Okay. It's my turn.
My fascination with 4X4's started when I was about 6 years old. My brother picked me up from school in his '73 CJ5 and I thought it was a pretty cool vehicle. We went wheeling in it and thought it was pretty tough until one day we saw these funny looking almost Jeep type doing the same run. At first I thought those cheap Jap Crap knock-offs wouldn't (or couldn't) keep up as they looked really wimpy. Especially those really odd looking pick up trucks.
It didn't take me long to realize how good they were.
But, I still though they were odd and didn't pay a lot of attention to them, so I went ahead and ran my own CJ7, J20 and a YJ and almost forgot all about Cruisers until I saw one nicely modified. It was like a re-birth for me.
It took me awhile to find one due to new family and home commitments and since the Internet was still only an idea, locating one was difficult. You young kids have no idea what it was like trying do find stuff prior to the internet.
I purchased my '72 FJ40 in the mid 90's and it was the start of my obsession. It survived the end of my first marriage as my ex wanted my J20 instead. I added the BJ42 in 2004 and although having a diesel made me really happy (to the point that my '72 is also now diesel powered), I still really miss the odd looking pick ups.
So I somehow managed to convince my new (and greatly improved) wife that adding a 45 would be a great idea although we live in a typical suburban subdivision. I think I promised her that I would get rid of my '79 CJ7 that I also own (but rarely ever tell anyone about it). I was on the hunt for my 45.
I was leaning more towards a V8 gasser or a diesel version, but did not want a project vehicle as I do not have the time, space and confidence to get one together. I haven't seen another 45 in real life since the early 80's and thought getting parts would be a real pain in the butt. Also having four kids and being self employed makes time a very precious commodity.
So I ended up with Carl. My 1967 FJ45 from Carlsbad California. It has a fresh 454 with a bunch of Edelbrock components, 4 speed Toyota tranny and power steering. I got it in February this year and the plans are to do my touches to it in the winter. But for now, here he is
My fascination with 4X4's started when I was about 6 years old. My brother picked me up from school in his '73 CJ5 and I thought it was a pretty cool vehicle. We went wheeling in it and thought it was pretty tough until one day we saw these funny looking almost Jeep type doing the same run. At first I thought those cheap Jap Crap knock-offs wouldn't (or couldn't) keep up as they looked really wimpy. Especially those really odd looking pick up trucks.
It didn't take me long to realize how good they were.
But, I still though they were odd and didn't pay a lot of attention to them, so I went ahead and ran my own CJ7, J20 and a YJ and almost forgot all about Cruisers until I saw one nicely modified. It was like a re-birth for me.
It took me awhile to find one due to new family and home commitments and since the Internet was still only an idea, locating one was difficult. You young kids have no idea what it was like trying do find stuff prior to the internet.
I purchased my '72 FJ40 in the mid 90's and it was the start of my obsession. It survived the end of my first marriage as my ex wanted my J20 instead. I added the BJ42 in 2004 and although having a diesel made me really happy (to the point that my '72 is also now diesel powered), I still really miss the odd looking pick ups.
So I somehow managed to convince my new (and greatly improved) wife that adding a 45 would be a great idea although we live in a typical suburban subdivision. I think I promised her that I would get rid of my '79 CJ7 that I also own (but rarely ever tell anyone about it). I was on the hunt for my 45.
I was leaning more towards a V8 gasser or a diesel version, but did not want a project vehicle as I do not have the time, space and confidence to get one together. I haven't seen another 45 in real life since the early 80's and thought getting parts would be a real pain in the butt. Also having four kids and being self employed makes time a very precious commodity.
So I ended up with Carl. My 1967 FJ45 from Carlsbad California. It has a fresh 454 with a bunch of Edelbrock components, 4 speed Toyota tranny and power steering. I got it in February this year and the plans are to do my touches to it in the winter. But for now, here he is
I had no idea there was someone was building one.