Why do we do these things? I'll try to keep this picture heavy but I thought I should sort of record my little odyssey as it unfolds.
I have an FJ Cruiser - now for sale, by the way - that I was about to officially sort of marry, and make my forever truck. I love driving it - it's extremely comfortable and agile and I love the 1GR engine, truly a million mile engine if you take care of it. I was about to lift it, get tires and wheels, armor, winch, the works. Then Toyota announced they were re-introducing the Land Cruiser to America and rumor was that it would be a more back to "first principles" kind of rig - and I thought well, I better save this FJ as is and keep it stock so I can trade it in, if the new one is "all that". But as it turns out, the new one is not what I dreamed of, nor could it be (in the real world) - but the ensuing months made me realize that I'm not getting any younger and I wanted THE ONE - one Cruiser to rule them all - that I couldn't upgrade from, that would do absolutely everything I wanted, no apologies, no weak spots, no CV boots, no semi float axles, no electronic 4WD Vulcan mind meld crap. Just nuts and bolts.
And I found this Troopy for sale on Mud. 1HZ - for me, the perfect engine - still being made for God's sake! Left hand drive! Low miles! Bumpers (even a Kaymar)! Winch! Lift! Roof Rack! It even came with my kind of Troopy interior - useful but spartan. Plus it had that famous Toyota deep cushion upholstery and Big 6 power, just like in the old posters!
I had driven Troopies in Kenya and they effectively snuffed out my love for Land Rover about 20 years ago, showing me the True Path. I saw them come and go here and on Bring a Trailer. No way I could ever afford one of those $60K dream machines, but this one was just barely affordable for me, so I pounced.
I didn't see any way it could be improved. I'm not a turbo guy - I guess if it had a factory 1HDT in it that would be fine, but I prefer boring reliability over neck snapping performance. So I got official clearance from management and the deal was done.
I have an FJ Cruiser - now for sale, by the way - that I was about to officially sort of marry, and make my forever truck. I love driving it - it's extremely comfortable and agile and I love the 1GR engine, truly a million mile engine if you take care of it. I was about to lift it, get tires and wheels, armor, winch, the works. Then Toyota announced they were re-introducing the Land Cruiser to America and rumor was that it would be a more back to "first principles" kind of rig - and I thought well, I better save this FJ as is and keep it stock so I can trade it in, if the new one is "all that". But as it turns out, the new one is not what I dreamed of, nor could it be (in the real world) - but the ensuing months made me realize that I'm not getting any younger and I wanted THE ONE - one Cruiser to rule them all - that I couldn't upgrade from, that would do absolutely everything I wanted, no apologies, no weak spots, no CV boots, no semi float axles, no electronic 4WD Vulcan mind meld crap. Just nuts and bolts.
And I found this Troopy for sale on Mud. 1HZ - for me, the perfect engine - still being made for God's sake! Left hand drive! Low miles! Bumpers (even a Kaymar)! Winch! Lift! Roof Rack! It even came with my kind of Troopy interior - useful but spartan. Plus it had that famous Toyota deep cushion upholstery and Big 6 power, just like in the old posters!
I had driven Troopies in Kenya and they effectively snuffed out my love for Land Rover about 20 years ago, showing me the True Path. I saw them come and go here and on Bring a Trailer. No way I could ever afford one of those $60K dream machines, but this one was just barely affordable for me, so I pounced.
I didn't see any way it could be improved. I'm not a turbo guy - I guess if it had a factory 1HDT in it that would be fine, but I prefer boring reliability over neck snapping performance. So I got official clearance from management and the deal was done.