This is my first thread & first real post. Been a long time lurker on here, but finally at a point where I feel like sharing my adventures & mishaps and really getting into waters where I need solid advice & recommendations.
Where to start. I have 2 trucks, an 88’ FJ62 that I bought when I was 23, that’s been my daily driver for 8 years and an 88’ HJ61 that I bought in June 2020.
It’s a bit of a story on how I acquired the new truck, so I apologize for the long-windedness & promise I’ll get more into the meat & potatoes of my build in future posts.
Let me start with my FJ62. She isn’t the best Landcruiser out there -wouldn’t win any beauty contests & always leaked some oil, but she’s been reliable and she’s mine. She started her life with me as a farm truck driving around the orchards I worked on in Eastern Kansas. At 25, I packed her up and with $800 (almost not enough for gas) we moved out to LA so I could try my hand working in film. My first place was a backyard in Van Nuys. I’d park in the dirt (there was no grass) and sleep in the back. The truck has been with me every step of the way out in LA. From the terrible movies no one’s ever seen, to the bigger shows that now take up most my time now. Hell she even outlasted my first marriage.
Unfortunately, in November last year a Porsch lost control on the highway in the rain and hit me so hard that she spun us into the lane next to me. After 6 months of fighting both his insurance and my insurance, getting the Highway Patrol to redact their original Incident Report & and a lot of therapy for my shoulder, I walked away with enough money to buy the Diesel 60 series I’d dreamed about since I was a teenager.
I wish I could say it’s been nothing but smooth sailing since I picked up the HJ61, but that wouldn’t be the truth. That’s what the thread will really be about. And I’d appreciate all the advice I can get here in the future, but I’ll get more into the details of the new truck here soon.
If any of you read all the way to the bottom here, thank you for listening to my ramblings. It felt important to to give a little homage to my first Landcruiser.
Where to start. I have 2 trucks, an 88’ FJ62 that I bought when I was 23, that’s been my daily driver for 8 years and an 88’ HJ61 that I bought in June 2020.
It’s a bit of a story on how I acquired the new truck, so I apologize for the long-windedness & promise I’ll get more into the meat & potatoes of my build in future posts.
Let me start with my FJ62. She isn’t the best Landcruiser out there -wouldn’t win any beauty contests & always leaked some oil, but she’s been reliable and she’s mine. She started her life with me as a farm truck driving around the orchards I worked on in Eastern Kansas. At 25, I packed her up and with $800 (almost not enough for gas) we moved out to LA so I could try my hand working in film. My first place was a backyard in Van Nuys. I’d park in the dirt (there was no grass) and sleep in the back. The truck has been with me every step of the way out in LA. From the terrible movies no one’s ever seen, to the bigger shows that now take up most my time now. Hell she even outlasted my first marriage.
Unfortunately, in November last year a Porsch lost control on the highway in the rain and hit me so hard that she spun us into the lane next to me. After 6 months of fighting both his insurance and my insurance, getting the Highway Patrol to redact their original Incident Report & and a lot of therapy for my shoulder, I walked away with enough money to buy the Diesel 60 series I’d dreamed about since I was a teenager.
I wish I could say it’s been nothing but smooth sailing since I picked up the HJ61, but that wouldn’t be the truth. That’s what the thread will really be about. And I’d appreciate all the advice I can get here in the future, but I’ll get more into the details of the new truck here soon.
If any of you read all the way to the bottom here, thank you for listening to my ramblings. It felt important to to give a little homage to my first Landcruiser.
