kcowyo
ExPo Original
"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well." - Jack London
And so begins my Landcruiser story. It's always a story with me. I've got a million of 'em. This one goes a little something like this....
About six years ago I bought a 1989 FJ62. It was white, stock and had tons of potential. A few months into owning it, a cracked head and lack of funds led me to selling it. And I have regretted it ever since. Before the money from the sale was even spent, I was plotting and planning to find another.
Life, work, bills, family, other vehicles and adventures distracted me over time but I never stopped cruising eBay, Craigslist and the classifieds. Looking, hoping, searching and learning, I became very aware of the Landcruiser I wanted and how I wanted it equipped. Equally important, I was able to determine how I didn't want it equipped. And over the last year it has become nearly an obsession.
Landcruiser fever? Oh yeah, sweatin' it right here. Last weekend, I found the cure....
1985 FJ60 Toyota Landcruiser -
Sure enough, if you focus on something long enough, you will find your way to it or it will find it's way to you. Recently during a routine morning sipping coffee and scanning the IH8Mud classifieds, I spied what I thought was a perfect candidate. The body was straight, the color was right, the suspension & tires were ideal, and the modest mods were for pure function. No frills, no over the top add-ons, nothing just for show. Even the old school steelie bullet wheels seemed to flow just right. I liked it alot.
There was just one problem. In a moment of haste the week before, I had made an impulse decision and bought this, an '87 Toyota 4Runner. It was clean with low miles, unique and nice. It wasn't the Landcruiser I wanted but I tried to talk myself into making a go of it. If my Cruiser was never going to come my way, I would make do with something else. So now my LC fund was spent.
2.5" SL, 1" BL, 33 BFG's -
For no other reason than a little voice in my head said to call the guy, I called the seller and talked to him. It sounded like a nice Cruiser. He explained his reasons for selling it and I asked what he intended to replace it with. "Oh, I like those 4 cylinder early 4Runners. I like those removable tops. I think one of those would be a better commuter for me."
:drool:........................
It boggles my mind how you can search and look for something for so long and you eventually convince yourself it's not going to happen and then it just randomly falls in your lap. I tell him about my little turbo 4Runner and he wants to see it. He suggests maybe a trade would be possible. I had suggested to my girlfriend when I purchased the 4Runner that perhaps I could trade it for a Landcruiser if it didn't work out. I didn't really think it would work like that, but you gotta have faith. I'm beginning to believe in the power of positive thinking.
Color Code 4E9, custom rear bumper, Aussie rear locker -
So we agree to meet in the tiny Wyoming town of Medicine Bow, population 276, at the historic Virginian Hotel. We both drive through horrendous conditions to get there. I see three accidents on the snow covered, windy interstate in 15 miles. Top speed is 40mph and the wipers are spreading more ice than they are clearing. We both arrive an hour and a half late in trucks caked with ice and snow.
Whatever. I'm excited, he's excited.
We both have something the other guy wants. A laughable test drive in blowing snow, on drift covered roads is all I need to convince me I want to take this Cruiser home. It's perfect. It's big, it's loud, it leaks oil like a Land Rover but it feels like I'm driving a Landcruiser.
Suddenly I'm 16 again, feeling the thrill of first being able to drive. And then I'm 26 again, with the confidence and freedom I felt driving my (of similar color) CJ-7 around the west. As I shift through the 4 gears, I'm 36 again, bouncing along in Graham Jackson's Defender 110 in Colorado. This thing is like Christine, but possessing me with some super adventure vibe instead of that creepy old guy. I must have it.
Custom front bumper, blacked out grill -
We sit down at the hotel and come to an agreement over a cheeseburger and a cup of coffee. A deal is struck and two happy guys scarf down their lunch, eager to get back outside to their new Toys. As we swap our old school iron and shake hands congratulating the other, we write each other a bill of sale on a scratch piece of paper donated by our waitresses order pad. It's business the old fashioned way. A handshake and your word. Good enough for me.
And so now I have two receipts from tiny Medicine Bow on the same piece of paper. On one side is my $7 lunch order. On the other side, a bill of sale for my Landcruiser. You wanna talk about humble beginnings? Brother, that's about as humble as it gets.
So it begins.....
So what does the future hold for this Cruiser? Why did I even get it when I have a truck already? Well, it's going to be my daily driver. I will use it to drive my clients around. On the weekends I will take my kids to the mountains and desert in it. It will eventually be a part of a marketing concept for me and my work. And I suspect at some point, we will journey to Moab, Death Valley or Mexico together.
Mods? Oh sure, there's a million things I could add to it. But a mildly lifted and locked Landcruiser doesn't need too many more mods. I like the capable but understated look. Maybe I'll put my TLCA sticker on it. But for now, I'm thinking of throwing my Engel in the back, adding some oil and calling it good. My search is over, time to just enjoy owning and driving it.
To be continued on some trail, somewhere....
I like the idea of throwing the Engle in the back and enjoying, nicely done:beer:
