Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (7 Viewers)

[sodafeld1]

yeah, I'm just imaging how experienced globb would be by 40-50yrs. But then comes the mortgage and kids school and excursions and work and money and keep the family happy and more, then your hair goes grey or gets thinner or bald or all 3, loose a tooth/teeth, eyes start failing, old injuries, hearing, memory, nose and ear hairs grow long....

have fun now, enjoy the time with your dad, he loves you, do the best you can each time and next will better with a bit more money..

at least landcruisers are good investments, there are quite a few successful business built upon lc's awesomeness. There is a guy sth. of sydney with about 50 x 40 series, when he needs some money he just sells one..they don't really loose value if stored dry.

 

[gilmorneau]

nose and ear hairs grow long....

truth.

 

[theglobb]

Thank you everyone for all the advice when it comes to motor mounts. Really helped my dad and I understand how to do it properly and all the extra info we wouldn't know without experience/trial and error.

We have run into another kind of roadblock... Definitely, ways to work around it we just don't know what's acceptable or not to do and how to approach it. Basically the whole engine, transmission and everything when bolted all together isn't level... No matter what we do, where we mount, or how we do anything it's always cocked and this is just cause the transmission cross member is not level from the factory, so everything else is thrown off because of that. The motor mount on the driver side is about level with the top of the frame rail while the passenger side is about halfway up, just looking at it it's obviously off-level...

Here's 2 more videos explaining, please watch to get a better idea than in the photos



So now my question is... do we lift that side of the engine up using leverage from that piece of wood I showed, then do out best to tack stuff in place? orrr is there some other alternative. Or does it not matter how leveled or centered the engine is? orrrrrr???? So many unknowns for 2 guys who have never done this before. Any advice or knowledge is plenty welcome as usual! We messed with this for the whole day, just trying to level stuff and are now at a standstill as we don't know whats right or wrong to do. Leaving for college on Monday, so tomorrow is the last bit of progress we will make for a while

I'm using the stock isuzu motor mounts and will then fab something to attach them to the frame

 

[sodafeld1]

what's really good is that you don't have a customer hassling you 3x a day, is it finished yet?

 

[robmobile73]

Thank you everyone for all the advice when it comes to motor mounts. Really helped my dad and I understand how to do it properly and all the extra info we wouldn't know without experience/trial and error.

We have run into another kind of roadblock... Definitely, ways to work around it we just don't know what's acceptable or not to do and how to approach it. Basically the whole engine, transmission and everything when bolted all together isn't level... No matter what we do, where we mount, or how we do anything it's always cocked and this is just cause the transmission cross member is not level from the factory, so everything else is thrown off because of that. The motor mount on the driver side is about level with the top of the frame rail while the passenger side is about halfway up, just looking at it it's obviously off-level...

View attachment 3219605View attachment 3219604

Here's 2 more videos explaining, please watch to get a better idea than in the photos



So now my question is... do we lift that side of the engine up using leverage from that piece of wood I showed, then do out best to tack stuff in place? orrr is there some other alternative. Or does it not matter how leveled or centered the engine is? orrrrrr???? So many unknowns for 2 guys who have never done this before. Any advice or knowledge is plenty welcome as usual! We messed with this for the whole day, just trying to level stuff and are now at a standstill as we don't know whats right or wrong to do. Leaving for college on Monday, so tomorrow is the last bit of progress we will make for a while

I'm using the stock isuzu motor mounts and will then fab something to attach them to the frame

Unless someone else smarter chimes in here: Don't worry about it being perfectly level. If it's within 10 degrees probably good to go. I wouldn't expect near term trouble unless it's more than 20 degrees. You can always put some washers under one side of your mounts if it bothers you.

 

[Felde]

I wonder on the root cause for the angle.
I assume the frame and the transmission cross member are straight / not deformed (but probably worth checking).
I also assume the Isuzu engine is supposed to sit level. (Some engines are supposed to sit tilt).
If the cross member thus is supposed to be angled from factory, the transmission (mounted to the cross member as per factory) is supposed ! to sit at an angled, too!
(I'm calling the entire unit of gearbox and transfer case 'transmission' here).
(Maybe anybody with a troopy can confirm wether it sits level or at an angle from factory?)

Having the transmission at an angle and the engine level means: There must be an engineered twist in the connection between transmission and engine in the 3B's bellhousing. The Isuzu apparently doesn't have this and your adapter plate doesn't care for it.
If you set the 3B level and compare the angle of the transmission bolts left to right, I guess they are at an angle, while on the leveled Isuzu they are probably also level.
My concern is that there might be lubrication issues in the transmission if you put it level. (Remember: Correct oil level is determined by position of the filling hole). Likewise the engine.

If my assumption is correct, this basically leaves you with three options :
a) Put one item at full angle and put the other at factory level. No idea which one would suffer the least when sitting at an angle.
b) Distribute the angle (engine and transmission both a bit off from their factory position) and life with it, hoping this causes no issue.
c) Redo the adapter plate
You are doing brave. Keep the spirit up! Ralf

 

[RHINO]

its actually fairly common for engines to be canted a bit off center, or offset in the chassis, even crooked in the chassis is not uncommon, for clearance, sometimes for driveline angles ect. obviously you dont want to be waay off, but it wont hurt anything not sitting level completely level and plumb.

i'd have to go out and look but i dont think my crossmember is angled like that, also, looking at your engine placement, the starter side is about where mine sat, but your right, the oil filter side is off, its definatelt cockeyed as you put it in the vid.

lemme look through old pics, maybe i have a few i could post here of the motor mounts i made and a few others that might be usefull to you. in the meantime heres my build thread if you want to look, it has some decent pics of the mounts, clearances ect.

enough talk !!!

time to get busy, heres a little teaser pic.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[RHINO]

Ok, just went out and look at things, crossmember is canted like yours, but I can see the bellhousing is leveling the engine, so, spacer up your trans mount low side, or re drill your spacer to bolt the engine in plumb?

 

[theglobb]

Thanks for checking!! I was just typing asking for someone to check and saw you responded.

My bellhousing is off canter and so is my engine, all at the same level as the cantered cross member… weird. May just try to shove a bunch it stuff under that passenger side mount and see if it would level out, we already did a 1/4 inch and nothing changed. Half in now?

 

[cruisermatt]

Leave it with that angle so your shifters stay in the correct spot.

 

[Rigster]

Leave it with that angle so your shifters stay in the correct spot.

THIS

If things like shifters, the mounts and whatnot all line up relatively well (without stresses or binding) then move forward. If not, then make little adjustments to make it so.

Way to go, bud... the character this is building alone is worth it! You will also have plenty of stories to tell of the adventure afterwards.

 

[onemanarmy]

Yea...I'd be more concerned with how straight up and down the transmission and tcase levers were up in the cab (don't want them leaning left or right excessively) than if the engine was tilted a few degrees.

 

[Tigris]

Thank you everyone for all the advice when it comes to motor mounts. Really helped my dad and I understand how to do it properly and all the extra info we wouldn't know without experience/trial and error.

We have run into another kind of roadblock... Definitely, ways to work around it we just don't know what's acceptable or not to do and how to approach it. Basically the whole engine, transmission and everything when bolted all together isn't level... No matter what we do, where we mount, or how we do anything it's always cocked and this is just cause the transmission cross member is not level from the factory, so everything else is thrown off because of that. The motor mount on the driver side is about level with the top of the frame rail while the passenger side is about halfway up, just looking at it it's obviously off-level...

View attachment 3219605View attachment 3219604

Here's 2 more videos explaining, please watch to get a better idea than in the photos



So now my question is... do we lift that side of the engine up using leverage from that piece of wood I showed, then do out best to tack stuff in place? orrr is there some other alternative. Or does it not matter how leveled or centered the engine is? orrrrrr???? So many unknowns for 2 guys who have never done this before. Any advice or knowledge is plenty welcome as usual! We messed with this for the whole day, just trying to level stuff and are now at a standstill as we don't know whats right or wrong to do. Leaving for college on Monday, so tomorrow is the last bit of progress we will make for a while

I'm using the stock isuzu motor mounts and will then fab something to attach them to the frame

On the "Leveling woes" video...

Idk if I'm missing something here but, since I see that you are using an analog level (air bubble) you almost certainly won't have a level crossmember on that truck, since the level (the measuring device) is not relative to the truck but rather to "earth". Think physics...

I didn't see anything indicating that the vehicle was leveled out prior to checking. But even that is irrelevant.

To actually verify whether the crossmember is "level" with say the transmission or the engine pans you will need a digital angle finder (the kind that you can zero on any object to obtain your "level" zero datum point. From there you can check if you have a discrepancy with other surfaces under the truck.

I hope that makes sense. Cheers!

 

[AirheadNut]

On the "Leveling woes" video...

Idk if I'm missing something here but, since I see that you are using an analog level (air bubble) you almost certainly won't have a level crossmember on that truck, since the level (the measuring device) is not relative to the truck but rather to "earth". Think physics...

I didn't see anything indicating that the vehicle was leveled out prior to checking. But even that is irrelevant.

To actually verify whether the crossmember is "level" with say the transmission or the engine pans you will need a digital angle finder (the kind that you can zero on any object to obtain your "level" zero datum point. From there you can check if you have a discrepancy with other surfaces under the truck.

I hope that makes sense. Cheers!

Agreed with the above. I would also point out that the built in level feature in most phones works just fine if it has a degree readout, you can get a datum for your vehicle level and then just subtract that from the reading on your crossmember. I have a cheap, Harbor Freight analog angle finder that I have used in the same way, it works great. Also, make sure that when moving or adjusting your transmission position you don't change the driveline u-joint angles by more than a degree or two, as that can lead to all kinds of woes chasing vibrations (ask me how I know!).

That said, I wouldn't worry about having the engine tilted by a few degrees in the engine bay, other than that it might make it a little more of a pain to get some stuff hooked up to it.

 

[jamierea]

Beautiful car! What a rig! Etc etc. Consider this thread watched.

Not to divert the recent conversation but do you know the paint code? Apologies if this has been asked many times in the 50 pages prior!

 

[theglobb]

Back in town, time to do some stuff. Realized I never figured out measurements for a custom pilot bearing which means I never ordered one... oops. We have steel for the motor mounts can probably tack into place but need a bigger welder to actually make the welds solid. Heres basically a list of what needs to be done:

• Motor Mounts Welded in
• Custom pilot bearing
• Replace rear main seal
• Figure out how to mount the box truck radiator in the troopy?
• Reroute some brake lines/ hoses as the engine runs into them
• New and longer clutch hose going to the slave cylinder as its on the opposite side that the 3B's was on
• Figure out how to make the alterantor justttt right and lined up correctly with all the other belts
• Wire some stuff I really dont know
• Figure out some sort of intake piping, yet the intake of the turbo is facing backwards to the firewall...
• Replace all these small coolant hoses aswell as trying to figure out what kind of radiator hoses I will need

God I cant imagine how difficult this would be with an eletronically controlled engine... all of this mechanical stuff is pretty confusing on its own to keep track of.

I've missed being on the fourms and staying up to date with everyone and their current builds/things they are doing. Will keep y'all updated

 

[theglobb]

Beautiful car! What a rig! Etc etc. Consider this thread watched.

Not to divert the recent conversation but do you know the paint code? Apologies if this has been asked many times in the 50 pages prior!

Thank you!!!! I dont know the paint code sadly... some of the paint is original but the French who owned it before me gave it a pretty crappy paint job and temporarily slathered over the rust it had. If you know a way of finding the paint through the vin tag let me know and I'll send it to you

 

[FJBen]

Thank you!!!! I dont know the paint code sadly... some of the paint is original but the French who owned it before me gave it a pretty crappy paint job and temporarily slathered over the rust it had. If you know a way of finding the paint through the vin tag let me know and I'll send it to you

It should be on the vin tag as a 3 digit number.

 

[svsisu]

Thank you!!!! I dont know the paint code sadly... some of the paint is original but the French who owned it before me gave it a pretty crappy paint job and temporarily slathered over the rust it had. If you know a way of finding the paint through the vin tag let me know and I'll send it to

I don't know how many different "reds" there were of that vintage in Europe but my 86 red troopy color code on the VIN tag is 3F4, simply Red

Some fun source material:

Toyota 3F4 is simply named "Red". Japanese "Aka" 赤

From:

70 Series official color code thread

Colour code : 033 St. Moritz White. 1987 BJ71 JDM

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Rigster]

I don't know how many different "reds" there were of that vintage in Europe but my 86 red troopy color code on the VIN tag is 3F4, simply Red

Some fun source material:

From:

70 Series official color code thread

Colour code : 033 St. Moritz White. 1987 BJ71 JDM

forum.ih8mud.com

I think it is an exact match to the red in their flag of the "rising sun", but of course it would sound ostentatious of them to call it "rising sun red" so thus, simply... red.

This of course is all just conjecture on my part, but it sounded good in my head. Now if I could just do something about the voices....