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Another 73 Stroppe

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toddz69

toddz69

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Great snag as many have said. There's your history!! lol. I think Todd had one fender for a while and i had what remained of the other fender..... i turned it into wall art. Will try to post a pic.

I'm glad you have a better memory for this stuff than I do! I still have my fender hanging in the barn too - I had forgotten that it came from this truck via a previous owner but that makes sense now that i think of it.

Todd Z.
 

BajaBronco

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I cut mine into a cactus shape....you can see it on the backwall of my shop. Todds is much better, i wouldn't cut his up.... Was fun to find these fenders thru Todd years after we looked at it in the lot. I think he showed it to me in 2001?
 

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toddz69

toddz69

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Here's a shot of my fender hanging in the garage.

Todd Z.
 

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mjschneidy

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Wow....! This truck has history to say the least. Glad to be part of it.

Could this thread be moved from the 'For Sale' section to somewhere more appropriate? I'd like to keep it a running log and add to it as the project progresses.
 

BajaBronco

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yeah, lets move the thread. Anxious to help put her back to stock/how she's wanted.

Here's the fender before I freehanded it into cactus.
 

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sprdv1

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Wow....! This truck has history to say the least. Glad to be part of it.

Could this thread be moved from the 'For Sale' section to somewhere more appropriate? I'd like to keep it a running log and add to it as the project progresses.

I bet that could happen... :D
 

DirtDonk

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Interesting top strap on the driver's side of the radiator. Is that hole a Stroppe thing for lightening things up?
Or is it just a fluke?

Paul
 

Justafordguy

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Congrats Mike, looks like you got a great deal on a great truck. Can't wait see what you do with it. :cool:
 

BajaBronco

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Interesting top strap on the driver's side of the radiator. Is that hole a Stroppe thing for lightening things up?
Or is it just a fluke?

Paul

without a picture reference it's hard to know exactly what you are talking about but I did check all pics on the thread and noted there was a strap about 4/5" of the way up the radiator holding it to the core support. No top brackets. Not a stroppe thing, but looks like a "I dont have radiator brackets anymore I need this thing to run" style bracket? From Toddz pics sitting in the yard semi-repaired.
 

DirtDonk

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Post #8, second of Todd's images. The top of the radiator, just at the upper hose inlet.
At first glance, it almost looks like a filler neck was lost. But the piece of metal in question is the top "brace" soldered to the top of the side tank, and extending over the top of the core to create the top mount flange.

Sorry don't have the usual red circle from Paint, or Ink, or PhtotShop or whatever people use for that.

Paul
 

mjschneidy

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Sorry guys I'm way overdue for an introduction and status of the project. My son and I have been very busy de-F'ing this thing just to make it road worthy. That radiator bracket is just one tick in a long list of cobbled up things I've been busy fixing. I actually drove it to work last Friday the longest its traveled since taking delivery. More to come, I promise...
 
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BajaBronco

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Glad to hear. Keep at it an feel free to fire away any questions/etc. Congrats on the first drive!! Do list the cobbed up stuff...we all get a chuckle out of those. I should post up some of the things I found on my old 2008 find of a Stroppe racer....the PO was very handy!
 

mjschneidy

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Coming up on a year already !

...so here's a brief overview of the last 10 months.

I bought it sight unseen, was very nervous doing so, much out of character for me to say the least but the opportunity came up as we were pulling out of the driveway for a 2 wk trip through Yellowstone. Seller answered many questions, sent photos, and seemed to be on the up and up. Helped that it was in the registry.

Upon delivery I was pleased with the body, paint, and overall condition. But it was obvious the previous owner may not have had the skills or attention to detail that I typically put into things. As he put it it was an occasional driver to take the grand kids for ice cream. It did have a new 347 crate motor but needed sorting out.

First drives were entertaining to say the least. The steering had an honest 1/2 turn of deadband, binder style driving required! No power brakes which for me was a surprise back to my younger years. The cam had way too much duration for the torque converter, didn't want to idle in gear. None of the dash lights, gauges, or turn signals worked. The list continues but you get the idea.

So the plan for the fall was to get it sorted out to make it driveable. Removed a lot of cobbled overlayed wiring. Installed power brakes. Rebuilt the steering column, i-shaft, replaced steering box with a rebuilt 4 turn unit, and a new drag link to get the steering back to something not so white knuckle. Fixed oil leaks which included going through the t-case. It actually drives rather well now for an old truck. Oh and the rear axle was loose to the springs!

At this point I could hop in it and drive it on the weekends and to work at will without too much worry. The bumpity bump cam was about the only negative for drivabilty at this point but got lots of thumbs up.

So what to do next, what's the plan / vision for a 73 Stroppe that is pretty solid but probably never going to be a concourse truck ?

Stay tuned, we've done quite a bit and I have photos to share....
 

DirtDonk

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Thanks for the update Mike.
Have a great Memorial Day!

Paul
 

mjschneidy

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So the short list of to do's was the following:

1) Replace the Centerline wheels with period correct slots and fresh rubber - Done
2) Replace aftermarket hood with something stock or stock looking
3) Replace soft top with the correct hardtop
4) Replace dune buggy-ish bucket seat with the originals that came with it - Done
5) Remove B&M auto floor shifter and reinstate column shifter - Done
6) Replace fiberglass grill with OE metal grill
7) Replace cam with something more appropriate for an offroad / driver application
8) Convert to power brakes - Done


As it sat last fall it looked like this.
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mjschneidy

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My long term desires are to make it a great driver but maintain the Stroppe heritage. Not interested in turning it into a $80-130k Mecum dream. I've done enough nut & bolt restorations to have that out of my system. Fun as hell during but what do you do once done. The family approval for a new project was also that it had to be a driver and not a show queen.

So here's a few photos of some of the crazy stuff we've been fixing and its progress through the winter and spring.

When you pull the battery hold down out of the tray poke it through the core support and weld it to the other hold down.
 

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