Build Saudi Arabia: 1982 FJ45 Troopy

[boozewz]

A couple more shots from the other day. I had the front seats and bench seats upholstered to black vinyl for a very good price locally, and it was done in a day. I then grabbed some old brown canvas covers from my brothers FZJ79 that he unfortunately lost as a write off during some heavy flooding last year. (Insurance came through for him), and the canvas fit right onto both front seats like a glove! Who would have thought that the driver and passenger seats from an 80's model cruiser are the exact same dimensions of a '09 model 70 series!

Im getting covers made for the headrest to match the seat covers.

Removed the bench seats to prep for cleaning out the rust in the rear cab, and coat it over with a new paint

More to come soon!

 

[crushers]

removing the top is easy and safe, just take your time. much easier to install the new headliner that way.
i would also look at installing some 1/2" foam or bubble foil before installing the head liner, cooler and quieter.
just a suggestion.

 

[Roboosfj40s]

That is a GEM of a Troopy! What a find Congrats on having such a wife as well. Here is a photo of a friends Troopy here in the Philippines. Not original but nice.

 

[boozewz]

removing the top is easy and safe, just take your time. much easier to install the new headliner that way.
i would also look at installing some 1/2" foam or bubble foil before installing the head liner, cooler and quieter.
just a suggestion.

Excellent suggestion crushers, and thanks for sharing. I am just wondering that would it be possible to install the bubble foil and headliner while the roof is still on? I want to save the original weatherstripping as I am having trouble finding a supplier (unless you know of a supplier?)

Thanks!

 

[boozewz]

That is a GEM of a Troopy! What a find Congrats on having such a wife as well. Here is a photo of a friends Troopy here in the Philippines. Not original but nice.

Thats a cool rig! That rear side window is different than on my troopy, almost like it cant be opened? I am digging the expedition look

 

[jay2000]

Thats a cool rig! That rear side window is different than on my troopy, almost like it cant be opened? I am digging the expedition look

Hey Boozewz! Nice story and nice troopy. Are there a lot of 40 series troopys in Saudi? I own the blue troopy pictured above. It's an 1984 model with a 2H diesel engine mated to a 5 speed tranny. Last time I counted, there are only 7 troopys here in the Philippines. All of them were brought in the country during the 80's by the Philippine government, United Nations and Red Cross used as service vehicles. After their service, they were auctioned off to private citizens. You can check more pictures of my troopy; go to the 45 classified section, then go to the WTB: Troopy rear jump seats and bezel for tachometer. Sorry don't know how to link it. PM me if you have any questions. I might be able to help you. We can also exchange stories. Thanks!
Jason

 

[crushers]

the weather stripping is a heavy rubber and should not rip since it is not attached top or bottom but is sqeezed between the metal around the fiberglass roof and the metal of the hard top sides.

working with gravity instead of against it will lead to a nicer finish.

up to you of course.

 

[boozewz]

Hey Boozewz! Nice story and nice troopy. Are there a lot of 40 series troopys in Saudi? I own the blue troopy pictured above. It's an 1984 model with a 2H diesel engine mated to a 5 speed tranny. Last time I counted, there are only 7 troopys here in the Philippines. All of them were brought in the country during the 80's by the Philippine government, United Nations and Red Cross used as service vehicles. After their service, they were auctioned off to private citizens. You can check more pictures of my troopy; go to the 45 classified section, then go to the WTB: Troopy rear jump seats and bezel for tachometer. Sorry don't know how to link it. PM me if you have any questions. I might be able to help you. We can also exchange stories. Thanks!
Jason

Thanks Jay! I posted over in your thread with some questions about your AC set up.

the weather stripping is a heavy rubber and should not rip since it is not attached top or bottom but is sqeezed between the metal around the fiberglass roof and the metal of the hard top sides.

working with gravity instead of against it will lead to a nicer finish.

up to you of course.

crushers, once again you have come through with great advice. What would we do without you.

 

[crushers]

some will not agree with you
but
there are many very knowledgable people on this site, i just like to help.

 

[jay2000]

Hey Boozewz,
I also recently installed the headliner in my troopy. I purchased the headliner at Sor while I visited my sister in the US. Much better to purchase hard to find parts for my troopy while in the US instead of ordering parts while in the Philippines. Taxes here are terrible! If I order parts from Sor worth $ 100, they would normally charge me the same amount for shipping and then I have to pay the same amount for taxes here in the Philippines. In the end, I pay $300 on parts costing only $100! Just terrible! That' s why when I'm in the US, I buy parts for my rig so I can save a lot of money. The headliner I purchased at Sor, I had a shop to do the installation professionally. I know people take off the top to install the headliner easier, but the shop that I went to installed it while to top was attached. Some of my friends told me to install the foil for insulation for the heat but I didn't bother to install it (Pics at my thread). By the way, love the gerry can holder. Is it still available in Saudi (new or used)? I am looking for one. Thanks.
Jay

 

[boozewz]

Got some goodies from SOR. I have a headliner ordered from them as well and should be arriving soon.

Got all the seats upholstered with black vinyl. It was done for a fairly reasonable price, so I am happy with it.

The 2" OME lift from Cruiser Outfitters also arrived a few weeks ago. Thanks Kurt. These should be going on soon.

 

[boozewz]

Onto the body work. Now I am not doing this myself, as the same shop thats helping me with the rest of the stuff has a fantastic couple of body repair guys and painters, with a paint booth as well, and we've worked out a reasonable price to give this rig a new look. We're going to stick to the factory 464 beige, take care of all the little rust spots, get rid of all the chrome that was on (bumper and bezel), and give the interior a fresh coat as well.

Some small dents on the hood are being smoothed out.

Threw on the 255/85/16 BFG KM2's on. They fit perfectly, and I am very happy with them so far. With the 2" lift we should be able to avoid any rub at full turns.

The rig goes into the paint booth in the next few days. Stay tuned.

 

[boozewz]

Got the final coat on, and also had the rust on the rain gutter sorted out and a white finished was sprayed on. Its all starting to come together .....not that there was much taken apart to begin with

In the paintbooth getting ready for its final coat

Paint is done

Tire/jerry can swing away, plus some hinges and other bits and bobs.

Finished look

Close up

Preped and back in the booth for the rain gutter job

Close up

Hood locks, mirror brackets, and door handles came in as I wanted to ditch all the chrome

Front of the frame had its final coat as well, since the rest of the frame's factory coat is intact

Rear bumper

 

[boozewz]

Bubble Foil

So the headliner is in from SOR, and I also got some bubble foil from a local shop. This is the first time I've seen the foil, and its 16mm thick. Crushers suggested that it would be good to install the foil before the headliner in order to stave off heat build up in the cab, and since its faarkin hot here in KSA I definitely would like to carry out that suggestion.

The question is, once installed, is it possible that the weight of the headliner will eventually pull off the foil from the bubble?

Bubble foil. Its the thinnest I could find (16mm). Should I install it or not? Better keep looking for a thinner one? Any other alternatives? I can still return it to the store and get a refund. Its pretty thick so getting the corners of the roof installed is going to be a little tricky.

Any suggestions are welcome

 

[jimhendrixx]

Man does that look sah-weet!

 

[boozewz]

Can't shed any light on the foil/headliner question but wanted to say it's looking better and better every day!

Man does that look sah-weet!

Thanks for the kind comments guys. I'll hold off on the headliner install and leave it for the end.

Here are some updates from today.

Other bits and bobs in black.

Rear number plate bracket, with lights got a fresh sand down and re paint.

Took the chrome off the door handles and went with the same colour as the glovebox cover (will try to find the colour code)

The same for the mirror brackets

And the bezel and bumper as well. Was pretty much set on the bumper colour, but was torn about the bezel. Should it be black, or white? In the end I went with the same colour as the bumper. I'm still on the fence with it though.

Next up are painting the splits, installing the windows back, and getting the lift on.

Stay tuned!

 

[John Smith]

The bezel should be white. Your truck is looking great!

 

[boozewz]

Hey Boozewz,
I also recently installed the headliner in my troopy. I purchased the headliner at Sor while I visited my sister in the US. Much better to purchase hard to find parts for my troopy while in the US instead of ordering parts while in the Philippines. Taxes here are terrible! If I order parts from Sor worth $ 100, they would normally charge me the same amount for shipping and then I have to pay the same amount for taxes here in the Philippines. In the end, I pay $300 on parts costing only $100! Just terrible! That' s why when I'm in the US, I buy parts for my rig so I can save a lot of money. The headliner I purchased at Sor, I had a shop to do the installation professionally. I know people take off the top to install the headliner easier, but the shop that I went to installed it while to top was attached. Some of my friends told me to install the foil for insulation for the heat but I didn't bother to install it (Pics at my thread). By the way, love the gerry can holder. Is it still available in Saudi (new or used)? I am looking for one. Thanks.
Jay

Thanks....I cant really tell if the gerry can holder is factory stock or fabricated locally. I'll get some pics posted up tomorrow.

The bezel should be white. Your truck is looking great!

Thanks Mr Smith. I'll keep that in mind and see how it looks when its all said and done. I dont think I've seen any white bezels here in Saudi, it seems chrome is the colour of choice with most people here

 

[boozewz]

Shock mounts

I've hit a bit of a snag yesterday installing the 2" OME lift kit. The rear shock, OME N76's bushing is too big to fit on the factory bottom shock mount

I've sent an email out to Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters so hoping for a reply soon. Anyone know whats the dea with this? Are some Mid East Cruisers suspensions spec'd differently to US/AUS Cruisers?

Is there a quick solution to this?

 

[crushers]

order the proper bushing sizing and install into bottom of shock.
some use a steel bushing liner but i don't like using them.