ToyotaTechnical
SILVER Star
Meet ‘Lou’. Shes a spectacular cruiser, but the story behind it is what makes it special. This cruiser is a representation of friendship, kindness, and the life of my late friend Lou. This is my attempt to document our friendship and the Cruiser she left me.
‘Lou’ was the first Cruiser I ever tried to buy. At the time, I was a junior in college and college poor. My dad and I were on the way to the ramp to bass fish in East TX. About 4 minutes before the boat ramp, a Smurf blue car caught my eye. I banged on the side of the truck bed to have my dad stop, and reverse back to take a closer look. Confirmed- it was a FJ60.
She was parked about 50 yards off the road. Tucked away in the bushes, underneath some oaks. I wanted to take a closer look, but East TX is not a place to go on anyone’s land. I figured leaving a letter in the mailbox was a better option than getting shot.
About 3 weeks go by- and I get a call from Gun Barrel City. I answer thinking, heck yes. It must be for sale… Nope. The most proper and articulate voice I have ever heard. It was clear she was not local to East TX. “My cruiser is not for sale. It’s my only way to take my dog to the vet. You’re welcome to come look at it though”. She hangs up- leaving me confused.
Who the heck offers to show a car to a stranger. No meet up time, no details, just an open invitation to come look. Little did I know- this was not an invite to come look at the cruiser, this was an invite for human interaction.
The following weekend, I drove down to the lake to check out the cruiser. I knock on the door and about 1 minute goes by. “Hmm, nobody home”. Nope, the door slowly opens, and an elderly lady using a cane stood there. Thinking she was the grandparent to who I spoke to the phone… I say “I am here to talk to Lou”. “Yes, I am Lou. Let’s go look at it.”
It took her what seemed 5 minutes to walk the short distance over to the cruiser. Her pit bull terrier on her side, trailing not far behind.
We started talking about the cruiser, but it was clear she was more intrested in telling me stories. As it sat, it was loaded with blankets, paper work, mail, etc. I peaked around, and knew it was solid. Almost no rust except one spot on the back hatch. 100% original everything. Then I looked at the odometer. Holy cow, 130K miles. She said “yep, have not been able to drive it since my fall. I only drive it to bring Molly to the vet" (Molly is her pitbull terrier).
She told me how she had fallen and spent many months in rehab with a broken hip. No one else was around to take care of her cars or property. She then went back to telling stories of her grand travels, including trips to Africa where she fell in love with land cruisers during a safari.
The cruiser was dead as a doorknob. I offered to go to grab a battery for her, but she refused. She insisted on me enjoying the lake instead of helping her out. Here is how she sat for 10 years or so:
A few weeks went by, and my family was heading to the lake. I decided to run to Walmart and grab a battery for Lou. There was no chance she was lifting a battery on her own.
I knocked on the door and let her know I had her battery. I popped it in, hooked up the terminals, and she fired right up. She sounded rough, lots of vac leaks but she was running. She was excited to have her dog hauler back before I left for senior year. About 2 weeks later, Molly passed. She waited months before telling me.
While I was at school, we would write each other. She would include updates of the neighborhood, weather, bird spottings, and news paper clippings. At times, she would call to have me look things up “on the google machine”. Aka my computer. I was even able to find her late husband in photos of his collegiate basketball career.
School ended, and my bi-weekly visits started back up. She greatly enjoyed bird watching. I would bring her bird food for her deck feeder. She loved to tell me about her trips around the world, Africa, Europe, Alaska, etc. She insisted I plan on adventures of my own before “I get too old”.
I continued my visits with her over the following years, and she grew very fond of our family’s Samoyed named “Apollo”. She hung a photo I took of her next to her calendar.
On one visit, I went to start the cruiser up for her, and the starter thunked. Was very strange, seemed as if the starter got locked up or the clutch was stuck. Lou said “oh well, I will have it towed to my mechanic”. She had me follow the tow truck to make sure everything was all set.
The cruiser sat at the mechanics for months, and those turned into years. She did not want it back in her yard- she was not able to drive it any longer. The cruiser sat there until her passing.
On a random visit, I found Lou on the floor after she had fallen. She was severely dehydrated. We got a doctor out to take care of her wounds. She was starting to decline, and was living off of protein shakes neighbors and I were bringing her. She refused to go to a hospital. And she made every effort to not burden anyone, and her goal was to die in her own home.
One visit, she was nowhere to be found. I started knocking neighbors doors that she trusted. They let me know she had been moved to a senior living facility.
She remained at the facility until moving to a more acute facility across town. I decided to go and visit her with Apollo. I let her know I was engaged and would soon be getting married. Her response- “well, It’s about time!”.
She passed two days later. I was the last visitor she had. I am convinced she wanted to pet Apollo 1 last time.
Months went by, and I got a call from the executor of the estate. He wanted to talk with me and Lou’s wishes. General message- “the estate is going to be messy, but I am going to do my best to get you the cruiser. Ms Lou wanted you to have it”. I was blown away.
Months passed, and I got word to come pick up the title and sign some documents. The cruiser was officially mine. I went and picked her up from the same garage we dropped her off at 5+ years prior.
I am excited to share my revival process with everyone. I quit my consulting job a little while back and do cruiser work full time. I will be working on this a few hours a week between customer jobs.
My current goal- get “Lou” back to daily driver status. Cruise this around town, and hit the ranch on the weekends.
Long term goal (20+ years)… road trip this down to tip of South America with my wife. This would have made Lou very happy.
Here is to the revival process, and the life of my friend Lou.
‘Lou’ was the first Cruiser I ever tried to buy. At the time, I was a junior in college and college poor. My dad and I were on the way to the ramp to bass fish in East TX. About 4 minutes before the boat ramp, a Smurf blue car caught my eye. I banged on the side of the truck bed to have my dad stop, and reverse back to take a closer look. Confirmed- it was a FJ60.
She was parked about 50 yards off the road. Tucked away in the bushes, underneath some oaks. I wanted to take a closer look, but East TX is not a place to go on anyone’s land. I figured leaving a letter in the mailbox was a better option than getting shot.
About 3 weeks go by- and I get a call from Gun Barrel City. I answer thinking, heck yes. It must be for sale… Nope. The most proper and articulate voice I have ever heard. It was clear she was not local to East TX. “My cruiser is not for sale. It’s my only way to take my dog to the vet. You’re welcome to come look at it though”. She hangs up- leaving me confused.
Who the heck offers to show a car to a stranger. No meet up time, no details, just an open invitation to come look. Little did I know- this was not an invite to come look at the cruiser, this was an invite for human interaction.
The following weekend, I drove down to the lake to check out the cruiser. I knock on the door and about 1 minute goes by. “Hmm, nobody home”. Nope, the door slowly opens, and an elderly lady using a cane stood there. Thinking she was the grandparent to who I spoke to the phone… I say “I am here to talk to Lou”. “Yes, I am Lou. Let’s go look at it.”
It took her what seemed 5 minutes to walk the short distance over to the cruiser. Her pit bull terrier on her side, trailing not far behind.
We started talking about the cruiser, but it was clear she was more intrested in telling me stories. As it sat, it was loaded with blankets, paper work, mail, etc. I peaked around, and knew it was solid. Almost no rust except one spot on the back hatch. 100% original everything. Then I looked at the odometer. Holy cow, 130K miles. She said “yep, have not been able to drive it since my fall. I only drive it to bring Molly to the vet" (Molly is her pitbull terrier).
She told me how she had fallen and spent many months in rehab with a broken hip. No one else was around to take care of her cars or property. She then went back to telling stories of her grand travels, including trips to Africa where she fell in love with land cruisers during a safari.
The cruiser was dead as a doorknob. I offered to go to grab a battery for her, but she refused. She insisted on me enjoying the lake instead of helping her out. Here is how she sat for 10 years or so:
A few weeks went by, and my family was heading to the lake. I decided to run to Walmart and grab a battery for Lou. There was no chance she was lifting a battery on her own.
I knocked on the door and let her know I had her battery. I popped it in, hooked up the terminals, and she fired right up. She sounded rough, lots of vac leaks but she was running. She was excited to have her dog hauler back before I left for senior year. About 2 weeks later, Molly passed. She waited months before telling me.
While I was at school, we would write each other. She would include updates of the neighborhood, weather, bird spottings, and news paper clippings. At times, she would call to have me look things up “on the google machine”. Aka my computer. I was even able to find her late husband in photos of his collegiate basketball career.
School ended, and my bi-weekly visits started back up. She greatly enjoyed bird watching. I would bring her bird food for her deck feeder. She loved to tell me about her trips around the world, Africa, Europe, Alaska, etc. She insisted I plan on adventures of my own before “I get too old”.
I continued my visits with her over the following years, and she grew very fond of our family’s Samoyed named “Apollo”. She hung a photo I took of her next to her calendar.
On one visit, I went to start the cruiser up for her, and the starter thunked. Was very strange, seemed as if the starter got locked up or the clutch was stuck. Lou said “oh well, I will have it towed to my mechanic”. She had me follow the tow truck to make sure everything was all set.
The cruiser sat at the mechanics for months, and those turned into years. She did not want it back in her yard- she was not able to drive it any longer. The cruiser sat there until her passing.
On a random visit, I found Lou on the floor after she had fallen. She was severely dehydrated. We got a doctor out to take care of her wounds. She was starting to decline, and was living off of protein shakes neighbors and I were bringing her. She refused to go to a hospital. And she made every effort to not burden anyone, and her goal was to die in her own home.
One visit, she was nowhere to be found. I started knocking neighbors doors that she trusted. They let me know she had been moved to a senior living facility.
She remained at the facility until moving to a more acute facility across town. I decided to go and visit her with Apollo. I let her know I was engaged and would soon be getting married. Her response- “well, It’s about time!”.
She passed two days later. I was the last visitor she had. I am convinced she wanted to pet Apollo 1 last time.
Months went by, and I got a call from the executor of the estate. He wanted to talk with me and Lou’s wishes. General message- “the estate is going to be messy, but I am going to do my best to get you the cruiser. Ms Lou wanted you to have it”. I was blown away.
Months passed, and I got word to come pick up the title and sign some documents. The cruiser was officially mine. I went and picked her up from the same garage we dropped her off at 5+ years prior.
I am excited to share my revival process with everyone. I quit my consulting job a little while back and do cruiser work full time. I will be working on this a few hours a week between customer jobs.
My current goal- get “Lou” back to daily driver status. Cruise this around town, and hit the ranch on the weekends.
Long term goal (20+ years)… road trip this down to tip of South America with my wife. This would have made Lou very happy.
Here is to the revival process, and the life of my friend Lou.
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