Elder of the Tribe. Vizciano Desert, Baja. My 1970 FJ-55 before there was an Expo

[jefe4x4]

1970, FJ-55, GM 307 V8, added PS, 4.11's, 11.00x32 Tru Tracs on 8" wide wheels, 3" spring lift, Power Loc LSD, stock 3 spd, Hone Overdrive, Warn 8274, 53 gallon gas tank with an extra (6) 5 gal. jeep cans.
September 18th, 1976. One main springs on Con Fer Toyota jeep (small j) trailer snapped at the centering hole. We were traveling with 5 men to Malarimo over 150 miles of dirt track across the hook of Baja, the Vizciano Desert; one of the most remote places I've ever been. We used a piece of ironwood and some bailing wire to try to keep the spring centered to no avail. We then dumped the trailer along side the road and continued to the beach at Malarimo, the flotsam-jetsam capital of the planet. (Malarimo loosely translated means; "Bad to get to", or "bad to arrive at"). In a few days, on the trip back, we had to decide what to do with the trailer. My buddie, Sonny said; "Just ditch it". Con Fer only made a few of these and they had the same track and bolt pattern on the axle as a L.C., all metal with locking lids, 4 gas can holders: it was too well made just to leave.
I finally decided to remove the entire axle and springs from the box. We removed all contents and 4 of us hoisted the trailer body up onto the 'Tomba Burro' (front bumper) with the tongue on the roof of the L.C. (see pic) We then refilled the trailer with the axle and suspension parts and drove, sight unseen with both doors open with spotters guiding the way back to Guerrero Negro, and felt our way back to town. We found a willing hombre who fashioned us a newish main spring, working all day for $7. We finally got home a week later at which time I replaced both spring sets with a much more robust setup and added shocks.
My former FJ was a 1966 Toyota L.C. FJ-40 ragtop with a factory PTO winch. When I bought it used in 1967 for $2K, you would always wave to any other of these that you would see, there were so few of them around.
These FJ's were #'s 2 and 3 of the 10 4WD's I've owned. After driving in the surf at Baia de Los Angeles (we got stuck at high tide on an island) it wasn't so long after that the body started to rust from the inside out spelling the end of my L.C. dayz.
regards, as always, jefe4x4

 

[Desert Dan]

What a trip! Thanks for sharing. Do you have any more pictures?

I have been to Malarimo Beach once. At that time the road was hard to find.

Here is a picture from a Baja trip in 1972.

 

[YukonRob]

Great story! Thanks for posting. Just returned from Malarimo two weeks ago. Not much 'good stuff' left, but found a few trinkets. I wanted to visit before the tsunami debris arrives in a few years. The road - such as it is (more of a wash, really) is still hard to find!

 

[jefe4x4]

Yeah, Dan,
I do have some pix somewhere, but they need to be transcribed to digital. It seems we have a parallel universe here since my very first Baja rig was a 1949 Willys Ute Wagon (flat grill) w/Chevy V-8, Studebaker Overdrive, and the one of the first springs-over-axle jobs I'd done. My first trip to Baja was in June of 1965. It was the wild west then with almost no pavement and miles and miles of very rough, dusty silt roads. We camped at Bahia San Quentin on the beach. There were a number of Mexican families living off the sea near the beach; everyone with a few years out-of-date California license plate on their pickup. Hmm?
So, the rigs?;
'49 Willys
'66 L.C. FJ-40
'70 L.C. FJ-55
'80 International Traveller (118" wb) w/ Nissan turbo diesel, T-19, Dana 300, D-44's, Trac-loc.
'82 CJ-8, slowly turned into a rock crawler. I think i'm up to 12 rolls w/it.
'89 Jeep XJ
'90 Jeep XJ (rolled it off a cliff in Telluride)
'01.5 Dodge 3/4 T. Cummins 4WD pickup with Lance Camper
'04 Nissan AWD Murano w/ center diff lock and traction control.
'99 Jeep XJ, current snow car for Jeanie
'08 4WD Kiote 35 HP diesel tractor with rear pull snow blower
and trailers: a 1965 homemade metal and wood 4x6 trailer; 1943 M-100 Bantam jeep trailer, 1967 M-714 Jeep trailer, 1970 ConFer Toyota jeep trailer, a 1999, 14' car trailer to haul jeeps. recently I scored a 1955 Sears 4x6 all-metal trailer which was built tough with a double floor of diamond plate. I wish I had kept all the others.
regards, as always, jefe

 

[jefe4x4]

Dan,
I notice you were working for the ACSC. Were you on the Baja mapping expeditions of the 60's and 70's? It looks like they were in 4WD Suburbans. I have a big map brief case with all the baja maps of the time, many were from the Auto Club. One of the great old maps I have is from a guy named McMahon who ran a furniture factory and showrooms in So. Cal. at the time. I also knew ******** Cepek and got most of my off-road stuff from him. He was co-driver in the ill-fated 1967, first Baja 1000 which ran into a hurricane. Their bid ended when their brand new upgraded 1967 Jeepster lost a battle with a flooded arroyo and got washed down stream. At least they both got out alive. Within 20 yrs. ******** died of lung cancer. He was a chain smoker. He certainly knew his stuff. This is the little sluice on the Rubicon;

regards, as always, jefe

 

[1leglance]

great pics and what memories you guys must have of traveling down there before the expolicious world took over

thanks for posting and I am looking forward to some digital scans of those old pics.

 

[toddz69]

Great stories! Thanks for sharing. I love looking at the old pictures.

Todd Z.

 

[toddz69]

I also knew ******** Cepek and got most of my off-road stuff from him. He was co-driver in the ill-fated 1967, first Baja 1000 which ran into a hurricane. Within 20 yrs. ******** died of lung cancer. He was a chain smoker.

He actually died of a heart attack in a New York hotel.

Todd Z.

 

[Rancho]

Was that taken with Instagram?
TOTALLY joking! Love the old Wagon.

What a trip! Thanks for sharing. Do you have any more pictures?

I have been to Malarimo Beach once. At that time the road was hard to find.

Here is a picture from a Baja trip in 1972.

 

[Lord Green]

I was with Yukonrob two weeks on our Malarrimo trip and have to agree with him, the beach is picked pretty clean unless you're a collector of plastic bottles. I've been coming down to Baja since 1963 and this was my first time out to the western reach of the 'hook'. It was well worth the trip (a little too much pavement for my tastes though). That's Yukonrob in the picture.

 

[Desert Dan]

Thanks for the picture Lord Green.
When I was at Malarimo in 1985 I was hoping to find wooden flotsam and jetson and ship wrecks but it was mostly plastic debris but I did find a whale carcass , whale bones and a life jacket and and a sou'wester rain hat.

I also went out too Punta Eungina and Bahia Tortugas. It was an awful long wash board dirt road from GN.

 

[Lord Green]

Well, I'd like to say that the road has improved- Portions are paved, portions are under construction and some areas are worse than washboard because there was no pattern. We went to Tortugas and Punto Eugenio too and enjoyed a great trip.

 

[YukonRob]

View attachment 122298That's Yukonrob in the picture.

Gasp! I've been 'outed'.

 

[cruiser guy]

You're making me miss my '76 FJ55.

It's been well traveled as well.

Mexico in '07 or '08. Cruise Moab 2010 Classic car show in 2010 Guatemala in '07.

 

[RMP&O]

I am slightly jealous of you old timer Baja guys. I wish it was still as remote as it was 30+yrs ago. I would have loved to go down there when it was like that.