Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (7 Viewers)

[theglobb]

It appears you’re enjoying your Cruiser more so than the average guy.

Definitely, I already have my dream car.

 

[nuclearbeef]

Forging ahead with the hijack (per your request), here's the car I learned to drive on when I was 15. I guess I'm probably mid 20's in the picture?

1979 International Scout SSII. (factory soft top) Still have it, though its in need of restoration.

And here's my Red Rocket clone that I have today.

 

[theglobb]

Forging ahead with the hijack (per your request), here's the car I learned to drive on when I was 15. I guess I'm probably mid 20's in the picture?

View attachment 2436414

1979 International Scout SSII. (factory soft top) Still have it, though its in need of restoration.

And here's my Red Rocket clone that I have today.

View attachment 2436415

Awesome man!!! Both look super dope, glad I got a twin.

 

[FJBen]

Forging ahead with the hijack (per your request), here's the car I learned to drive on when I was 15. I guess I'm probably mid 20's in the picture?

View attachment 2436414

1979 International Scout SSII. (factory soft top) Still have it, though its in need of restoration.

And here's my Red Rocket clone that I have today.

View attachment 2436415

Hijack, I see you have 5 lug axles on your cruiser? later axle swap?

 

[r083rt]

Hijack, I see you have 5 lug axles on your cruiser? later axle swap?

My guess is 6 lug to 5 lug wheel adapters to run the split rims off later model Troopies.

 

[FJBen]

My guess is 6 lug to 5 lug wheel adapters to run the split rims off later model Troopies.

I think you are right looking closer, I see they are later splits and the hubs don't stick out as far as normal.

 

[nuclearbeef]

You got it, r083rt.
Adapters with the least spacing possible. 2", I think???
Those 5 lug splits are my favorite wheel of all-time. They make me weak in the knees.
As a bonus, you can pick them up for $50 each, with brand new tires mounted and balanced.
IIRC, 4 adapters were less than $300.

If you go this route, DO use lock tight on the allen bolts. Experience speaking.

 

[nuclearbeef]

 

[flx]

What is the difference between the old split rim and the newer ? What make them better ?

 

[nuclearbeef]

An awful lot, in my case...
But mostly looks.

 

[theglobb]

I have stayed away from going through the mud for a while due to a lot of mud being on private property and whenever my friends and I would go out in my 62 we were greeted on multiple occasions very harshly by the owners of the property (understandably). When one of my friends found a public area with mud I couldn't resist. Here are some pics I took before the Troopy turned absolutely brown. One thing that I would like to know if anyone else had ever experienced, was when I was going through some real thick mud aswell as when I went into a tug war with my friends 4runner in 1st gear low range, I would feel my engine starting to want to stall out and then it would. Like I couldn't create RPMs fast enough to fight the force of the mud. I was fully engaged in gear and didn't touch the clutch at all. The best was I can describe it is that it would suck my RPMs away slowly until I stalled out in gear. Is this a normal 3B thing? I'm assuming so, just want to be sure. Also, my father recently got a KZJ78 Prado, RHD, 5spd, Tripple Diff Lockers, the whole 9 yards for his DD. Once we replace the radiator that was totally shot then I'll get some pics of it and the Troopy out on the beach.

 

[FJBen]

Mud and Sand...HUGE power suckers. Especially when you are talking about 90 horsepower new.

ih8mud...thick mud sucks and will take every bit of power you have..(which isn't much with a 3B) RPMs have to be up, hit a lower gear and rev up.
I'm assuming you are in 4low?

 

[theglobb]

Mud and Sand...HUGE power suckers. Especially when you are talking about 90 horsepower new.

ih8mud...thick mud sucks and will take every bit of power you have..(which isn't much with a 3B) RPMs have to be up, hit a lower gear and rev up.
I'm assuming you are in 4low?

Yes 1st gear low range and it stalled out lol, started with my engine screaming and it slowly sucked it. Good to know though, thanks!

 

[FJBen]

you know what that means...

 

[theglobb]

Was driving on the beach today and in the distance thought I saw a 70 series, but nooo it couldn't be, probably just some weird Mitsubishi... Well turns out it was @robmobile73 with his awesome BJ73! He showed me his DIY turbo setup which is really helpful due to the fact that I'm a BROKE teenager, among many other things he has done to his Cruiser that I'll eventually do in the future. As much as I would love one of @Diesel42 kits, I just don't know if I'll have the money to get it. This will all be in the future regardless, still really helpful to get a good look at his setup and how he did it!

 

[theglobb]

And here's my Red Rocket clone that I have today.

dang, looking back at those pics of your Troopy, those split rims look better and better every time I look at them, I'll have to add that to the "Way In The Future" list

 

[theglobb]

And back to the usual, here's some more eye candy of the Red Rocket at sunset. There is however a new unsettling vibration in the steering wheel and gas pedal whenever I'm in 3rd gear and higher and turn the steering wheel even the tiniest bit. ehhhhhh it'll be fine, probably...

 

[gilmorneau]

dang, looking back at those pics of your Troopy, those split rims look better and better every time I look at them, I'll have to add that to the "Way In The Future" list

Split rims are heavy and sometimes difficult to balance (check out all the weights on the one in the photo above). Plus it's much harder to find a tire shop that will deal with them--most of the Discount/Les Schwab/Big O kind of shops are terrified of split rims. Some farm and big rig places know how to deal with them, though. If you really like the look, get some Vintiques from Summit or somewhere and paint them gray. Or get some split rims and send them to Stockton Wheel for them to cut the centers out and weld them into a standard, tubeless steel rim for you.

Vintiques on a 60:

Here's a sample of Stockton's work:

There is however a new unsettling vibration in the steering wheel and gas pedal whenever I'm in 3rd gear and higher and turn the steering wheel even the tiniest bit. ehhhhhh it'll be fine, probably...

Check for a thrown wheel weight--you might have lost one somewhere causing a wheel to be out of balance. And check those rims you have for damage. They're inexpensive and probably not the highest quality. Jack up the front of the car and check for play in bearings, bushings, tie rods, etc. Maybe something's come loose from all the mud and sand driving.

Or you could wait. You'll know just what it was when it breaks. lol...

 

[theferg]

You tricked me by bumping the original for sale thread... got my hopes up that this Troopy was back for sale. I shoulda bought it when I had the chance.

Looks like you are getting some great use out of it.

Also, the main take-away I've got after reading this whole thread is: "This truck needs a turbo."

Is Jefferson machine still doing turbo kits for the 3Bs? How about Diesel42?

 

[theglobb]

Split rims are heavy and sometimes difficult to balance (check out all the weights on the one in the photo above). Plus it's much harder to find a tire shop that will deal with them--most of the Discount/Les Schwab/Big O kind of shops are terrified of split rims. Some farm and big rig places know how to deal with them, though. If you really like the look, get some Vintiques from Summit or somewhere and paint them gray. Or get some split rims and send them to Stockton Wheel for them to cut the centers out and weld them into a standard, tubeless steel rim for you.

Vintiques on a 60:

View attachment 2460146


Here's a sample of Stockton's work:

View attachment 2460145




Check for a thrown wheel weight--you might have lost one somewhere causing a wheel to be out of balance. And check those rims you have for damage. They're inexpensive and probably not the highest quality. Jack up the front of the car and check for play in bearings, bushings, tie rods, etc. Maybe something's come loose from all the mud and sand driving.

Or you could wait. You'll know just what it was when it breaks. lol...

We have split rims on the 40 and I can confirm that they are VERY heavy and that no shops wanna touch them haha. They just look great on the Troopy in my opinion, plus if I one day turn into a super hardcore offroader/overlander way in the future it would be nice to be able to fix my own tires etc etc. However, I didn't know about those split rim look likes so thank you! I'll instead add those to the list instead of actual split rims

As for the funky vibration, I'll try to get under it tomorrow after we put the radiator in the Prado and find what's up with it. Hopefully something simple, I'd prefer to find the problem in my driveway rather than going 55mph in a turn... whatever I find, I'll let y'all know.