Okay, here’s my ROTW. I was really hoping to have a little bit more done on my rig by now, but I guess that is kind of how it goes. My Land Cruiser story goes back quite a ways. The convoluted story starts with my Dad’s buddy from high school. My Dad’s buddy’s dad (did you follow that?) bought a 72 fj40 (6/71 production date) sometime in early 1972. They named it Rickshaw 1. They owned a local mechanic shop in central WA and did some work to the engine to get a little more power (i.e. get rid of the vsv, different dizzy etc.). They had it for about a year and then sold it to my grandfather. He lived up in the mountains, so my grandfather used it for a hunting rig and a winter driving rig. The funny thing is, my grandmother used to work at the local ski resort, so she ended up driving it back and forth to work in the winters. There are stories of her passing snow plows on the way to the ski area. They always just called it “The Toyota” since it was the only Toyota my family owned.
The following picture is sometime in late 1974. My grandfather is the one kneeling down in front. His brother, who is now 95, and could probably still drive the thing, is standing to his right. His nephew is directly behind him and a friend is holding on to the elk they shot. My grandpa’s older brother is the only one in that picture that is still alive. And like I said, he could probably still drive the Land Cruiser. He is in awesome shape for a 95 year old.
The following picture is sometime in late 1974. My grandfather is the one kneeling down in front. His brother, who is now 95, and could probably still drive the thing, is standing to his right. His nephew is directly behind him and a friend is holding on to the elk they shot. My grandpa’s older brother is the only one in that picture that is still alive. And like I said, he could probably still drive the Land Cruiser. He is in awesome shape for a 95 year old.
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