whitey45
SILVER Star
20 years ago, i pulled into a quick stop in a small town in northern california with my first fj45 lpb. An excited 20 year old in the parking lot ran up to me and was checking out my truck( it was spring over with 36 swampers) He told me someday he wished his would look the same! I said, yours? He said yeah, i have the same truck( this was when the only 45 for sale was found in toyota trails). This was the first owner i had met who actually had a 45. He lived locally, we said our good buys and over the years i would swing through the town to see if it was there. Last time i saw it was around 2000?. Fast foward 20 years, was up in the same town buying an fj40. I drove around for 15 minutes trying to find it, i gave up and was leaving but had to detour down a street and sure enough, same 45 parked in front of a house!!! I couldnt believe it was still around. Was taking a picture when the owner came out, same guy i talked to 20 years ealier! That detour was devine intervention! Turns out a looming divorce may force a sale. I offered him a good chunk of change on the spot!! We exchanged numbers and he said he might call me . A week goes by and no call, so i decided to call and in 1 minute the 45 was mine! He had numerous offers over the years but i guess mine was a pretty good one. It feels good to have a 45 again, before selling my green truck i had not been without one for 20 years. They are getting hard to find now and really cant believe my luck. It was given to him from his dad who bought it in 1974 and had photos of it when he was 5 years old! Its almost all original, never been rebuilt or restored and driven most of time. It is rust free , no cancer anywhere, a true california survivor. Going to stay as original as Possible but want to do some updates to make it a daily driver. I want to give this one to my son in 10 years for his first truck!
