Introduce yourself here!

[zamafir]

Hi folks, I just picked up a 2000 Ironman earlier this year before the insanity. I've always wanted a VX and figured now was the time with them going for silly money on BAT (15k for a, erm, not very original example today, silly). Anywho I'm going to spend the next few months getting it dialed in and addressing the stuff the previous owner neglected to. Already fixed the Tape Deck/Radio so I can use a bluetooth tape adapter, replaced all the lights with LEDs (save the plate), replaced all the speakers as they were all shredded, All in all it's a great truck. Previously I had a Samurai and I can't believe how the VX drives compared to it, or even a brand new jeep, what a special quirky truck!

https://instagram.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn....72&oe=5EDEAF0C

[ipd]

I helped talk it up a bit. And personally, I'm ok with resale value of these going up. They're at the 20 year mark where classic status usually begins. And the platform is totally unappreciated.

[ipd]

I especially loved the guy who insisted the VX wasn't that groundbreaking or ahead of its time. He cited the Rav4 and X5. ROFL.

[BFC]

I especially loved the guy who insisted the VX wasn't that groundbreaking or ahead of its time. He cited the Rav4 and X5. ROFL.

Hello All (especially @ipd):

I am the "winning" bidder of the VX that sold on BaT this week. I exceeded my self-imposed bidding limit multiple times, but what the heck. You only live once. Goodness knows the money wasn't earning any interest sitting in the bank.

One of my goals when purchasing a vehicle is to get something I won't see another one of this month, and perhaps not this year. The Isuzu will be my transportation during inclement weather. In St. Louis, MO that is not too many days, but there are enough. My daily driver is a Lotus Evora 400, and there are plenty of days I'd rather not have it out on the roads. Between the Isuzu and the Lotus, I think I have achieved my goal of not having to worry about running into a bunch of them anytime soon!

35 years ago Monday, my wife and I got married. On our honeymoon, we purchased a brand new Isuzu I-Marque (obviously, I'm a romantic). It was the only new car we would purchase for quite a long time. Longed to get a Trooper back in the day, but it did not fit in the budget. So, I've always had a soft spot for the brand.

I'm looking forward to learning more about the VehiCROSS from the knowledgable members of the forum.

Thanks.

BFC

PS: Spartacus emblem now available, oh, and pedal covers too!

[No Faux]

Ok, new old guy here. I used to follow most of the car magazines and I noticed the VX before they were at dealerships. My first thoughts were 'why?', 'it's not appealing' and 'it's very expensive!'. So I didn't think about it again until about 2 or 3 years ago when an internet story about how capable it was showed up in my inbox. Background - I'm a car nut, but 'value' conscious and I keep most of my vehicles for a long time. I bought an old Porsche in 1985 and kept it until it was stolen in '97. I've owned an F150 since I bought it new in late 2003. It was recently stolen and banged up badly. I still have it but it's no longer dependable, and quite unsitely. So, my son-in-law recently sold his $35K side by side which he had seriously modified. He is now looking for a jeep. Ok, stop booing. I recomended the VX, but couldn't remember the maker or name. It's a wierd name. I finally figured it out, sent him a message, and looked for examples of it's capabilities. There's a ton of pics and utube videos showing them in every conscievable terrain. Checked off that box. Then I started to look at some for sale. SIL is not gonna jump on the bandwagon before he sees it in action, but I can be an early adopter(20 years?). So I bought one in Utah and drove it back to New Orleans. It's a 30 hour drive but I've never been to that area and it was B E A utiful. AND I passed through MOAB. It still needs some work. I immediately removed the original shocks and put them aside to rebuild. Have some cheap KYBs in it now. I installed some Ironman MTs and new wheels. The original chrome are in bad shape. Now I'm starting to mod it for serious offroad. I have tons of questions. Best place to mount the spare tire? Roof rack? On the back with a hitch mount or modify the rear gate? How hi do I need to lift it? My tires don't rub with original (tired) rear springs and slight modifications to the front wheel well. They are 32"s. Talk more soon.....

[ipd]

Welcome to the addiction!

I think few understood the reason for the MSRP being as high as it was. To bring things into perspective, you need to compare the standard features on a wrangler (the Rubicon didn't even come out till a few years later). When you do that, it becomes quite clear. The same year TJ's were essentially featureless and in need of a fair amount of modification to make into serious off-road toys. The VX was nearly perfect as is.

[CatFish]

Ok, new old guy here. I used to follow most of the car magazines and I noticed the VX before they were at dealerships. My first thoughts were 'why?', 'it's not appealing' and 'it's very expensive!'. So I didn't think about it again until about 2 or 3 years ago when an internet story about how capable it was showed up in my inbox. Background - I'm a car nut, but 'value' conscious and I keep most of my vehicles for a long time. I bought an old Porsche in 1985 and kept it until it was stolen in '97. I've owned an F150 since I bought it new in late 2003. It was recently stolen and banged up badly. I still have it but it's no longer dependable, and quite unsitely. So, my son-in-law recently sold his $35K side by side which he had seriously modified. He is now looking for a jeep. Ok, stop booing. I recomended the VX, but couldn't remember the maker or name. It's a wierd name. I finally figured it out, sent him a message, and looked for examples of it's capabilities. There's a ton of pics and utube videos showing them in every conscievable terrain. Checked off that box. Then I started to look at some for sale. SIL is not gonna jump on the bandwagon before he sees it in action, but I can be an early adopter(20 years?). So I bought one in Utah and drove it back to New Orleans. It's a 30 hour drive but I've never been to that area and it was B E A utiful. AND I passed through MOAB. It still needs some work. I immediately removed the original shocks and put them aside to rebuild. Have some cheap KYBs in it now. I installed some Ironman MTs and new wheels. The original chrome are in bad shape. Now I'm starting to mod it for serious offroad. I have tons of questions. Best place to mount the spare tire? Roof rack? On the back with a hitch mount or modify the rear gate? How hi do I need to lift it? My tires don't rub with original (tired) rear springs and slight modifications to the front wheel well. They are 32"s. Talk more soon.....

I keep my 33" spare on the roof rack (not very convenient) but some have modified the rear door and it looks like a better place for it but requires quite a bit of work.

[eternal21]

I keep my 33" spare on the roof rack (not very convenient) but some have modified the rear door and it looks like a better place for it but requires quite a bit of work.

Not really. All you need is a spare tire carrier from a GenII Isuzu trooper, some grade 8 bolts, washers, and locking nuts. The biggest issue is that a lot of people don't have the stomach to drill through the rear door. Once you get over that, the 2nd biggest thing is getting the mount lined up so that the tire sits centered.

Once it's all done, however....

http://www.infinitemotion.net/mp/vx/exterior/spare1.jpg

http://www.infinitemotion.net/mp/vx/exterior/spare2.jpg

[Mile High VX]

I keep my 33" spare on the roof rack (not very convenient) but some have modified the rear door and it looks like a better place for it but requires quite a bit of work.

Not really. All you need is a spare tire carrier from a GenII Isuzu trooper, some grade 8 bolts, washers, and locking nuts. The biggest issue is that a lot of people don't have the stomach to drill through the rear door. Once you get over that, the 2nd biggest thing is getting the mount lined up so that the tire sits centered.

Once it's all done, however....

http://www.infinitemotion.net/mp/vx/exterior/spare1.jpg

http://www.infinitemotion.net/mp/vx/exterior/spare2.jpg

How long ago did you make this mod? Any problems with the rear door sagging?

[ipd]

I'd wager the hinges will be fine and can support the weight. If anything, the inside of the door might need some reinforcing, but that's no biggie. Overall, looks great! Though it does look a bit odd with the bump on the door with the tire outside now. lol!

[eternal21]

How long ago did you make this mod? Any problems with the rear door sagging?

Right before the Moab 2015 VX meet....literally a couple weeks before b/c I didn't want to be caught out on the trail w/out a spare. So, 5 years at this point. Rear hinges are fine. I was rear ended last Aug, and the woman hit the spare tire while I was sitting at a stoplight in her 2015 Jeep Compass. She slid under the tire, and pushed the door in *very* slightly but it was enough that the angle of the tire wasn't parallel anymore. I have a spare door w/busted out glass sitting in the garage, but since it's just me during the coronas, and I didn't want to replace it, just get the angle right, I simply shimmed the 2 bottom bolts of the mount w/SS washers so the tire sits right. Her truck....however....over $3500 in damage. One of the main reasons I have it back there along w/the Curt hitch....taking a hit from a low sitting vehicle, the hitch will absorb that damage before the cladding gets damaged, depending on the speed of the impact. And the tire absorbs the hit from higher sitting vehicles, also protecting the cladding.

That and picturing myself climbing on top of the truck to get the spare in the event I need to....yeaaaah....no *lol*.

Oh, never sagged, no problems really, except the Tone hatch popper sometimes won't open the door all the way due to the extra weight. I'm going to be replacing the spring sometime in the near future, so that should remedy that.

Do you have a basket? I have one that's been sitting since I installed the bike racks + jack. It's the one everyone uses to attach to the VX cross bars. I put it up for sale a bit ago and this guy was trying to haggle so much over the price, I just stopped talking to him *lol*

I'd wager the hinges will be fine and can support the weight. If anything, the inside of the door might need some reinforcing, but that's no biggie. Overall, looks great! Though it does look a bit odd with the bump on the door with the tire outside now. lol!

You're correct about the hinges. The bolt heads are on the outside. Inside the door, I just used washers to distribute the weight a bit, then nylon inserted locking nuts. Merlin (IIRC) did this a bit ago, and did a write up, so I just basically copied what he did. And with the spare tire out of that space, it opens up a world of opportunities for the imaginative mind

[ipd]

Superbumper is way better for impact than a hitch. The hitch may prevent that 3" square section of car hitting your VX, but it won't stop anything outside that area. Worse, if the impact is hard enough, a hitch can transfer the force to your frame rails--there's pics of other vehicles you can see where this happened. The Superbumper fits into the hitch and provides cushion for impact. Plus it has a lifetime warranty--so if you ever get in a wreck and it's damaged, just send them a copy of the police report + a photo of the bumper...and they will send you another.

[eternal21]

Superbumper is way better for impact than a hitch. The hitch may prevent that 3" square section of car hitting your VX, but it won't stop anything outside that area. Worse, if the impact is hard enough, a hitch can transfer the force to your frame rails--there's pics of other vehicles you can see where this happened. The Superbumper fits into the hitch and provides cushion for impact. Plus it has a lifetime warranty--so if you ever get in a wreck and it's damaged, just send them a copy of the police report + a photo of the bumper...and they will send you another.

I'll look into that.....thanks!

[ipd]

Sue turned me on to them, since I think she was the original VX with one. I know Jo has used other hitch steps for protection from ground clearance and accidents. Superbumper (or Sparebumper) actually are designed to slide in the hitch in the case of impact. They have what I can only describe as hockey pucks surrounding the shaft of the bumper that slides into the receiver. If you get hit, the rubber discs compress and the bumper slides into the hitch--but force isn't transferred to your car or the frame. hard to describe.

[kenkb]

I was on Vacation in Tuscon in 2020 and it was raining so I went to look at the VX. They had one at the dealer, I drove it around the block and went inside a purchased it. I live in New York City so the only rub was finding a transfer company to ship it to NY. One week later I picked it up at a transfer station in NJ. Used it for 16 years as my regular car. Now up to 170,000 miles and the engine is going through lots of oil about a quart every 400 miles. It may be time to move on but I love the car. The week the car arrived in NY I went for a drive into the country, I pulled into a McDonald's parking lot to try and figure out where I was and all of a sudden I was surrounded by a bunch of high school boys who LOVED the car. I knew I had made the right choice if it appealed to me and the younger generation.