Cruiser Days 2005 a BIG success!!! (1 Viewer)

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Joined
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Hey guys:

Just wanted to do a brief report on what happened today at Cruiser Days 2005. Since this was the first year that the Coastal Cruisers were holding the event, we really didn't know what kind of turnout there would be. I was thinking in my mind that if 40 Cruisers showed up today, and if we managed to get $400-500 in raffle ticket sales, that the event would have been a success.

Well, the actual turnout today absolutely blew those expectations away! The event started officially at 9AM, and I was told that shortly after 9:30AM, there were already over 30 Cruisers in the parking lot with a steady stream still coming in. By the end of the day, over 80 Cruisers had participated in this event! Wow! There were several models of Land Cruisers represented there today, from the rare FJ55 "Iron Pig" which came all the way from Clear Water, BC, to some tricked out 80 series. There were lots of 40 series in the event, ranging from stock rigs to sprung-over monsters with 350s under their hoods. Of course, being Canada, there was a healthy number of trucks that were diesel powered. Aside from the many JDM BJ74s and HJ61s, there were a few that really stood out. First, Ciarran Wilson brought in his HJ61 that had a 13BT transplant as well as a LHD conversion using a Canadian BJ60 firewall. This thing was impeccable, Ciarran being a Toyota Master Tech, down to details like authentic factory spot welding. The truck is fully 24v, and all the power gadgets work flawlessly. There were also two Lexus LX450s that were LHD and had TDI diesels under their hoods. One had a 1HD-T, while the other had a 1HD-FT. Awesome trucks! There were some neat trucks there that one doesn't often see, including a JDM BJ44, a couple of HZJ75 pickups (Mike McTague's and Al Stewart's), and a few FJ45 pickups.

We all had a great time mingling with fellow Cruiserheads and checking out each other's rides. The sponsors of the event came through BIG TIME with some generous donations for raffle prizes. We had four or five raffle drawings and in the end still had a couple of prizes to give away! The raffle ticket sales reached almost $2,000, with the 50% winner taking in a loot of $910!!! The Club donated 25% of the proceeds to the BCSPCA ($455), and the other 25% went back to the Club to help cover expenses for hosting the event. I hope I manage to remember all the contributors for prizes for the event...let me try:
-4wheelauto from Alberta (thanks Daryl for bringing in the prizes with you).
-Prairie Dog Parts (thanks Bruce).
-Jim Pattison Toyota (thank you Gord).
-Sunrise Toyota (thank you Mike).
-Open Road Toyota (thank you Debbie).
-G&S Cruiser Parts (thanks GregB and Sheldon).
-Extreme Bends (EBI) (thanks Steve).
-Speedy Auto Glass.
-Mike McTague.
-LCI (thanks RobM).
-Travel Land RV rentals (thank you for the use of an RV for the concession stand).
-North Shore Offroad & Sport Trucks Unlimited (thanks Bobbi).
-Crystal Glass.
-And the Coastal Cruisers donated a bunch of Club shirts and event shirts.
*I hope I haven't forgotten anyone...if I have, please let me know.

The Club Member turnout was also fantastic for this event, showing the commitment of our Coastal Cruiser members to give back to the greater Cruiser community. Members took time off work, and re-scheduled or missed some appointments in order to come to Cruiser Days 2005 and help to make it happen. Many Club members helped out today, and some of the notables are: Phil for volunteering his AV skills and sound equipment and a generator for the event; Traci for taking on the sales and awarding of the raffle and 50/25/25 prizes; Deny for designing the event t-shirt logo; Jim and Lindsay for getting the event shirts made and selling them; Bill for recruiting new members to our Club; and for the many members who showed up so early, some driving from long distances, in order to help make this event happen.

A few Cruiser vendors participated in Cruiser Days 2005. EBI had a nice booth setup with various merchandise. Ciarran Wilson brought his HJ61 13BT and LHD conversion as an example of the type of work that he does. G&S Cruiser Parts brought in various hard to get items that they specialize in. And Travis Rankin of Smurfield fame was on hand to meet his consumer base. We were also very flattered that David Zartman, Editor-in-Chief of 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine, made the drive from Seattle to Vancouver with his assistant in order to do an article about us and our event. Thank you very much!

This year we recognized two categories for awards: the traditional "Best In Show" award and the "Cruiser Cancer Award". I explained to make sure that everyone understood that the cancer award was a term of endearment in Cruiser communities...I hope the winner of that award bought it. :D Best in Show winner was Jody and his mint 40 series. The Cruiser Cancer award went to Jan for a well-built and thoroughly loved camo 40 series, with some character. :D

Well, people came from as far as the Peace Country of BC and Alberta, and from Washington State for this get-together. Some have decided to camp at the north Chehalis Lake campground overnight, and some of us will catch up with them tomorrow to go wheeling. I guess that means I should get some rest. :) A big thank you to all the people that showed up with their Cruisers today. You guys are the reason why this event was a big success today, and it is very nice to see that the Cruiser community is as strong as ever. And it was very nice to be able to put faces to familiar internet names, and meeting new faces with the same interests.

The following are some pics from today's event...enjoy! :cheers:

Ciarran's HJ61 13BT and LHD conversion:
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JDM BJ44:
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The main Costal Cruisers booth:
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Terrific event Stone! It was great to see so many LC's all together, and there were some very interesting rigs indeed! Nice to also finally put some faces to names!

WAY TO GO COSTAL CRUISERS!! Thanks very much for all the hard work in putting this on! Score big time! Very well done! :beer: :beer: :beer:
 
There is some interesting cruisers in that bunch and it must have been good having them all in the one spot together.
Stone,who owned the 75 series C/C?
 
roscoFJ73 said:
There is some interesting cruisers in that bunch and it must have been good having them all in the one spot together.
Stone,who owned the 75 series C/C?

Thanks guys!

Rosco...there were no 75 series crewcabs. There were two white HZJ75 pickups...owned by Mike McTague and Al Stewart. Both of them have 1HZ with turbos on them. Cheers.
 
Stone said:
Thanks guys!

Rosco...there were no 75 series crewcabs. There were two white HZJ75 pickups...owned by Mike McTague and Al Stewart. Both of them have 1HZ with turbos on them. Cheers.


:D C/C= Cab chassis How many more in Canada?
 
Lots of them underground in mines :)

Looks like a lot of fun, Stone!

Dave
 
The costal crew made this a wonderfull day for all.It didn't mater if you stayed all day or just stoped to see what was going on.The people made this event.To all that ran the front tent,to the girl that put sun screen on my 10yr old's nose.Like dad would remeber that.And the nurses at the food stand,Even the guy in the Kia asking''what's going on''This was a great event.Dane and I thank all of you.
 
SizzleChest said:
who won the 50/50? If it was Rian, he owes me some cash since they were my tickets :D


our unoffical club photographer/TJ driver Craig 'lucky bastard' Ellliot won the scratch.

I won a pretty sweet creeper tho! :grinpimp:

That was one of the best cruiser daze ever tho! Kudos to everyone :beer:
 
It sounds like a good time was had by all. Too bad I couldn't make it - guess I should start planning for next year...

BTW Stoney, are there any tshirts left?

-Kevin
 
Sorry, Rosco...usually "C/C" here means "crewcab". :D There are about 5 (I think) of those running around Canada...and I think they all pretty much know each other.

Kevin: Yes, we do have shirts left over. As to who is handling their sales after the event...I don't know at this point, but I'll find out for you. Maybe post a question in our Coastal Cruisers forum here in Mud?

Some of us went wheeling today. I just joined them for the Hale Creek Run and then my back started to get sore, so I headed back home. A few pics from today:

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Marcin:
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Mel from the Parts Dept. of Langley Toyota joined us for the run today. She took her fairly stock 4runner through some challenging obstacles today and did really well.
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Our Club Prez, Steve:
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Brad:
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Martin:
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:beer:
 
Yes, it was great. I did not have enough time to visit with some people I had wanted too, however that happens when there is so much to look at, and chat about...

Thanks to all for your hard work to make this happen!

gb
 
Here's a couple of pictures from Saturday. Also, we have three new Coastal Cruisers members:
Dan Siemens with a 1985 BJ70 Black
Brad Reid with a 1981 BJ42 Green
Craig Johansen with a 1994 FJ80 Green

This picture I call "Two nice Dogs." That's a cool spinner hat Traci....
 
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The Rust Bucket vote went to Jan Hedmark. He took it in good spirits and wants his trophy Garr! This vehicle is for sale and he's asking $12,000. Whoops, don't sit on that rusty bumper Jan!
 
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Great show, as usual I was thier only 1hour and did not get to chat with everyone.

I will admit the turnout was far far better than I had anticipated.


Cheers and thanks for all the hard work in organizing this great event.


Rob
 

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