"Blackjack" is my third 4WD vehicle and my second Trooper. Below is a pic of my first Trooper.

I bought my 1st. Trooper LS(Gemini)2.6 5 speed new in 1989 and blew my second engine in 2008. I decided not to rebuild but to try out one of these 2nd. generation Troopers (Jackaroos) thus the nick name; "Blackjack". I'm slowly learning that these are two extremely different vehicles.

I'm not an extreme 4WD enthusiast but have had my share of mudding, rock crawling, water crossing, hill climbing and general off road fun. I have had all of my vehicles in every weather element and on every type of terrain just to test my ability and that of the vehicle. Since I enjoy the back country as I hike, backpack, camp, cycle, kayak and snowboard, I need a vehicle that I can pack to the gills and head out with all my gear on my adventures.

Here are some pics of my 1st. Trooper doing what it did best. The 1st. generation trooper was just that, a real Trooper. It was a real truck, 4WD, jeep what ever label you want to brand it. It could get it self in and out of just about anything and with its narrow track it was suited well on jeep trails.

My second Trooper is the 1995 Limited Dakar/Paris Edition. It is not as if Isuzu took the time to beef these babys up, seeing how they won the race. Nope, it is as stock and as soft in the britches as all of the other second generation Troopers. The only thing that makes it stand apart from all of the other Troopers of it's era is the badge it is adorned with on the grill and the little wind shield wipers on the head lights.

I bought this Trooper used with 107k on the clock. It came from a great family and was regularly maintained.
I thought it was a bit of a boat when I first got it. Suspension is soft, under sprung and dampened. The rear axel hovers just over an inch or so over the rear bump stops and I can feel it bottom out during Highway travel. Power is so so, more than my 89 but then this thing is packing 5000lbs. You can just look at it and tell it is a far heavier vehicle than the 1st. generation.

I took my wheels and tires off my original Trooper and put them on my new "Blackjack". They are 32" X 11.50 BFG All Terrains on Rock Crawler extreme steel wheels. They were the largest fit that you could put on a 1st. generation Trooper with out a lift. As for the 2nd. generation Trooper I found immediately that I had scrub issues with these tires and rims. Tires made contact with the front inner well enclosure and flaring on tight radius turns. So, I found several forum sites one in Australia and another here in the States that caters to an Isuzu fan base. I also started researching lift kits both suspension and body. I have since ordered a set of OME (Old Man Emu) rear springs to help stiffen the rear of this truck.I have also re tensioned the front torsion bars since this truck has front independent suspension to get more clearance for my front tires. This cured some 80% of that problem but then I only raised it 1".

I also found that I had a bit of scrub in the rear when I took it out for the first time just to see the articulation and get an over all feel for the truck off road. I was quite pleased with how it traversed the dirt roads.
Car is a pleasant driver on the open highway, has a lot more bells and whistles that my other maybe more that I needed. This Trooper is equipped with tilt wheel, electric seats, heated seats, moon roof, leather interior, 6 CD changer (old school)and the air conditioning works unlike my other. The interior is quiet and sleek looking. This Trooper is also an Automatic. Not my first choice since I had great luck with my previous 5 speed (never an issue.
"Blackjack" started having tranny issues after I had only put on 2000 miles. Check transmission light and transmission oil (fluid) tem light, then the tach reading higher than normal readings for moderate acceleration and of course I could feel the slippage. Had the pan dropped and yes their was more that normal amount of metal in it and I bit the bullet and dumped another wad of cash on "Blackjack" Hopefully this 3.2 will hold together for 180 to 200k?

New truck, new tranny new views, points of views and new adventures...It does not get any better than this.

Future plans: 3" suspension lift, custom cargo rack for up top.