Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (2 Viewers)

[Roastchestnuts]

I've thought that many times, the car market right now is just absolutely bonkers. an old 4runner would probably be as much as that 1HDft that just came up for sale in the classifieds, or an old subaru i could get for cheaper and then probably pay close to what the 4runner would've been worth in repairs. Prius is a great idea, just still really expensive compared to the prices I'm used to seeing like 2 years ago.

Nailed it

Yea I am a bit attached, went all over the country in it and many many other places in between. Not to mention all the great people I've met because of it. That being said, this troopy has quite a fair share of rust in the body, like a lot... that was crappily repaired in France to look great just long enough for some poor sucker to buy it in the states. Now 2 years into ownership its really coming back STRONG. I was planning on showing it off once I got more comfortable with body work/welding but it seems that an engine is now quite a priority now. What I'm getting at is that people are scared by rust, really really scared. I really don't know if anyone would want to trade their 60 for a troopy that has no engine and a fair share of rust.

Basically, if I were to buy a beater I'd rather just buy an engine for that price or throw another grand or 2 into the price of a beater to get a solid engine. I really would like a 14B, I also had the fact of putting BACK in a 3B, absolutely hate it, if that local guy would've been willing to part ways then I would have because it would have been just so easy and I would've still been able to pull off the trip to Montana. Now I have no clue how long it'll take for a 3B to get here for time will tell.

I am attached to mine too. The land cruiser community (especially the 70 series community) have been really awesome, I have met some really cool people including your Mom and dad, I hope to meet you at some point too! and @LuckyDevil . I think the only thing I would trade mine for would be a land cruiser truck of some sort or a fj55.

Yeah I feel you on the rust! Us both being in salty environments does not help. flip side there are many many fj60s with rust too haha. My kzj78 has rust in the front fenders that I need to repair. I can't find new fenders for it or even used ones. I am planning on buying a mig welder to learn to weld body work. I have done mig before when I was in college but it was for art not automotive. I am glad you are keeping it. even if you have to mothball it for a year. I think you will be kicking yourself if you don't keep it. Like I said I wish I had kept my 1986 4runner when my engine went in a similar fashion to your Buddys.

 

[svsisu]

You missed one in your used car search.

Not necessarily a beater or gas saver, but it would be a head turner and continued story generator, would probably hold 12+ App State students and a few surf boards. Priced right, and ticks a couple of boxes, but I'm unsure of its off road capability. A case of rattle can red and you have a red rocket redux while you get the original sorted.

Not mine

For Sale in Oriental, NC

"2001 Cadillac Hearse; less than 93k miles. Runs well, clean, a problem with steering. Asking $2000 based on blue book “Fair” condition of a similar make/model sedan. A fun project vehicle!"

 

[Gun Runner 5]

You missed one in your used car search.

Not necessarily a beater or gas saver, but it would be a head turner and continued story generator, would probably hold 12+ App State students and a few surf boards. Priced right, and ticks a couple of boxes, but I'm unsure of its off road capability. A case of rattle can red and you have a red rocket redux while you get the original sorted.

Not mine

For Sale in Oriental, NC

"2001 Cadillac Hearse; less than 93k miles. Runs well, clean, a problem with steering. Asking $2000 based on blue book “Fair” condition of a similar make/model sedan. A fun project vehicle!"

View attachment 3031880

I’d call “shotgun” if I was going to ride in that one.

 

[janyyc]

I’d call “shotgun” if I was going to ride in that one.

Don’t think they take reservations…

 

[theglobb]

Man, tough one.

I wouldn’t want to slap it back together with a broken crank. Just a knock and spin bearing, yeah but the crank I’m guessing there is a lot more wrong. That’s a machine shop job for sure to make sure everything is right.

At this point, unless you can find a cheap 3b I’d be looking at a different swap. That engine is just so under powered as you know.

The problem you have is you’ve got a B series transmission. So swapping to 1HZ/1hdt will necessitate an input shaft swap at the very least along with motormounts, radiator swap. Swaps will always cost more than you think. Tons of little things.


The easiest is to find another 3b/13bt/14bt or an awesome 15bt. All “bolt in”

Every other swap will need modded to various degrees. I think a 2uz would be amazing in a troopy. That engine rocks in my tundra and they are pretty cheap Becuase well they don’t break down and not a lot of people need them. That said it would take more work than a ls swap.

I wouldn’t ditch the troopy. The prices have any sky rocketed and chances of finding another is really slim. Especially a LHD troopy. I regret cruisers I’ve sold.


As for the commuter, they are out there you just have to find the deals and jump on them. I just picked up a 98 jetta tdi 5 speed for 1200. That’s minimum 45mpg and cheap parts. 14” rims lol.
No headgasket crap.


If you can get a 3b cheap and quick, do it. If not, long term plan what you want that troopy to be. Lots of swaps have been done and and the pitfalls have been well documented.


Now something I would take a serious look at swap wise IF you go down that route, is the Isuzu 4bd1t. Pretty cheap really to find. Strong, reliable Tons of support and parts and I believe still adapters for the h55f. That would be the thing to check into imo.


Good luck, let me know if I can help.

Yea... broken crank would just necessitate going throughout most of the engine, would end up being more costly and take more time than just new engine and go. I really just don't want to put a 3B back into it. I don't want to turbo another 3B in fear of this happening, I tuned it so it would never even go over 1000f on the EGT's at maximum throttle pulling up a hill for minutes, no black smoke ever, thought I was playing on the safe side... But in that case where I don't turbo a 3B, I wouldn't be able to drive it anywhere in the mountains where I'll live for 9 months out of the year... or take it across the country again in any timely fashion. When I took it up without a turbo to the mountains I was stuck in 1st and 2nd gear, crawling up most inclines at 10 mph, the turbo let me be able to do most inclines in 3rd gear at 30 mph. Still a lot slower than 55 mph but very livable. That being said I don't have the funds for anything more than a 3B, not to mention I don't see any 13B, 14B, 15B's for sale in America right now. Unless somehow Lucky Devil finds an engine he would rather swap in and we yank his out, repair the piston ring, and then swap it into mine... that would be ideal but I also don't want there to be any pressure for him to go out of his way, buy a whole new engine, and sell his to me, just so I can have a troopy that is somewhat more driveable than a 3B is. Sticky situation. I have heard about the Isuzu diesel, just everything I see for them was from like Mud back in 2005-2010. If I could find one for cheap and then a bell housing, clutch, etc etc, I might be able to pull it off

You missed one in your used car search.

Not necessarily a beater or gas saver, but it would be a head turner and continued story generator, would probably hold 12+ App State students and a few surf boards. Priced right, and ticks a couple of boxes, but I'm unsure of its off road capability. A case of rattle can red and you have a red rocket redux while you get the original sorted.

Not mine

For Sale in Oriental, NC

"2001 Cadillac Hearse; less than 93k miles. Runs well, clean, a problem with steering. Asking $2000 based on blue book “Fair” condition of a similar make/model sedan. A fun project vehicle!"

View attachment 3031880

I have actually mentioned multiple times purchasing a hearse to my parents before you can get great deals on them!!! But specifically a JDM one like this

It would be SO COOL.

 

[reddog90]

Man this sucks to read. Another vote for a not cool s***ty DD car and mothball the troopy for a proper swap when you have the money. The 10 year older globb would probably agree. It won’t be charming, but you can still drive a little car on your road trip and make memories.

 

[LuckyDevil]

theglobb sent me this

SOLD - 1HDT

1994. 90000 miles. Verifiable. Includes engine harness. Compression figures: 450,450,460,450,450,460. $7750. Port shipping $950.

forum.ih8mud.com

I know everyone likes the red rocket. I have shesmad converted bj74

BJ74 Restoration and LHD Conversion has begun!

I purchased a good condition 1985 BJ74 about a year ago. I have been driving it daily since then, just to make sure everything worked, find any bugs, and just enjoy it. During that time, I searched and found a wrecked 1985 BJ70 that I imported for parts. 70 donor vehicle--partially torn down...

forum.ih8mud.com

Anyone have a opinion or concerns about selling my 13bt so theglobb can fix it and me getting the 1hdt for my bj74.
It would be fun to help him and solve my problem. I've reached out to seller for more info and pics of the 1hdt.

 

[gilmorneau]

13B-t should be an easy swap to replace a 3B, so no concerns there, really.

If you want to replace your 13B-t with a 1HD-t, it's a fair bit more work, but it's been done. The results could be stellar.

Biggest concern is the "problems" that your 13B-t has. @theglobb probably doesn't want to replace a junk motor with another junk motor, even if it's a nicer junk motor. IMO, job #1 would be to determine what's going on with your 13B-t. Can't see how you or globb can move forward without knowing that. What's the 13B-t doing that leads you to believe it's got a problem? What have you done to troubleshoot it?

Related anecdote: I had a 13B-t that was laying down a smokescreen like a Bond villain eluding pursuit. Thought it was rings, thought it was injectors, thought it was a bunch of things. Until we tore it apart. It was a valve/guide problem. Not super difficult to fix, but we had to tear the motor down to properly ascertain what was going on.

 

[LuckyDevil]

13B-t should be an easy swap to replace a 3B, so no concerns there, really.

If you want to replace your 13B-t with a 1HD-t, it's a fair bit more work, but it's been done. The results could be stellar.

Biggest concern is the "problems" that your 13B-t has. @theglobb probably doesn't want to replace a junk motor with another junk motor, even if it's a nicer junk motor. IMO, job #1 would be to determine what's going on with your 13B-t. Can't see how you or globb can move forward without knowing that. What's the 13B-t doing that leads you to believe it's got a problem? What have you done to troubleshoot it?

Related anecdote: I had a 13B-t that was laying down a smokescreen like a Bond villain eluding pursuit. Thought it was rings, thought it was injectors, thought it was a bunch of things. Until we tore it apart. It was a valve/guide problem. Not super difficult to fix, but we had to tear the motor down to properly ascertain what was going on.

Theglobb was actually here the other day looking at my 13bt. We wanted to try a couple things before tearing into the engine. It was doing like yours. Smoke screen. Seemed more like unburnt fuel. Running ruff. And high blow by pressure. So now we may be more motivated to realy dive into it. I definitely don't want to give him any more head aches if possible. I'd feel horrible.

 

[TonyP]

theglobb sent me this

SOLD - 1HDT

1994. 90000 miles. Verifiable. Includes engine harness. Compression figures: 450,450,460,450,450,460. $7750. Port shipping $950.

forum.ih8mud.com

I know everyone likes the red rocket. I have shesmad converted bj74

BJ74 Restoration and LHD Conversion has begun!

I purchased a good condition 1985 BJ74 about a year ago. I have been driving it daily since then, just to make sure everything worked, find any bugs, and just enjoy it. During that time, I searched and found a wrecked 1985 BJ70 that I imported for parts. 70 donor vehicle--partially torn down...

forum.ih8mud.com

Anyone have a opinion or concerns about selling my 13bt so theglobb can fix it and me getting the 1hdt for my bj74.
It would be fun to help him and solve my problem. I've reached out to seller for more info and pics of the 1hdt.

chapel gate is legit if that's any help.

 

[SNLC]

I bought a 2wd king cab 4cyl Tacoma for a shop runner. $2k. Gets great mpg and will do 75mph no probs. Can carry three adults no probs and has a good stereo.


Back burner the Troopy for a year or two while you do a proper engine swap. I am also betting somebody would trade you an 80-series for the Troopy.

Seems your choices are that or find a used 3B.

Cheers

 

[FJ73Texas]

I vote keep the troopy no matter what. It served you well up until now. With some TLC, it can continue to do so.

 

[theglobb]

Welp there we go, it’s out. Nothing to put back in but it’s out. Such a pain in the dirt, and rain. But especially the dirt.

Slight victory in this overall major defeat, interested to dive into the motor and see how many chunks of the crank I get to pull out

 

[prwillard2]

Welp there we go, it’s out. Nothing to put back in but it’s out. Such a pain in the dirt, and rain. But especially the dirt.
View attachment 3032363View attachment 3032366View attachment 3032367View attachment 3032368View attachment 3032369

Slight victory in this overall major defeat, interested to dive into the motor and see how many chunks of the crank I get to pull out

OSHA having a heart attack

 

[Gun Runner 5]

OSHA having a heart attack

Like those guys work on the weekends.

 

[svsisu]

Welp there we go, it’s out. Nothing to put back in but it’s out. Such a pain in the dirt, and rain. But especially the dirt.
View attachment 3032363View attachment 3032366View attachment 3032367View attachment 3032368View attachment 3032369

Slight victory in this overall major defeat, interested to dive into the motor and see how many chunks of the crank I get to pull out

Well done guys!

 

[theglobb]

After some thinking... I really don't want a 3B back in there. Like man this engine SUCKS for the USA. Great torque for plowing through unpaved roads in 3rd world countries but obviously just doesn't belong in a troopcarrier of all things. Maybe a 40 or 70 but a troopy??? I'd just be kicking myself knowing I've gone through all of this effort just to end up with the same dog of an engine. That being said I do really like diesels, especially 4cylinder toyota ones. I'll be trying my hardest to find a 13bt, 14b, 15b, 15bt, literally anything higher up that would be relatively plug and play. Love the 3B and I've loved learning on it, such a simple machine for what it is and I love it for that. I just need anything different. I'm not narrowing my search to just B series diesels, if some crazy deal comes up on an engine that I just couldn't refuse then sure, but for the main part I'll be looking for 13bt and up

OSHA having a heart attack

For sure! Pulled it off almost just as well, if not worse, than those kids in Pakistan fixing 3B's with rocks and stones. You should have seen me wedging my entire body in between the roof rack and top of the engine hoist just to get enough force to move the hoist in the conditions we had haha.

13B-t should be an easy swap to replace a 3B, so no concerns there, really.

If you want to replace your 13B-t with a 1HD-t, it's a fair bit more work, but it's been done. The results could be stellar.

Biggest concern is the "problems" that your 13B-t has. @theglobb probably doesn't want to replace a junk motor with another junk motor, even if it's a nicer junk motor. IMO, job #1 would be to determine what's going on with your 13B-t. Can't see how you or globb can move forward without knowing that. What's the 13B-t doing that leads you to believe it's got a problem? What have you done to troubleshoot it?

Related anecdote: I had a 13B-t that was laying down a smokescreen like a Bond villain eluding pursuit. Thought it was rings, thought it was injectors, thought it was a bunch of things. Until we tore it apart. It was a valve/guide problem. Not super difficult to fix, but we had to tear the motor down to properly ascertain what was going on.

If I could get it for the right price, then rebuild it it would be worth getting a junk motor if I were to save some money in the long run, especially with the ease of having an engine where I live... 10 minutes away. The 1hdt is pending sale so chances are Lucky Devil wont end up with it.

I vote keep the troopy no matter what. It served you well up until now. With some TLC, it can continue to do so.

Yes for sure, not selling this unless some kind stranger wants to offer me a stupid amount of money for a rusty troopy with no engine

 

[Gun Runner 5]

When someday you get around to cleaning out your photo gallery do not mistakenly delete this one.

 

[nuclearbeef]

After some thinking... I really don't want a 3B back in there. Like man this engine SUCKS for the USA. Great torque for plowing through unpaved roads in 3rd world countries but obviously just doesn't belong in a troopcarrier of all things. Maybe a 40 or 70 but a troopy??? I'd just be kicking myself knowing I've gone through all of this effort just to end up with the same dog of an engine. That being said I do really like diesels, especially 4cylinder toyota ones. I'll be trying my hardest to find a 13bt, 14b, 15b, 15bt, literally anything higher up that would be relatively plug and play. Love the 3B and I've loved learning on it, such a simple machine for what it is and I love it for that. I just need anything different. I'm not narrowing my search to just B series diesels, if some crazy deal comes up on an engine that I just couldn't refuse then sure, but for the main part I'll be looking for 13bt and up



For sure! Pulled it off almost just as well, if not worse, than those kids in Pakistan fixing 3B's with rocks and stones. You should have seen me wedging my entire body in between the roof rack and top of the engine hoist just to get enough force to move the hoist in the conditions we had haha.

View attachment 3032473View attachment 3032472


If I could get it for the right price, then rebuild it it would be worth getting a junk motor if I were to save some money in the long run, especially with the ease of having an engine where I live... 10 minutes away. The 1hdt is pending sale so chances are Lucky Devil wont end up with it.

Yes for sure, not selling this unless some kind stranger wants to offer me a stupid amount of money for a rusty troopy with no engine

If you decide to go back with the 3B, I have one I'd sell you.
I also have a 3B with a cracked block. Good crank, pistons, rods...

 

[robmobile73]

You have a prime opportunity while you have it apart to make some measurements and a template of plexiglass on the front of your transmission for future swap info. If I was in Wilmington for something I'd like to go over there and do that myself.

From what I've read the spline count on an hz1 transmission and 3b tranny is the same but on one of them the shaft is longer, but a 10 mm spacer plate can make up the gap. Not sure if that is hz1 mounted to a 3B tranny, or 3B mounted to an hz1 tranny. A spacer plate between bellhousing and tranny is probably easier to make than one between tranny and engine.

I've heard people say the bolt pattern of the back of the engine is the same across Toyota, and I've heard people say they were all different.

Getting the engine and tranny and all to bolt together is the difficult part. New motor mounts and moving radiator shrouds and hoses is not that bad, if you're okay with strong and ugly and don't have to have beautiful and perfect.

2uzfe in the tundra is a wonderful engine. It would push your troopy beautifully. Don't know about the bolt pattern on the back of the engine. Any gas conversion will however make your troopy a gas hog.