Builds Old Landy: An HJ45 Story/Build Thread (3 Viewers)

[Cowboy45]

Hey everyone welcome to thread. I created this thread to share the story and unique history of an FJ45 that @ceylonfj40nut and I recently purchased from Kodiak, Alaska. As this thread continues your input and advice would be much appreciated as we go on in this new journey. Thanks to @Rock Island for preserving this rig all of these years and letting someone else treasure it as much as you did.

 

[Cowboy45]

Lets start at the beginning...

Truck was originally an ambulance in Lesotho from 1978 to 1981. Purchased in 1981 by a Swiss electrical engineer named Andres. He built the shell and turned it into a camper. He drove it all over Africa and the Sinai Peninsula through the 80's and 90's. I think he would park it and return to Switzerland to work and then drive it on his holidays. I have never meet Andres (well get to that later), but he had a website that documented his travels (it has since been taken down, but I copied all the photos so I have pictures of this truck going back to 1981). It was stripped down to the frame and rebuilt sometime in the 90's (I have a few photos).

In 2009, Andres shipped the truck to Maryland with the intention of driving from Prudhoe Bay to Tierra Del Fuego. He made it from Maryland to Prudhoe Bay, then down to Valdez, AK where he blew the head gasket. He meet a guy (who's name I'm forgetting) who owned a construction company and had a shop where Andres worked on the truck in Valdez. He decided to replace the whole engine (possibly because it was so high mileage). He had another H engine shipped to Valdez (I think from Specter in California). It arrived, he installed it, and it also had a bad head gasket. At this point, Andres went to Anchorage and bought a brand new Jeep and continued on his way to Tierra Del Fuego (I do not understand how to drive a Land Cruiser for 30 years and then decide you're a Jeep guy...)

Anyway, he left the truck in Valdez, giving it to the guy who's shop he'd been using as payment (I think he used the guys shop and stayed with him and his family for over a month). This guy didn't really care about Land Cruisers, but he knew enough to know that it was rare/valuable. He sent it up to Fairbanks to a friend of his who ran an auto repair business. At that point, they realized how hard it is to find parts for these things and it sat in a private equipment yard for a while. That's where I found it in 2012. (By: @Rock Island)

Here are some pics:

 

[Cowboy45]

More pics:

 

[Cowboy45]

Here are some pics of Andres and the truck:

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

We (@ceylonfj40nut and @CaptClose) are enroute to the port of Tacoma, WA to pick up Old Landy). She is currently on a barge to Tacoma from Kodiak Alaska. @Cowboy45 and @CenTXFJ60 are with us in spirit as we chart a course to revive the story and a great rig. Following below chronicles some excerpts of Andres blog interwoven with our journey to bring Old Landy to Dallas, TX.

@POTATO LAUNCHER, @dogfishlake, and @76 FJ40, @roma042987....tagging ya for the ride.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

@CaptClose and I have been reading the blogs of Andres as we drive up to get Old Landy. Andres kept detailed notes of his Journey through Africa, Europe, and USA. He was meticulous in his observations of weather, the landscape he traversed, the weather he encountered, the people and cultures he engaged, and the flora and fauna. We are including some excerpts of his blog to give you a sneak peak into his mind and some of his writing style. We thought it best to carry the torch as we resurrect Old Landy. The excerpts are from his Lesotho thru Africa blog. We will post his complete blog with a link later.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

September 1, 2018
Departed Richardson this morning at 8:30am for the long trek to resurrect “Old Landy” from retirement. It was a beautiful Texas morning. As much sun as there was dawn clouds. Our goal is to make it as far as we can on this day, and setup camp where the best opportunity arises.

The first few hours traveling through northwest Texas were uneventful except for the occasional roadside junkyard that attracted our eyes and cricked our necks as we turned to spy anything Land Cruiser related, but fate would not smile on is this day, as only the corpses of rotting Fords and Chevys littered the roadside...

Occasional stops were made for food and diesel, while our pre-departure trip plans were scrapped as alternate roads and destinations were chosen throughout the day.

The weather along the way was splendid except for the brief shower the fell upon us as we entered New Mexico. It wasn’t a monsoon, but it was just enough to clean our windshield and provide a clear view for the next few hours...

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

As we turned north on Highway 285, the scenery quickly changed from the grassland and plains eastern New Mexico, to the rolling foothills the foreshadowed the upcoming mountain we would soon experience as we navigate through the passes of the San Juan Mountain range in southwestern Colorado.

As we drove through the town of Espanola, we noticed a stark change in the socioeconomic status of our surroundings. Mud huts and adobes were common living structures here. We learned that 1 and 5 people live in poverty, and the county’s drug overdose rate is one of the highest in the country. A sad reality for such a beautiful place. It could be so much more than it is.

We continued driving through the town as the shadows were growing longer. We knew we would soon lose light and the urgency to find a place to camp for the night increased with each mile marker we passed.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

750 miles in on day 1 of our journey, Our fortunes continued as we entered the Carson National Forest and we came upon the Riana Campground at Lake Abiquiu. The sun had set, so we would not experience the serene beauty of this area until sunrise the following morning.

We quickly setup up our campsite and began to prepare the evening’s meal. The temperatures were beginning to fall and the threat of rain lingered in the sky. I decided I better attach the rain fly, just in case the sky opened up in the middle of the night.

@CaptClose helped test out my sleeping cot before I bought it. Works great!

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Lake Abiquiu served us up a crisp morning that inspired us ahead towards NM, UT, and ID.

@CaptClose, well equipped, broke down tent with Swiss watch precision. A tent Yoda. He made Andres proud.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Day 2 8:30a

We headed north into Colorado, the rolling ponderosas, cattle grazing, steaders preparing hay for the upcoming winter. Necks ocassionally cricked at uneventful barn finds that disappointed.

Hwy 84 took us through Tierra Amarillo, before Chama, we hooked left on Hwy 64 to Pagosa Springs heading west to Durango through sleepy Bayfield. Tierra Amarillo did not disappoint, where enchanted yellow rock formations lay abundant.


A surprise lay ahead just passed Dolores.....

 

[mattressking]

watching this.

 

[Martyt]

Subscribed. Greetings from Sunny San Diego! I am a Swiss citizen as well (by virtue of my parents citizenship); I remember how to speak a very old Swiss dialect— in 50 years, no one will speak it. Anyway, interesting story and will follow.

 

[a.greenspan]

Keep this Land Snail as is & don`t destroy her history.
That`s all I can say.
Good luck.

 

[a.greenspan]

Lets start at the beginning...

...At this point, Andres went to Anchorage and bought a brand new Jeep and continued on his way to Tierra Del Fuego (I do not understand how to drive a Land Cruiser for 30 years and then decide you're a Jeep guy...)

It`s simple. In the 80`s & 90´s it was a lot easier to get US cars & trucks repaired in South America or find parts for them.
For example I drove US Jeeps in Venezuela & Baja California too.

 

[mrboatman]

Subscribed

 

[cwwfj60]

Staying tuned in for this one...safe travels fellas!

 

[dogfishlake]

Great story, and adventure. So cool to have the value of history to join the value of the truck itself. I envision many great tales to come that evolve with your family and ownership of Old Landy.

Congrats, and safe travels!

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Day 2- 1:30p

We snake passed Dolores and as we leave it in a mirage, we edge by MacPhee reservoir on the San Juan Highway on to Hwy 491, the trail of the ancients leading to Moab, UT.

Uneventful so it seems as the dry scrub droned along. Out the corner of our right eyes, 70 mph, see a pig on the side of the road adjacent to a blue barn, good pedigree, solid bones, nicely modded...fair show queen worth.

All the other junk around it was a blurry mound of insignificance. The plot thickens....

Only Cruiser eyes can be as acute at 70 miles per hour. We see in the barn 2 well aged 40s of marvelous bouquet. Yes at 70 miles per hour. Uncanny. Another sign of the disease.

Poor Brutus (2000 f250 7.3) felt a searing singe as we hit the brakes. We wrangled the beast on a ten point turn on the narrow road. We whistled the turbo to the barn like Hyenas after a prize. @CaptClose was counting his measly bills in his pocket in haste. We approach the barn timidly but with trust that all will be well with a fellow Cruiser head. The force felt strong.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

In the barn an untouched 1974 fj40. 29” skinnies, bench seat. 4 on the floor. On further scrutiny, one small mod. Saginaw PS. Owner of the rig runs a canoe business. He hauls 6 class 5 rafters in the 40 will all gear at $300 per person. An OME lift kit per trip in my currency. Just a gem. He plans to keep it as is with a “hell no” on “sell?” probe. @CaptClose wallet crept back to its place of solitude.