Build The "Red Rocket" Troopy

[Felde]

Jonathan, make sure in the first place now you get some fun out of it.
Fix what is important to make it safe and reliable (brakes are sort of important ), put some stuff in to make it feel nice (matress, , girlfriend, barbecue, fridge, more friends...) and then drive it.
Have fun Ralf

 

[svsisu]

Jonathan, make sure in the first place now you get some fun out of it.
Fix what is important to make it safe and reliable (brakes are sort of important ), put some stuff in to make it feel nice (matress, , girlfriend, barbecue, fridge, more friends...) and then drive it.
Have fun Ralf

No matter what, @theglobb knows how to have fun!!

 

[theglobb]

It was 44 degrees the other day so I took advantage of the "warmth" and caulked the rest I needed to in my wheel wells along with painted. Got real cold again and snowed so I haven't driven it as there's still stuff underneath the vehicle I need to paint but its too cold to.

Replaced the parking brake cable, the passenger side pin was totally seized. Took an hour, tons of heat and oil to get it out but eventually did!

New shiny cable

so much crap, cant wait till the weather isnt wet, rainy, or snowy to be able to clean everything up and out of the mud.

Some photos of my beater 60 in the snow

and I sold my Plymouth Volare for $6400! Quite the increase from the $1300 I got it for. Gotta pay off my credit card that's been funding the troopy revival now, sadly wont have too much money left over after that and all my other bills. I'm now on the hunt for another cheap car to pick up, do a little work to, and flip. That's really how I've been able to fund repairs to the Red Rocket over the past couple years.

Didn't get nearly as much done as I wanted to this weekend but I spent alot of my time helping a buddy of mine buy a Mitsubishi Might Max, along with doing a rough tuneup along with all oils changed.

 

[theglobb]

Always love following this thread.

Re: 24 to 12V - many things now run natively off of 24V, including most fridges, diesel heaters, LEDs. Thinner wires, less complexity, one fewer part to fail, and one expense off of the list for you.

I would stick with 24V.

Noted thanks for the knowledge, only thing I end up running into issues with is finding 24v stuff that isn't off the walls pricey compared to a 12v item that's exactly the same. That's really why I would like to go 12v, I buy mostly everything I own either used off of Facebook Marketplace or from Harbor Freight. Most all people selling used "overlanding" stuff on marketplace only have the stuff in 12v.

You realize this sort of creative tenacity qualifies you to be a front-runner for a future manned mission to Mars? I'd never wish that on you........ On the threaded holes not lining up My truck cutting some metal tabs and threading them then threading bolts through the top into those tabs and positioning the top where you want then just tack will those tabs to your troopy instead of trying to match whatever holes are in the troopy.

HA! It'd take someone with a lot more skill than I to go to mars. I'm just good at jerry-rigging stuff. Thanks for the tip on the holes not lining up, I'll give it a shot when I get a free chance.

x2. I first had a 24-12 converter in, but they draw a constant load that eventually drains the starter battery. Removed it and went for all 24V.
In the long run, @theglobb s idea is good: A separate house battery. But make sure there is a starter battery protector in place.
Cheers Ralf

I was thinking of getting this one https://bluemarine.com/products/victron-orion-tr-smart-24-12-24-24 which has the "smart' feature to not kill the batteries and only draw on them while they are charging.

Jonathan, make sure in the first place now you get some fun out of it.
Fix what is important to make it safe and reliable (brakes are sort of important ), put some stuff in to make it feel nice (matress, , girlfriend, barbecue, fridge, more friends...) and then drive it.
Have fun Ralf

I will! Promise. Just need to touch up a couple more things on it and weld some sort of exhaust system back onto it. Hard to do in this weather

 

[bj70bc]

$6400! holy ****, congrats

 

[FJBen]

Didn't get nearly as much done as I wanted to this weekend but I spent alot of my time helping a buddy of mine buy a Mitsubishi Might Max, along with doing a rough tuneup along with all oils changed.

I have a dodge ram D50 just sitting in Colorado. It’s a Mitsubishi money max, needs carb rebuilt, alt and new tires but has always been a a great little truck. I either need to fix or sell it.

Great little trucks.

 

[svsisu]

so much crap, cant wait till the weather isnt wet, rainy, or snowy to be able to clean everything up and out of the mud.

Like I told my dad, it’ll be dry and warm in the summer.

We almost lost all our net today, had to launch the dory in big surf to get all the gear back to the beach. It was hectic, and pissing rain the whole time. Made about $10.00 on 800 lbs of fat back. You did better on the Volare

Point is, you’re crushing it my friend!

 

[theglobb]

It's been cold, snowy, and not the fun kinda snow. More like the nasty slushy salty mix of snow that eats cars alive, perfect for my beater 60 to drive in. It's also been too cold to do any of the leftover caulking and painting to the underneath of the troopy that I've needed to do before I drive it on the road. So as much as I've wanted to drive it, the salty slush in combination with bare metal underneath has deterred me from doing so.

Lots of little odds and ends have been done! Brake line has been made so my rear brakes work again now.

Finally put in some actual battery tiedowns as opposed to my homeade ones (on the left)

Replaced these little hood bumpers.

I need to reweld the exhaust that I cut off to repair rust in the rockers. I'm not a fan of the side exit exhaust I had on it previously but it was cheap/easy at the time. I'm planning to upgrade to a Holset HX30 when my funds can handle that and will reroute the exhaust out the rear then. Planning to do all of the work and welding myself as I'm much better at welding than I was 2 years ago.

Rear output seal on the crusty 60 let loose, was leaking out about a quart every 40 miles or so. Popped a new seal in and shes good as new! Even with 300,000 miles on it this transmission shifts so well.

We had a random 50f day here today! Melted all of the snow thank god. So I took advantage of that to paint and caulk everything I needed to. It's dropping to 9 degrees tomorrow though... short-lived warmth

$6400! holy ****, congrats

Right! Dude didn't even negotiate or test drive before he gave me the money I had to convince him to take it for a spin before I gave him the title haha

I have a dodge ram D50 just sitting in Colorado. It’s a Mitsubishi money max, needs carb rebuilt, alt and new tires but has always been a a great little truck. I either need to fix or sell it.

Great little trucks.

These are really cool trucks. I've never really batted an eye at them before until he picked it up. I'd totally snag one if it came along my way for the right price. He's learning about cars, I've shown him how to replace shocks, brake hoses, oil, plugs, wires, valve cover gasket, etc. All of those super simple easy jobs that are great to learn how to work on cars.

 

[bj70bc]

It's been cold, snowy, and not the fun kinda snow. More like the nasty slushy salty mix of snow that eats cars alive, perfect for my beater 60 to drive in. It's also been too cold to do any of the leftover caulking and painting to the underneath of the troopy that I've needed to do before I drive it on the road. So as much as I've wanted to drive it, the salty slush in combination with bare metal underneath has deterred me from doing so.
View attachment 4047844

Lots of little odds and ends have been done! Brake line has been made so my rear brakes work again now.

Finally put in some actual battery tiedowns as opposed to my homeade ones (on the left)
View attachment 4047848

Replaced these little hood bumpers.
View attachment 4047847View attachment 4047846

I need to reweld the exhaust that I cut off to repair rust in the rockers. I'm not a fan of the side exit exhaust I had on it previously but it was cheap/easy at the time. I'm planning to upgrade to a Holset HX30 when my funds can handle that and will reroute the exhaust out the rear then. Planning to do all of the work and welding myself as I'm much better at welding than I was 2 years ago.
View attachment 4047845

Rear output seal on the crusty 60 let loose, was leaking out about a quart every 40 miles or so. Popped a new seal in and shes good as new! Even with 300,000 miles on it this transmission shifts so well.
View attachment 4047849

We had a random 50f day here today! Melted all of the snow thank god. So I took advantage of that to paint and caulk everything I needed to. It's dropping to 9 degrees tomorrow though... short-lived warmth
View attachment 4047840View attachment 4047842View attachment 4047841


Right! Dude didn't even negotiate or test drive before he gave me the money I had to convince him to take it for a spin before I gave him the title haha

These are really cool trucks. I've never really batted an eye at them before until he picked it up. I'd totally snag one if it came along my way for the right price. He's learning about cars, I've shown him how to replace shocks, brake hoses, oil, plugs, wires, valve cover gasket, etc. All of those super simple easy jobs that are great to learn how to work on cars.

View attachment 4047843

He musta lost his virginity in the back of a volare and wanted it to relive his youth

 

[theglobb]

Hadn't been driving it for the past week due to tons of salt being on the roads, luckily a big rain came through and washed it all away. Now I've been able to put roughly 100 miles on it and its doing great. The engine swap never really gave me many issues, surprisingly, just due to how jerry-rigged and homemade everything is.

Rewelded the exhuast back into place, I hate it and it's loud/smelly. Might be pushing for that Holset HX30 turbo upgrade sooner than later so that I can also fab up some rock sliders for it.

Lost my low-profile 10mm allen head tool to be able to reach the oil drain plug that's squeezed between the driveshaft... so I just made one, its welded on the back.

Was right at my 4,000 mile oil change interval conviently enough, and was about 2 years overdue... Threw some Rotella T6 back into it. Once more I was reminded of my dad and I's amazing engineering to keep the front u-joint lubricated without having to actually grease it. Pure genius

Color-matched oil filters?!?!?!?!?!?!? Yup, pretty fancy over here.

For anyone who is confused by the 2 oil filters, this Isuzu 4BD1T is pretty industrial. It has a normal oil filter just like any other engine but then also has a tiny oil filter that has a much smaller micron rating. It slowly pulls oil from the main supply and filters it down super fine. Honestly, a 4,000 mile oil change interval is probably way overkill for this engine, especially with me running full synthetic in it. However I'm sticking to that for now, might send an oil analysis off and up it to 5,000 miles in the future.

Found a pack of 10 NOS fuel filters on Ebay for the Isuzu and sent an offer that was so low I figured they would turn it down. $35 dollars later and now I'm set for a long time. Changed the filter out for peace of mind.

That's all I got for now! Will be driving the Red Rocket back home to Wilmington for Christmas, might tow my old 52' Willys with it as I'm planning on moving out from the current tweaker dungeon I've been living in for the past year and need to thin down my automotive collection in the high country.

Will update with good or bad news after my 6 hour drive to Wilmington.

 

[bj70bc]

at least you dont have to wear goggles to do it!

 

[theglobb]

I had a little bit of drama before I left, my Malaysian 24V forklift alternator stopped charging, luckily I have been anticapating this moment for the past 4 years and snagged a 24v alternator from a 2B engine a bit ago. Then had that local guy near my Jon, rebuild it. So I spent a while changing that out as I had to swap vacuum pumps and pulleys to the new one.

Put it all back together, started it, and I saw arc flashes randomly from under my hood while I was driving... not good. I must have shifted something while changing it and that let the positive to the starter start arcing out on the downpipe to the turbo.


Snagged some new of the same gauge wire from an old snowplow at work and tossed it on there, it was longer so I could route it better too!


The drive went great! Not a single issue. Averaged 18.7mpg at 75mph (gps confirmed) Not too shabby!

Parked it in my yard Christmas Eve, started it and drove it 3 miles on Christmas day and it broke down... @Shyrock saved the day and dry towed me back to the shop. Tons of air was making its way into the fuel lines and no matter how much I bled it it just kept coming back. Checked all the soft lines, clamps, fittings, etc couldnt find an issue. Figured the sock in the tank was clogged so I drained all the fuel out to drop the tank... then before dropping the tank my dad suggested running it off of the buckets of diesel I had to confirm where it would run ok at and where it was sucking air in from. Turns out due to my extremely home-made engine swap... I wore a hole into a fuel hardline, due to the air filter rubbing against the hardline. Totally my fault. FUN! I'm gonna have a fun time sourcing one of those, in the meantime, epoxy is currently drying on it so we'll see how well that holds for a temp fix.

A little bit of sediment/rust in the first 5-gallon tank pour I did, glad that's now out of there.

So I did as any reasonable person does when their truck breaks down... and bought another truck. A pretty clean little 1991 Mazda B2600 4x4 with only 120,000 miles on it.

Now there is a catch/reason why I snagged it for $1500... the floors have been cut out and the guy didnt know what he was doing and just gave up on the project. Perfect for me! I'll weld some floor pans in it tomorrow, throw the interior back together, change the fluids, shine the paint, and see if I can make a decent profit on it!

That's all for now. Will update if the epoxy on the fuel line works or not

at least you dont have to wear goggles to do it!

man that was a cold 300 miles... was much more enjoyable this time!

 

[gilmorneau]

Good to see the @Shyrock 80 in action!

 

[bj70bc]

I had a little bit of drama before I left, my Malaysian 24V forklift alternator stopped charging, luckily I have been anticapating this moment for the past 4 years and snagged a 24v alternator from a 2B engine a bit ago. Then had that local guy near my Jon, rebuild it. So I spent a while changing that out as I had to swap vacuum pumps and pulleys to the new one. View attachment 4055850

Put it all back together, started it, and I saw arc flashes randomly from under my hood while I was driving... not good. I must have shifted something while changing it and that let the positive to the starter start arcing out on the downpipe to the turbo.


Snagged some new of the same gauge wire from an old snowplow at work and tossed it on there, it was longer so I could route it better too!


The drive went great! Not a single issue. Averaged 18.7mpg at 75mph (gps confirmed) Not too shabby!
View attachment 4055852View attachment 4055851


Parked it in my yard Christmas Eve, started it and drove it 3 miles on Christmas day and it broke down... @Shyrock saved the day and dry towed me back to the shop. Tons of air was making its way into the fuel lines and no matter how much I bled it it just kept coming back. Checked all the soft lines, clamps, fittings, etc couldnt find an issue. Figured the sock in the tank was clogged so I drained all the fuel out to drop the tank... then before dropping the tank my dad suggested running it off of the buckets of diesel I had to confirm where it would run ok at and where it was sucking air in from. Turns out due to my extremely home-made engine swap... I wore a hole into a fuel hardline, due to the air filter rubbing against the hardline. Totally my fault. FUN! I'm gonna have a fun time sourcing one of those, in the meantime, epoxy is currently drying on it so we'll see how well that holds for a temp fix.
View attachment 4055849
View attachment 4055848
View attachment 4055847

A little bit of sediment/rust in the first 5-gallon tank pour I did, glad that's now out of there.
View attachment 4055846


So I did as any reasonable person does when their truck breaks down... and bought another truck. A pretty clean little 1991 Mazda B2600 4x4 with only 120,000 miles on it.
View attachment 4055856View attachment 4055855

Now there is a catch/reason why I snagged it for $1500... the floors have been cut out and the guy didnt know what he was doing and just gave up on the project. Perfect for me! I'll weld some floor pans in it tomorrow, throw the interior back together, change the fluids, shine the paint, and see if I can make a decent profit on it!
View attachment 4055854


That's all for now. Will update if the epoxy on the fuel line works or not



man that was a cold 300 miles... was much more enjoyable this time!

anything touching those lines will rub a hole in them even soft heater hose or whatever, isolate your contact points with sleeves that are zip tied tight or adhered onto them

 

[Felde]

Sounds like a fun family Christmas .
Glad you didn't glow up the troopy like a Christmas tree.
Great little truck you found; amazing how you always dig up those opportunities.
All the best for the new year.
Cheers Ralf

 

[robmobile73]

I had a little bit of drama before I left, my Malaysian 24V forklift alternator stopped charging, luckily I have been anticapating this moment for the past 4 years and snagged a 24v alternator from a 2B engine a bit ago. Then had that local guy near my Jon, rebuild it. So I spent a while changing that out as I had to swap vacuum pumps and pulleys to the new one. View attachment 4055850

Put it all back together, started it, and I saw arc flashes randomly from under my hood while I was driving... not good. I must have shifted something while changing it and that let the positive to the starter start arcing out on the downpipe to the turbo.


Snagged some new of the same gauge wire from an old snowplow at work and tossed it on there, it was longer so I could route it better too!


The drive went great! Not a single issue. Averaged 18.7mpg at 75mph (gps confirmed) Not too shabby!
View attachment 4055852View attachment 4055851


Parked it in my yard Christmas Eve, started it and drove it 3 miles on Christmas day and it broke down... @Shyrock saved the day and dry towed me back to the shop. Tons of air was making its way into the fuel lines and no matter how much I bled it it just kept coming back. Checked all the soft lines, clamps, fittings, etc couldnt find an issue. Figured the sock in the tank was clogged so I drained all the fuel out to drop the tank... then before dropping the tank my dad suggested running it off of the buckets of diesel I had to confirm where it would run ok at and where it was sucking air in from. Turns out due to my extremely home-made engine swap... I wore a hole into a fuel hardline, due to the air filter rubbing against the hardline. Totally my fault. FUN! I'm gonna have a fun time sourcing one of those, in the meantime, epoxy is currently drying on it so we'll see how well that holds for a temp fix.
View attachment 4055849
View attachment 4055848
View attachment 4055847

A little bit of sediment/rust in the first 5-gallon tank pour I did, glad that's now out of there.
View attachment 4055846


So I did as any reasonable person does when their truck breaks down... and bought another truck. A pretty clean little 1991 Mazda B2600 4x4 with only 120,000 miles on it.
View attachment 4055856View attachment 4055855

Now there is a catch/reason why I snagged it for $1500... the floors have been cut out and the guy didnt know what he was doing and just gave up on the project. Perfect for me! I'll weld some floor pans in it tomorrow, throw the interior back together, change the fluids, shine the paint, and see if I can make a decent profit on it!
View attachment 4055854


That's all for now. Will update if the epoxy on the fuel line works or not

man that was a cold 300 miles... was much more enjoyable this time!

Rubbing holes after installing alternate parts is what killed my 3b. Check your coolant lines. My suction line rubbed on my steering column shaft. Pinhole sucked in air when running making an air bubble in my water pump and no circulation. Hot engine cold radiator.

 

[theglobb]

It's been a minute! I welded the floor up on that Mazda and and put a bunch of miles on it while I was back home in Wilmington.

Painted the interior floor of the troopy with my leftover tractor paint.

And freshened up the bumper as the paint was in really rough shape

Then after that I welded together a rear bumper for the Mazda as the old one was beyond rotted out

Loaded up a ton of scrap metal, (my 2nd blown up 3B is pictured) truck did well with it, I grew to like it more and more.

Tighty'd up a ton of little things on the troopy here and there but the most satisfying visual change was recaulking the windshield. The original windshield caulk was super hard to form and dried in less than 30 minutes. I also had a 103f degree fever and was borderline delirious whilst doing it it looked bad...

So I spent the time and redid it all, it's certainly not perfect but SO much better!

 

[theglobb]

I've avoided driving the Red Rocket during the salt and snow so far but I can't avoid it forever sadly... Life changes are happening as I'm moving out from that rat infested tweakhole, which I'm not upset about in the slightest. However, I'm losing my almost unlimited parking up here in a small town that has a parking/housing crisis. Will be thinning out the herd and the troopy will be one of 2 cars I'll have. So I coated EVERYTHING with PB Blaster's Surface Shield, I heard it's thicker and adheres for longer compared to fluid film.

We'll see how it lasts.


I'll be towing the 52 Willys home with that crusty 60 I have and will be parking them both in Wilmington. Who knows, maybe @Roastchestnuts might buy that Willy sometime this summer if everything aligns.

I have my tweaker truck lined up to sell on Saturday for $3200, not bad for a $200 truck It's come a long way since I first spotted it whilst doing tree work and building bridges after that hurricane last year decimated WNC.

Shined the paint up a little bit and color-matched a topper I had for it. That definitely helped with the crazy price I'm getting for this thing. It's been a great truck for me. 14,000 miles in the past year pretty much trouble-free other than a clutch replacement. With only 125,000 miles, it'll serve the next owner well aswell.

My work got really slow this winter and with nothing to do other than clean the shop every day, I was laid off. Ended on great terms, I have access to the shop's machinery whenever I want, along with an outstanding recommendation from my boss. With all of these life changes happening I figured I'd make another one and instead of finding some job doing whatever for the next 4 months or so (planning another cross-country trip), I would instead buy a mobile welding generator from Harbor Freight as they had a recent sale of 30% off all welders. I'll just be welding for my own, along with flipping cars for now.

Check out my temporary welding rig I'll build that 4x4 Mazda out for welding next week once I get my hands on it again.

 

[gilmorneau]

That photo of the crusty 60 towing the Willys reminded me of my ill-spent youth, except it was VW's I scoured the country for in the days before the internet.

Here's my Montero towing a "barn find" 1947 VW Beetle the day I bought it:

And the day I sold it:

Hijack over. Carry on.

 

[robmobile73]

It's been a minute! I welded the floor up on that Mazda and and put a bunch of miles on it while I was back home in Wilmington.
View attachment 4067731View attachment 4067730

Painted the interior floor of the troopy with my leftover tractor paint.
View attachment 4067729View attachment 4067728

And freshened up the bumper as the paint was in really rough shape
View attachment 4067727

Then after that I welded together a rear bumper for the Mazda as the old one was beyond rotted out
View attachment 4067726View attachment 4067725

Loaded up a ton of scrap metal, (my 2nd blown up 3B is pictured) truck did well with it, I grew to like it more and more.
View attachment 4067724

Tighty'd up a ton of little things on the troopy here and there but the most satisfying visual change was recaulking the windshield. The original windshield caulk was super hard to form and dried in less than 30 minutes. I also had a 103f degree fever and was borderline delirious whilst doing it it looked bad...
View attachment 4067723

So I spent the time and redid it all, it's certainly not perfect but SO much better!View attachment 4067722

Some people will use a piece of ice to smooth out caulking. Caulk doesn't stick to the ice so it works well.