I finally got a redneck truck!

The regulars on this forum probably remember all of the threads I've posted in the last year. You know, the threads where I post a link to a truck on craigslist, ask about trucks, brainstorm about what kind of truck I should get, then never buy anything. This would happen once every month or two.

Well, not anymore... because I'm the proud new owner of a red V6 1991 Isuzu Trooper XS!

My parents had given me permission to get another car, but we had no idea the right one would show up so soon. This mint (save for a few dents and a worn drivers seat) Trooper was parked on a corner only a few miles from GRM World Headquarters. It's completely rust free, there isn't even any on the (original) exhaust system. It runs great, the four wheel drive works, and it fulfills all my needs: carrying stuff, towing stuff, carrying people, and carrying mountain bikes, all while bouncing down a wooded trail! Of course, it also goes down the highway much more comfortably than anything else I own. It's even got ice cold ac and the big tire package.

So, naturally, we bought it and it's mine!

It's still at the detail shop now (I know that isn't GRM, I'm very sorry), so you'll have to wait for pictures. In the meantime though, here's one that looks exactly like it:

What does the peanut gallery think? Any known issues? Anything I should change/upgrade? Can these really clear 33s without a lift?

CHECK THE COOLING SYSTEM. And what address should I send the rebel flag to?

An Isuzu is a redneck truck?

I thought they weren't even close enough to that dogfight to get a Calvin-whizzing-on-Isuzu sticker...

EDIT: Congrats! I want a Cherokee or Trooper or something. I kid myself I'll ever have time to try off-roading...

Sorry Tommy, no self-respecktin red-neck would drive a furrin' truck.

Cooling system is perfect, and you guys are just hanging around old rednecks. The ones my age are perfectly happy with furrin' trucks, even though their parents hate them for it.

You can send any flags to the office with my name on them.

Yes, please send them to the office. The dumpster there is much bigger than our trash can at home

Margie

Ah, I get it. You want to hang them on the dumpster at the office because it is the only spot big enough to proudly display the flags?

DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

Otherwise, your grades will drop and then who's gonna drive that truck? That's right, howdy howdy howdy, look at me, I'm a redneck.

Mom

It looks tippy. Is it tippy?

ransom wrote: An Isuzu is a redneck truck?

Yeah, my exact thoughts, too new and painted for a redneck truck

I'm immensely envious. All of those have long since returned to the earth up my way. Good show, young Suddard.

I like it, but it takes a redneck to make a redneck truck.

oldtin wrote:

The previous owner of my F150 left a trophy in the windshield showing why you shouldn't keep your finger there.

Oh... and the king of redneck is down the street from me. Meeting him in person, you'd have no idea he built a kind of well known redneck truck...

I'm absolutely in love with it!

Well done Tommy!

Sounds too clean to be a redneck truck. I think I've seen one or two barely-running and nearly all-rusty survivors in the swamp-Yankee parts of New Hampshire.

suburban white trash truck- maybe..

redneck truck- definitely not.

Congratulations! Those are great rigs. Not vastly overpowered but a lot of fun and tough. The two things that will stop them in their tracks are the main relay (also known as the charge relay) and the fuel pump. The main relay is the blue one in the engine compartment, when they quit the alternator quits charging along with other electrical accessories and replacing the alternator does not fix the problem. Saw that MANY times. The relay is cheap, ~$20 or so. The fuel pump will get old and draw too much amperage, damaging the connector on the wiring harness. The way it's designed there's not a real good grassroots fix for it and Isuzu did not sell the harness connector separately, so it's best to replace the pump before this happens.

If it's an automatic, the 'Winter/Power' switch is prone to having beverages dumped in it. That makes the transmission do all kinds of stupid stuff. If this happens, cleaning it thoroughly with contact cleaner (NOT brake cleaner!) will generally get it going again. The 'Winter' mode is cool: at a stop, hit the button and you will feel the transmission 'thump' as it engages 3rd gear. You now can easily crawl out of some pretty slippery stuff and at 19MPH it will kick into normal shift mode. From personal experience, it works great on loose sand and wet grass, too. The 'Power' button just makes it shift later for pulling a boat, etc. If you put it in 'Power' mode on the highway you will feel it drop out of O/D on hills much sooner.

60 degree Chevy V6 hopup stuff is common, the later 3.4 pushrod motor is a drop in for a little more oomph. For lift kits etc Calmini http://www.pureisuzu.com/isuzumain.htm has all that fun stuff.

Tom Suddard wrote:

My best friend back in the mid '90's had the exact Trooper w/ V6 and 5 speed. It was rather underpowered but it was highly functional. It had so much headroom that we took to calling it "The Pope-mobile" We often joked about getting a swinging (waving) arm on a suction and putting it with a big pontif hat wearing Pope picture in the rearmost windows.

It was a tough truck and did some good/light offroading and camping trips down dirt roads. I sort of did not my friend getting this truck because he got rid of a minty, loaded '89 Acura Integra to get it. Not a choice that I would have made.

My buddies also had stainless steel lower body protection panels like this:
We put little white crosses on the front fenders and the rear tailgate and the red and silver looked like the Swiss-Army-Kife Edition.
This was back when everything had and "edition" and things like the Eddie Bauer Edition were real popular.

Sorry, but I agree, no self-respecting redneck would ever drive...heck, never RIDE in a furrin built pickup or SUV.

And while the newish ones have V6s, my personal feeling is that the Trooper is THE worst SUV ever for sale in the U.S. But that opinion is based on the older, 4 cylinder Troopers that accelerated like they were built out of lead and powered by tiny diesel engines...smoking exhaust and all.

There, that's my opinion of Troopers.

But, at least you didn't really disgrace yourself and buy a Rodeo.

So when does the LS swap start?

Marjorie Suddard wrote: DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Otherwise, your grades will drop and then who's gonna drive that truck? That's right, howdy howdy howdy, look at me, I'm a redneck. Mom

Tom, pay attention here. She will turn your GO nads into NO nads. You'll be back to pedalin that hipster fixxee fastern you can say aw jeez maw.

digdug18 wrote:

ransom wrote: An Isuzu is a redneck truck?

Yeah, my exact thoughts, too new and painted for a redneck truck

Not only that, it's not a truck, but an SUV.

The only SUV that can be a truck via redkneckness is a topless bronco. Lifted. With tiny tires.

Oh! a Holden Jackaroo .

My friend had the 4cyl model. It was pretty rough and slow on the road, but as capable as anything off road.

Also, manual-locking hubs is not something I'd associate with an SUV.