Crushers
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2011
- Messages
- 499
Hi, My name is Wayne and i have an addiction.
It started 30 years ago when i visted my sister that lived in Calgary Alberta. I was introduced to the Rocky Mountains and the beauty they contained.
2 weeks later i moved 4000 km to live in Calgary and a year later i bought my first Land Cruiser. Actually it was a toss up between a Land Cruiser and a Land Rover. I knew absolutely nothing about either but chose the Land Cruiser due to the big round fenders ... imagine that
I traded an old ford car for my first FJ55 with a chev V8 under the hood. I drove the FJ55 home from Lethbridge but it didn't make Calgary before throwing a rod through the block resulting in a tow from a Jeep.
I saved up and put a new short block 350 under the bonnet but it blew up 6 months later so that was the end of my V8 Land Cruiser history.
a couple months later i bought my first 1971 FJ40. Removed the top and doors that weekend and headed for the mountains, i was hooked ... badly.
but
sadly i blew the bottom end out by fall and i tore the truck down to a bare frame to rebuild it back to like new condition usings Spector Offroad as my parts source. I totaled up the cost of the parts and it came in at $7500. i was shocked and depressed.
I headed off to work that Monday and one of the salesmen approached me cause he HAD to sell his 82 BJ42 and buy an american vehicle ... company policy. His loss was my gain, so in 1985 i had my first diesel 40 series with 95K on it and in PERFECT shape. sadly, i had no idea what i had just bought and i beat the crap out of it over the next 4 years.
At the same time i had scoured the book stores for ANY information about Land Cruisers and created a binder of facts, stories, trip reports, modifications ... anything i could use to expand my knowledge.
when i blew the t/case out of the BJ42 i priced out the replacement from Toyota and ... well ... i couldn't afford the price on $8/hr and raising a family with a mortgage as well ...
so ...
that started my Cruiser buying addiction, i bought Cruisers, would wheel them for a few weeks/months then strip them for parts. this also allowed me to see how to interchange parts between the different models, how to modify to make them work and my knowledge kept growing.
In 1993 a gent started up a Cruiser company and a buddy of mine talked me into going to see his shop. in short, he was a crook and a butcher of Cruisers. I mentioned this to him (i have never been accused of having tact) and he told me to leave and not come back.
It started 30 years ago when i visted my sister that lived in Calgary Alberta. I was introduced to the Rocky Mountains and the beauty they contained.
2 weeks later i moved 4000 km to live in Calgary and a year later i bought my first Land Cruiser. Actually it was a toss up between a Land Cruiser and a Land Rover. I knew absolutely nothing about either but chose the Land Cruiser due to the big round fenders ... imagine that
I traded an old ford car for my first FJ55 with a chev V8 under the hood. I drove the FJ55 home from Lethbridge but it didn't make Calgary before throwing a rod through the block resulting in a tow from a Jeep.
I saved up and put a new short block 350 under the bonnet but it blew up 6 months later so that was the end of my V8 Land Cruiser history.
a couple months later i bought my first 1971 FJ40. Removed the top and doors that weekend and headed for the mountains, i was hooked ... badly.
but
sadly i blew the bottom end out by fall and i tore the truck down to a bare frame to rebuild it back to like new condition usings Spector Offroad as my parts source. I totaled up the cost of the parts and it came in at $7500. i was shocked and depressed.
I headed off to work that Monday and one of the salesmen approached me cause he HAD to sell his 82 BJ42 and buy an american vehicle ... company policy. His loss was my gain, so in 1985 i had my first diesel 40 series with 95K on it and in PERFECT shape. sadly, i had no idea what i had just bought and i beat the crap out of it over the next 4 years.
At the same time i had scoured the book stores for ANY information about Land Cruisers and created a binder of facts, stories, trip reports, modifications ... anything i could use to expand my knowledge.
when i blew the t/case out of the BJ42 i priced out the replacement from Toyota and ... well ... i couldn't afford the price on $8/hr and raising a family with a mortgage as well ...
so ...
that started my Cruiser buying addiction, i bought Cruisers, would wheel them for a few weeks/months then strip them for parts. this also allowed me to see how to interchange parts between the different models, how to modify to make them work and my knowledge kept growing.
In 1993 a gent started up a Cruiser company and a buddy of mine talked me into going to see his shop. in short, he was a crook and a butcher of Cruisers. I mentioned this to him (i have never been accused of having tact) and he told me to leave and not come back.
