM.

[Squatch]

Clear coated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UHAULER]

I say do a full build thread. Your trooper is one of my favorites. I have always wanted a trooper and now I have two.

 

The white one is a real clean 91 that I bought about 4 years ago. I just picked up the red one for my yard beater on our 6 acres.

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Edited by UHAULER, 03 June 2015 - 12:37 AM.

[UHAULER]

Here is the red yard dog, its a total beater that barely runs.

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[Squatch]

Nice Troopers! I'll get some more pics up in a few days once there is something worth showing.

 

Are you on the Planet as well?

[Squatch]

Best way to make plans change is to write them down I guess. In the last week I found out a fellow Isuzu head had a set of the rare Old Man Emu 029 rear leaf springs he wasn't using and wanted to sell. So I packed up and did a 770 mile round trip to get them. Of course I had to remove them from the truck they were on.
1st + 3rd springs are stock Trooper springs(same set up as the stock pickup springs) 2nd + 4th are the OME 029s.


Just need some cleaning and a coat of graphite paint.

I'm guessing that many are like me and one or two specific destinations drove their purchase of a 4WC. For me one of these is a specific campsite in the GWNF in VA. On the way home from getting the springs I stopped for the night at this site. It's 2 miles of rough double track with a couple of small stream crossings. Haven't been there in over a year. Wednesday night I drove in after dark in the rain towing the military trailer in the above pics. "Think the scenes in Jurassic Park in the Jeeps at night in the rain, but without the T-rex!" Ha Ha
Old pic of the trail.


Old pic of the site. Both it and the trail are rarely used. It was much more overgrown this trip.


It was a great night of quick camping and it reminded me that if I want the Pickup to carry the camper where I take the Trooper then it will need to be built similar. Glad I found these springs.

Edited by Squatch, 21 June 2015 - 03:57 PM.