Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (3 Viewers)

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42601-60262-03 & 255/85R16...

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I’ll have to factor in a set of 16 inch wheels aswell for these. I’ll save up a bit more and see if I can get a set of steelies for cheap. This is the size I want to go with. A shame the only people who make this size in 17’s are Mickey Thompson

I’ve never really messed with wheel sizing and onset/offset so I don’t understand the measurements, gonna have to read up on it now. And what fits a 70 series since I’ve heard they are picky.
Tacoma 6 lug 16" steelies with 1" spacers work on my bj73 and are cheap on eBay. 17" steelies are used on gen1 tundra spare tires and might not need spacers. Front tie rod end is what rubs without a spacer and taco rims.

Drunk people normally have plenty of mon ey to spend to go drinking. Afterward the have very little money to spend to fix their car. You make me want to put the other troop seat back in and take my 73 to Charleston on the weekend to shuttle girls to and from college of Charleston. I don't think my wife will be ok with it though.
 
My neighbor up the road from me in Maui sold this a few months ago.


If I hadn’t just bought my 75 I would’ve bought it for the engine.

I’d imagine something like this would be a cool people mover. And when it pays itself off and you’re done with college you could yank the engine for safe keeping.
 
testing towing with my trash trailer, had a bit of a tail wag while towing it due to not enough tongue weight, put a heavy 8lug steelie up front and fixed the issue. Also did my average MPG while ubering this past weekend... came out to 20.5mpg, pretty darn good since I was loaded with 1000-2000lbs stop and go in a town with hills everywhere, it was driven HARD, barely ever in 5th gear. This also leads me to ask, at what weight should I not tow in 5th gear? I know its not good to tow after a certain amount of weight you are towing, don't want to fry 5th.

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Sorry if I missed it, are you currently running 16s or 17s?
Currently running 17s, would like to go to 16's for that tire size
42601-60262-03 & 255/85R16...

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U know I might get some hate but I've never been a fan of those wheels, especially cant see them on a troopy, let alone mine. Depends on how the rest of the rig looks.
Tacoma 6 lug 16" steelies with 1" spacers work on my bj73 and are cheap on eBay. 17" steelies are used on gen1 tundra spare tires and might not need spacers. Front tie rod end is what rubs without a spacer and taco rims.

Drunk people normally have plenty of mon ey to spend to go drinking. Afterward the have very little money to spend to fix their car. You make me want to put the other troop seat back in and take my 73 to Charleston on the weekend to shuttle girls to and from college of Charleston. I don't think my wife will be ok with it though.
This is exactly what I was thinking, before I even saw this comment I had gone and picked up a tacoma spare tire, for free, just a nice ride in my Mercedes through the country side.

It's honestly such a good gig, if I had full faith in the troopy I would just do that full time... even still has me questioning my worth at this shop, love the people in it, just the pay is sub par.
My neighbor up the road from me in Maui sold this a few months ago.


If I hadn’t just bought my 75 I would’ve bought it for the engine.

I’d imagine something like this would be a cool people mover. And when it pays itself off and you’re done with college you could yank the engine for safe keeping.
Man what a good idea. Could start some little small business with it. Honestly for up here the troopy is perfect for hauling people. A lot of the parties are up some pretty intense dirt roads, tight turns, etc etc. That ambulance would be interesting to wheel to say the least.

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On the way to get the wheel and tire
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Here's the actual wheel, brand new Tacoma spare. find 3 others, take the tires off, get my money back. I think they will look nice on the troopy if I paint them gray
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testing towing with my trash trailer, had a bit of a tail wag while towing it due to not enough tongue weight, put a heavy 8lug steelie up front and fixed the issue. Also did my average MPG while ubering this past weekend... came out to 20.5mpg, pretty darn good since I was loaded with 1000-2000lbs stop and go in a town with hills everywhere, it was driven HARD, barely ever in 5th gear. This also leads me to ask, at what weight should I not tow in 5th gear? I know its not good to tow after a certain amount of weight you are towing, don't want to fry 5th.

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Currently running 17s, would like to go to 16's for that tire size

U know I might get some hate but I've never been a fan of those wheels, especially cant see them on a troopy, let alone mine. Depends on how the rest of the rig looks.

This is exactly what I was thinking, before I even saw this comment I had gone and picked up a tacoma spare tire, for free, just a nice ride in my Mercedes through the country side.

It's honestly such a good gig, if I had full faith in the troopy I would just do that full time... even still has me questioning my worth at this shop, love the people in it, just the pay is sub par.

Man what a good idea. Could start some little small business with it. Honestly for up here the troopy is perfect for hauling people. A lot of the parties are up some pretty intense dirt roads, tight turns, etc etc. That ambulance would be interesting to wheel to say the least.

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On the way to get the wheel and tire
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Here's the actual wheel, brand new Tacoma spare. find 3 others, take the tires off, get my money back. I think they will look nice on the troopy if I paint them gray
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I think you may only need 3/4" spacers, but I used 1". Orange loc tite torque and retorque after 200miles or so is mandatory..... It's hard to find those rims or a Tacoma in the junkyard.i paid less than $60 each for new in eBay with free shipping.
If the trailer is so l light you don't know it's back there you can probably use 5th. Otherwise 4th.
 
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Quick primer on backspacing/offset I posted in another thread somewhere:

16x6 with 0 offset = 3.5" backspacing (This is stock for your Troopy)

16x7 with 0 offset = 4" backspacing (This should fit without spacers if you don't go too wide with tires)
16x8 with 0 offset = 4.5" backspacing (You'd need spacers)

16x7 with 12 to 15 ish offset = 4.5" backspacing (approx) (You'd need spacers)
16 x7 with -12 to -15 ish offset = 3.5" backspacing (approx) (No spacers required--stock backspacing--but arguably hard on wheel bearings)

16x8 with -25 offset = 3.5" backspacing (No spacers required, but even more leverage on the bearings than the 16x7)

I'll be running some 16 x 7 3rd gen 4Runner spares on my HDJ80 (the white one you rode in when you were here). They have less backspacing than the Tacoma wheels pictured above, but you'd still need spacers to run them on your Troopy. The 4Runner steelies have approx. 15mm offset, the Tacoma steelies have more like 25mm (so about 1/2" difference).

Here are the wheels (42601-35750) all painted gray and ready for tires:

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BTW, I've got two extras (not painted) you can have if you want to pay shipping or come get them.
 
Could start some little small business with it. Honestly for up here the troopy is perfect for hauling people. A lot of the parties are up some pretty intense dirt roads, tight turns, etc etc. That ambulance would be interesting to wheel to say the least.
It's done all over the world..
'Black taxi', 'Marshrutka', 'Uber', call it what you want.
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You can even offer the 1st world luxury version, with seating and shelter in a well maintained and upgraded rig 😆
Cheers Ralf
 
I had Tacoma steelies on my 73 and it did in fact require 1" spacers, sadly. Ran them for 6 months until I found a set of real LC steelies locally.

Globb, can I ask what camera/lens you use for your photographs? They're all just perfectly exposed.
 
BTW, I've got two extras (not painted) you can have if you want to pay shipping or come get them.
Thanks for the in depth rundown on the whole offset/backspacing world of wheels. Makes it a lot easier to understand when it's all laid out like that. Could those 2 extras you have fit on my rear wheels just fine? If so I might just take you up on that! That gray is the exact color I'm looking to do for the red rocket, any idea of a paint code or kind of paint for it?
It's done all over the world..
'Black taxi', 'Marshrutka', 'Uber', call it what you want.
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You can even offer the 1st world luxury version, with seating and shelter in a well maintained and upgraded rig 😆
Cheers Ralf
I need to get my heat hooked up next!!! gonna be interesting as one of my heater fittings to the cab is angled 90 degrees downwards directly ontop of my turbo
I had Tacoma steelies on my 73 and it did in fact require 1" spacers, sadly. Ran them for 6 months until I found a set of real LC steelies locally.

Globb, can I ask what camera/lens you use for your photographs? They're all just perfectly exposed.
I've always been weary of spacers. Just like retreads, I've always read the horror stories about them. Then again most of that just has to be due to user error. When I get a set I won't totally cheap out and install them correctly.

As for a camera I am currently using a Nikon Z6 with a 24-70mm lense. These modern day cameras have so much technology in them, along as you get the settings somewhere in the right spot its pretty difficult to take a bad photo lol. Usually, just shoot at the widest aperture possible unless the whole scene needs to be in focus. Also I was pursuing a photography degree up here at App State but after not learning much in 2 years that I didn't already know and seeing how much of a waste of time it was, I've switched to welding.
 
Thanks for the in depth rundown on the whole offset/backspacing world of wheels. Makes it a lot easier to understand when it's all laid out like that. Could those 2 extras you have fit on my rear wheels just fine? If so I might just take you up on that! That gray is the exact color I'm looking to do for the red rocket, any idea of a paint code or kind of paint for it?

I need to get my heat hooked up next!!! gonna be interesting as one of my heater fittings to the cab is angled 90 degrees downwards directly ontop of my turbo

I've always been weary of spacers. Just like retreads, I've always read the horror stories about them. Then again most of that just has to be due to user error. When I get a set I won't totally cheap out and install them correctly.

As for a camera I am currently using a Nikon Z6 with a 24-70mm lense. These modern day cameras have so much technology in them, along as you get the settings somewhere in the right spot its pretty difficult to take a bad photo lol. Usually, just shoot at the widest aperture possible unless the whole scene needs to be in focus. Also I was pursuing a photography degree up here at App State but after not learning much in 2 years that I didn't already know and seeing how much of a waste of time it was, I've switched to welding.
I was a photography major as well for my first two years but I hated the photography department at Gardner Webb because of a bad professor. Caused me to transfer schools even. Honestly I think I pretty much knew everything they were trying to teach. In terms of composition having a good eye and just shooting lots is key. I lean more towards the creative side of photography anyway and its why I ended up a fine arts major. I hope you do keep doing your photography though you are great at it! FYI I took a whole bunch of welding sculpture classes in college. didnt offer a welding major but would have done that if given the opportunity.
 
Thanks for the in depth rundown on the whole offset/backspacing world of wheels. Makes it a lot easier to understand when it's all laid out like that. Could those 2 extras you have fit on my rear wheels just fine? If so I might just take you up on that! That gray is the exact color I'm looking to do for the red rocket, any idea of a paint code or kind of paint for it?

I need to get my heat hooked up next!!! gonna be interesting as one of my heater fittings to the cab is angled 90 degrees downwards directly ontop of my turbo

I've always been weary of spacers. Just like retreads, I've always read the horror stories about them. Then again most of that just has to be due to user error. When I get a set I won't totally cheap out and install them correctly.

As for a camera I am currently using a Nikon Z6 with a 24-70mm lense. These modern day cameras have so much technology in them, along as you get the settings somewhere in the right spot its pretty difficult to take a bad photo lol. Usually, just shoot at the widest aperture possible unless the whole scene needs to be in focus. Also I was pursuing a photography degree up here at App State but after not learning much in 2 years that I didn't already know and seeing how much of a waste of time it was, I've switched to welding.
I had some trouble with spacers and learned so I'll share. Started with 2" "to make sure I had enough" Which was a mistake. You need some clearance but not too much and the bigger the spacer the more stress on the lugs. My first set was "hub centric" but the "centering lip" was smaller than the ID of my front hubs. So I removed the Hub centering lip. I did not use lock tite and did not retorque after 200Miles or so. A month later my right front had a shake and when I checked it I found 2Broken lugs and the spacer was loose so I retightened, lock tight, Put on new studs and moved on. On the rear due to stamped steelies not being perfectly flat and having high spots the steel wore into the aluminum giving more clearance and causing them to be loose/wobble and the wheel actually came off going down the road. Straight flat road at about 50mph so I just slowed to a stop and pulled over, but I watched that tire and rim fly down the road and only by luck did it not hit an oncoming vehicle. With spun aluminum rims the mating surfaces are completely flat and this would not have happened....................... After this I ordered 1" lug centric spacers and installed them with lock tite orange properly torqued, retorqued and checked periodically. They've been on there a couple years and 5K miles + with no issue....................You can't cut corners with spacers. Big tires, out of balance tires, aggressive mud tread and all put much more stress on spacers than someone using them on a honda civic to mount cool rims.

I taught surveillance photography which included the basics for a couple of years formally as an instructor. I found it difficult to convince many people why you just can't be lazy and put the camera on Automatic mode when you only have one chance to get the shot so I was big on the basics of exposure etc... What is hard to keep up with is everything that is possible with software and advanced firmware in modern cameras and how to answer the student question of: "why can't we just do X because my camera has X feature that does this so much easier?" When I had never seen that feature or that new camera. Tech moves too fast to keep up with without a team of people researching for you. I would expect them to spend alot of time teaching "how to get a job as a photographer and how to market yourself" if it was a college major. Not just how to take pictures/the basics. College is mostly supposed to broaden your mind and make you a more well rounded person, but if they didn't tell you how to make money with your major they'd be doing you a disservice.
 
Good job switching to welding. You'll always have work, and friends (who need something welded!)

I can't imagine getting a degree in photography, frankly - like getting a degree in poetry. If you can do it, go do it. If you can't learn art you can't be taught art. You can be taught CRAFT, but not art. You're obviously a fine photographer that grasps light, framing, composition, humor, etc. etc. and if you don't "get" that it can't really be taught. And I'm sure for every picture you put up here you delete 50. Which is the way it's done.

Great thread - lots of ways to go off topic! :cheers:
 
Could those 2 extras you have fit on my rear wheels just fine?
Do you mean could you use the 4Runner steel wheels on the rear axle of your Troopy without spacers? Maybe...but it would be close, depending on tire size. They'd work better with spacers--you'd probably only need 1/2". That would give you an effective backspace of about 4", which should work fine with all but wide tires. If you use the Tacoma steelies up front, you'd need 1" spacers on those to clear and to get your front and rear track width to be (more or less) the same. I'm not generally in the pro-spacer camp, but if you have to use them, less is probably better. I also can't really recommend using Taco wheels mixed with 4Runner wheels. If you decide to go this route, choose one or the other and get the appropriate spacers.
That gray is the exact color I'm looking to do for the red rocket, any idea of a paint code or kind of paint for it?
I had some original-paint split rims here, including one that had been a spare and never saw the light of day. Couldn't find any "off the shelf" paint that matched, or was really even close, so I had the gray matched to the original Toyota color at a paint shop. (Relatively) low gloss, epoxy with hardener. Painted the wheels myself on a cheap lazy susan I got at the hardware store housewares dept.

BTW, re: the above discussion of towing in 5th gear, it's not so much just towing that does in 5th on an H55. Just because you can drive up a hill loaded and in 5th gear doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Dragging that little Datsun thing around, especially if it's empty or you're on flat ground, shouldn't be too much of a problem.
 
Ok well, this is why my fuel gauge hasn't been working...
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PB blastered it, free up the frozen float rod, wire brushed it and shot electronic cleaner into it, andddd it works lol. Pretty hilarious. I'll get a new one whenever I do another mass partsouq shipping order. And yes I ground down the rust in the floor, converted it, and painted it.
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Now for tires I knew the tacoma spares wouldn't fit the front but I was kinda betting on just getting 2 spacers for the front, not 4 for all around. But they don't fit on the rear either. hit the leafs before you can get them fully on. I cant find any steelies with this look that have the correct offset to fit the troopy that arent like $250 a wheel. Think I'm going to go the 3rd gen 4 runner spare route. Get 2 from @gilmorneau and the other 2 either off of ebay or hopefully cheap locally.

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Ok well, this is why my fuel gauge hasn't been working...
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PB blastered it, free up the frozen float rod, wire brushed it and shot electronic cleaner into it, andddd it works lol. Pretty hilarious. I'll get a new one whenever I do another mass partsouq shipping order. And yes I ground down the rust in the floor, converted it, and painted it.
View attachment 3411503


Now for tires I knew the tacoma spares wouldn't fit the front but I was kinda betting on just getting 2 spacers for the front, not 4 for all around. But they don't fit on the rear either. hit the leafs before you can get them fully on. I cant find any steelies with this look that have the correct offset to fit the troopy that arent like $250 a wheel. Think I'm going to go the 3rd gen 4 runner spare route. Get 2 from @gilmorneau and the other 2 either off of ebay or hopefully cheap locally.

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on my BJ73 I put 235 85r 16 extra grips with no spacers at first. less than 1/2" clearance to the springs in the back. The front tie rod end would contact the rim on 1 side just a little on some turns. 85r tires are skinny...............If you go with the combination you propose you will have to trim about 1/8" off your lugs before you mount your spacers. I did this with a cutoff wheel and angle grinder. Just make sure you thread on the open end lug nuts they give you with the spacers first so that when you remove those nuts it cuts clean threads on the end of the studs where you cut them off. If you go with 1.25" spacers you won't have to trim.
 
yeah unfortunately there is nothing steelie wise from any of the modern vehicles with the proper offset, and the older ones with the proper offset are 15"

so, get two 3rd gen 4runner from gil, find two more and you already have the one you just picked up, theres your set of 5, but spacers, however quite a few guys running them with no problems.

i have a few tacoma/runner steelies and decided to run one for my spare tire, with the spacer of course, i went 1-1/4".
 
I have some 3rd gen 4Runner wheels here, and I also have a HZJ75, which should need pretty much the same wheel dimensions as the Troopy @theglobb has. I just went out and trial fit a 4Runner wheel onto the front of the HZJ75, and I think a 1/2" spacer wouldn't be enough. Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it. It would be close. 3/4" should do fine, and 1" would be plenty of clearance.

Since I have all three wheel types here, I rough measured backspacing on a stock 16 x 5.5 split rim (about 85mm or a fat 3 1/4"), the Toyota 16 x 6 part number 42601-60262-03 (backspacing about 92mm or 3 5/8"-ish), and the 3rd gen 4Runner wheels (about 118mm or 4 5/8"-ish). To get from the 4Runner steelie to the OEM Toyota steel wheel, you'd need 26mm or almost exactly 1". Which confirms the above that 1" spacers would definitely work.

All that said, when I got my HZJ75 pickup, it had 16 x 7 steel white spoke wheels with zero offset, which gave them about 4" backspacing (long gone--didn't measure those today), and they worked fine and didn't rub (with 255 tires). The 3rd gen 4Runner steelies with 3/4" spacers would have an effective backspace of 3 7/8", which I'd assume would also work fine.
 
42601-60262-03 Genuine Toyota Wheel, Disc - https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~wheel~disc~42601-60262-03.html I used this link because it has a picture.

Run whatever you have to for now, but once every payday, buy a wheel. They'll ship it to your local Toyota dealer for free. Search through parts.toyota.com and look for the best price within driving distance to you, or use contacts here. In no time you'll have a proper set of the right wheels, no spacers, more time for surfing. Everybody loves 16 hole steelies but life goes on.
 
Yea there are just so many variables with choosing a 16in wheel just to fit a certain tire. I thought it was a 34x10 but it's actually a 33x10. At this rate ill just save the money on new wheels and spacers and save my life potentially with running spacers sooooooo, I'm going with keeping my 17in wheels, plenty of options out there even with 17's. Now here is my last and final dilemma

33x10 or 35x10.5? I can get THESE for pretty cheap, orrrr go with the kendas, spend a tiny bit more ($10) for each tire and have bigger ones. Then again would I even want 35's? is that a smart move? Yea it would look awesome, kill offroad, and it'd be nice having lower rpm at 70mph. The engine also has plenty of power, not too worried about a re gear, it would be kinda nice to space out 1st gear since its just so short... seems kinda like a no brainer other than the fact that I don't have power steering...

Does anyone have any experience on driving with no powersteering with 33's vs 35's is there much of a difference? These 31's never give me any issues unless I'm at a complete stop trying to park and then I just have to work a tiny bit harder.
 
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33's. Maximum. Personally I'm a big booster of 235/85/16's - you can get them anywhere in the country (probably anywhere in the world), any brand of tire, at much more reasonable prices, and they're a 32" skinny. Perfect for these trucks. I bet 90% of the light truck tires in the world are available in this size.
 

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