Introducing a newbie's first year in a VX
Owning a VX is like having a baby. I became a proud owner, spent a lot of time learning, and now finally taking a moment to post about it 9 months later. Might as well fill everyone in so other can waste as much time as I did reading through mountains of posts before I tried anything for real.
I am a long term Joe Isuzu, starting in 1997 when I could afford my first own truck. About to begin college, I couldn't resist buying that 1987 Trooper that was literally frozen to the lot after a nice North Dakota ice storm. Had to put it in 4-low just to break free. I was sold after touching the 4wd lever, no questions asked. That old salesman had any easy day. Today I still have an 1989 Trooper RS to do the chores and go play, but the desire to own a VX was always in the back of my mind.
A local lot happened to acquire a trade-in 1999 Ebony base VX last September, and in my $5k price range. With 185100 on the clock, the VX came complete with check engine, ABS & Air Bag lights. Although I knew better, I couldn't say no even if I tried.
I gave a Seafoam treatment, some fresh oil, and fixed up what I could. After a few spins around the neighborhood a, I added some blind spot mirrors and a rear window "fish eye" wide angle lens (after spending way to many hours reading about backup cameras and giving up). Also played monkey arms with the drivers window regulator and track before picking up the custom window brackets. Then I learned about the wonderful forms here and found out I am not the only one dealing with the joys of VX ownership!
Here to follow are some of my captured moments as a newbie for your entertainment.
