I'm at it again - Trooper this time

[Buffy]

That is exactly what I was thinking about using!

The seat being too low is a concern that I have. If you put the seats side-by-side their mounting bases are about the same. The first gen square mounting pedistal is pretty high. I will have to take some measurments over the weekend to see what I come up with. Once I figure everything out I will post up all the specs. It sure has been nice having a welder of my own now, it opens up so many possibilities when working on my projects.

[Marlin]

Coming along quite nicely! I would love to find an old 1st gen that already has the V6 swap, and put the montero jump seats in the back. I have always love the look and the idea of them folding down and making a bed in conjunciton with the other seats.

[Buffy]

I've gotten the front axle, CVs and steering knuckles installed. This morning I got the driveshafts installed, that front drive shaft is a pain to get back in!

Front knuckles with fresh paint and new seals....



I had some extra loud paint laying around and decided to do something different....









I am waiting on some parts for the big brake kit and I can finish the front end. Hard to believe I almost have this thing on its wheels again.

[Buffy]

I started working on getting the front VX seats installed. It has caused me some head scratching moments but I think I am almost there. The thing with the VX seats is the off-set is made into the seat frame insteat of the mounting bracket. So here is what I am doing....

Here are the seats side-by-side. Notice the lean on the VX seat, this is the passenger seat....





Here are the seat mounts I cut out of a Rodeo. Plan to spent about 4 hours minimum to get these panels out. I had blisters on my blisters swinging a 3 pound hammer getting the panels loose.





This is the driver front mount after a couple hours of cutting and shaping....





Stock mount out....



I had to move the new floor mount about 2 inches forward to allow for the longer travel of the new seat. If installed at the original location the front seat would actually hit the back seat. Definitely a good mod for someone with long legs..

[Marlin]

I know I had my seats all apart once. Why not just take the actual seat off of the VX hardware and fab a plate to bolt it to the trooper hardware? IIRC it was only 4 bolts holding the seat on?

[Buffy]

I know I had my seats all apart once. Why not just take the actual seat off of the VX hardware and fab a plate to bolt it to the trooper hardware? IIRC it was only 4 bolts holding the seat on?

I was going to that, took the both seats apart for a comparison. One side of the VX seat frame has about an 1 1/2" drop made in it. I looked at fabbing up some sort of drop bracket for one side but didn't come up with anything that I liked. I looked up how Squatch did it on the planet but the seats he used had flat bottom, needless to say I was a tad disappointed with my discovery.

[Buffy]

It was a busy day today. I got the front suspension back together, torsion bars back in and the new brake calipers painted. I will get the them installed tomorrow and perhaps the new master cylinder. Man I am getting close to being back on 4 wheels again!!

Front hub with new bearing, seal and ready for the rotor....



My Aisin hub disassembled and cleaned....



All the nuts, bolts and screws cleaned and ready for installation....



I FINALLY get to use my rotors, these have been on the wife's dryer for well over a year....



Outter hub before detailing....



and after detailing, I delegated this to the wife (she has a much steadier hand that I do)....



All done, just waiting for the paint to dry on the outter hub to dry to finish up....



Calipers detailed with caliper paint. I am curious to see if it is resistant to brake fluid....



Sway-A-Way torsion bars installed....

[RickOKC]

Here are the seats side-by-side. Notice the lean on the VX seat, this is the passenger seat....

My old VX seats currently live in my home office. I call the driver's seat "that one" and the passenger seat is named "Ilene".