After purchase from Steve in Boulder, I've been messing around a bit to get a feel for the thing. I'm not mechanical, so any mechanic work will be completed by Robbie "powderpig" in Boulder. First thing was transfer case rebuild, tie rods, and water pump. Then replaced all hoses in engine. Oh, and put a oil pan warmer in...greatly helps with cold starts. Then, my batteries died on me, so those were replaced. Due to the split rims and agricultural tires, I bought new rims and tires - made a good difference as the old tires were stiff and provided no shock absorption...or traction on ice.
After cruising around, the Troopy seems to be fine going 55 to 65 on the highway, given there is NO incline. With incline, the little non-turbo 3b drops off quick. I had thoughts about adding a turbo. I've heard good and bad things about this.
I've run into a bit of an issue with "overheating." Not sure if I have a bad gauge or an actual heat management issue. It seems to run on the cold side, even at 60 mph, until I hit any incline or strong headwind. In these cases, the needle spikes up quickly to near red. Cools down quickly if I slow or stop for a couple of minutes. I plan to sort this out this wknd.
For stuff that I am capable of, here's what's next. I plan to soundproof the inside with NOICO 80 ml and add a homemade headliner. I bought some auto foam-back fabric for that. I purchased an oem bedliner from a mudmember and plan to add a soundproofing layer to this as well.
Future plans include new suspension, bodywork to cut out and replace rusted panels, cut new interior panels, and repaint.
Not so fun trying to get the old foam and adhesive off the roof.
After cruising around, the Troopy seems to be fine going 55 to 65 on the highway, given there is NO incline. With incline, the little non-turbo 3b drops off quick. I had thoughts about adding a turbo. I've heard good and bad things about this.
I've run into a bit of an issue with "overheating." Not sure if I have a bad gauge or an actual heat management issue. It seems to run on the cold side, even at 60 mph, until I hit any incline or strong headwind. In these cases, the needle spikes up quickly to near red. Cools down quickly if I slow or stop for a couple of minutes. I plan to sort this out this wknd.
For stuff that I am capable of, here's what's next. I plan to soundproof the inside with NOICO 80 ml and add a homemade headliner. I bought some auto foam-back fabric for that. I purchased an oem bedliner from a mudmember and plan to add a soundproofing layer to this as well.
Future plans include new suspension, bodywork to cut out and replace rusted panels, cut new interior panels, and repaint.
Not so fun trying to get the old foam and adhesive off the roof.
Last edited: