Oregano Crewpy

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RPskater said:
Scott,
One more thing, I got my Troopy through http://www.aus2usa.com/buy.html
They delivered what they said they would. I found a lot more rust than I had expected but to their credit it was under a lot of bond. I am happy with where I am at on this build so far but am ready to start driving it. Summer is coming and I want to start living life again with my family.
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Interesting, I'll check them out.

I like your philosophy of starting at one end and moving forward. I'm doing that now with: stop first, then start, then go, I.e. brakes, starter/carb/fluids etc, then drivetrain if it needs anything. THEN I'll go for the body and suspension.

I also like the 15 minutes a day. Thanks for sharing what you are doing. I believe hat everyone documenting the details helps preserve the process, history and hobby.
 
I was thinking of using bronze bushings in the door hinges and hood i was thinking of drilling the id to fit as needed for the bolt and bore the hinge to match the bushing but I havent gotten the mic out yet to see if it would work.
 
Well, the rails I made back towards the beginning of this project were finally put on. The one on the left was 1/4" too long when I put the side on. I had to cut and splice it back together. I wish it was 2" too long instead of being soooooo close. Oh well, its fixed and done. I really like the top rails on this bed. It looks more like it is suppose to look if it were a truck.
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I am hoping for a productive weekend. I will not be able to work on the rig for a week after that. I started painting a door. I had to plug a couple of metal screw holes from some after market mirrors. Other than that just a bunch of sanding.

I also ordered a headliner and a pair of side mirrors.
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I wanted to work on the rig today but due to family pressure (my daughter's totaled cherokee) I would up working to the Jeep Grand Cherokee today. It was hit head on but the driver's wheel took the brunt of the hit breaking the rim and pushing the wheel back about 3 inches. The suspension and drive shaft are bent up. I go the car back for $300 (salvaged value). There is no way I would let the insurance keep that car which only has 90,000 original miles on it for $300. Now I need to figure out if the effort of fixing is really worth it. This is definitely a project I did not want to add to my heap of unwanted tasks. I parked the TLC next to my son's 1970 Scout. They look pretty cool together. My son turned 16 today so I need to finish fixing up his as well. He needs blinkers and an emergency brake.
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After a week in Thailand (for business) I was able to start up again on the rig. Man, the weather is getting nice and I am finding myself really wanting to start doing activities. I am so ready to get this rig drivable so I can take my time fixing parts here and there on it rather than some mental pressure I have placed on myself because it is not being used right now. I was going to have the seats reupholstered but they are so moldy, I honestly dont think I will ever get the smell out. I left them out in the sun outside for a week and I can still smell them outside 10 feet away. For now I went with a cheep solution. I wen to Pick-n-Pull juck yard and pulled 2 matching bench seats out of a minivan. They were clean and comfortable and $46 each. I spent a day cutting up the tracks below and making them so they will bolt down to the floor yet still slide forward and backwards. I am prtty happy with the results. The front bench seat is a little narrower than a full bench which allows passengers that want to go to the rear seats to slide along side on the passenger side of the front seat. It may not be pure with TLC parts, but it works for me. It beats sitting on the milk create I have been doing while moving around.
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I can taste it! Almost ready to drive it on the streets to finish my registration. I need to work on installing the seat belts from the mini van. They are a little short if I mount from the floor to the roof. I'll show what I mean when I actually do it. Today, I removed more wiring. The PO had a video player, CB radio, and a lot of extra speakers for his stereo all bunched up at the front. My battery has been dying due to a short somewhere. The battery was brought so low that I don't think I can pull her back from the dead. I can only get a 10V charge.

I couldn't resist, I put back the big roo bar! However, I did shorten the length 7" which in my opinion makes it look a lot less of a monstrosity.

Lastly, I started working on the roof. I replaced missing rivets and sealed the gutter with the 5200 marine sealer.
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I broke down an purchased a tap set for 5mm, 6mm and 8mm threaded holes. This is something I should have done day 1. I have been cleaning out all the holes I can find as I reassemble. Just re-tapping all of the holes in the roof you can see all of the rust under each hole I did (2nd photo). I was able to drill out 5 broken screws in the roof and re-tap out the holes of all the debris.
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Arcticmutt,
That is a great idea. I forgot the cordless drills have a clutch. I thought about my power drill for just a split second and thought "no way", but the cordless would be perfect.
Thanks!
 
I GOT THE PINK SLIP TODAY IN THE MAIL! I was having difficulties registering the vehicle and the DMV took my paperwork and offered it to their board to review because the office had no idea what to do. Simply said, if the imported vehicle was allowed into the country through legal import, then it should be registrable to be allowed. Since the vehicle is a 1983 i that makes it over 21 years old which according to the EPA makes it exempt. Then again, the fuel type on the pink slip says D for diesel. Whatever the case, its registered!
 
I am working on little things now like new wheels and fixing the door panels. I don't really want to spend the money right now on new tires so I looked on Craigslist and found what I thought was a good deal BFG 31x10.50 with black rims $400. The problem was when I went to put the wheels on the backspacing was off by at least 2". I wound up buying 4 new black steelies and had to pay $120 to get the tires mounted and balanced. Basically almost double the original. Oh well, live and learn. After buying the new rims 15x8 with 3.5 back spacing, I thought I was set. Not so. The fronts hit the brake calipers by almost 1/8". I now have spacers ordered and on the way. So for now my troopy looks like a hot rod with big wheels in the back. :-)
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Again, not wanting to spend the money on replacement door panels, I decided to cover the problem area with the aluminum diamond plate. I used a fine tooth blade on my Skill saw and cut the plate to size and filed down the rough edges. I originally was going to do the whole door but was not clear on taking the door knob off so I said "screw it, I'm doing just the bottoms". I think I like just the bottoms better leaving the top softer.
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RPskater said:
Again, not wanting to spend the money on replacement door panels, I decided to cover the problem area with the aluminum diamond plate. I used a fine tooth blade on my Skill saw and cut the plate to size and filed down the rough edges. I originally was going to do the whole door but was not clear on taking the door knob off so I said "screw it, I'm doing just the bottoms". I think I like just the bottoms better leaving the top softer.
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Looks good from 10 feet! Nice job.

If by doorknob you mean window crank, it has a little c clip behind it that you pop off with a screwdriver. Then the crank pulls straight off away from the door. It sits on a knurled shaft.
 
I am more inline with keeping things oem.... or.... the appearence of oem.... however.... i can appreciate the skill and effort one puts in their rigs

your doing a great job on your build !!

it was much worse rust wise than it looked in the pictures.... but.... thats usually the case
 
Vae Victus said:
Looks good from 10 feet! Nice job.

If by doorknob you mean window crank, it has a little c clip behind it that you pop off with a screwdriver. Then the crank pulls straight off away from the door. It sits on a knurled shaft.
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I had a feeling it was a clip of some sort. What made me stop was that the OEM door panel flexes when I press on it around the window crank. With the aluminum plate, I felt I would have much less flex which may not allow me to slip the ring behind. Now I am curious.
 
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