Build The "Red Rocket" Troopy

[theglobb]

And just like the old times, here are some glamor shots.

And some non-troopy ones too.

Went paddleboarding with the lady and we ran into a MASSIVE sea turtle a half mile offshore, wish I had a photo.

Beach day with my buddies 1JZ 4Runner, it's just an angry, loud piece of Japanese metal

My dad's 40 we got back on a trade from @Roastchestnuts

and took the 90,000-mile 4Runner for a spin to get some for sale pics. If anyone is interested, shoot me a message!

Congratulations to your graduate. Where to next for her? work/graduate school/... Wishing the best for her.

You are already covered

Thank you! Glad you got to meet her at the Relic Run. We are kinda clueless at the moment, I'm starting to formulate a plan for another cross-country trip with the Red Rocket starting in late August/early September. She's just gonna find a job waiting tables or such until then, don't wanna be tied down or on a time constraint with that trip due to a possible good job she could score with her degree. After the trip. Potentially Australia. We'll see how things play out.

As for me, I'll just keep doing what I've been doing. It seems to be working pretty good for now! I'll see how long I can milk this I really enjoy not having a boss.

 

[schuy2147]

Love the glamour shots, as always!

I hear what you're saying about turning wrenches for a living, especially in today's auto market. Modern vehicles are not designed to be maintained by the owner like they once were. The Right to Repair legislation could help that but even so, the diagnostic tools, equipment, and electronic parts will still make it difficult for the average DIYer to do much of anything. Not much need for a real "mechanic" anymore as you're basically a parts changer. Not to mention the flat rate pay system that inadvertently promotes poor quality workmanship to beat the clock.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Glad to see that you are acutely aware of what you don’t like to do. Listen to it. Many lose years before they do. With each instance it sharpens the lense of purpose. The more things you embark on each year, the quicker you will realize your purpose. I have always shared with my boys a somewhat cheezy/ contorted saying…..”Try to be 90 years old before you are 30 years old….in experiences”. Looks like you’re well on track!

 

[onemanarmy]

Austria!
Put another shrimp on the barbe mate!

Those flight tix aint cheap! Better get to flipping cars something serious!

 

[robmobile73]

And just like the old times, here are some glamor shots.
View attachment 4157078View attachment 4157077View attachment 4157076
View attachment 4157084


And some non-troopy ones too.

Went paddleboarding with the lady and we ran into a MASSIVE sea turtle a half mile offshore, wish I had a photo.
View attachment 4157079
View attachment 4157080

Beach day with my buddies 1JZ 4Runner, it's just an angry, loud piece of Japanese metal
View attachment 4157082

My dad's 40 we got back on a trade from @Roastchestnuts
View attachment 4157083

and took the 90,000-mile 4Runner for a spin to get some for sale pics. If anyone is interested, shoot me a message!
View attachment 4157081




Thank you! Glad you got to meet her at the Relic Run. We are kinda clueless at the moment, I'm starting to formulate a plan for another cross-country trip with the Red Rocket starting in late August/early September. She's just gonna find a job waiting tables or such until then, don't wanna be tied down or on a time constraint with that trip due to a possible good job she could score with her degree. After the trip. Potentially Australia. We'll see how things play out.

As for me, I'll just keep doing what I've been doing. It seems to be working pretty good for now! I'll see how long I can milk this I really enjoy not having a boss.

Before you go to the land down under make sure you google prices. It's a really cool place, but expensive. Last time I was there in 11' a case of VB was about $60 US. A grilled cheese sandwich was $9 at a gas station. A bowl of ramen at the mall in Sydney was $16. SE Asia is quite an adventure and cheaper. The lower cost probably makes up for the language barriers..................Keep your girl happy and have fun!-R.

 

[svsisu]

Before you go to the land down under make sure you google prices. It's a really cool place, but expensive. Last time I was there in 11' a case of VB was about $60 US. A grilled cheese sandwich was $9 at a gas station. A bowl of ramen at the mall in Sydney was $16. SE Asia is quite an adventure and cheaper. The lower cost probably makes up for the language barriers..................Keep your girl happy and have fun!-R.

If he goes to Oz he'll be listening to Slim Dusty, flipping cars, and eating pies. No dramas.

 

[theglobb]

Well, I mentioned starting to build out the interior. That's what I've been working on while waiting on parts to arrive for that Mazda pickup.

Finished up the battery box and spare parts/tools bin.

Then started mocking up a reallll long and deep drawer.

Put two more storage units behind the drawer aswell thats all tied into 1 unit so its pretty strong.

had to snag a sunset pic of course

and as of today I wrapped up a bunch of little wiring that's connected to the 12v house battery and finally got my interior lights hooked up!

the photos don't do it justice but there is quite a ton of room and storage in here now, and I still have the other side to do!

as for the left hand side of the troopy, I dont know what to do with that side yet. I know I want it to have a taller (than the right side) flat surface that could act as a desk of sorts while youre sitting on the right. Other than that, I just don't know. Any and all recommendations will be appreciated!



Also I met up with @cruiserinsanity while he was an hour and a half away from Boone! It's always great to see another cruiserhead that's around my age with just as much, if not more knowledge about these things. Had a blast talking for the 4 hours or so we were with eachother.

and on another concerning note, r u s t....
when I put pressure on this caulk on the raingutter it squeezes water out. anyone have any ideas how I should go about this? dont know why it would be letting water in right here or how to fit it before it rots my whole gutter out.

Love the glamour shots, as always!

I hear what you're saying about turning wrenches for a living, especially in today's auto market. Modern vehicles are not designed to be maintained by the owner like they once were. The Right to Repair legislation could help that but even so, the diagnostic tools, equipment, and electronic parts will still make it difficult for the average DIYer to do much of anything. Not much need for a real "mechanic" anymore as you're basically a parts changer. Not to mention the flat rate pay system that inadvertently promotes poor quality workmanship to beat the clock.

yea modern cars disgust me. Make me sick to think about. And now here in the US they are passing all the laws to have the cameras in the car watching YOU 24/7. We are heading right into a mix of the movie Idiocracy combined with the book 1984, and I'll be MORE than happy to NOT be a mechanic in the coming years due to that. Flat rate is also such a scummy system, works for some mechanics if you sell you're soul and work 7 days a week, or if you work at a dealer and get real used to doing the same job over and over again.

Glad to see that you are acutely aware of what you don’t like to do. Listen to it. Many lose years before they do. With each instance it sharpens the lense of purpose. The more things you embark on each year, the quicker you will realize your purpose. I have always shared with my boys a somewhat cheezy/ contorted saying…..”Try to be 90 years old before you are 30 years old….in experiences”. Looks like you’re well on track!

I am too! Thank god I'm ahead of the curve than alot of others when it comes to that. I'm still not sure what I really want to do with life but I'm certainly gaining more and more skills to put at whatever I tackle in the future.

Before you go to the land down under make sure you google prices. It's a really cool place, but expensive. Last time I was there in 11' a case of VB was about $60 US. A grilled cheese sandwich was $9 at a gas station. A bowl of ramen at the mall in Sydney was $16. SE Asia is quite an adventure and cheaper. The lower cost probably makes up for the language barriers..................Keep your girl happy and have fun!-R.

Thanks for the heads up, we might just go the SE Asia route. My girlfriends family is from Laos & Thailand, lots of people we could stay with over there, even have had a open house offered to us whenever we want.

 

[jblueridge]

So when you press on the white metal or the caulk it forces water out?

Could the water come from condensation?
My folding windshield frame is rusting itself away; it seems like condensation is doing that.

What if you drill a 1/2' or 3/4' hole and look inside? Snakecam?
Could also be access for spraying rust inhibitors.
Close it up with a rubber plug later.

 

[svsisu]

I've wrestled with my cooler/fridge location, and really like the idea of having it near the front like yours. My issue with this is my predilection to drinking those things that are like having sex in a canoe, so in that regard it is probably best if I put mine as far away as possible. I also don't want to to have to jump in the truck every time I'm parked up and want something cold... so back of the bus I think for me. Maybe I should get one of those cute console fridges.

If you look closely you can see where my road trip cooler ended up- a compromise, middle ground, with the opening facing away from the driver, and a guard to keep one out until the destination is reached. Like most compromises, this is not the best solution.

There are now 2 red troopys roaming the mountains of NC

 

[Broski]

On the rain gutter issue it's possible the was some kind of contamination that kept the caulking from sealing properly.
IMO the caulking need to come out both surfaces dried and cleaned and then re caulked.
In short if you can squeeze water out then water can get in, you have a bad seal.

 

[Pulgasari]

Thanks for the heads up, we might just go the SE Asia route. My girlfriends family is from Laos & Thailand, lots of people we could stay with over there, even have had a open house offered to us whenever we want.

I lived in SE Asia for a bit as a kid and would definitely recommend it to anyone. Lots of stuff to do, very friendly people, safe, warm, and super cheap. The most expensive part is the flight. Like 15 years ago there were backpackers living on $10-15 a day including accommodation, costs are probably a bit higher these days.

Not a ton of Land Cruisers (import taxes are super high and many countries won’t allow you to bring in a vehicle over 3 years old) except in Cambodia… they brought in a ton of totaled US market Toyotas/Lexuses and fixed them up. I wanted an LX470 in part because I saw them everywhere, running on whatever was hand pumped from an unlabeled oil drum by a 9 year old kid on the side of the road. Pretty cool.

 

[theglobb]

Well... as per usual. This thing will always be the biggest pain in my ass for my entire life. There is no escape Before I get into this baffling metalic failure, check out this sweet photo I took while camping.

Anyways, I picked up a pretty clean Mercedes 300D roller for $600

and then I picked up this pretty totaled Mercedes 300D on a trade for some mobile welding work. I'm sure most can guess where this is going... Put the running drivetrain from the totaled merc into the clean roller.

Well, when I was towing the 2nd 300D with a total weight being pulled of roughly 11,000lbs. My transmission and Tcase shifter started wobbling like crazy and there was a crazy vibration throughout the car. Especially in the pedals. Something split or broke and I assumed it was the $20 chinese motor mounts finally giving up the ghost.


NOPE! it was my BELLHOUSING Split from the passenger side all the way over the top then down halfway on the driverside.

So yea... I doubt I can easily source a manual transmission Isuzu 4BD1T back half aluminum bellhousing. For anyone who isn't familiar the bellhousing on these motors is 2 pieces, the front one connected to the engine is cast iron, while the back part is aluminum. Why not just make them both iron? Who knows, why not just make it 1 bell housing? Well, there's probably a genuine reason for that. I'm just pissed, I hate aluminum. What an awesome metal, depending on the situation, but what a horrendous metal to use in any kind of vehicular-drivetrain situation.

I doubt I could successfully build a rear bellhosuing out of STEEL without messing up a bunch of different dimensions that are probably crucial to how everything operates. I do have access to an aluminum spool gun that I could weld the crack with, but I would bet a pretty penny that the stressed aluminum bellhousing would just split again right next to the weld.

I think my best option is attempting to source another one, then when I have my hands on it I can go and weld a bunch of crap everywhere to reinforce it so this won't happen again. I'm tempted to rip it out and just weld the crack up and then figure out how to reinforce it, but I just don't wanna waste all of that time to have it split on me 1,000 miles later...

Any advice or wisdom will be greatly appreciated and welcomed with open ears.

 

[bj70bc]

I wonder if something else has happened mechanically that split the bell housing. The housing might just be the effect of what occurred.

 

[theglobb]

I wonder if something else has happened mechanically that split the bell housing. The housing might just be the effect of what occurred.

Perhaps, I just fixed my weird driveline vibration which was the rear pinion bearing going out. The throughout bearing has been making some noise while the clutch is fully pushed in for the past 3 years. I just figured it was towing a pretty heavy amount of weight and split apart under quite a bit of torque, if it is something else mechanically that caused it to split I doubt I'll be able to pinpoint it. All I know is if it wasnt made out of aluminum, I bet I wouldn't be having this issue haha. I've dealt with alot of cracked aluminum bellhousings on a couple of different friends' cars as well as customers vehicles aswell when I was working in a shop... never heard of a cracked steel bellhousing or anything of the sort

 

[jblueridge]

I think you should look around for an experienced welder (person). Maybe an old school auto machine shop. If people can weld/braze cast iron blocks, the bellhousing might be fixable. Google claims it can be done. Seems like a TIG thing to me.