Thanks for the compliment - I appreciate it. One of my favorite things to do is peruse forums and read build threads - as you said, they are a source of inspiration, and I like seeing people roll up their sleeves and get after it on projects. So hearing that someone else read this and felt inspired makes me happy.
As to your first question, I started learning automotive stuff at a very young age. When I was very young, my Dad used to keep the family vehicles running himself to help save money. It was in helping him that I started learning some of this stuff. My first vehicle was a 1976 Ford F150 4X4 - that rig taught me a lot in terms of wrenching. I have always had a mechanical type mind and I followed that out of high school and obtained degrees in Mechanical Engineering. Through school and jobs, I learned several things, including how to weld (although this last project on the Cruiser was my first welding done in several years and it showed - my early welds on the project were ugly). I never lost my love for tinkering on cars through it all.
I've always loved old vehicles - especially 4x4s. And I always had it in my mind that I wanted to "restore" one. I had seen a few people do it, and I wanted to give it a shot. I had (and still have) a severe soft spot for classic Broncos. My father-in-law had a restored 1976 that was just plain beautiful. So, I found a rusted out 1969 locally for sale and bought it and tore into it. This is where I think I learned the most regarding this kind of stuff. There wasn't a bolt on that thing that I didn't touch, and I replaced alot of the body panels (and found out that I loathe body work). Anyway, I spent 8 years building that thing up and ended up with a pretty awesome ride. I replaced/refurbished everything. I also stuff a fuel-injected Ford 400 into it. It was a torque monster. Before and after below:
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Unfortunately, I really picked a hard time in my life for that project. I was the sole income in the family at the time, and I am not the type to put myself in debt because of a project. That is why it took me 8 years to build it. After building it, I realized that I wasn't really going to enjoy it with the financial situation - these things are expensive. Near the end, it became sort of a stressful thing for me and my family - so I decided to sell it.
Ever since the Bronco, I wanted to get another project, but decided to wait until finances were better. So, I kept working and pushing hard on paying down our mortgage. My wife also started working after the youngest kid went to school. After several years of this, I started thinking about a project seriously. This is where the answer to your second question comes. I knew that I wanted another 4X4 - I love the outdoors and exploring, hiking, climbing, biking, etc. I wanted to build a good, solid camping rig. I originally had the idea of building up an old pickup with an 8' bed and a topper. But then a friend mentioned the Land Cruiser and said it might be "big enough" for me to build a sleeping platform in that I could fit on - which was a requirement for me. So I checked them out - and sure enough, it was just the ticket. The other thing that I decided was that I wasn't going to do a full restore on it - I wanted to build this one while driving it. One hard thing about that Bronco was not being able to drive it for 8 years. I didn't get to enjoy it. That is why I am not stripping everything off of this rig to refurbish it. It is a little hard for my OCD side to do this - putting new stuff on rusty parts makes my eye twitch a little, but I am having fun driving Kronk around, so I am glad I am doing it this way.
Anyway, sorry for the long-winded answer. I love this stuff. I actually think that when I retire, I will try to find a part-time gig at a custom 4x4 shop somewhere, or maybe even restore a rig or two to sell here and there.
Thanks for reading.
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