So it's been a almost 2 years since I started with this cruiser, but I thought it's about time to get around to posting some pics - because we all love that! I've always been a landcruiser fan ever since my dad came home with a nice FJ40 when I was a little kid, and since then have grown up owning a number of old, beat up FJ40's. Then I discovered the wagons and it was all downhill from there (according to my wife). My last FJ62 ended up not being exactly what I wanted so the search was on for something I could do an engine swap with, and all the other mods I enjoy in my vehicles.
Recalling how much I loved my old FJ40 with a 350, I really wanted something along the same lines. It was at this point I made the mistake of learning more about Torfab and all the great things they do. Being in western Canada they're relatively close, and I go to Seattle/Vancouver fairly often so it was easy to stop by the place I had only been ordering the odd part from up until then. As soon as I met Tor and he showed me around I was hooked and knew that was where I wanted to get my cruiser all done up.
I was also fortunate that Tor was able to help me source a nice donor vehicle for what I wanted done, and then we were all set to begin!
From there Tor was able to get all the following done:
- 5.3L Vortec conversion, around 40k miles on the new engine
- H55F 5 speed manual - brand new unit installed
- OME suspension - leafs, springs, shackles, all the fun stuff
- pulled out the interior and put sound deadening in the floors and doors, reinstalled brand new carpeting throughout
- BMW front seats
- Speedhut guages - in kms for us Canucks
- new 33" wheels and Duratracs
- new Tuffy centre console - only annoying thing with this is you have to always use the key to lock/unlock and it always stays locked
- rebuilt the transfer case, knuckles, new brake components, new exhaust
Here it is in Tor's shop:
Once it was done my daughter and I made the trip down to Seattle and drove her back up to Calgary. We ended up getting caught in a huge snowstorm that shut down large parts of Seattle (this was around Feb 2019) but the truck drove like a dream and we had no issues going through the pass and back up across the border.
Once we got home I drove it as is for the next while, but the plan was always to finish up with some new paint and a few more cosmetic items to really spruce up the look. I took all the bumpers, racks, LED lights, mirrors and 4Runner wipers from my old FJ62 and transferred them over to the new one. We enjoyed it like this until recently.
At this point I was ready to have it repainted. I like white, but I already have 3 other white vehicles so I wanted something a little different. I also wanted it to sit a little differently so I changed out to some different shackles, as well as added a leaf to better support the weight. Then I added some SCS F5's, some trim parts from Trail Tailor and 34" Yokohoma's. Then it was off to paint:
I was super happy with how it turned out! I really like the color and how it looks, add in how amazing it drives and I just love this thing. I can't go anywhere without people checking it out and asking about it, and I look forward to many more years of enjoyment with this thing. My kids love it too, and my oldest daughter continually asks when she gets to have it - I let her drive it on occasion as she thinks it's about her favorite thing to drive.
Shout out to Tor and his crew for doing an awesome job on putting this thing together for me. I'll have to hit you up again if I get that FJ40 (don't tell my wife I even considered this haha). More pics to come as we continue to drive this thing around
Recalling how much I loved my old FJ40 with a 350, I really wanted something along the same lines. It was at this point I made the mistake of learning more about Torfab and all the great things they do. Being in western Canada they're relatively close, and I go to Seattle/Vancouver fairly often so it was easy to stop by the place I had only been ordering the odd part from up until then. As soon as I met Tor and he showed me around I was hooked and knew that was where I wanted to get my cruiser all done up.
I was also fortunate that Tor was able to help me source a nice donor vehicle for what I wanted done, and then we were all set to begin!
From there Tor was able to get all the following done:
- 5.3L Vortec conversion, around 40k miles on the new engine
- H55F 5 speed manual - brand new unit installed
- OME suspension - leafs, springs, shackles, all the fun stuff
- pulled out the interior and put sound deadening in the floors and doors, reinstalled brand new carpeting throughout
- BMW front seats
- Speedhut guages - in kms for us Canucks
- new 33" wheels and Duratracs
- new Tuffy centre console - only annoying thing with this is you have to always use the key to lock/unlock and it always stays locked
- rebuilt the transfer case, knuckles, new brake components, new exhaust
Here it is in Tor's shop:
Once it was done my daughter and I made the trip down to Seattle and drove her back up to Calgary. We ended up getting caught in a huge snowstorm that shut down large parts of Seattle (this was around Feb 2019) but the truck drove like a dream and we had no issues going through the pass and back up across the border.
Once we got home I drove it as is for the next while, but the plan was always to finish up with some new paint and a few more cosmetic items to really spruce up the look. I took all the bumpers, racks, LED lights, mirrors and 4Runner wipers from my old FJ62 and transferred them over to the new one. We enjoyed it like this until recently.
At this point I was ready to have it repainted. I like white, but I already have 3 other white vehicles so I wanted something a little different. I also wanted it to sit a little differently so I changed out to some different shackles, as well as added a leaf to better support the weight. Then I added some SCS F5's, some trim parts from Trail Tailor and 34" Yokohoma's. Then it was off to paint:
I was super happy with how it turned out! I really like the color and how it looks, add in how amazing it drives and I just love this thing. I can't go anywhere without people checking it out and asking about it, and I look forward to many more years of enjoyment with this thing. My kids love it too, and my oldest daughter continually asks when she gets to have it - I let her drive it on occasion as she thinks it's about her favorite thing to drive.
Shout out to Tor and his crew for doing an awesome job on putting this thing together for me. I'll have to hit you up again if I get that FJ40 (don't tell my wife I even considered this haha). More pics to come as we continue to drive this thing around
