Isuzu NPR box truck NOW AN NRR/W5!

[Two Checks]

And the Duramax was quite problematic the first year out.

[Sheepdog]

An NPR box truck, eh? Was Ari Shapiro the previous owner?

[rodekyll]

I believe it came from Lake Woebegon.


I've researched the lift to be a "Waltco" C-series Flipper Gate, probably power-up/gravity-down; probably medium-duty with a standard duty pump motor.  I still have not found the model sticker on the unit (lots of rust) I'm going to R&R the motor today right after I get the carbs and manifold off my Honda outboard and the engine out of that super beetle.

Retirement is fun!

[Rough Edge racing]

And the Duramax was quite problematic the first year out.

 Yes, expensive common rail injectors that needed replacement prematurely, like 2600 bucks parts and labor.... now all the full size truck Diesels have common rail expensive injectors...
 Generally speaking ,Isuzu  stuff is just fine...

[Tom]

I think you made a decent buy.    Isuzu's have a good reputation for medium size delivery trucks.  Got chased by one yesterday on the way home from the beach.  I've driven one and used one for deliveries.  Should be a good "tool" for you.  Long distance hauling would be more problematic.

Short read on Honda having Isuzu making their SUV so that they could enter the U.S. market with one.  Kind of like Aprilia (Pegaso 650) making the Funduro for BMW.

http://www.honda-wiki.org/wiki/Honda_Passport

[Sasquatch Jim]

  Fuduro?  Is that something ridden by Elmer?

[Tom]

  Fuduro?  Is that something ridden by Elmer?

Corrected it.  I'll return the favor sometime. 

[rodekyll]

I'm tinkering with the hydraulics motor today.  It's a mess, but once I got it cleaned up it looks like I can maybe salvage it.  The bearings and basic armature look good and the commutators will clean.  If I do get it running it will have to be with the same brushes it's already got.  NAPA estimates $80 for the set, and I can get another Chinese one (this one says made in China) for about the same money.  I'm not going to throw a new price at brushes on speculation.

[rodekyll]

Just got done with the paperwork.  It's a "Forward Tiltmaster" NRR/W5, not the NPR I thought he said.  So it's a real truck.

We now return me to my starter rebuild, already in progress.

[Aaron D.]

My, that's a big one.

[rodekyll]

. .  . and that concludes the hydraulic motor portion of our program.  You will notice that the lift goes both down and up, and that nothing catches fire as it happens.

Having gotten the controls working, now I have to find some good solid rolled bar stock and refit the hinge pins everywhere.  Some of them have been redone in plumbing pipe and some have not.  So all need replacement.  They're like really big clevis pins.  I might even try really big clevis pins.

[Tom]

'ey Dave......so if I get this right.  You're going to be an Alaskan Refugee under the U.S. Self-relocation to the Lower 48 Program???  I know you got fed-up with extra shipping charges....

[oldbike54]

 The really cool trick would be to get the Isuzu to turn back into the smaller NPR after making the move , easier to store and cheaper to run 

 Dusty

[rodekyll]

Yes, I'm shipping myself south.  That's as close as I can come to an actual address.

Dusty, I'm liking the idea of living in it.  Add a window and a bucket with a toilet seat and it would be just like home.

[oldbike54]

Yes, I'm shipping myself south.  That's as close as I can come to an actual address.

Dusty, I'm liking the idea of living in it.  Add a window and a bucket with a toilet seat and it would be just like home.

 Sounds like a plan , South Texas or Arizona in Dec-early Apr , Northern Rockies or the PNW in Summer . No AC , no heat , hell , where do I sign up ?

 Dusty

[azccj]

I use to be an Isuzu guy back in the day, owned 2 Troopers, 1 Amigo, 1 Rodeo, 1 Stylus. Loved the Troopers the best which were both made in Japan. I have nothing bad to say about any of them as no Isuzu I owned had any problems.

[rodekyll]

There doesn't seem to be any immediate mechanical problems with this one.  It starts right up warm or cold, runs to the governor, shifts like I'd expect, steers and tracks ok, and the basics like lights, and wipers all work.  The problems are things like the a/c, the lift, defrost ducting, and cab draftiness.  Comically, it's the first vehicle I've owned with A/C.

I think the best analog I have to this truck is a '58 VW van made large.  You gotta climb into it, and then the steering wheel is upright instead of tilted.  It tilts, but not like a car.  It feels slow and clumsy, takes a long time to get through the gears, has poor rear vision, doesn't cruise fast, and can probably get loaded to the gills with no change in gas mileage or performance.  The PO said "It's a no horsepower, all torque engine."  I believe him.  I've owned 11 VW vans.

Tom -- you commented that "Long distance hauling would be more problematic."  Do you mean slow and uncomfortable, or that this isn't capable of long hauling?

[charlie b]

Sound like you have yourself a nice little truck.  I'd bet Tom meant slow and uncomfortable.

And clevis pins would work great if you can find the right size.

Living in it could be pretty simple.  I used to 'camp' in my 16ft cargo trailer.  Porta-potti and a "couch/bed".  It needed a couple of windows though.

Is it small/light enough to register it as a passenger vehicle?  If not, in most states you can outfit it with a couple things and register it as an RV.  I know folks do that with Class 7/8 trucks.

[stevet]

I've been watching this thread not because of an affinity to medium duty Isuzu trucks, but because for 9 years I owned one of the last Japan-built Isuzu pickup trucks, an extended cab '94 that I bought new in spring of '95.  (MY '95 ended the Isuzu import trucks, rebadged Chev S-10 after that.)  Our first brand new vehicle.   Bare naked basic- no radio or AC, hand cranked windows, and only rear drive.  2.6L 4-cylinder, 5 speed manual.  Dark forest green.  My bride brought us to Idaho from MN for the first step in her career.  We bought the truck weeks before moving as our personal vehicle and for use in my future employment.  Damn, that was a reliable, faithful truck.  Many times I worked it to its limits and it never balked.  5 years later we came back to MN with the truck.  After 9 years and 120000 miles I sold it to a coworker for his kid, who promptly went forward with slowly destroying it.  Lil' f***er.  He did not appreciate that truck at all, and I'm still appologizing to its memory to this day.  I should have kept it.

Oh how I wish Isuzu would bring a Japan-built small pickup back to the USA.   A diesel engine with a 5-speed tranny... maybe an automatic, I'm aging... would be delightful.  At least Chev brought a diesel (Isuzu built diesel?) small(ish) truck to market, I hope others follow.

Good luck on your move, nay, adventure.  I'm sure that truck is up to the task.

Steve.

[Gliderjohn]

I had an Isuzu PU through mid 80s-90s. It too was a reliable old thing. It was slow accelerating but would keep 75mph all day long once it got there. I think it had around 113K miles on it when a drunk soccer mom totaled it, my neighbors 69 F-150 and about $1,200 damage to my Accord. Fortunately all those vehicles were parked and not occupied. Bad news was that she put her grade school aged daughter through the windshield, but of course the drunk mom wasn't hurt.
GliderJohn

[Tom]

Dave....."slow and uncomfortable" for problematic.  Drive it with your VW van experience.  They are real reliable trucks.  If Isuzu meant to compete in the long haul business.  The cab lay-out would have been designed differently.  For your use,  it sounds like it'll work just fine after the maintenance repairs.  Have you explored the A/C problems yet? 

[rodekyll]

I want to be able to putt this thing to wherever I end up living.  Speed isn't an issue (VW bus content), but the ability to go the distance is.  Yeah, the interior isn't built for long distance comfort.  The cab is loud, driver's seat is lumpy and I can't do a proper gangster lean.

No, I've not considered the the A/C yet.  I have a sunny day so I'm working on the Honda outboard today.  I got 4 carbs to install and synch.  I have to make another run at the Rodekyll's starter, too.  The Isuzu A/C is on the list right below fixing the cab air leaks and radio -- and it doesn't have a radio.   

[Tom]

Gotta fix the air leaks before winter sets in.

[oldbike54]

 Several years ago we asked a young lady with an obvious New England accent how in the heck she had ended up in Muskogee . The story was that a her family was on vacation travelling in a motorhome , and they had broken down just South of Town , decided the repair costs were too high , so they parked it on Tenkiller Lake and stayed . Let's hope the Isuzu quits (if it does) in a much more interesting locale 

 Dusty

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

My brother bought an ex-Lowe's delivery W5 w/24' box from a  dealer out in Missouri. Why he bought one half way across the country instead of local I'll never understand. On the trip home, as soon as he started up any hills of appreciable gradient, it went into "limp mode", belched smoke and slowed to 40 mph. He did a bunch of work and thought he had fixed the issue. But, it quickly became apparent that he hadn't once all of his junk was loaded and he headed for Oregon. It made it about 50 miles and died on the side of the road. Second try after another round of repairs and it made it 11 miles. This time he parked it, rented a Penske truck and trailer. 

I hope you have better luck with yours...

[rodekyll]

I tell people I ended up in Sitka by coming up for a visit and running out of gas.  Than I say "That was 25 years ago and I still don't have gas money."

Charlie -- that's a terrrrible story to tell a new owner!     I'm proud of you!   

But this truck only has the 16' box.  I'm sure it will be fine.   

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I tell people I ended up in Sitka by coming up for a visit and running out of gas.  Than I say "That was 25 years ago and I still don't have gas money."

Charlie -- that's a terrrrible story to tell a new owner!     I'm proud of you!   

But this truck only has the 16' box.  I'm sure it will be fine.   

My brother seems to be too "price conscious" (cheap) sometimes and likely bought someone else's problem. I'm betting yours will make the trip fine. 

[rodekyll]

I had the traditional Sitka choice when I went looking for a truck in this size -- take it or leave it.  It cut into my dickering space.   

[Tom]

Same out here.  "You want in now?  You want it here?" factors into the price negotiation.  Price centric because of the island thinking.  We don't figure into the North America dealer network for new vehicles. 

[oldbike54]

 Yeah , but don't you "Islanders" get really cheap fish ? 

 Dusty