First off, I'm not a mechanic. I can do some basic things but I've grown fat and lazy. But I have this Cruiser and I want to keep making it better. So here is the story.
A little more than a year ago I decided that it was time to try and find and old Cruiser. I've always loved 40's, I grew up in South America where my American parents were missionaries, and I knew from the time I was a little kid that Toyota Land Cruisers ruled the jungles and mountains of Ecuador. Toughest vehicles ever. I needed something that was big enough to carry some people and haul some gear, so I started looking for a 60 series.
As I was looking online for the best rig for my money from anywhere in the USA I stumbled on some Canadian import diesels. I've always loved diesels. I narrowed my search. Then on a forum one night someone mentioned Steve Jackson from LandCruisersDirect.com and what a great reputation he had. So I went to the site. At the time Steve was selling his personal diesel 60 and I fell in love with it. But alas, it was more cash than I had set aside. We ended up working out a deal on an LJ78 Prado with about 170,000 kilometers on it.
I started reading about the problems with the 2L-TE engine and got a little worried. Steve assured me that while there were no guarantees for the future the engine was in good condition at the time so I decided to dive into with the idea that I'd take care of it, and if the day comes when it takes a dive I'll do what I need to do to fix it. And we closed the deal. Here are a couple of pics of the truck the way it sat at Steve's lot in Missouri:
I live in Florida, so I worked it out to pick up the rig when I was in the midwest on business. In the meantime I had Steve's shop install an ARB front bumper, an OME lift, a roof rack, andhad a local shop put on a set of 32" Dick Cepek Fun Country tires. I couldn't wait to get to Ozark, Missouri, and on a blizzardy January day I met El Troque and started the drive home. Here is a picture of the truck when I took delivery.
A little more than a year ago I decided that it was time to try and find and old Cruiser. I've always loved 40's, I grew up in South America where my American parents were missionaries, and I knew from the time I was a little kid that Toyota Land Cruisers ruled the jungles and mountains of Ecuador. Toughest vehicles ever. I needed something that was big enough to carry some people and haul some gear, so I started looking for a 60 series.
As I was looking online for the best rig for my money from anywhere in the USA I stumbled on some Canadian import diesels. I've always loved diesels. I narrowed my search. Then on a forum one night someone mentioned Steve Jackson from LandCruisersDirect.com and what a great reputation he had. So I went to the site. At the time Steve was selling his personal diesel 60 and I fell in love with it. But alas, it was more cash than I had set aside. We ended up working out a deal on an LJ78 Prado with about 170,000 kilometers on it.
I started reading about the problems with the 2L-TE engine and got a little worried. Steve assured me that while there were no guarantees for the future the engine was in good condition at the time so I decided to dive into with the idea that I'd take care of it, and if the day comes when it takes a dive I'll do what I need to do to fix it. And we closed the deal. Here are a couple of pics of the truck the way it sat at Steve's lot in Missouri:
I live in Florida, so I worked it out to pick up the rig when I was in the midwest on business. In the meantime I had Steve's shop install an ARB front bumper, an OME lift, a roof rack, andhad a local shop put on a set of 32" Dick Cepek Fun Country tires. I couldn't wait to get to Ozark, Missouri, and on a blizzardy January day I met El Troque and started the drive home. Here is a picture of the truck when I took delivery.
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