Gentlemen,
Yes, after 7 years I'm back. And this time I'm really back. Although I want to keep this thread about Land Cruisers, I do feel I owe this community an explanation for my absence. I'll try to keep it short and to the point.
2009 - 2011 were definitely the most challenging years of my life, and in the years to follow I was working my way out of them. As Mark had mentioned in an earlier post, I had lost a job that I had held for 31 years prior, and the new job forced me to drive 100 miles each day. My mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and lived with it another 4 years. I found out that my wife (at the time) was having an affair and stealing from me. Then we found that my older sister also had cancer and she passed shortly after my mom. If this wasn't enough, after my X left in 2011, her son who I adopted was in a car accident. He was at fault and because he was on my policy I was being sued for $250,000. During all of this I came very very close to losing my house. As you can guess, there wasn't a lot of time to devote to Land Cruisers.
The good news...
I never forgot the outpouring of support and the selfless acts of those here on the board, so I never considered abandoning this project even once. I didn't lose my house. The other party in the accident settled with my insurance company. I changed jobs again to a much stronger company only 30 miles away. I met a wonderful faithful woman and got married. And... I recently sold my house and moved into one with a nice big garage to store and work on Land Cruisers. God is faithful.
The FJ60 has recently received a lot of attention. Rebuilt motor, and everything right down to the A/C is working. There are a few more things I'd like to do but not right now.
The FJ40 has been getting a lot of attention for the last 19 months and is almost complete. The original plan was to fix and sell it, and use the money to finish the LV. After it started to really shape up my wife and I decided we wanted to keep it.
Two days ago, I did something I haven't done in a very long time. I started working on the LV again. You would think after working on the 40 for 19 months I would be ready for a little break, but I am pumped and more excited to work on this than any Cruiser. The LV is definitely my favorite, and it's amazing how different things are when you're not living in a constant state of crisis. Good times again.
First on the list is cutting out and replacing the front and mid floors and replacing the rocker panels. I am doing the removal and fabbing the parts, and my buddy Jimmy Bassham is doing the welding for me. I'm starting to practice welding, but I need it done right.
So after far too long guys, here's the first days work. There will be no more long periods of time where I am absent from this site. Thanks to all of you for your patience.
