Build The '93 Troopy Hodgepodge

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Very interested to follow this build. You are doing what I hope to be in the position to do at some point in my life.
 
The Troopy is lounging out in Corinto, in a container, about to head to Seattle.
ETA, April 2nd.

From there the not so fun part starts of brokerage and mysterious port fees. Ian is on top of it, so we should be golden. Looking forward to seeing this thing after 11 months :D

Spoke with Dave @Delta VS and made a deal. He's snagging parts he wants from my 80-Series donor, we'll get back the roller with everything we need (frame, locked axles, t-case, wiring, ect...) and possibly some "other stuff".

If Dave (haven't asked yet) doesn't want to buy the Troopy-frame/1HZ/H55/Goods, we have another entity who might want it. If that falls through, there might be a roller 1HZ, dual-tank, Troopy frame up for sale soon if anyone is interested. 🆒 I'll throw in a clean 80-Series title for free... maybe :poof:
 
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Weekly update.
Assuming it's on the Cap Pasley, LBC USA on the 13th.
Not sure if it made it on that ship as MSC is saying it's still in Cortino.

O9CgyHN.jpg


Pretty close to buying a very nice 6BT, single cab, Dodge, with a tray back from a co-worker. Great price. Trying to convince myself I don't need it. I've spread pretty thin so I asked Ian if he wanted to snag it. He's tied up too. Hopefully it doesn't stay for sale too long. If anyone is interested, I can send pics and price.

Sorry. Nothing too exiting. Once it arrives it'll roll pretty quickly
 
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I don't remember which direction you decided with the front end, but after spending another two weeks in Ethiopia, I think the updated front end really looks great in person. The old looks cool, but is so narrow, plus has old school sealed beam round lamps.
Every year I go, I see tons and tons of cruisers. Every ambulance is a troopy, plus many NGOs have troopys. Jealous of your build.
 
terdrocket said:
I don't remember which direction you decided with the front end, but after spending another two weeks in Ethiopia, I think the updated front end really looks great in person. The old looks cool, but is so narrow, plus has old school sealed beam round lamps.
Every year I go, I see tons and tons of cruisers. Every ambulance is a troopy, plus many NGOs have troopys. Jealous of your build.
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Still up in the air.
We had a few '07+ 70s as well as a few pre-'07s at our location on the deployment I was just on. I could go either way. Depends if a good set comes up for the right price. It would only be purely asthetics since the added clearance isn't a game changer.

Another good thing, Holley makes a ton of different accessory drive kits. So if frame or steering box clearance is an issue, that's an option as well. My L92 has a high mount alternator, not this low mount:

PICT0003.jpg
 
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TonyP said:
Still up in the air.
We had a few '07+ 70s as well as a few pre-'07s at our location on the deployment I was just on. I could go either way. Depends if a good set comes up for the right price. It would only be purely asthetics since the added clearance isn't a game changer.

Another good thing, Holley makes a ton of different accessory drive kits. So if frame or steering box clearance is an issue, that's an option as well. My L92 has a high mount alternator, not this low mount:

PICT0003.jpg
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that the wide nose really covers up the front wheels when using the 80 axle.....not sure if that is an issue for you or not.

Will you run an 80 rear? Wonder how that will fit under a troopy body?

The 79 pickup bed is really narrow and the rear 80 axle width is pretty wide. Requires flares and some skinny wheels to get them flush. We have some 16x8 stock 80 series wheels on my roller right now and they stick out a mile....especially without the flares on it...makes it look even more exaggerated.
 
Also with the wide nose on the 80 frame, there becomes some grey areas with fitting a proper 70 series wide nose bar on an 80 frame. You're either matching the body or the frame....or adapting the frame to fit the 70 bar. We're going to mod the frame/bar I think as I want the proper bar for a wide nose truck with flares. Probably will do a Dobinsons bar on this build. I believe they offer one, like ARB, that fits flared trucks.
 
c2dfj45 said:
Keep in mind that the wide nose really covers up the front wheels when using the 80 axle.....not sure if that is an issue for you or not.

Will you run an 80 rear? Wonder how that will fit under a troopy body?

The 79 pickup bed is really narrow and the rear 80 axle width is pretty wide. Requires flares and some skinny wheels to get them flush. We have some 16x8 stock 80 series wheels on my roller right now and they stick out a mile....especially without the flares on it...makes it look even more exaggerated.
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I calculated +3" track width, per side using the 80 series axles (which I am). Kut-Snake flares add 2" to the fender clearance. So we're looking at +1" per side from stock. Generally, stock wheels are sunken about that much so it should measure nicely. I think we'll be ok and will probably tuck under the twisty stuff, depending on tire choice. If not, I have some wheels in mind that'll clear by a mile and still look/function nicely.
 
TonyP said:
I calculated +3" track width, per side using the 80 series axles (which I am). Kut-Snake flares add 2" to the fender clearance. So we're looking at +1" per side from stock. Generally, stock wheels are sunken about that much so it should measure nicely. I think we'll be ok and will probably tuck under the twisty stuff, depending on tire choice. If not, I have some wheels in mind that'll clear by a mile and still look/function nicely.
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Ah....somebody else who spends time researching the complicated stuff. Nice.

I have the Kut Snake flares taped to my new 79....they appear to be wider than the OEMs on my other 79....should be a little easier to cover up the 80 axle if so. Haven't measured them yet though. We can get those Kut Snakes pretty easily when you're ready.

What size tires are you going with? I want to run something other than the Tacoma 16 hole steel wheels and the 255/85 wheels but I worry about tucking them in. The Evo Corse Dakar 16x7 wheels are on my radar big time.
 
It seems like it would be so much easier to run LEDs in the new halogen lights, vs the poor lighting of the round sealed beam lights.
 
c2dfj45 said:
Ah....somebody else who spends time researching the complicated stuff. Nice.

I have the Kut Snake flares taped to my new 79....they appear to be wider than the OEMs on my other 79....should be a little easier to cover up the 80 axle if so. Haven't measured them yet though. We can get those Kut Snakes pretty easily when you're ready.

What size tires are you going with? I want to run something other than the Tacoma 16 hole steel wheels and the 255/85 wheels but I worry about tucking them in. The Evo Corse Dakar 16x7 wheels are on my radar big time.
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How's the quality on the KS flares? I'll probably get them Line-x'd anyways.
For sure! I'll definitely hit you up when I'm ready to order.

I'd be happy with a 285/75 (34" measured). Really enjoyed that size in my 200 with Cooper ST Maxx. Maybe a 35" but they look a bit overkill on Troopys, and for what I'm going to use it for, unneeded, added, rolling mass. Depends on how everything sits though. The 80 series donor has some lower offset steelies with some nice tread K02s (can't remember the size, they're pictured on the first page). We'll see how those fit, I'm guessing they'll stick out a mile past the KS flares. But we'll see.

Definitely want to stay 16" though.
 
terdrocket said:
It seems like it would be so much easier to run LEDs in the new halogen lights, vs the poor lighting of the round sealed beam lights.
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I have some store bought Sylvania Silverstar lights in my 79 and they do a really good job. Haven't tried LEDs yet. LEDs, in my experience, always seem to fail. We won't even install them in customer cars anymore....too much wasted time troubleshooting, replacing, etc. Also worry about LEDs in a non-projector housing. Sometimes too much light becomes a big issue for oncoming traffic.

The 7" Truck-Lite LEDs are really cool....not the weird looking ones, the regular ones. They look good and work great.
 
I put LEDs in my 200's high beam location and they light up the night. Very impressed. I did the same in a Volvo I had previously with great results.
 
TonyP said:
How's the quality on the KS flares? I'll probably get them Line-x'd anyways.
For sure! I'll definitely hit you up when I'm ready to order.

I'd be happy with a 285/75 (34" measured). Really enjoyed that size in my 200 with Cooper ST Maxx. Maybe a 35" but they look a bit overkill on Troopys, and for what I'm going to use it for, unneeded, added, rolling mass. Depends on how everything sits though. The 80 series donor has some lower offset steelies with some nice tread K02s (can't remember the size, they're pictured on the first page). We'll see how those fit, I'm guessing they'll stick out a mile past the KS flares. But we'll see.

Definitely want to stay 16" though.
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The finish on the Kut Snake stuff is great. I keep thinking I want to paint them but I like them black and I like the finish. Really nice. The flares are really high quality. Very thick, very tough. I'm really impressed with them. I need to get them on the 79 this week. They are really easy to fit on that truck....just kind of mentally hard to drill the body. Lol.

I switched out to the Discoverer ST Maxx on my 79 and it was like a whole new truck. Incredible tire and the size really works on the skinny 79 series body. Got to use them in TN and they were impressive. Probably will end up with the same setup on the #2 truck because I like them so much and I'm not sure I want to go 35. I dig the skinny/tall look.

16s are definitely the right setup....
 
terdrocket said:
I put LEDs in my 200's high beam location and they light up the night. Very impressed. I did the same in a Volvo I had previously with great results.
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High beams would be great to use them for since you don't have them on for oncoming traffic....bet they are really bright. The 79 has a single bulb...so a little different than the 200.
 
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