STROWSKI Overdrive ???s

[sahelzer]

Going thru some parts boxes with a friend and found this cool Strowski Overdrive Unit. Looks really well made but is a cross word puzzle of parts. Googled but could not find any info on this unit. Anyone know anything about these? What do you think something like this is worth? Picture attached.

 

[cruiserbrett]

Never heard of them before, but that is not saying much, got my first FJ40 in 1991.
Is it complete? What does the other casting partly obscured by the rear half look like?

kinda looks like a rear half of a split case? but the idler shaft is too small. seems kind of odd ball to me.

Interested, can you pm me with details?

 

[shelfboy1]

there was an article in 4 wheeler or one of those mags .strowski made a complete t case for fj40s ,it was a good unit but expensive.he was ahead of his time on it and it didnt sell good .it used stock gears ,but i believe you could get other ratios.i would look for it but i have all my 4x4 mags since 1971 and it would take forever good luck.

 

[Trollhole]

That is cool. How about some more pics?

 

[Plowboy]

I remember this unit from a 1978 off road show at the Anaheim Convention center in California. Went there right after I bought my 40. If I remember correctly, it could be either lowered geared or overdrive.

 

[JohnnyC]

this is going back a few years...but...here's mention of another STROWSKI case...quite rare it seems

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/96862-t-case-identification.html

 

[salguire]

I'll come take it out of your garage if you don't want it, I could be there in 20 minutes.

It looks very interesting, and nobody know anything about it.

 

[Downey]

Steve Strowski is/was an old school Hungarian "Chief Engineer" with really old school manufacturing skills, and zero knowledge of managing money. He was our first Engineer back in 1970. Fortunately we moved on/upgraded engineering skills. Unfortunately Strowski continued to develope Landcruiser products that he could not bring to market. He took many many deposits from innocent bystanders, then never delivered, never refunded, and/or he delivered prototypes that were incomplete and/or would not work at all. That was all back in the late 1970's and early/mid 1980's. I haven't heard his name since then???

 

[JohnnyC]

thats very interesting information...situations like that happen...sooo many people have good intentions that don't come to pass.

"Strowski Engineering"

Failed to make payments on engineering equiptment:
In Re Steve Strowski; Margaret H. Strowski, Debtors.steve Strowski, Appellant, v. Master Cutting and Engineering Company, Appellee - 959 F.2d 241 - Justia US Court of Appeals Cases and Opinions


Property forclosed while trying to file chapter 11 in 1994:
60 F.3d 834 - In re Steven G. STROWSKI, aka: Steve Strowski; Margaret H. Strowski, dba: Strowski Engineering, Debtors...

looks like he was quite talented however...too bad

 

[Trollhole]

Steve Strowski is/was an old school Hungarian "Chief Engineer" with really old school manufacturing skills, and zero knowledge of managing money. He was our first Engineer back in 1970. Fortunately we moved on/upgraded engineering skills. Unfortunately Strowski continued to develope Landcruiser products that he could not bring to market. He took many many deposits from innocent bystanders, then never delivered, never refunded, and/or he delivered prototypes that were incomplete and/or would not work at all. That was all back in the late 1970's and early/mid 1980's. I haven't heard his name since then???

Wow. Just did a seach on his name. Crazy all the mess he has been in.

 

[JohnnyC]

he's now 83 and living in CA...i bet he can tell you how to put it back together? and i bet he has many interesting stories

 

[Dedtruk]

X2 on the pics. Sad story, but cool hardware. Sure would be neat to see that thing rebuilt and put back into service!

 

[sahelzer]

WOW, thanks for all the great info and history. I am currently traveling but will take more photos on my return this weekend and bump this back to the top. I am seriously contemplating putting this all back together and seeing what we got. I'm told it was complete. Comes with a nice type writer instruction sheet I will scan and post as well.

 

[shotgun]

Found this.

 

[JohnnyC]

did you clip that out? looks like it was in a photo album ...way cool

 

[Isaacjohnstar]

Wow cool find! Sounds like that thing would be awesome in operation. Post up if you get it working.

 

[n7ki]

I had one of those bolted to a GM SM465 four speed granny low transmission in a 72 Landcruiser FJ-40. It was the only one like it in the world. Engine was a 400 ci small block Chevy. The Strowski overdrive would allow you to have low, low and over, high, and high and overdrive. I had to do some major mods to it to get it working and it still had problems that I just lived with.

 

[Flynn]

Resurrecting this beast from the distant past!

I've been sitting on this O/D unit for a few years now. I'm wondering if anyone has any new information about the Strowski O/D unit?

I'm not sure I have all the parts. I do have a bit of literature also, some of it photocopies of handwritten changes to the original Strowski instructions. I'll take them to work and scan them so I can post them here too.

Here's what I've got

 

[Flynn]

First page:

 

[Coolerman]

I would have sworn there was another thread that had these pics in it?