Sorry folks, no pictures yet. Something is going on with our camera and I can't get it to download the pics....so a description will have to be enough for now.
I picked up the BTJ62 yesterday at Proffitt's Cruisers. My first glimpse was of the old (new?) girl sitting outside in the sun...awesome! The new color looks GREAT, it's like an "olivey" green, good color for a wagon. I walked up and around it, looking at details like the new fuel tank, the new sliders, new wheels and tires, hydro-assist steering, Marlin Hy-Steer. I kept looking back at the color, because it looks SO different. I opened it, sat inside, took in the familiar smell and feel of the steering wheel. I check out the three shifters (new Marlin ToyBox) and the very clean install. So far, it looks GREAT, but I still haven't popped the hood or fired it up.
I take the key and start it....kicked right up, starts to rattle. It's not as louder as I expected (or prepared for), and the noise is reduced when I close the door.
I take it out for a drive....it's hard to describe, it's SO difficult to associate this new beast with the old truck I've had for fifteen years now.
I didn't have much time to shoot the Cruiser sh*t with Jeremiah, Alex and John, because I'd driven 5.5 hours there and still had to drive back.
I put 365 miles in it on the drive back, average speed 59 MPH, top speed 76 MPH, the vast majority of the drive on 5th gear. Truck shifts smoothly, and is not very noisy unless you step off the throttle. I cannot hear the turbo spooling (no significant whine), but that might change when I re-tune for low altitude.
The power increase was HUGE, going up from 8,000 to 10,000 feet in 5th gear going 70 MPH is an experience I'd never had in a Land Cruiser before. The 4BT yields max power at low RPM's so 1st and 2nd gear on the H55F are short. It will take time to get used to it.
I'll measure fuel consumption better on the drive down, but my initial impression had me laughing out loud several times. I used a little over a third of a tank yesterday on 365 miles, I estimate the fuel consumption was somewhere north of 26 miles per gallon (types Henry with a HUGE grin on his face)!
Today I'll borrow another camera to take a couple of pictures of it, I'll try to post something tomorrow.
I picked up the BTJ62 yesterday at Proffitt's Cruisers. My first glimpse was of the old (new?) girl sitting outside in the sun...awesome! The new color looks GREAT, it's like an "olivey" green, good color for a wagon. I walked up and around it, looking at details like the new fuel tank, the new sliders, new wheels and tires, hydro-assist steering, Marlin Hy-Steer. I kept looking back at the color, because it looks SO different. I opened it, sat inside, took in the familiar smell and feel of the steering wheel. I check out the three shifters (new Marlin ToyBox) and the very clean install. So far, it looks GREAT, but I still haven't popped the hood or fired it up.
I take the key and start it....kicked right up, starts to rattle. It's not as louder as I expected (or prepared for), and the noise is reduced when I close the door.
I take it out for a drive....it's hard to describe, it's SO difficult to associate this new beast with the old truck I've had for fifteen years now.
I didn't have much time to shoot the Cruiser sh*t with Jeremiah, Alex and John, because I'd driven 5.5 hours there and still had to drive back.
I put 365 miles in it on the drive back, average speed 59 MPH, top speed 76 MPH, the vast majority of the drive on 5th gear. Truck shifts smoothly, and is not very noisy unless you step off the throttle. I cannot hear the turbo spooling (no significant whine), but that might change when I re-tune for low altitude.
The power increase was HUGE, going up from 8,000 to 10,000 feet in 5th gear going 70 MPH is an experience I'd never had in a Land Cruiser before. The 4BT yields max power at low RPM's so 1st and 2nd gear on the H55F are short. It will take time to get used to it.
I'll measure fuel consumption better on the drive down, but my initial impression had me laughing out loud several times. I used a little over a third of a tank yesterday on 365 miles, I estimate the fuel consumption was somewhere north of 26 miles per gallon (types Henry with a HUGE grin on his face)!
Today I'll borrow another camera to take a couple of pictures of it, I'll try to post something tomorrow.
