I'm at it again - Trooper this time

[samneil2000]

Man, I wish I had your motivation. That is going to be one slick Trooper. What are your plans for it?
I'm not sure what you do for a living, but have a feeling you could do restorations and make a nickle or two.

[Riff Raff]

Man, I wish I had your motivation. That is going to be one slick Trooper. What are your plans for it?
I'm not sure what you do for a living, but have a feeling you could do restorations and make a nickle or two.

x2. Buffy, your talent is simply amazing!!! Perhaps you should apply for a job at Chip Foos Automotive.

[Buffy]

My day job is managing Java developers and projects but my true passion is restoring cars and bulding hot rods. My boss keeps asking my I work for him and not myself and the wife tells my I should go out on my own. I guess I just haven't had the courage to make that step. I put myself through college by working on cars with my father-in-law. We would rebuild a different totalled car every weekend for a salvage dealer. I got to cut them in half, weld them together, repair engines and do paint and body work. I would truely love to own my own restoration shop.

Working for/with Foose would truely be a dream job!!!!

[SlowPro48]

First you rebuild the VX and now this? Dude you get more done in one summer than I do in a decade! I hope you realize what a wonderful wife you have. As I'm sure you know, projects that involve spending large chunks of time in the garage will NOT get completed in a reasonable amount of time without an understanding better half!

If you ever decide to give the restoration thing a go let me know. I've got a '57 MGA that needs the entropy fighting energy and skills of a man like you. It's been taking up space for 15 years. I've never even bothered to start on it because given my monthly allotment of 8 hours in the garage - with no one session allowed to last more than 2 hours - it would take me oohhh.... about 4 lifetimes to complete.... so there it sits. I'm serious about this. I'll be your first customer! I'm not looking for a concours d'elegance quality restoration - I just want to drive the damn thing before I die!

Anyway - thanks for sharing the pics of your project - I really admire your ability to "git 'er done"!!!

[Buffy]

I do have a wonderful wife. As a matter of fact she is usually in the garage turning wrenches with me or getting the tools I need. She helped with the frame on the VX and got black highlights in her blonde hair to show for it. You gotta love a woman who will allow her husband to spray her hair with brake cleaner to try and get paint out of it, which didn't work by the way.

SlowPro48 - I see you are in Winston Salem, we should get togther sometime and talk about that 57 MGA. I helped an uncle rebuild the engine in his MGB in my teenage years. Wasn't a 57 though.

[Buffy]

Man, I wish I had your motivation. That is going to be one slick Trooper. What are your plans for it?
I'm not sure what you do for a living, but have a feeling you could do restorations and make a nickle or two.

First plan is to take my sister for a ride in it. She has fond memories of all the vacations she took the family on when the kids were young. They would head down to Florida and camp in the back of the Trooper for the weekend. She has MS now and doesn't get around as good as she used to but she is raring to go for a ride. Her husband refuses to believe it is the original motor which is pretty funny. After that I want to take it to Hallowarie and put it through its paces and then enjoy the old Trooper like it was ment to be. May buy me a small camper and fix up to pull behind it for wheeling trips.

[Gussie2000]

Excelent work man.

I wish i had some back yard & enclosed garage to play around with the VX and do some stuff to it.


You definately have a great wife to spray some brake cleaner over her hair !

[Buffy]

Not a whole lot got done this weekend. Waiting on some parts is it is scorching outside! But I did install a new heater core and get the rear diff housing cleaned. The best part about the weekend is I scored some 4.77s for my project!! That is the last piece of my wish list for the project.

It wasn't too bad doing the swap but having the interior out is a big help!





Getting ready to paint the rear housing and install a new locker.





I replaced the heater core because I did not know what kind of shape the core was in. Turns out it was in pretty good shape.... so if anyone is in need of an OEM heater core mine is in pretty good shape.

[ZEUS]

Some progress is better than none! Wish I could figure that out for myself! haha

[nfpgasmask]

Yes, very awesome. Gotta love a restored 1st gen.

Bart

[tom4bren]

Buffy, didn't you have shoulder surgery or sump'n at the end of your VX build? Guess it turned out well considering the work you're doing now. Great job.

[Buffy]

Yea, I had my left elbow rebuilt. Much to my doctor and wife's dismay, I was in the garage a week later working in a sling.

[Buffy]

Parts have been arriving all week. Just waiting on my new front and rear diffs.

Sway-a-way torsion bars



Aussie locker for the rear



ARB air locker for the front



Indy4x Pro Suspension

[RamAirZ]

Looking great man!! I've thought the same thing about opening up my own shop, maybe we should go in it together

[Buffy]

Works for me! Would love to restore cars for a living. I hope to hear the 4.77 diffs are good I will be good to go. As soon as I get them in I will be in for a serious wrench fest getting my suspension back together.