New future trial rig

[4runner freak]

Well, since my wife has given me the ok to get a DD so I can build on my 4runner, I just picked up a '99 Isuzu Trooper.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2116/215/97/542751629/n542751629_1880911_1393.jpg
Sorry for the small pic, but I haven't taken any good ones yet.

I say future trail rig, but that will be a LONG while!
I'm looking for a third row seat for it, and unfortunately they are hard to find(In the US).

I've been reading up on build threads for 2nd gen Troopers, to know what it will take to get it wheelable.

Here is a picture of what it can do stock!
http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu64/jerm1383/DSC00415.jpg
And BTW, the Acura SLX is an Isuzu Trooper

[Brody]

I have seen about three built Isuzu's and talked to all the drivers. Two of them did the Toyota axle SAS swap-85 hi pinion front, V6 rear and the other did Dana 44s front and rear from an older Jeep Cherokee. All of them were happy with what they had done. Same situation as with an SAS on a 4Runner, too. You can use Chevy or reversed Tundra springs for the rear, or regular Yota aftermarket. Ditto with the front-Wrangler leafs or after market Yota. Don't know how the steering plays out, but it shouldn't be too complicated. There should also be posts on any of the Nismo boards, too, even though you are talking about a Trooper, which should give you some good pointers. Calmini (sp) offers some kind of after market SAS stuff or it might be Demello(might be for Nismos, too)..forgot....but a Nismo SAS can't be too much different from a Isuzu SAS, either. If you find some good information, post it up in the Isuzu links section under 'make and model links.

Sounds cool and the rigs I have seen looked really good. I also saw a Nismo PU at Carnage Boulder one day. He was running a Toyota SAS, but something else in the rear. Also looked good...like I said, essentially the same builder platform, though slightly less after market response.

Course you are going to have to change your handle to something besides 4RunnerFreak...don't drop the avatar, though!

[Funrover]

Troopers are pretty nice, I am actually surprised I don't see more of them. Have fun with the build... both of them hahaha

[4runner freak]

Troopers are pretty nice, I am actually surprised I don't see more of them. Have fun with the build... both of them hahaha

Isuzu pulled the Trooper out of the US in 2002, because of the lies that Consumer Reports told about them.

[Funrover]

Isuzu pulled the Trooper out of the US in 2002, because of the lies that Consumer Reports told about them.

What was said?

[Brody]

I think it had something to do with the SUV rollover panic thing that made the rounds around that time. The Troopers had one of the higher ones, probably by 1/2% or something, but anyone who drives a 4x4, especially an SUV, knows (or damn sure should know) that they respond differently than a car.

This happens to be the only state I've ever lived in that you can see rolled SUVs on a bright, sunny day with bone dry roads....Let's hear it for the junkyards!

[4runner freak]

What was said?
Here's some reading:

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/date/19960821/news01559.html
Consumer Reports Press Release: Isuzu Trooper and Acura SLX Not Acceptable, Tests Reveal Rollover Risk

08/21/96

Consumer Reports Tests Reveal Rollover Hazard: 1995/96 Isuzu Trooper &
1996 Acura SLX 'Not Acceptable'

YONKERS, N.Y., Aug. 20 -- During routine avoidance
maneuver tests completed by Consumer Reports this month, the 1995 and
1996 Isuzu Trooper and the 1996 Acura SLX each tipped up high on two
wheels, demonstrating that these sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) have
too great a tendency to roll over in certain situations. As a result,
Consumer Reports has rated these SUVs "Not Acceptable."




http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=44302
Consumer Reports magazine got an Isuzu Trooper up on two wheels during an emergency lane change test. Video of the test was played on all the major news networks, and the publication demanded that the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) force Isuzu to recall all 1996 and 1997 Isuzu Troopers (and its badge-engineered twin, the Acura SLX) because they posed a safety hazard to the American public.

Then industry experts began to debunk the methodologies employed by Consumer Reports. Rumors began circulating that the publication tried several times to get the Trooper to tip rather than slide during the maneuver. The NHTSA found no inherent problems with the Trooper's design, and refused to issue a recall. Now Isuzu is suing Consumer Reports, because after the story broke, Trooper sales plummeted.

[SCRubicon]

I wheeled with a couple of guys in Moab that had tricked out Isuzus. I wish I could remember their names. Dan (Sj410Kid) could probably help me with this.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c174/SteveChabala/Moab2007/HellsRevenge/DSCN2282.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c174/SteveChabala/Moab2007/HellsRevenge/DSCN2289.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c174/SteveChabala/Moab2007/HellsRevenge/DSCN2346.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c174/SteveChabala/Moab2007/Moab%20Videos/th_PotatoIsuzu.jpg (http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c174/SteveChabala/Moab2007/Moab%20Videos/?action=view&current=PotatoIsuzu.flv)

[Funrover]

Guy in the Video made it look easy!

[Pathrat]

I have been on two wheels before too...so what. Anyone doing stupid stuff can tip a vehicle...look at the video Funrover posted on the Women Driver's thread.
I would like to know just what they were doing to tip the thing...curved on ramp at 50 mph or dodging a shopping cart at Macy's?

SCRubicon- thanks for posting up the pictures.

Danny, I saw this on your facebook page, congratulations again on the new ride! :thunb: