Builds 1982 Desert Troopy - Glutton for Punishment

[jgeoffr]

Frame painted and wrapped. Tub flipped over and body work ongoing. Test fitted the jump seats and really like how the jump seat support leg fits perfectly in the floor ridge.

-Geoff

 

[jgeoffr]

Roughing in the aftermarket a/c. Old air products 2100 series system. Since the truck isn't a pure restoration I tool the liberty to locate the vents where the lower dash pads would have been. Changed from dash pads to a naked truck like in Australia.

-Geoff

 

[FJ404345]

Nice idea !

 

[OGBeno]

Very nice indeed Geoff. Good work here so far.

 

[jgeoffr]

Very nice indeed Geoff. Good work here so far.

Woo hoo! Got my "builds" tag on the thread! Thanks bud!

-Geoff

 

[Bear]

Nice work, Geoff.

I am guessing this is a KSA Troopy with the cowl air vent. So your A/C install is deleting the air vent and welding it up, or have you modded different controls to keep it functional? I have a similar dilemma; do you have any photos of fabbed bracketry to install the OldAir unit on the firewall? Much appreciated.

 

[boozewz]

Awesome Geoff! It’s hard for me to keep track of what’s going on the WhatsApp group so glad I stumbled on this thread to truly appreciate the work you’re doing.

This is the 3rd KSA Troopy thread I’ve just subscribed to in the last 20mins

 

[jgeoffr]

Nice work, Geoff.

I am guessing this is a KSA Troopy with the cowl air vent. So your A/C install is deleting the air vent and welding it up, or have you modded different controls to keep it functional? I have a similar dilemma; do you have any photos of fabbed bracketry to install the OldAir unit on the firewall? Much appreciated.

Yes, this one had the a/c but no heater originally so haz the cowl vent. Took a long hard look at keeping the vent and linkage but it became readily apparent that the a/c unit and ducting would take up too much room. I do however remember someone recently posting about modifying the linkage to make it work. Just couldn’t see a good way while still using the defrost setting. I guess outside air will have to come from the kick vents.

We’re experimenting with a machined cowl vent cover that will have the same louvers but not cut fully through so no water into the cowl. Not quite sure how it’ll turn out. If it doesn’t work I have not decided whether to weld up or keep louvers for looks and seal the lower opening with the gasket and still run the drain tubes. I really like the look of the cowl vent louvers. Decisions, decisions...

-Geoff

 

[Bear]

My reason for asking involves location of the A/C inside unit. If installed under and partially inside the glove box, then can keep the cowl vent and pull rod and some spacing behind the central dash switches. Downside is some interference into the passenger footwell space. My reason for asking for photos of the firewall brackets you made, is to understand how the inside unit can be removed from inside the cabin if needed after the engine is in place. I believe this is your second install of an inside unit on the firewall above the tunnel, and consider you're experienced with doing so.

Yes, the cowl vents were eventually discontinued in the USA models as were the side vent "smokers" windows. But they still have charm and functionality to me personally and are a part of the character of the old trucks. Can't say the same for the ashtrays and cig lighters, but their originality is still important to some folks.

 

[jgeoffr]

My reason for asking involves location of the A/C inside unit. If installed under and partially inside the glove box, then can keep the cowl vent and pull rod and some spacing behind the central dash switches. Downside is some interference into the passenger footwell space. My reason for asking for photos of the firewall brackets you made, is to understand how the inside unit can be removed from inside the cabin if needed after the engine is in place. I believe this is your second install of an inside unit on the firewall above the tunnel, and consider you're experienced with doing so.

Yes, the cowl vents were eventually discontinued in the USA models as were the side vent "smokers" windows. But they still have charm and functionality to me personally and are a part of the character of the old trucks. Can't say the same for the ashtrays and cig lighters, but their originality is still important to some folks.

I don't think there will be any interference issues with the switches based on he mockup.

We made a plate/bracket that allows the inside unit to be mount to the bracket and then mount the bracket to the firewall. We used two existing captive nuts and added two more. This also allows us to put in some bushings to create some vibration dampening.

We also mounted the electronic heater blend valve in the stock-ish location and split it so the controls are inside and the valveing is on the outside of the firewall. It keeps the heater valve close to the block so the stock setup should work without too much hassle.

We decided to use the 4 in a row firewall plate and mount it vertically. The passthrough is where the stock a/c lines would go through the firewall so we believe it should fit between the clutch and brake hard lines. Nice thing about this is that the inside hoses don't need to run all the way over to the passenger footwell. Also leaves me firewall space if I ever want to add stuff.

-Geoff

 

[jgeoffr]

Didn't do a good job taking pictures but both the front and rear diffs were both shot. Had a good amount of wear on the spider gears, spider gear shaft, and what it looks like Toyota calls the pinion gears.

Luckily all parts we're available from the local Toyota parts supplier (Not so lucky for my wallet). I had planned in advance so I had brought back two diff rebuild kits and front and rear axle rebuilds from @cruiseroutfit.

Got everything rebuilt, confirmed all tolerances within FSM and then back together and painted.

-Geoff

 

[jgeoffr]

Rear leaf springs installed. New Energy Suspension bushings and new greasable shackles and pins from SOR.

Springs are a brand called B.H.K. and are out of Japan. Not sure of all the details but they were available in Saudi and so far seem to fit well. At about $67 a spring I figured I couldn't really go wrong.

-Geoff

 

[jgeoffr]

So in preparation of a 5 speed swap into the troopy, I sourced a used H55F and split case with the 5th gear oiler provision. The split case that was in the truck did not have the oiler provision cast in.

The donor was an early 87 FJ62. What was neat is that the 60-series tucks here are different than the US ones. For example, the 62 here had mechanical transfer case and still the carbeurated 3F, which runs great BTW, but that's a story for another day.

-Geoff

 

[jgeoffr]

When we broke into the split case however, the oil fill plug threads had been ruined by an over zealous PO, so we did the thread repair, which I documented in a separate thread here. Time-Sert Repair of Split Case Fill Plug

Next step is to swap in the longer output shaft into this case as the troopy has the parking brake on the drive shaft instead of the rear axle like the 60.

-Geoff