Site Projects

The Trooper RS is over the biggest hurdle it has faced since becoming a running vehicle. The driver's side floor and rocker were basically non-existent, so this represented two problems: it was the most expensive aspect of its restoration and the… more

When we last checked in, the awfulness of the floors in the 1989 Isuzu Trooper RS was on full display. Nelson, my trusted body guy who is going to charge me way more than he expected, has turned my porous Trooper into one that is structurally… more

When I bought the 1989 Isuzu Trooper RS out of a western Mass. salvage yard, I figured it had rust....somewhere. I didn't look too hard. Basically, I wanted this dumb short wheelbase Trooper badly enough that I just looked at the odometer and… more

This is my new pick-up, and first drivers car in four years. Feels so good to be back in a manual car with real driving characteristics. I will do another write up post to explain my story on how I picked this car up, and found it, but for now,… more

Big news! The 1989 Isuzu Trooper RS is moving out of Jay's 4WD shop and heading over to *another* shop; this time, it's for bodywork. I am very excited by a few things, namely: this brush guard. This bull bar, brush guard, whatever the… more

As I mentioned, a friend of mine (Joe) works for the local Lexus dealer and he's worked on my vintage projects in the past. He agreed to take on the LX450 and has been dissecting the truck in a fairly comprehensive fashion. Here are the updates… more

The '89 Isuzu Trooper RS can't have too much more thrown on it, aside from whatever shortcomings are revealed as it gets driven. Jay, the mechanic who's been bringing it back to life on nights and weekends, has pretty much done all he can do… more

I have a connection with the local Lexus dealer that has proven helpful over the years. Joe Manzi, a former technician with the now-defunct Oxford Motorcars, joined the Lexus dealer technician team in Warwick, Rhode Island, a few years back. Joe… more

The Lexus LX450 arrived with a pretty powerful stream of fluid terminating from below, and the best guess so far is the power steering oil cooler. Of course, the cooler consists of hard lines and therefore can't be replaced. 

There's the… more