Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (5 Viewers)

[Broski]

It's been another month! I have finished all of the welding that needs to be done on the driverside of the vehicle. I'm so burnt out on it I'm not even going to grind anything down or make it look somewhat decent at the moment. I just want to get everything welded in fully, then I'll start grinding down all of the welds, I just feel like I'm making NO progress, which kinda is true haha.

I've been very busy as well!

Got that crusty 60 running decent enough to limp it up to Boone, horrible intake gasket leak was not fun to deal with but it drove the 300 or so miles, abliet very slowly.
View attachment 3955698


Then I got home and immediately got a message from a guy who I met in a parking lot 2 years ago, I gave him my number jokingly if he ever wanted to sell (i don't remember any of this). He said he urgently needed to sell his 1977 Plymouth Volare wagon as he was moving to St. Louis the next day. I showed up fully intending not to purchase the car, really I didn't even remember meeting him or what car he was talking about, I was just curious.

Well I take it on a test drive, check it all out, and he keeps asking "well?!? Do you think you're gonna buy it?" and I keep brushing him off because I didn't have a casual $5,000 to drop on this car, AND I had nowhere to put it. At the time my driveway already had 5 cars in it. He keeps asking, and I tell him I have no interest in buying another car at the moment and already have way too many projects going on... So I offer $1000 to shut him up. Well he bit on my lowball and now I own a Plymouth Volare!
View attachment 3955699

3.7 liter Slant 6 and some sort of Chrysler Autotragic Transmission, 58,000 original miles, not too much rust at all. I've been driving it daily for the past month and it's been relatively drama-free

Met up with @svsisu as he was in the area, it's always great to be able to chat! Time goes by so fast every time and before you know it, we gotta part ways.
View attachment 3955701

Then the weekend after that I went BACK down to Wilmington. My dad (@Shyrock) is trading one of his FJ55's to @Roastchestnuts for our first Land Cruiser we ever picked up which has sent me down this crazy automotive path. Sold it to Robert a few years back, he's done so much great work to it since then, but now he really wants a FJ55. Well the somewhat rust free one we have has some rod knock, I also found a parts 55 four years ago with a running 2f and 4spd, so to make the trade fair we just swapped that drivetrain into the 55 he is getting.
View attachment 3955702


Excuse the horribly hilarious photo

if you're interested, you can read more about all of that fun stuff in @Roastchestnuts thread HERE --> Salted Pork fj55 family wagon build


AND FINALLY, I got the troopy up and running again to turn it around underneath my temu carport to tackle the passenger side rot repair.



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Thanks to all of y'all for the reassuring words and understanding nature. Means a lot to hear that I'm not alone in feeling this way at times. This is the most enjoyable summer I've had in the past couple years now, simply due to the fact that it's not solely dictated by my nightmare never-ending project troopy. And the weather up here is so much more hospitable to exist in than anywhere else in NC, and of course the pretty lady.
Check out the mint interior in this wagon

View attachment 3955719

That slant 6 will do you right. Just like the pretty Lady

 

[svsisu]

Always good for a meet up with you! The Valore is such a weapon- I could barely keep up with you on the dusty, rutted road!

Sorry I couldn't make it down for the Pig Party Engine Swap. Maybe I'll cruise down with him when he picks it up.

Keep the updates coming

 

[svsisu]

And thanks for helping to keep the BASE jumping puppy from landing in the bottom of the gorge

 

[Roastchestnuts]

It's been another month! I have finished all of the welding that needs to be done on the driverside of the vehicle. I'm so burnt out on it I'm not even going to grind anything down or make it look somewhat decent at the moment. I just want to get everything welded in fully, then I'll start grinding down all of the welds, I just feel like I'm making NO progress, which kinda is true haha.

I've been very busy as well!

Got that crusty 60 running decent enough to limp it up to Boone, horrible intake gasket leak was not fun to deal with but it drove the 300 or so miles, abliet very slowly.
View attachment 3955698


Then I got home and immediately got a message from a guy who I met in a parking lot 2 years ago, I gave him my number jokingly if he ever wanted to sell (i don't remember any of this). He said he urgently needed to sell his 1977 Plymouth Volare wagon as he was moving to St. Louis the next day. I showed up fully intending not to purchase the car, really I didn't even remember meeting him or what car he was talking about, I was just curious.

Well I take it on a test drive, check it all out, and he keeps asking "well?!? Do you think you're gonna buy it?" and I keep brushing him off because I didn't have a casual $5,000 to drop on this car, AND I had nowhere to put it. At the time my driveway already had 5 cars in it. He keeps asking, and I tell him I have no interest in buying another car at the moment and already have way too many projects going on... So I offer $1000 to shut him up. Well he bit on my lowball and now I own a Plymouth Volare!
View attachment 3955699

3.7 liter Slant 6 and some sort of Chrysler Autotragic Transmission, 58,000 original miles, not too much rust at all. I've been driving it daily for the past month and it's been relatively drama-free

Met up with @svsisu as he was in the area, it's always great to be able to chat! Time goes by so fast every time and before you know it, we gotta part ways.
View attachment 3955701

Then the weekend after that I went BACK down to Wilmington. My dad (@Shyrock) is trading one of his FJ55's to @Roastchestnuts for our first Land Cruiser we ever picked up which has sent me down this crazy automotive path. Sold it to Robert a few years back, he's done so much great work to it since then, but now he really wants a FJ55. Well the somewhat rust free one we have has some rod knock, I also found a parts 55 four years ago with a running 2f and 4spd, so to make the trade fair we just swapped that drivetrain into the 55 he is getting.
View attachment 3955702


Excuse the horribly hilarious photo

if you're interested, you can read more about all of that fun stuff in @Roastchestnuts thread HERE --> Salted Pork fj55 family wagon build


AND FINALLY, I got the troopy up and running again to turn it around underneath my temu carport to tackle the passenger side rot repair.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------





Thanks to all of y'all for the reassuring words and understanding nature. Means a lot to hear that I'm not alone in feeling this way at times. This is the most enjoyable summer I've had in the past couple years now, simply due to the fact that it's not solely dictated by my nightmare never-ending project troopy. And the weather up here is so much more hospitable to exist in than anywhere else in NC, and of course the pretty lady.
Check out the mint interior in this wagon

View attachment 3955719

I had so much fun swapping the engine with you guys! I love a good project. Picking up the 55 on Saturday I hope! I cant wait. Ill keep you updated on that. Its going to be a quick trip though. I think we are in and out on Saturday. That station wagon is epic! perfect for goofing off and friends in Boone! reminds me of That 70s show.

Stay in touch and remember you always got a free place to stay on Ocracoke if you come down!

 

[theglobb]

ALRIGHT! MORE PROGRESS.



Cut out the crusty A-pillar and firewall, welded in new firewall section (excuse the gas bottle leaning against the troopy I made a little baseplate thing for it to keep it stablish)

Test fitting

Got that all welded in and then started on the upper part of the rotten out windshield.

Used our 85 year old WW2 metal brake to make a new panel to weld in.


Checking the fitment and angle of the new 44-inch piece

anddddd got it all welded together. THAT'S IT! like 97% of the welding I need to do on it, there are little spots that pop up here and there while I'm sanding the paint down but THATS ALL THE BIG STUFF

And so now it has begun. I've started sanding every panel down with 80 grit so this real fancy epoxy primer I got will adhere correctly. I know absolutely nothing about paint or bodywork. Just going off of google and youtube, so if anyone has any advice, please offer it!

Looking back at all of this before I post it, it really doesn't show just how much work all of this was and is. Those videos make it seem so easy

 

[prwillard2]

ALRIGHT! MORE PROGRESS.



Cut out the crusty A-pillar and firewall, welded in new firewall section (excuse the gas bottle leaning against the troopy I made a little baseplate thing for it to keep it stablish)
View attachment 3977113

Test fitting
View attachment 3977112
View attachment 3977111

Got that all welded in and then started on the upper part of the rotten out windshield.
View attachment 3977110

Used our 85 year old WW2 metal brake to make a new panel to weld in.


Checking the fitment and angle of the new 44-inch piece
View attachment 3977109

anddddd got it all welded together. THAT'S IT! like 97% of the welding I need to do on it, there are little spots that pop up here and there while I'm sanding the paint down but THATS ALL THE BIG STUFF

View attachment 3977108




And so now it has begun. I've started sanding every panel down with 80 grit so this real fancy epoxy primer I got will adhere correctly. I know absolutely nothing about paint or bodywork. Just going off of google and youtube, so if anyone has any advice, please offer it!

View attachment 3977107
View attachment 3977106

Looking back at all of this before I post it, it really doesn't show just how much work all of this was and is. Those videos make it seem so easy

View attachment 3977115

My only recommendation with body work: wear a respirator!

Your older lungs will thank you!

 

[robmobile73]

Watch your fingers around that press brake. If you're holding a piece of metal in place while the jaws squeeze down and you squeeze it too fast The metal can bend and trap a finger not between the jaws but between the folding metal and the face of the jaw....... I worked in sheet metal fabrication for a while before the Army. We had a Navy vet on my shift that only had one arm. He was using his one good arm one night and his "robot claw" prosthetic bending 7 gauge. He squashed his only thumb. Started turning green a couple days later. He was a lot more upset than the other people that had cut a finger off at that place....... Be careful and don't be that guy.

 

[jblueridge]

It's great to see the parts from the other side of the globe going in.

Get wax and grease removers, the normal solvent kind and the water soluble style too.
Spend extra on them to get the good stuff. Get a zillion shop towels.
Use a tack cloth.
Epoxy primer is awesome.
Sand it and wipe down before final color goes on.

I keep wax and grease remover in one of these: spray on, wipe off.

 

[FJBen]

Nice work! Making some great progress.


Mud be like…

 

[Roastchestnuts]

My biggest advice for painting is lots of blocking and priming until the surface looks good. I did several coats of epoxy with blocking then 3 coats of high build urethane with some blocking on the samurai before I did the color. try not to drip sweat in the paint like I did on the hood! also like @jblueridge said wax and grease remover is your friend.

 

[theglobb]

Alright well, my air compressor decided to eat its belt, which I inspected prior and it looked totally fine. Halted my progress immediately, so I tried to make this negative thing into some sort of positive bit. Organized a bunch of crap, cleaned up my working area, got the troopy running again, fully welded the roof up cause I had nothing else to do.




A potential major paint issue:
Something I wasn't aware of was that I can't paint/apply this this epoxy primer if the temperature drops below 65 degrees, that is the bare minimum. Not a degree less. The leaves here are already changing and the temps are dropping down to 50 degrees or so. I've thought a lot about my options and settled on buying one of those diesel heaters that people heat their rooftop tents with, and I'll see if I can insulate the temu carport enough to keep the temperature in there high enough. Has to be at or above 65f for 24 hours, we'll see how that goes.


Well my lack of luck continued, when I went to start the troopy I had nothing... no power. Tried to jump it and the batteries wouldn't take anything, took them to get tested and both of them are totally dead no saving them. Only 2 years old and I've started it every other month since I got them. Well that'll be a decent chunk of $$$ whenever I get this thing back on the road

My lineup of crap

The Willy's has been turned into an interior parts storage

The fully finished roof welding which I had talked about

I cant wait to get this thing painted and put back together, there is so much crap everywhere. I often wonder what my landlord would think if they ever found out about what I've been doing back here lucky enough for me she has never been to the house in the past 5 years and the roommates aren't snitches.

My only recommendation with body work: wear a respirator!

Your older lungs will thank you!

I always do, when welding, grinding metal, anything and everything. I don't smoke or vape and intend to keep me lungs in the best condition I can

Watch your fingers around that press brake. If you're holding a piece of metal in place while the jaws squeeze down and you squeeze it too fast The metal can bend and trap a finger not between the jaws but between the folding metal and the face of the jaw....... I worked in sheet metal fabrication for a while before the Army. We had a Navy vet on my shift that only had one arm. He was using his one good arm one night and his "robot claw" prosthetic bending 7 gauge. He squashed his only thumb. Started turning green a couple days later. He was a lot more upset than the other people that had cut a finger off at that place....... Be careful and don't be that guy.

It's great to see the parts from the other side of the globe going in.

Get wax and grease removers, the normal solvent kind and the water soluble style too.
Spend extra on them to get the good stuff. Get a zillion shop towels.
Use a tack cloth.
Epoxy primer is awesome.
Sand it and wipe down before final color goes on.

I keep wax and grease remover in one of these: spray on, wipe off.
View attachment 3977261

My biggest advice for painting is lots of blocking and priming until the surface looks good. I did several coats of epoxy with blocking then 3 coats of high build urethane with some blocking on the samurai before I did the color. try not to drip sweat in the paint like I did on the hood! also like @jblueridge said wax and grease remover is your friend.

Thank you all for words of caution and advice. Always good to hear personal accounts from people on here who I know and trust vs total randoms on the internet.

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A few non troopy related pics:

spare tire/fuel/toolbox carrier I built a work a bit ago

went down to Wilmington a bit ago with my lady, my dad traded @Roastchestnuts one of our 55's for our old 40 we sold to him years ago. It's in much better condition now. Been wanting to take this photo here for years but never got the chance as it was sold before I could. Finally was able to snag it., with perfect lighting too

And another sweet pic with that free 60 I picked up.

 

[jblueridge]

It’s maybe 20 degrees cooler here too but I think it will heat up again.

 

[Tennessee Jed]

Man, the patina on that 40. "It belongs in a museum!" You're a really good photographer, that night time shot is great. And I love the smoking while mounting gas cans shot.

 

[likethewheel]

Huge respect for all the work you've put in on your Troopy and your willingness to roll your sleeves up and get it done. Keep it up, man!

 

[svsisu]

Alright well, my air compressor decided to eat its belt, which I inspected prior and it looked totally fine. Halted my progress immediately, so I tried to make this negative thing into some sort of positive bit. Organized a bunch of crap, cleaned up my working area, got the troopy running again, fully welded the roof up cause I had nothing else to do.




A potential major paint issue:
Something I wasn't aware of was that I can't paint/apply this this epoxy primer if the temperature drops below 65 degrees, that is the bare minimum. Not a degree less. The leaves here are already changing and the temps are dropping down to 50 degrees or so. I've thought a lot about my options and settled on buying one of those diesel heaters that people heat their rooftop tents with, and I'll see if I can insulate the temu carport enough to keep the temperature in there high enough. Has to be at or above 65f for 24 hours, we'll see how that goes.


Well my lack of luck continued, when I went to start the troopy I had nothing... no power. Tried to jump it and the batteries wouldn't take anything, took them to get tested and both of them are totally dead no saving them. Only 2 years old and I've started it every other month since I got them. Well that'll be a decent chunk of $$$ whenever I get this thing back on the road
View attachment 3978414

My lineup of crap
View attachment 3978413

The Willy's has been turned into an interior parts storage
View attachment 3978410

The fully finished roof welding which I had talked about
View attachment 3978411

I cant wait to get this thing painted and put back together, there is so much crap everywhere. I often wonder what my landlord would think if they ever found out about what I've been doing back here lucky enough for me she has never been to the house in the past 5 years and the roommates aren't snitches.
View attachment 3978415


I always do, when welding, grinding metal, anything and everything. I don't smoke or vape and intend to keep me lungs in the best condition I can



Thank you all for words of caution and advice. Always good to hear personal accounts from people on here who I know and trust vs total randoms on the internet.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A few non troopy related pics:

spare tire/fuel/toolbox carrier I built a work a bit ago
View attachment 3978418

went down to Wilmington a bit ago with my lady, my dad traded @Roastchestnuts one of our 55's for our old 40 we sold to him years ago. It's in much better condition now. Been wanting to take this photo here for years but never got the chance as it was sold before I could. Finally was able to snag it., with perfect lighting too
View attachment 3978417

And another sweet pic with that free 60 I picked up.
View attachment 3978423

I'm almost mad @Roastchestnuts got rid of the Salt Wagon, especially since I never made it to Ocracoke to see it. But, I'm extremely happy it went back to you guys in a sweet trade, and that I still have a chance to see it.

I'll be out your way towards the end of September and will reach out when I'm there.

 

[gilmorneau]

My biggest advice for painting is lots of blocking and priming until the surface looks good

This. x100
Prep is everything for a good paint job. Your finish coat won't hide anything.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

I'm almost mad @Roastchestnuts got rid of the Salt Wagon, especially since I never made it to Ocracoke to see it. But, I'm extremely happy it went back to you guys in a sweet trade, and that I still have a chance to see it.

I'll be out your way towards the end of September and will reach out when I'm there.

I am happy it went to good people who I know on a personal level who I also know will appreciate it. You know if you sell something like that you never know what will happen. Now I have another funny land cruiser to fix up! you'll have to come check that one out. I have it running driving and stopping now. My next moves are to build it better and get the headlights working.

 

[theglobb]

Alright, MORE PROGRESS!

Figured I might aswell go ahead and cut the top off before I paint it so then everything can be properly primed and painted.

Then on Friday the temps checked out (during the daytime) and the forecast was clear for the next couple of days. So I did something I rarely ever do... get a helping hand. My buddy Joey was more than happy to put some manual labor in sanding and sandblasting everything.

Got it primed with Red Oxide epoxy primer.

Don't let the pretty pictures fool you... I have never painted anything ever before and really still dont know what I'm doing. In combonation with a $15 Harbor Freight spray gun... it really isnt anything decent. Then again its just primer, but I hope it has and will adhere well. My Vevor diesel heater kept the temu carport at 66 degrees overnight while the outside temp was 52!

I got new doors for the troopy (dorito side windows) that came off a newer 70 series shoutout to @cruiserinsanity for finding them, grabbing them, and then passing them off to me. They have the "Land Cruiser" emblem mounted on the doors and not the fenders. Figured I'd rather plug weld these holes on the fenders than the nice fancy new 70 doors with all the internal window mechanisms.

Some more primer pics, I still dont really know how to get the gun to spray well, no matter what I do with the settings it just doesn't like to flow out that well unless I have it REALLY close to the metal.

And a quick question for anyone who is more informed. If my primer has this kinda paint defect, should I sand it down and repaint it? I'm assuming it'll make the paint look like sh!t

I spent $300 on some real nice fancy primer (probably a mistake and a waste since I'm learning with it as I go) but I figured thats where it really matters. I just hate rust, so much. Deeply. and figured the primer is really where it counts with keeping it away. So I shelled out a whole $50 for 2 gallons (yes $25 a gallon) for some International Red tractor paint. Gonna mix it some with mineral spirits and add a hardener to make it more like automotive paint. I'm hoping it won't be TOOOO red but at that price point, I dont really care.

And my final question for the masses, should I just sand this old cool middle eastern 4x4 logo off of the troopy and replace it with a new one? I have dimensions and location recorded and a while back I believe @gilmorneau said he could get me in touch with someone to remake them. Or should I go through the trouble of masking it off bit by bit to preserve the old one, I kinda like the cracked patina but also worry that it wont match the brand new paint look at all. Any thoughts?

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It’s maybe 20 degrees cooler here too but I think it will heat up again.

I think youre also right, just didnt wanna risk it incase it doesnt warm back up. And while the ball is rolling with this thing I dont wanna loose momentum again lol

Man, the patina on that 40. "It belongs in a museum!" You're a really good photographer, that night time shot is great. And I love the smoking while mounting gas cans shot.

Thank you man! I'm lucky to be decent with a camera and just have that sense on what and when will make a good photo

Huge respect for all the work you've put in on your Troopy and your willingness to roll your sleeves up and get it done. Keep it up, man!

I wish I could have commited some insurance fraud on it while I had the chance a year or 2 ago I kept digging away at the rust and it was one of those things where it was so bad I would eitherhave to finish it or sell it... and there is no way anyone would have bought that PILE in the state it was in and still kinda is in. Had to finish or I'd be loosing so much money and man hours.

I'm almost mad @Roastchestnuts got rid of the Salt Wagon, especially since I never made it to Ocracoke to see it. But, I'm extremely happy it went back to you guys in a sweet trade, and that I still have a chance to see it.

I'll be out your way towards the end of September and will reach out when I'm there.

Shoot me a message but chances are I'll be in LA for a wedding at the end of september. Me and my lady are taking a trip to OBX mid to late October I believe. I'll text you and Robert the exact dates once I get them.

This. x100
Prep is everything for a good paint job. Your finish coat won't hide anything.

I prepped and prepped and prepped, made sure there were no oils or anything. Yet still had fisheyes and orange peel. I just am extremely inexpericed with painting and really dont have a love for it or bodywork at all. Just one of those things I gotta do cause theres no way I'm paying someone else to

 

[sodafeld1]

Awesome work! My only bitch about rustoleum red or orange is that it is not uv stable. It fades and goes chalky. Very noticeable at night by torchlight after 6 months or so. Places where the sun does not shine it is fine. Goes on easy though, very forgiving. But fairly cheap and cheerful, I always have some of it about ready for a patch up.

 

[gilmorneau]

I just hate rust, so much. Deeply. and figured the primer is really where it counts with keeping it away

Don't forget to treat the back sides of all that welded metal, too. Rust can start inside your truck and work its way out. Freshly welded metal is particularly prone to that if left untreated.

BTW, red paint on red primer might be tough to see well when you're laying it down. Maybe try a light coat of gray or something in between so you can better see where your red top coat is going? Just a thought.

And, yes, if you get me good photos and accurate measurements, I can repro the "Dakar" decal for you if you want.