Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (7 Viewers)

[Rigster]

I had to read back and figure out what was going on.

Crazy fire explosions, pretty girls, wild nights.

Really enjoying this thread. I’m glad it will continue on.

I dream of a troopy all the time. One day I’ll find one.

Now be honest... did you only start dreaming of a troopy when you saw how many girls you can fit into one from Jonathan's thread???

 

[clrussell]

Now be honest... did you only start dreaming of a troopy when you saw how many girls you can fit into one from Jonathan's thread???

It doesn’t hurt the decision!

Although a dad of 4 and happy to have my lady now.

 

[theglobb]

The parts should be here within the next week or so! I can't believe how fast everything is happening now that I got the ball rolling, I need to get the Red Rocket up to Boone now! I'm thinking I'll see if I can catch a ride home and just drive it 6 hours back to Boone, get some plexiglass cut out in the rough dimensions of the windshield and duct tape it on or something. I don't have anything to tow it with and getting a little bit of plexiglass cut out I feel would be much cheaper than renting a whole truck, trailer, and getting horrible gas mileage while towing it. If anyone has a better idea feel free to chime in

I got my Temu carport for $130 and I'm genuinely impressed with it. The poles are much more thick than the Harbor Freight equivalent ones that are 2-3x the cost. I'm not by any means saying that this is a quality product... I just need it to last a couple months until I can finish up the troopy fully, any time after that will be bonus points for having a place to store the Willys

Had the firewall/cowl cut in half to save on shipping costs

and a photo of them packing one of my parts up

I had to read back and figure out what was going on.

Crazy fire explosions, pretty girls, wild nights.

Really enjoying this thread. I’m glad it will continue on.

I dream of a troopy all the time. One day I’ll find one.

I'm glad u enjoyed reading through all of the craziness! It's only gonna get better from here

Man, I had a draft ready to go mentioning @Zee last week but I thought for sure you had his info and contacted him.
Very cool, he helped me as well. Get on it!

Like I said, I can't believe I didn't contact him sooner. I feel like an idiot but whatever, that's in the past now and major progress is actually happening!! 9 months wasted will only fuel me to get on with it.

I just read through the last 10 pages or so and saw where you got stalled. I totally understand how hard it can be to push on when you run into rust like that but in the end it is totally worth it. Having those patch pieces coming to you will definitely help you push forward. I was lucky that I was able to buy the major pieces I needed from @joekatana but I also keep running into more rust and rotted metal on my hzj73 and have been making the smaller pieces I need. The other thing I discovered is that there are multiple hidden layers under the outer skin that add structure.
You already have a welder or access to one which is a huge start / win right there. If you have any kind of an air compressor go out and buy one of those cheap spot sandblasters at harbour freight. They are slow and messy but do a good job of getting rid of rust in areas you are going to weld an also will uncover what lays beneath all the bondo ( including where the layers are spot welded together). Decide what you want to cut out and then drill all the spot welds out and peel that layer back. Once you break it down to the individual bits they also become easier to reproduce and patch in. you will also want to do this to properly replace the metal with pieces of windshield frame you have coming in. Sheet metal is pretty cheap so just start smashing it with a hammer and see what you end up with. I make a lot of scrap metal trying to make the pieces i need but every piece that doesn't turn out the way I want is still educational. You were already making little patch panels and welding them in so just keep pushing forward. There are lots of examples of folks on here making really complicated pieces by making each side of a complicated piece with multiple bends as an individual section then weld all those smaller pieces together to make what you need.
Anyways, sorry for the long rambling post but I just want to encourage you to keep moving forward making pieces that don't quite work right and throw it in the scrap pile and start again! Eventually they will be what you want and that feeling is incredibly motivating to move on to the next part that once looked to difficult to shape and it will slowly come together. Looking at what you have done so far you have the mechanical skills to tackle this.

No need to be sorry for the rambling! I seriously appreciate all of the advice and tips you gave. When people respond to my thread with ideas of their own, it is almost always helpful. Even if I don't end up doing what they were saying necessarily it gets my brain thinking in ways it wouldn't have before. Thanks for the encouragement, seems like I need to get an air compressor and that spot sandblaster you mentioned.

Now be honest... did you only start dreaming of a troopy when you saw how many girls you can fit into one from Jonathan's thread???

it's not always girls... most of the time but not always

 

[gilmorneau]

get some plexiglass cut out in the rough dimensions of the windshield and duct tape it on or something

Hmmm...Nope...doesn't sound the least bit dangerous.

Wear a helmet.

 

[AirheadNut]

Hmmm...Nope...doesn't sound the least bit dangerous.

Wear a helmet.

My thoughts too. Get a motorcycle helmet and a good wind jacket and just drive without a windshield. Assuming that’s actually legal where you are, of course.

 

[bj70bc]

legal smeagol, goggles and giver

 

[bj70bc]

 

[theglobb]

Hmmm...Nope...doesn't sound the least bit dangerous.

Wear a helmet.

My thoughts too. Get a motorcycle helmet and a good wind jacket and just drive without a windshield. Assuming that’s actually legal where you are, of course.

Noted, thanks for y’all’s wisdom. I can definitely borrow a helmet from a buddy of mine. Once again didn’t even think of that being an option. Thanks yall

 

[AirheadNut]

Noted, thanks for y’all’s wisdom. I can definitely borrow a helmet from a buddy of mine. Once again didn’t even think of that being an option. Thanks yall

As a bonus you'll get all the dirt and dust blown out of the Troopy on your way! Pop open a couple of rear windows for the full wind tunnel effect.

 

[robmobile73]

The parts should be here within the next week or so! I can't believe how fast everything is happening now that I got the ball rolling, I need to get the Red Rocket up to Boone now! I'm thinking I'll see if I can catch a ride home and just drive it 6 hours back to Boone, get some plexiglass cut out in the rough dimensions of the windshield and duct tape it on or something. I don't have anything to tow it with and getting a little bit of plexiglass cut out I feel would be much cheaper than renting a whole truck, trailer, and getting horrible gas mileage while towing it. If anyone has a better idea feel free to chime in

I got my Temu carport for $130 and I'm genuinely impressed with it. The poles are much more thick than the Harbor Freight equivalent ones that are 2-3x the cost. I'm not by any means saying that this is a quality product... I just need it to last a couple months until I can finish up the troopy fully, any time after that will be bonus points for having a place to store the Willys

View attachment 3850587

Had the firewall/cowl cut in half to save on shipping costsView attachment 3850586

and a photo of them packing one of my parts up
View attachment 3850585




I'm glad u enjoyed reading through all of the craziness! It's only gonna get better from here

Like I said, I can't believe I didn't contact him sooner. I feel like an idiot but whatever, that's in the past now and major progress is actually happening!! 9 months wasted will only fuel me to get on with it.

No need to be sorry for the rambling! I seriously appreciate all of the advice and tips you gave. When people respond to my thread with ideas of their own, it is almost always helpful. Even if I don't end up doing what they were saying necessarily it gets my brain thinking in ways it wouldn't have before. Thanks for the encouragement, seems like I need to get an air compressor and that spot sandblaster you mentioned.


it's not always girls... most of the time but not always

Spend an extra few dollars for lexan instead of the standard polycarbonate plexiglass. Use self tapping sheet metal screws and washers with clear RTV all around.

 

[stayalert]

I drove my '94 80 series home for about an hour and 20 min. at 50-60 MPH one Winter after the windshield got blown out (long story) ...I tried to find the pictures ( I posted them on mud) but it was a while ago and I think the thread/pics are gone - one piece insulated carhartt, ski gloves, hat and goggles....wasn't all that bad....at least there were no bugs....6 hrs. is considerably more...I'd bring some foam hearing prot.plugs too.....Though I think the MC helmet is prolly the best solution....

 

[bj70bc]

your roof will prob just blow right off at 'highway' speed.....be wary of murphy

 

[theglobb]

Hasn’t been started in 6 months and fired right up!

all loaded up

Found this while cleaning out the troopy, sorority girl must have left it in there last year haha

 

[Felde]

So great to see you can make progress again.
All the best
Cheers Ralf

 

[theglobb]

300 miles in total. I’m back on the road again after some hellish hydraulic issues with my brakes. 184 miles to go. Will explain more and update if I’m able to get to Boone tonight

 

[bj70bc]

bets on if the roof just rips off at highway speed?

 

[prwillard2]

bets on if the roof just rips off at highway speed?

He shoulda cut the top off for the rooftop conversion he bought and made the trip in a convertible!

 

[bj70bc]

He shoulda cut the top off for the rooftop conversion he bought and made the trip in a convertible!

pics alone woulda been worth it

 

[robmobile73]

300 miles in total. I’m back on the road again after some hellish hydraulic issues with my brakes. 184 miles to go. Will explain more and update if I’m able to get to Boone tonight View attachment 3856739View attachment 3856740

that helmet is totally mad max looking. You need about 6 feet of chain to rap diagonal across your shoulder when you drive the troopy like that.

 

[Redline70]

I would really appreciate any more insight you could get about that site. The site said that all the parts would be shipped from a Japanese warehouse, then again obviously they could lie. Reading a few reviews online they have mostly positive reviews with a few negative. Some people saying they got exactly what they asked for being an OEM part and others saying that they were notified a couple days after the purchase that a couple of the parts they had in stock were not actually stocked, and were able to get a refund on their order. I will admit the whole "yoshi" name in combination with the parts supposedly coming out of a Japanese warehouse lowered my guard more than usual with a new site that I haven't heard as much about. The whole parts diagram system they have set up is pretty seamless, or as you said streamlined.

Looking at many reviews online the worst thing people had to say where that they didn't actually have the parts they said they did, which they were then promptly refunded for. However, I would be lying if I said that I'm not worried at all about this being a trustworthy business. Thank you so much for doing a bit more research than I should have originally done and letting me know! Wondering if I should just place a request to cancel my order entirely right now or sit on it and see how it plays out...

(Edit) Looking at all other vouched-for and reputable sites, they don't have really any of the 30 or so parts I ordered available. Yoshiparts also didn't have all of them in stock but gave me updated part numbers that they did have in stock (that the other sites still don't have in stock). I think I'm gonna wait it out and see what happens. Possibly an email saying half of the cart I ordered isn't actually stocked I'm not too worried about losing my money as everyone who this has happened to online said they received a refund the same day they were notified. I won't be too surprised if they don't have these parts in stock as I can't seem to find them anywhere else, but you never know. Maybe they actually do but people have just been too sketched out to buy stuff from them and I end up getting lucky... or scammed

I love Yoshi. I’ve spent the last two months sourcing parts for my 70, and Yoshi by far has had the best communication, best website platform, fastest shipping time, best parts availability, vs amayama and megazip.

Probably not news to most, but the quoted pricing across sites I’ve found to be unreliable. Between parts availability issues, and shipping costs, it can be very difficult to compare. I will be making yoshi my first stop from now on.

They are based in Thailand, but source and ship from Japan.