No thermostat is standard over there… if you find one that still has it I’d be shocked.
Builds Oman -> SoCal 1995 FZJ75 Troopy
- Thread starter prwillard2
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Did that Dobinsons damper bolt in to the OEM mounting points? Where’d you source that?
prwillard2
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Sure did. I bought the dampener off their Amazon store to get 2 day shipping. Believe it came short of a couple lock washers that I'll need to put on myself.
prwillard2
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Started the process of my heater line install. My coolant system has some serious buildup inside of it.
My block isn't tapped for the bolt that holds the rear bracket of the heater line in place. Need to figure out a work around.
My block isn't tapped for the bolt that holds the rear bracket of the heater line in place. Need to figure out a work around.
prwillard2
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Finding some rust as I start working about 50 things at once. 
prwillard2
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Took out the windshield to assess for rust. Glad I did. My "rust free" troopy is going to need serious repairs.
Any recommendations of who to go to to fix this? Probably beyond my ability.
Any recommendations of who to go to to fix this? Probably beyond my ability.
all modifications depends on what you want to do with your new truck !
Overlanding - soft driving around , rock crawling , farm utility , all possible but need different set ups .
Will be in any case a great build
Overlanding - soft driving around , rock crawling , farm utility , all possible but need different set ups .
Will be in any case a great build
I would look for a body shop that works on old vehicles/ mod shop
prwillard2
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Some light overlanding and driving around. Plan is to eventually cut off the roof and install a pop top.
Then you are down hill very fast in Overlanding 
prwillard2
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Agree! Just need to fix this rust while waiting on the radiator. Hopefully I can do the rust repair while waiting for the radiator.Then you are down hill very fast in Overlanding
Based on some feedback, looks like I may need to do the rust repairs myself.
prwillard2
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Found a local place in Oceanside that was willing to tackle the rust issue. Since my troopy isn't running right now I had to winch it onto the trailer with the help of a neighbor.
While the rust is being cut out I'll work on assembling the HVAC system for reinstall back into the vehicle once I get it back.
While the rust is being cut out I'll work on assembling the HVAC system for reinstall back into the vehicle once I get it back.
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That rust is pretty nasty, Paul. Really sorry to see that. Surprised me given the Omani origin. I hope to goodness that my Omani troopy does not have similiar hidden issues. Mine had a large number of strange little holes in the rear inside bed that were welded up before a respray. I still don't know what that was about. I have not seen any evidence of other rust issues, but I have not really gotten deeply into the truck.
Am I remembering that you don't need this?
Am I remembering that you don't need this?
prwillard2
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Found the grommets I need, thank you John!
Don't believe (or certainly hope very much) our mutual friend didn't sell me a vehicle know this rust was here. Was hidden pretty well under the windshield gasket. You couldn't see it unless the windshield was removed.
Hopingto get this taken care of and get back on track.
we are talking about a 29 year old truck that has lived and worked all his life in Oman ,
I bet that a similar car in California ,after 29 years will be in no better shape !
all in all I think the car is in great shape for the years it has .
I bet that a similar car in California ,after 29 years will be in no better shape !
all in all I think the car is in great shape for the years it has .
I went down and had a look at my 1995 Omani troopy:
I -think- the roughness is where some excess adhesive is on the paint. This truck definitely was repainted before it came into my hands. Do you have 'before' photos of these areas, Paul?
Sorry about the quality of the photos. It is dark down in Basement 4.
I -think- the roughness is where some excess adhesive is on the paint. This truck definitely was repainted before it came into my hands. Do you have 'before' photos of these areas, Paul?
Sorry about the quality of the photos. It is dark down in Basement 4.
prwillard2
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@John Young you've more than likely got some rust under there in the same spots as me, but yours doesn't look as bad.
Up to you to decide if you want to have someone remove the windshield now and have a solid look at it.
I may well do that when I really start on this truck. The Iota pickup, of similar age, had no rust -there- when we did the body work on it. I put the windshield in myself with a new rubber. This rubber was new. I may ask our mutual friend if he knows about the condition when they were painting my truck. The window obviously was out when they did the painting.
Nice work Paul! I'm enjoying the resurrection. You will have a great Troopy!
I just reread the thread and want to leave a few comments on GCC cruisers being that I'm local to this market.
Typically, you will not find a clean used 70 series that is 10+ years old. The challenge of course is service. The techs working on them typically have no real automotive education. So you see duct type and mismatched components. Or components from other cars. The car owners typically don't know anything about cars and don't know or want to fix them by themselves. You will find a few here and there who take care of their personal vehicles, but for the most part, it goes to a "shop" that "hopefully" does a decent job of keeping it going.
Troopys specifically get handed down from company to company. Or it's a government vehicle for transporting people. In Oman, it's used by the govermnet to transport kids from their villages to schools. You rarely find a Troopy owned by an individul. It's really rare. These days, you can see more of them being owned by individuals who see the value in converting them into overlanders.
The issues above are related to mechanical and electrical. Body and chassis are another nightmare when shopping in the GCC. Repairs are done as cheaply as possible. They don't care if it's done right, the car is usually replaced a few years later. So they don't care.
It's also part of the reason why they are cheap in comparison to other countries. You can find really cheap J7Xs here with little rust in comparison to other parts of the world.
The really clean cruisers are usually a little pricey. You typically see them start at 30-35K USD and they go up from there.
You usually don't see a lot of rust but you will have a lot plastics go brittle. Cracked dash pad or worn out seats. All rubber seals are usually shot, even for clean cars.
I'm sure cars in other global markets come with their set of problems as well. If I was to import a cruiser, I would probably look for one from Spain. I've seen some really good examples come out of there. And their weather is typically not that harsh on cars.
Sorry for the hijack Paul. Just thought I'd share a few points on the topic
I just reread the thread and want to leave a few comments on GCC cruisers being that I'm local to this market.
Typically, you will not find a clean used 70 series that is 10+ years old. The challenge of course is service. The techs working on them typically have no real automotive education. So you see duct type and mismatched components. Or components from other cars. The car owners typically don't know anything about cars and don't know or want to fix them by themselves. You will find a few here and there who take care of their personal vehicles, but for the most part, it goes to a "shop" that "hopefully" does a decent job of keeping it going.
Troopys specifically get handed down from company to company. Or it's a government vehicle for transporting people. In Oman, it's used by the govermnet to transport kids from their villages to schools. You rarely find a Troopy owned by an individul. It's really rare. These days, you can see more of them being owned by individuals who see the value in converting them into overlanders.
The issues above are related to mechanical and electrical. Body and chassis are another nightmare when shopping in the GCC. Repairs are done as cheaply as possible. They don't care if it's done right, the car is usually replaced a few years later. So they don't care.
It's also part of the reason why they are cheap in comparison to other countries. You can find really cheap J7Xs here with little rust in comparison to other parts of the world.
The really clean cruisers are usually a little pricey. You typically see them start at 30-35K USD and they go up from there.
You usually don't see a lot of rust but you will have a lot plastics go brittle. Cracked dash pad or worn out seats. All rubber seals are usually shot, even for clean cars.
I'm sure cars in other global markets come with their set of problems as well. If I was to import a cruiser, I would probably look for one from Spain. I've seen some really good examples come out of there. And their weather is typically not that harsh on cars.
Sorry for the hijack Paul. Just thought I'd share a few points on the topic
prwillard2
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All good points. Was difficult for me to find an old enough troopy when I was in UAE, so I went this route. Once the rust is taken care of, and I get her running again, I'll start working on the wiring, which is something I'm definitely not looking forward to.
