Hey, that's not a FJ40! No, but pictures make posts much more interesting and the Mitsubishi is one of the coolest vehicles I ever owned. Arguably, it was as fun to drive as a Land Cruiser, but I'll get to the disco van later.
[1978] First let me go back 35 years. In 1978 I was walking the Toyota lot with my dad. My dad is driving a VW Rabbit but it's mom that needs something more modern than her well-worn VW Squareback. While dad is insisting to the salesman that he's only looking, I've noticed something amazing, a 1978 Land Cruiser. It has these cool-looking, curved windows in the back and just looks plain neato-bosso in my 70's vernacular. Even my no-nonsense dad comments, "pretty neat" and that was a lot coming from him. I ogle it for as long as I can, breaking away just before I know he's about to say, "come on, that's not what we’re here for."
Mom ends up getting a Corona. I think it's the coolest car she could have. It's got air conditioning, an automatic transmission, all sorts of buttons and switches and soft velour seats. I just got my license that year and need a car as well but I know there's no way I'm leaving that lot with a car; I've only got about $700 saved from working at my dad's business and mowing the yard and I eventually find a good deal on a '72 Vega, black with fat, dragster-like tires in the rear. It set me back $500 and I spent hours poring over the JC Whitney catalog wondering what I can spend the rest of my few dollars on while the image of the Land Cruiser faded. My friend's Road Runner convinces me that muscle cars - not "jeeps" - are the cool cars and I move on. The Vega serves me well in high school, its aluminum block never giving me any trouble. I'm sure the neighbors hated its obnoxiously loud Thrush muffler, but to me it was awesome. My girlfriend liked it too and who's going to argue with that?
[1979] I sell it a year later, the summer before college began, and never own another car until 1984 when my dad gives me his 1980 Olds Cutlass Brougham as a graduation present of sorts.
[1985] I don’t keep the Cutlass long trading it for a slightly used Fiero. About now you’re thinking, "this guy picks a Vega and now a Fiero, could he be any worse at picking cars?" Well, maybe. However, neither the Vega nor the Fiero ever gave me a single problem and at the time I bought them, they were quite popular. I took care of them and they performed well for me. Which brings me to the worst car I've ever owned, an '89 Jeep Cherokee.
[1990] I was living in Hawaii in 1990 and driving by a car dealership I spot a beautiful, black Jeep Cherokee Limited. The Jeep was loaded with "power everything" and leather. I parted with the Fiero and began to learn what it’s like to own a truly cheap - not inexpensive - but cheap car. The clear coat starts to come off not long after I buy it and I learn it's to be expected with that model and year. The paint also starts to fade pretty quickly. Over the next several years I have to replace the radiator, water pump, alternator, the battery way too many times, and a host of other parts. The adhesive-backed trim all fell off and even the headliner came down, all of this before even reaching 75,000 miles. It also did something I was unaccustomed to; it stranded me, at least three times that I remember, twice requiring a tow to the shop for repairs. I tried to like that car and being the first new car I'd ever purchased was determined to keep it even if it did look three times its age.
[1998] In 1998 I was living on Whidbey Island, Washington. I see a FJ40 Land Cruiser and the memories of the parking lot episode with my dad come back. Now I start to want one and out of the blue a buddy I used to fly with calls me. He's in California, owns a 1978 FJ40 and needs to sell it for a down payment on a house in San Jose. He's put a lot of mechanical work into it and figured I might be interested. I am. I fly to San Jose and we spend the evening reminiscing about all the fun we had earlier in our careers, before Tailhook '91. The next day he introduces me to the manual choke, I pay him, and I'm on my way back to Washington. My friend's never had any issues with reliability though his trips have been short and in fair weather. A mere 950 miles and some very bad weather; what could go wrong? I’m on the road at noon and figure I can be home sometime around breakfast the next day if I drive through the night.
This is the only picture I have of the FJ40 in California right before I bought it. The top was off but was included in the sale. The Polaroid scan is poor quality but is the only one that shows the custom bumper with tow bar, winch, and lamps. More to follow...
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