Builds The '93 Troopy Hodgepodge (6 Viewers)

[TonyP]

This is going to be a slow build for the next few months. But I figured I needed a place to post my progress of the clusterfuck of parts and vehicles that'll come together to make this... thing.

After owning a built-ish 200 series for a year and a half, I realized they aren't my thing. They're nice, powerful, and isolated. I liked the 200, but never loved it. For me, it was never one of those vehicles I would look back at in a parking lot and admire. So I sold it.

I wanted something simpler/rustic, still powerful, more room, more connected to the trail and something that I didn't need a laptop to troubleshoot an issue with the several miles of wire and modules/computers. It had to be LHD for travel reasons. And something that was still a Land Cruiser (mostly).

I've driven 70s in the middle east, and prefer their farm-truck feel over the road-couch the 200 was. I decided on a Troopy, Jason @reevesci spoke of Ian when I was getting work on the 200 so I sent Ian @RMP&O a PM, he just happened to have a LHD Troopy on his radar. It's a '93, 1HZ, H55, dual tanks, a billion miles, A/C!, needs a pressure wash and some love, but runs perfectly. However, we'll only be using the cab bits. We're still waiting to officially secure the Troopy, but I assume it'll happen... or we'll find another.

I'll be heading to the middle east for several months so I'm having Ian do a fair bit of the work.

The plan is:

Pull the '93 cab off the frame, blast it, fix rust, paint it (maybe Line-X). Hopefully @bjowett can source us some '07+ front end parts and we'll tack that on the front. The frame, front clip, 1HZ, H55, axles, ect will be up for sale. So if you want them around January/February, get with Ian. He'll be helping me out offloading parts while I'm away. The diamond in the (very) rough:

The engine/trans/TC will be a stock L92 from an '07 Escalade, re-built 6L80E mated to the stock HF2AV using a Marks kit. I wanted to stay with the stock TC for a few reasons. If there was a way to get the 3UR to play nice in a swap, I would have went that way. But that would be a nightmore. I think 403hp and 417 tq from the L92 will suffice. Bummer for the purists. No pics of this yet, it's in my storage unit. I need to spend a few hours cleaning it up before I can show it off. It'll be getting the basic maintenance done before delivering up to Ian. Plugs, a bunch of gaskets, starter and alternator rebuilt, ect... I'm having a guy rework the harness and flash the ECU, he worked with me on another build a while back.

I was sipping some tequila I bought during our Baja trip a few months ago and saw this guy pop up for sale. PM'ed the dude, a couple days later I flew out to California to pick it up and drive back to Utah. Good thing I had noise canceling headphones. A gaping hole in the side of 80 at 75mph isn't quiet.

So the frame being used will be a '93 80-series that's triple locked from California (almost zero frame rust). It'll be stretched a few inches to match the Troopy's wheelbase. I snagged this one for a good price with a bit of body damage but the frame measured up straight. It's a runner so hopefully we can make some cash back selling the engine/trans and body stuff off. Good tires too, but I'll probably end up with 35s... maybe 37s. Before I leave for the middle east, I'm trying to refresh as much of the frame as possible. Axles, bushings, brakes, the whole deal is getting re-done by me. If you need parts from the body or the engine/trans, get with Ian. Everything from the body mounts up are for the taking.

The cargo area is loaded full of parts I'll be putting on the frame. I won't bother listing all the goods, it's extensive. Still trying to determine which shocks and springs to use. Leaning towards Kings.

Today, I rebuilt the rear axle which was a nice learning experience. It made me glad I held out for a FF rear 80. The first hub took a while, the 2nd took 1/10th the time. It got Nitro axles, new OEM seals, koyo bearings, ARB wheel studs, new acorn wheel nuts, ARP axle studs, EBC pads with new Bosch rotors and a diff full of Redline. All in all, five hours of time but it was my first time working on FF rear 80 series so not bad? I think? I re-blasted the rotors with brake clean before putting the wheel on so disregard the grease on them. I have the stuff to rebuild the front except for the Nitro Birfs which are on the way. That'll be next weeks project. The axles in the 80 were fine but with adding 200hp to the chassis, I figured I'd just slap in some Nitro stuff to be on the safe side. Almost went with RCV 300M fronts but the cost was a bit crazy. Maybe if these Birfs take a dump.

More to come...

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

T,

Looks like a fun project. Glad you hooked up with @RMP&O he's great people and his work is top notch, he won't skip over anything to get a project out the door.

Stay safe and send me an APO when you get it and a wish list and Andrea will hook you up.

If you or Ian need anything for the build let me know, I'll have a few orders coming in from AU, Dubai and Japan over next few months. Maybe a nice vinyl flooring kit.

J

 

[SNLC]

Totally awesome Tony!

I work with and talk to all kinds of people. It was a bit refreshing when I got an email from Tony. He kind of already knew what he wanted and it wasn't very unrealistic as far as the Troopy. None of that, hey it has got to have 100k miles, be rust free and not need much work. Those kind of trucks for me just don't come along often and when they do, well obviously they are going to cost a fair amount. I also find a fair share of people have no vision when it comes to a truck or build. This was not Tony!

Since it is so rare for me to find that mint Troopy, I offered Tony a deal. Also since the truck I was going to offer couldn't come in until the end of the year and I had offered the same deal to a few other people I filled him in on the details. The deal I was offering to him or anyone was cost to acquire plus import + a reasonable finders fee for my time and effort.

I found this Troopy last year while on a trip down south hunting for Cruisers. At the time I didn't feel like buying it and sitting on it for more than a year. So anyways, I kind of put it as a back burner. I figured, if it is still there in a year, maybe I will buy it.

It is an 11/93, ex-NGO truck. It has been sitting for about 3yrs now. It is VERY dirty! Ya the paint is pretty crappy, ya it has some rust to fix which almost all of that is isolated to the rear floor crossmember and back doors. I went over the truck completely with an electronic body filler detector and could only find two spots worth mentioning. The largest behind the RHS wheel well and a much smaller one (palm sized) in the front RHS fender. That truck is complete and not missing a thing which is also hard to find. I started it for the first time in over two years. Put a battery in it, it is 12v by the way, gave it a glow and it fired right up. Ran pretty friggin good too with very little smoke. It also came up to temp just fine. Pretty amazing considering the truck has just over 600,000kms!

Tony started talking about going diesel or gasser. After only a few short emails he had made up his mind! I was like hell ya, this guy is easy! I suggested the v8 since he was coming from a 200 and also due to the most bang for the buck. He liked it and ran with the idea. He sold his 200 and just started buying all the stuff we need.

Part of the "deal" was I get to do at least some of the work. I will be stretching the 80-series frame, building the body mounts and getting the Troopy body on the new chassis after paint and body work. I will also fit the engine to the chassis and the Troopies double fuel tanks. Beyond this I am not sure at the moment. Tony wants to do a lot himself and I am totally cool with that.

Any ways, we can't bring in the Troopy until December so the project won't officially start until January/February 2019. In the meantime, I will part out the 80 and get it down to the rolling chassis we need to work with.

I am very excited for this build! Thanks Tony for the opportunity to work with you on this project. It is going to be one killer Cruiser!

Cheers

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Nice project. I’ll be paying close attention since I’m doing the same type swap only with 75 Ute on 80 chassis.

 

[TonyP]

Totally awesome Tony!

I work with and talk to all kinds of people. It was a bit refreshing when I got an email from Tony. He kind of already knew what he wanted and it wasn't very unrealistic as far as the Troopy. None of that, hey it has got to have 100k miles, be rust free and not need much work. Those kind of trucks for me just don't come along often and when they do, well obviously they are going to cost a fair amount. I also find a fair share of people have no vision when it comes to a truck or build. This was not Tony!

Since it is so rare for me to find that mint Troopy, I offered Tony a deal. Also since the truck I was going to offer couldn't come in until the end of the year and I had offered the same deal to a few other people I filled him in on the details. The deal I was offering to him or anyone was cost to acquire plus import + a reasonable finders fee for my time and effort.

I found this Troopy last year while on a trip down south hunting for Cruisers. At the time I didn't feel like buying it and sitting on it for more than a year. So anyways, I kind of put it as a back burner. I figured, if it is still there in a year, maybe I will buy it.

It is an 11/93, ex-NGO truck. It has been sitting for about 3yrs now. It is VERY dirty! Ya the paint is pretty crappy, ya it has some rust to fix which almost all of that is isolated to the rear floor crossmember and back doors. I went over the truck completely with an electronic body filler detector and could only find two spots worth mentioning. The largest behind the RHD wheel well and a much smaller one (palm sized) in the front RHS fender. That truck is complete and not missing a thing which is also hard to find. I started it for the first time in over two years. Put a battery in it, it is 12v by the way, gave it a glow and it fired right up. Ran pretty friggin good too with very little smoke. It also came up to temp just fine. Pretty amazing considering the truck has just over 600,000kms!

Tony started talking about going diesel or gasser. After only a few short emails he had made up his mind! I was like hell ya, this guy is easy! I suggested the v8 since he was coming from a 200 and also due to the most bang for the buck. He liked it and ran with the idea. He sold his 200 and just started buying all the stuff we need.

Part of the "deal" was I get to do at least some of the work. I will be stretching the 80-series frame, building the body mounts and getting the Troopy body on the new chassis after paint and body work. I will also fit the engine to the chassis and the Troopies double fuel tanks. Beyond this I am not sure at the moment. Tony wants to do a lot himself and I am totally cool with that.

Any ways, we can't bring in the Troopy until December so the project won't officially start until January/February 2019. In the meantime, I will part out the 80 and get it down to the rolling chassis we need to work with.

I am very excited for this build! Thanks Tony for the opportunity to work with you on this project. It is going to be one killer Cruiser!

Cheers

Thanks Ian, it's going to be a fun one. Plan is to drive this around the Pan-American highway when I retire from the Air Force in 3 years (unless I snag a killer job restoring old Cruisers or something) so it's going to get some good parts. Not a nut and bolt restoration or anything, but definitely some good s***.

The no-diesel decision was easier than I thought. I could spend $10k-14k on a 1HD-FTE to maintain the Toyota roots and have 1/3 the power of an L92 (or any LS based motor) that would cost 1/3 the price of the 1HD. Plus, these engines are everywhere, reliable, and take power adders easily. I plan on towing occasionally and hate being the slow one at the stop light, the 1FZ is already too much of a slug for me. Ideally, the 3UR would have been my pick but that's uncharted territory and probably not possible without a stand-alone ECU.

 

[SNLC]

I threw a little video together this morning from the two clips I have of the 1HZ engine running. This was first start in 2yrs and the engine was not fully up to temp yet.



Cheers

 

[The Jade Bean]

This will be a wild build! I’m interested in those a/c components if you decide to part with them as our Troopy didn’t come with any a/c at all.

 

[TonyP]

This will be a wild build! I’m interested in those a/c components if you decide to part with them as our Troopy didn’t come with any a/c at all.

Hah! I'm keeping A/C for sure. It's probably one of the top 3 requirements for this rig. Nevermind nuclear power, computers or antibiotics, air conditioning is the greatest invention of the 20th century

 

[SNLC]

So it is really dirty like I say, sitting for three years. There is not many dents in it though, the roof has a few spots to knock out but what is most important on a Troopies roof is the gutter rails. On this truck, they look great with the factory seam sealer still looking alright. Seam sealer in other locations also looks good. Floor pans are pretty good as well. We might find a little of this or that when the body gets blasted but like I say, the biggest amount of work is in the rear floor cross-member. I am pushing to replace the entire rear cross member with a new OEM piece, if we can find it. The back doors are a bit rough as well but nothing that can't be fixed fairly easily. I couldn't find any rust in the firewall, rockers, bottom of doors, windshield frame and so forth.

Rear floor not to bad at all and won't need much if any work.

This is where I found the most bondo, very common spot for rust/rot on a 70-series. The other side doesn't have much if any bondo here so it is possible the bondo here is from a small fender bender. More like some of those young NGO workers backing into something. We will find out for sure when it gets blasted.

Overall, factory seam sealer is looking good on this truck.

No rust/rot in the bottom of the front doors.

Here is the best picture of the rust creeping into the rear floor cross member. Like I say, I would like to see this body piece removed and replaced with an OEM piece. @beno

Cheers

 

[SNLC]

Here you can see the factory seam sealer in the roof gutter rails is looking good. Few more years of sitting though and it will start blowing out and that is when the roof goes to hell.

Cheers

 

[roscoFJ73]

Hopefully @bjowett can source us some '07+ front end parts and we'll tack that on the front.

I dont understand why people want to do this. The V8 front end is an after thought from jamming a V8 that wasn't really designed to fit into the 7* series. It makes it look like 2 unrelated vehicles joined together.
While I wouldn't mind a new VDJ76, I think the old style front really suited the 7* . The new shape makes it look like all the other souless 4wd designs.

 

[TonyP]

I dont understand why people want to do this. The V8 front end is an after thought from jamming a V8 that wasn't really designed to fit into the 7* series. It makes it look like 2 unrelated vehicles joined together.
While I wouldn't mind a new VDJ76, I think the old style front really suited the 7* . The new shape makes it look like all the other souless 4wd designs.

Because I like it.

 

[SNLC]

Because I like it.

Me too.

37's should help it not look like a grocery getter.



Cheers

 

[TonyP]

I dig it. I even like the OEM wacky 80s style stickers

 

[SNLC]

I dig it. I even like the OEM wacky 80s style stickers

Ya a lot of people dislike the side graphics. I dig them too, on all models. Personal preference.

The right bar work and sliders and tires with the right proportions for lift and it will look like a completely different truck in a very good way. My opinion of course!

Cheers

 

[The Jade Bean]

I don’t blame you for keeping the a/c. I’d like to put coils on mine, but swapping the frame shows greater commitment than me. I’m stocked to see your progress.

 

[TonyP]

So many rustled jimmies...
The decision has been made.
Thanks for your input.

 

[jfrench]

The old style looks much better [IMHO].

Fixed it for you.

YOU would reconsider but it's clear TonyP has thought through it and is making the right choice for him as he explained above. You may not agree with him but it's easy to understand the L92 choice. I'm considering a similar project and personally, I like the old front clip on the Troopy, the newer one on the Utes and am not really a fan of any 76/77 iteration. It's all personal preference. Engine decisions are hard for some (me) and easier for others (you and TonyP).

Will be following this one closely. Good luck @TonyP and @RMP&O

 

[SNLC]

The difference of opinions depending on which Cruiser you own is funny. If this was an FJ62 getting an FJ60 front clip and v8 the opinions would be different. If it was an 80-series, again the opinions would be different. Having owned and done build threads in the 60/70/80/100 sections over the years on mud, people who own the different models are different kind of crowds from what I have noticed. In other words, what gets praise in one group gets criticism in another.

In the end, who cares what anybody thinks or what their opinion is!!?? It is Tony's truck and build, he is going to do what he wants and how he wants to suit him and his uses which very well may be vastly different than what you would do. Don't like it, skip the thread and move on.

My opinion, the 70-series section here on the forum needs more builds like this. There is hardly any customizing going on here in this section.

Cheers

 

[JuanJ]

Hello,

You should consider keeping the 80 Series' 1FZ engine, mated to a H150/151 transmission.

The 1FZ is a thirsty slug on 80 Series Cruisers, true. However, it delivers enough power and torque in a 70 Series body with a manual transmission. This is because a 70 Series' body is lighter than an 80 Series one.

It is still thirsty, but not as much as in an 80 Series.






Juan