Hello my name is Tom.....and I am a Land Cruiser addict.
(big crowd sounds.... Hello Tom)
Well my obsession with these fantastic rigs started in high school in the early 80's. My neighbor had a fj40 that always caught my eye when coming and going. I always thought to myself...."thats the rig I want!" I ended up with a FORD country squire station wagon instead!! it was the perfect first car!
After graduating from high school, I bought my first Land Cruiser in 1986. It was a 1983 fj60. I paid $6000. for it!!! I drove that first cruiser till 1989 when I purchased my first FJ40.
A clean 1977 FJ40. This is where my obsession grew to an addiction. I drove that 40 from Alaska to Mexico every winter for 5 years. In fact it was this FJ40 that helped me score my beautiful wife Cathy. She loved that rig!
I bought her a FJ40 the year we were married. We were now on our way to becoming a solid land cruiser family.
Well......a few months into my wifes rig, I ended up totaling it into a Moose. It sat for a few years in the yard in a ball of metal. I replaced her 40 with a 1985 FJ60.
Once the wife was hooked on the 60, I found a donor body 40 for the ball of metal in the yard. We ended up with a solid 40 again.
In 2000 we bought a second home in Utah. We drove our 60 and 40 down from Alaska with a uhaul. After settling in....I found that there were a ton of cruisers there.
We drove our cruisers back up in the spring and when returning to Utah I found a clean 60 out of Nevada. I always wanted to do the chevy conversion on a cruiser....especially after hauling a uhaul filled with my life, from Alaska to Utah!!!
I pulled the old dumb 2F out and found a great 383 short block. After some $$$ was saved I slowly started to add some Mods. I thought to my self once again.........I want to build the ultimate cruiser for me and what I want it to be!
1. A daily driver
2. A muscle car
3. A rock crawler
4. A expedition rig
5. A hunting/fishing rig
6. A camping rig
7. A tow rig
This is the criteria that I needed to meet.... (for those of you who dont know me, I am a full time profession guide in Alaska and Utah for the past 20 years.)
I wanted a rig that would be all that plus haul the clients too.
After 6 years of building and all the $$$$$ that I didnt really have.....
I give you "TONTO"
I also must mention that for the past 25 years of owning Land Cruisers, I was alone under my rig figuring all this crap out without a FSM or IH8MUD!!!!
I think back and say, "how the hell did I get through that alone" I only found Mud a couple years ago when I saw a bumper sticker on the back of a 40 in Moab.
Heres a list of the mods over the years that has made TONTO the rig of choice of all my Land Cruisers.
1. 383 stroker V8 Holley with a Holley 750cfm carb, Edelbrock high performance intake 3 inch custom exhaust above the frame
2. SOA with custom shock hoops and DC drive shafts, mini truck 1/2 histeer.
3. 4:56 gears with front and rear ARB lockers and air chuck for OBA
4. H55 5 speed with a ranger torque splitter
5. MAF quick release sway bars
6. IPF lights and wiring harness
7. 35 x 12.50 A/T with alloy wheels
8. Rock sliders all the way around the rig
9. class V hitch with trailer brakes
10. custom bumpers and rear swing gates and tire carrier
11. Rear sliding windows
12. LED interior lighting.
Things I want to still do since finding MUD......
1. Marlin Hi steer
2. 80 TRE
3. Power steering assist port
4. safari/expedition roof rack
5. 4 runner brake upgrade to rear discs
This past fall I did a complete face lift on TONTO. Little body work and cutting and welding along with some bondo too. I even changed from smurf blue to Navajo White.....(or cream) I love the new look with the lighter paint and the black highlights. The face lift process is in my sig line.
I have been driving these great rigs for 25 years and will continue the family tradition as I pass TONTO to my 14 yo son in 2 years. I will have to dig up some photos and scan them for all to enjoy as most of my cruisers were before digital photography and the internet.......man I'm gettin old! But so are these rigs too, I guess!
Thanks for all the help the past couple years to all of you!!!!
Tom
(big crowd sounds.... Hello Tom)
Well my obsession with these fantastic rigs started in high school in the early 80's. My neighbor had a fj40 that always caught my eye when coming and going. I always thought to myself...."thats the rig I want!" I ended up with a FORD country squire station wagon instead!! it was the perfect first car!
After graduating from high school, I bought my first Land Cruiser in 1986. It was a 1983 fj60. I paid $6000. for it!!! I drove that first cruiser till 1989 when I purchased my first FJ40.
A clean 1977 FJ40. This is where my obsession grew to an addiction. I drove that 40 from Alaska to Mexico every winter for 5 years. In fact it was this FJ40 that helped me score my beautiful wife Cathy. She loved that rig!
I bought her a FJ40 the year we were married. We were now on our way to becoming a solid land cruiser family.
Well......a few months into my wifes rig, I ended up totaling it into a Moose. It sat for a few years in the yard in a ball of metal. I replaced her 40 with a 1985 FJ60.
Once the wife was hooked on the 60, I found a donor body 40 for the ball of metal in the yard. We ended up with a solid 40 again.
In 2000 we bought a second home in Utah. We drove our 60 and 40 down from Alaska with a uhaul. After settling in....I found that there were a ton of cruisers there.
We drove our cruisers back up in the spring and when returning to Utah I found a clean 60 out of Nevada. I always wanted to do the chevy conversion on a cruiser....especially after hauling a uhaul filled with my life, from Alaska to Utah!!!
I pulled the old dumb 2F out and found a great 383 short block. After some $$$ was saved I slowly started to add some Mods. I thought to my self once again.........I want to build the ultimate cruiser for me and what I want it to be!
1. A daily driver
2. A muscle car
3. A rock crawler
4. A expedition rig
5. A hunting/fishing rig
6. A camping rig
7. A tow rig
This is the criteria that I needed to meet.... (for those of you who dont know me, I am a full time profession guide in Alaska and Utah for the past 20 years.)
I wanted a rig that would be all that plus haul the clients too.
After 6 years of building and all the $$$$$ that I didnt really have.....
I give you "TONTO"
I also must mention that for the past 25 years of owning Land Cruisers, I was alone under my rig figuring all this crap out without a FSM or IH8MUD!!!!
I think back and say, "how the hell did I get through that alone" I only found Mud a couple years ago when I saw a bumper sticker on the back of a 40 in Moab.
Heres a list of the mods over the years that has made TONTO the rig of choice of all my Land Cruisers.
1. 383 stroker V8 Holley with a Holley 750cfm carb, Edelbrock high performance intake 3 inch custom exhaust above the frame
2. SOA with custom shock hoops and DC drive shafts, mini truck 1/2 histeer.
3. 4:56 gears with front and rear ARB lockers and air chuck for OBA
4. H55 5 speed with a ranger torque splitter
5. MAF quick release sway bars
6. IPF lights and wiring harness
7. 35 x 12.50 A/T with alloy wheels
8. Rock sliders all the way around the rig
9. class V hitch with trailer brakes
10. custom bumpers and rear swing gates and tire carrier
11. Rear sliding windows
12. LED interior lighting.
Things I want to still do since finding MUD......
1. Marlin Hi steer
2. 80 TRE
3. Power steering assist port
4. safari/expedition roof rack
5. 4 runner brake upgrade to rear discs
This past fall I did a complete face lift on TONTO. Little body work and cutting and welding along with some bondo too. I even changed from smurf blue to Navajo White.....(or cream) I love the new look with the lighter paint and the black highlights. The face lift process is in my sig line.
I have been driving these great rigs for 25 years and will continue the family tradition as I pass TONTO to my 14 yo son in 2 years. I will have to dig up some photos and scan them for all to enjoy as most of my cruisers were before digital photography and the internet.......man I'm gettin old! But so are these rigs too, I guess!
Thanks for all the help the past couple years to all of you!!!!
Tom