Hello everyone,
I wanted to introduce myself to all of you here, and say that I am very excited to have finally found the "right" 40 for me.
I have been mostly in the 80 series tech section for the last few years posting about my 97 while learning and (I hope) helping a bit too. My 80 is very much modified and continues to evolve, and I love it and the fun times with it. My problem has been that I also have a love for vehicles that are totally original, not perfect by any means but sort of like a time capsule - this is something that my 80 is definitely not!
I have seen many great 40's come and go in the Mud classifieds, several really good ones that fit the bill for me really well. The problem I had is familiar to us all, I couldn't match the moment I had the money saved with the time each particular truck came for sale. As soon as I had a "40 nest egg " saved, a new first world disaster would strike and vaporize my fund, poor baby.
Enter Troy, aka @olive on Mud, and our meeting of the Lake Michigan Land Cruisers group for the Land Cruiser Relay kick off. Troy contacted other Land Cruiser owners to join him at Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall MI for the kick off of the north leg of the trek . It was a great idea and a great time - good people, good beer, good Cruisers. When I pulled into the lot that day, the very first thing I saw was his Olive Brown 78 FJ40 sitting there. Just like the prettiest girl in the room, there's no chance you don't notice, and you have a hard time looking away. Within a couple of minutes of mee ting some of the guys, I had to ask if he would ever want to sell it, and that I'd be very interested. The beauty checked all the boxes for me - 78, original interior, awesome color with original paint, all original parts included plus manuals, original drivetrain (actually has a new 2f but he gave me the original in great rebuildable condition), and basically ready to drive pretty much anywhere. It did have a bit more rust than I had pictured for my perfect 40, but it looked manageable. Well, Troy never forgot our conversation and we discussed some possibilities over the next couple of months. When he made the decision to sell it, Troy called me and we quickly agreed on a price that, based on my Mud research over the last couple of years was spot on.
I have owned a ton of vehicles in my life, always wanting something different, until I found the Toyota Land Cruiser in its many series and variants. They are, as I tell everyone that I know who doesn't understand "the greatest vehicle ever made by humans".
I hope to share some upcoming work updates with you all as I go along and I have some different thoughts on how I'm going to protect and preserve my new gem. The journey will be fun and interesting I'm sure.
This community is like no other I have ever seen, and I consider it a privilege to be able to learn and be allowed to share experiences here! Thanks to all of you that have put so much information before us to benefit from.
Cheers,
Patrick
I wanted to introduce myself to all of you here, and say that I am very excited to have finally found the "right" 40 for me.
I have been mostly in the 80 series tech section for the last few years posting about my 97 while learning and (I hope) helping a bit too. My 80 is very much modified and continues to evolve, and I love it and the fun times with it. My problem has been that I also have a love for vehicles that are totally original, not perfect by any means but sort of like a time capsule - this is something that my 80 is definitely not!
I have seen many great 40's come and go in the Mud classifieds, several really good ones that fit the bill for me really well. The problem I had is familiar to us all, I couldn't match the moment I had the money saved with the time each particular truck came for sale. As soon as I had a "40 nest egg " saved, a new first world disaster would strike and vaporize my fund, poor baby.
Enter Troy, aka @olive on Mud, and our meeting of the Lake Michigan Land Cruisers group for the Land Cruiser Relay kick off. Troy contacted other Land Cruiser owners to join him at Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall MI for the kick off of the north leg of the trek . It was a great idea and a great time - good people, good beer, good Cruisers. When I pulled into the lot that day, the very first thing I saw was his Olive Brown 78 FJ40 sitting there. Just like the prettiest girl in the room, there's no chance you don't notice, and you have a hard time looking away. Within a couple of minutes of mee ting some of the guys, I had to ask if he would ever want to sell it, and that I'd be very interested. The beauty checked all the boxes for me - 78, original interior, awesome color with original paint, all original parts included plus manuals, original drivetrain (actually has a new 2f but he gave me the original in great rebuildable condition), and basically ready to drive pretty much anywhere. It did have a bit more rust than I had pictured for my perfect 40, but it looked manageable. Well, Troy never forgot our conversation and we discussed some possibilities over the next couple of months. When he made the decision to sell it, Troy called me and we quickly agreed on a price that, based on my Mud research over the last couple of years was spot on.
I have owned a ton of vehicles in my life, always wanting something different, until I found the Toyota Land Cruiser in its many series and variants. They are, as I tell everyone that I know who doesn't understand "the greatest vehicle ever made by humans".
I hope to share some upcoming work updates with you all as I go along and I have some different thoughts on how I'm going to protect and preserve my new gem. The journey will be fun and interesting I'm sure.
This community is like no other I have ever seen, and I consider it a privilege to be able to learn and be allowed to share experiences here! Thanks to all of you that have put so much information before us to benefit from.
Cheers,
Patrick
