1990 Isuzu Trooper
Upgrade - Build - Test
The Journey
My Trooper was bought specifically as a secondary off road vehicle. The idea was to have some fun off road with friends and not have to worry about damage or getting to work on Monday. But the more I took it off road, the more I wanted to upgrade and modify it. All of the work I did to my first Trooper eventually got transferred to a second one. The platform is not well supported but, it is very simple and versatile, with a bit of research and fabrication, parts and pieces from many different vehicles can be utilized.
-
Support System
The Trooper and Isuzu in general does not have much aftermarket support in North America. Most of the vehicle specific parts, like differential lockers, come from ARB in Australia. Isuzu vehicles are much more popular and are still sold today in Australia. Many of the other parts you will find for the Trooper are universal fit parts, or parts intended for another application.
-
One Then The Other
I started with a Blue 1990 Trooper. It was purchased on the cheap and the adventure began. It served me well for many years. A new engine was installed, a lift was added and differential lockers were fitted. However, rust got the best of the frame. The previous owner never really took care of it. Lucky for me a friend had a Trooper of the same year that was undercoated from new and well taken care of. The frame was virtually perfect and the body was quite nice. So a deal was made and the work began to do everything to my new White Trooper that I never did to my Blue one. The body and frame of the White Trooper was separated. The frame was stripped completely bare in preparation for new paint and internal rust preventative frame coating. New fuel and brake lines were run on top of the frame to better protect them. New bushings were installed throughout the suspension. A trailer hitch was mounted high up on the frame and permanently welded in. The gas tank was lifted along with the body a total of two inches.
-
A Work In Progress
Keep checking back for updates. As my build progresses so will my website. I always document things I do and the solutions I have found. I also add things to the store from time to time.