gilmorneau
SILVER Star
Well, I've had this car for a couple of years now, and haven't really posted much about what I've done or what I have planned, so I figured I'd start a thread. It will be a lot of getting caught up for now--build comes later.
I first found this one when I was traveling in Europe a few years ago. I'd been looking for a clean Troopy for a while, and had already found a pretty nice one and bought it. But when I found this one, I knew it would be the "keeper" of the two.
I was initially unimpressed by the advertisement, though. Not much for photos, and a very brief description. Here's a picture from the ad:
The ad read (in French): "Toyota Landcruiser 1987, 3B diesel motor, manual transmission, manual front hubs, CT (inspection) OK, almost collector quality, 65,000km" Not much to go on, but the mileage got my attention--that's only about 40,000 miles! If that was correct, and original, I'm interested. I was in Spain at the time, so I had a friend of mine in Belgium go have a look at it for me. He confirmed that the mileage was original, and that the car was in remarkable condition. He suggested I'd be crazy not to buy it. So I did.
Unlike many Troopies (and pickups), this one was originally a civilian-market car, not a commercial vehicle like an ambulance or firetruck or anything. In talking with the seller, I found out that the first owner was a retired guy and had used it only occasionally for family holiday trips to the sea, and sometimes for carrying firewood at his property. Most of the time it sat in a garage.
The guy I bought it from estimated that he had put less than a thousand miles on it in the years he'd had it. He, too, kept it garaged at his country home.
Honestly, I don't think this thing had ever gone fast enough to squish a bug on the radiator before I bought it. There weren't any in there. lol...
Here's some photos of the day we picked it up:
I first found this one when I was traveling in Europe a few years ago. I'd been looking for a clean Troopy for a while, and had already found a pretty nice one and bought it. But when I found this one, I knew it would be the "keeper" of the two.
I was initially unimpressed by the advertisement, though. Not much for photos, and a very brief description. Here's a picture from the ad:
The ad read (in French): "Toyota Landcruiser 1987, 3B diesel motor, manual transmission, manual front hubs, CT (inspection) OK, almost collector quality, 65,000km" Not much to go on, but the mileage got my attention--that's only about 40,000 miles! If that was correct, and original, I'm interested. I was in Spain at the time, so I had a friend of mine in Belgium go have a look at it for me. He confirmed that the mileage was original, and that the car was in remarkable condition. He suggested I'd be crazy not to buy it. So I did.
Unlike many Troopies (and pickups), this one was originally a civilian-market car, not a commercial vehicle like an ambulance or firetruck or anything. In talking with the seller, I found out that the first owner was a retired guy and had used it only occasionally for family holiday trips to the sea, and sometimes for carrying firewood at his property. Most of the time it sat in a garage.
The guy I bought it from estimated that he had put less than a thousand miles on it in the years he'd had it. He, too, kept it garaged at his country home.
Honestly, I don't think this thing had ever gone fast enough to squish a bug on the radiator before I bought it. There weren't any in there. lol...
Here's some photos of the day we picked it up:
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