I'm currently reading
@Sea Knight 's amazingly well written account of his road trip in Uncle Meldon's 40 called Saving The Old Rustbucket. If you haven't read it yet, stop what you're doing and take the time to travel along with Lee on the best Land Cruiser road trip story ever written.
20 something pages in to Sea Knight's adventure I realize I didn't do my Land Cruiser procurement story any justice... there was a story after all. I just figured it wasn't worth sharing here. But after spending 4 hours reading Saving The Old Rustbucket, I think I'll document it... if for no other reason than I don't have any tech to write. The parts I ordered are still a day out.
I'm not the excellent wordsmith that Lee is, and if you hate this, don't read it, but it's the story of the first road trip in my FJ40 so it's vaguely relevant to this thread.
Part 1
I had just sold my prior project vehicle, a 1972 International Scout II which I completed 99% of a frame off restoration over a 3 year period... stopping short of completing the removable hard top. Mostly because I just simply didn't enjoy the rig after driving it a few times. It looked awesome and drove great, but it didn't "feel" like what I wanted in a project vehicle. It was big, loud and not super fun to ride in due to the fact that it was so loud and burned a copious amount of oil. Plus, I wasn't motivated enough to finish the top. Essentially, I built it to look cool but didn't really take in to account what I was really looking for... something for my wife and I to take on adventures. Lesson learned. I vow to not repeat those mistakes again.
Perusing through various Land Cruiser web sites while "working" one day, I noticed a rusty turd brown FJ40 on a very well known Land Cruiser restoration company's website. I figured what the hell, I'll call them and ask what was needed to get it back in to shape... maybe this is the rig for me. I was going to be in the Colorado area in the next few months anyhow so it might work out to pick this baby up on my way through. After a brief conversation I learned it needed some pretty serious rust repair. Having just completed the frame off restoration on my Scout II, which included welding nearly 40% new sheet metal in, I wasn't all that motivated to jump back in to the whole, grind, cut, weld, grind, day after day sort of work that I learned the turd brown FJ40 needed. I enjoy the mechanical repair side of things but I learned that I'm not all that keen on body work. So I asked him about the other one they had on their site, the green '77 FJ40. He said it was kind of an unusual story and that the vehicle wasn't in Colorado anymore, it was a hop skip and a jump away from me in Portland, Oregon!
As it turns out, the owner of the green 40 had been searching for a number of years for the "perfect" Land Cruiser to ship to this restoration company for a rebuild. He'd found this vehicle in Missouri, it was in really good condition, so he bought it and shipped it to Colorado to complete a restoration. The shop did a ton of cosmetic work including a partial repaint, some rust repair and a couple of mechanical repairs over 3 months it spent there. They then shipped it to Portland to the new owner's home having given it their seal of approval to be a "daily driver", which I'm quickly finding out, one person's idea of daily driver is vastly different than another's.
The very nice person at the restoration company proceeds to tell me that the green 40 owner didn't really run it past his wife before he bought the rig. Critical Fail #1. Also, he didn't realize that Portland Oregon still has a very strict smog test procedure so he couldn't license it without returning all of the smog equipment back to it's working condition. Critical Fail #2. In a matter of months, it's up for sale and that's where I find it.
I learned all I could from the nice gentleman at the restoration company and decided I'd call the current owner of the FJ40 to see what his thoughts were. I should share that the price listed was out of my budget but I felt it wouldn't hurt to learn more about the rig and why he was selling it. You never know right?
I left a message for him and received a call back within a few hours. The owner's story matched what the restoration company had told me in nearly identical detail. He shared all of the items that were replaced and what still needed to be done. It was half de-smogged and the engine smoked a little after it was warmed up. He wasn't that motivated to sell it and he wasn't willing to negotiate. I thanked him for his time, asked him to send me some pics and he did.
I spent the better part of the next day looking those pictures over and thinking, "this is the nicest FJ40 I've ever seen." I had looked at 3 local FJ40s for sale and while they were only a little less expensive they looked like they'd been run hard, put away wet and most of all they were cut up, rusted and needed serious attention to bring them up to the level that I was interested in. The In the Seattle area most people selling FJ40s take the price their vehicle is worth and double it regardless of condition. The crazy part is, they sometimes get what they're asking!
So I call the owner back the next day and let him know that "I'm interested in your rig but I don't have what you're asking. I don't want to di@k you around because I know you said you were firm on your price, but how exactly firm are you?" He must have been having a great day because he immediately came off the price enough that I could now justify it. I was stoked! I asked him to hold the vehicle for me until I could come down the next Friday and look it over. We agreed that I would send him a deposit to show my interest and set a date to make the trip. Now, I had to figure out how to get down there to look at it and possibly bring it home. I called my dad that night and asked him if he wanted to go on a road trip to check out an old Land Cruiser in Portland. Before I could even got the words out, he said "Sure!". All of the stars were aligning.
Knowing I was likely to pull the trigger on this thing if it was as nice as the pictures showed, I packed up tools and supplies I thought I'd need to make the trek back home. I figured preparing a little with some 2 way radios and a few other items may make the drive more enjoyable in an unknown 40 year old vehicle in 25 degree weather. That Friday at 6am sharp my dad rolls up to the house, I pack the tools in the back of his vehicle and we hit the freeway. It's pitch black still and I notice tiny little snow flakes begin to hit the windshield. The weather report called for snow around 1pm that day so we really needed to haul a$$ down there and back if we wanted to beat the snow. After an uneventful drive to Portland, we arrived a half hour early. To say I was excited to see this thing would be the understatement of the century. I was giddy!
The owner lived in an area of Portland high above the city in what can only be described as an old growth forest with a few houses thrown in for good measure. The drive to his home was up a steep two lane road through a forest filled with 100+ year old Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar trees draped in heavy green moss with a dusting of snow here and there. This was the kind of drive you expect in a national park... not on the way to someone's home. We pulled in to the driveway around 9am, parked and was greeted by the owner who had a firm handshake and a trusting smile. He showed us to the garage, slid open the door and there it sat. The nicest FJ40 I've ever seen in person.
As I crawled underneath to inspect the undercarriage I had already made up my mind, this thing was going home with me. It was one of those decisions of the heart rather than the mind. The body and interior were perfect, but the undercarriage was surprisingly covered in 40 year old dirt, mud, oil, grease and general grime. I thought, that's strange, I thought this thing had just been at one of the most well known Land Cruiser restoration places for 3 months and they didn't even pressure wash the axles off? Whatever, I was going to buy this thing and that was that.
I spent a few minutes under it and visually inspected the important items. There were no fluid leaks of any kind and everything was where it should be. As advertised the springs were replaced with Old Man Emu 2" lift springs with Billstein shocks and brand new tires/wheels. The owner asked if I wanted to pull it out and start it up. After rolling it out he pulled the choke and cranked the starter a few times. With very little effort the 2F roared to life! I was so happy to hear that sound again.
Backing up a little, through my childhood, my family seemed to go through a large number of vehicles. Looking back, I can only say that my parents had rather "interesting" taste in cars. I remember a metallic green mid 70's Mercury Cougar, a Mercury Lynx station wagon with wood side paneling, a huge station wagon that looked like the one the Griswolds drove, an AMC Eagle, a Jeep Grand Wagoneer and a number of early 90's Pontiac Grand Prix and Grand Ams. With the exception of the Grand Wagoneer, non of those cars were memorable. But we also had a white 1984 FJ60 and an early 90's FJ62. Two vehicles which struck me as odd because they were so.... well, good! I'll never forget the sound those engines made as they dutifully carted my little brother and I to soccer practice, baseball games, and on family road trips. The exact sound this green FJ40 was making. It took me back to my childhood and the best part was, I could see my dad thinking the same thing.
After we let the FJ40 warm up a bit, we pushed the choke in and took it for a spin. Nothing of note, it drove pretty okay, lots of noise when I'd hit bumps and the engine didn't seem to idle smooth, run well or have much power... non of this mattered as I'd already made up my mind. We returned back to the owners home and I continued looking around the interior of the 40, opened the glove box and saw a temp gauge and a little silver stainless steel wire with two round mounting holes on each end. Due to it's proximity I realized it was a brand new replacement glove box door limit strap. I found it really odd that he had a new one of those in there and didn't just take the 3 minutes to replace the worn out one with wire strands sticking out all over. I would later find out that the owner of this FJ40 had either zero time, zero mechanical skills or zero interest in actually working on the Land Cruiser or maybe all three. Perhaps he just wanted to own one. It didn't matter, I had all three of those and this thing would be in my garage in a few hours, so it didn't really matter. Looking back from today's perspective, I'm happy he didn't touch this thing because we all know how POs can do more harm than good when they get a wrench in their hands.
10 minutes later, I handed him an envelope filled with too many crisp green hundred dollar bills and as he counted the money I loaded up the tools and supplies from my dad's rig to the FJ40. Another 10 minutes later and we were headed down the scenic road on the way home. It was getting colder by the minute and I'd asked my dad to lead the way since his car had navigation and we could quickly get back on the freeway and begin the trip home. I radioed to my dad that I needed to fill up with fuel and he radioed back that he found a station not far from us where we could fuel up before we hit the freeway.
As soon as I pulled up to the gas station I remembered that you don't pump your own fuel in Oregon.... they have people on staff to do that for you. I wondered, is this monkey going to scratch the paint, does he even know how to open the fuel door? I decided to get out and hand him the key to the gas door and eagle eye his fueling abilities. He walked up, grabbed the key and said, "Nice Land Cruiser, I don't think I've ever seen one this nice." He didn't call it a Jeep. NICE! I tipped him a few bucks and we were on our way. Dad in the lead with the navigation and me trying to keep up in a 40 year old vehicle I'd only driven a mile or so. In typical Dad fashion he made a u-turn and left me in the dust. Perhaps forgetting that my rig took a while to get up to speed. I tried the same u-turn maneuver and the car coming the other way, which was safely out of distance a moment before was suddenly on my rear bumper honking. They flew past me with a middle finger and I picked up the radio to call my dad. "Dad, slow down."
I roughly remember the route from the freeway to this guy's house as a pretty straight shot though an industrial area and up that winding two lane road with the beautiful trees. However, my dad was taking us back to the freeway using a different route. We'd lived in Portland as a kid for about 5 years and he had navigation, I figured, he knows where we're going. 20 minutes later and all of that time driving south on side streets and passing multiple freeway on ramps, I call him up on the radio. "Hey dad, where are we going? I don't remember coming this way." A crackle or two later and he says. "We're on the way to the freeway, I'm following the navigation system, maybe it has us going around some traffic or an accident or something." Fair enough.
Memories of a trip to San Diego 10 years ago start creeping in. My wife and I had just landed in San Diego to go to a wedding for my cousin Kari and her soon to be husband. We were going to the San Diego Zoo with my parents that day. My dad had rented a car and brought along his navigation system. He punched in the zoo and we were on our way. After about 40+ minutes in the car we arrive and explore the zoo for the day. When we're finished we pile in the car and take the 40+ minute drive back to the hotel we were all staying at. The next day my family attend the wedding and the really fun party afterward. The next day my wife and I decide to explore San Diego. We walk out of our hotel and up to this park a few minutes away. I see something interesting on a sign and I point it out to my wife. The sign has an arrow and it says San Diego Zoo 400 yards. I think to myself, there's no way we're that close, we just walked maybe 15 minutes at the most. I pull out my cell phone and check Google Maps. The San Diego Zoo is 400 yards away. WTF!!???
As it turns out, even though my dad is super smart, he has the tenancy to click the "avoid freeway" button on his navigation system. We're now driving for 40 minutes south through downtown Portland on side streets and I once again pull out my phone at a stop light, select my Waze app and push home. After a few seconds my phone gives me an overview of where we are and where we need to go. Once again, I soon realize my dad had hit the "avoid freeways" button on his nav. I radio him again. "Dad, did you hit the "avoid freeways" button on your navi?" Pause. Pause. he answers, "hmmmm, maybe that's what's happening." I radio back to follow me and I place my phone on the dash of my new 40 and pull ahead of him. We're on the freeway in about 3 minutes, sitting in traffic. It's 11:30 and the snow is going to start in a couple of hours. The last thing I want to do is drive this beautiful rig in a Seattle area snow storm. People in Seattle are known for being terrified of the white stuff. It only happens once or twice a year in our area and when it does the entire city comes to a standstill. Schools are closed, grocery stores are emptied it's pandemonium. After the inch or two of snow melts the hundreds of cars that people abandon on the freeway are still there. No joke, people get out of their car and leave them right there on the freeway. Where they go is anyone's guess but they park their cars on the freeway and walk home. Being from Alaska originally, I find this to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
We're motoring along up I-5 around noon just past Longview, the rain/snow mix starts. I slow down from 60mph to 50mph and get in the far right lane. I turn on the wipers and the rubber blade pieces are evidently not interested in cooperating. 80% of them stay glued to the windshield, encapsulated in ice. My dad and I are in for a long drive.
To be continued...
