What Started your Land Cruiser Obsession?

[Softride62]

so, after I bought my third Land Cruiser after the 1st of the year, I started to wonder what started by obsession with the dang things, and the I started to wonder how did all the Curiserheads get their obsession, Oh and I searched for this topic and didnt find it anywhere on the forum!! and I'm a rookie so maybe I don't know how to search!

here's my story: I grew up in Caracas, Venezuela , we had a 1979 FJ40 when I was about 7 that we used to drive to the farm (a 2 hour dirt road drive in the mountains with rivers, mud, and all that good stuff) We then upgraded to a 1982 FJ60, follwed by a 1986 FJ60, then a 1991 FJ62 (yes they kept making them in venezuela after 1990) all were 5 speed, and the 86 had the 3F mmmm! I was 18 when we got he last one so I was able to drive it sometimes (you have to be 18 to drive in Venezuela). So needless to say I couldn't wait to get one for myself one day. When I moved back to the States in 1993 for college I wanted one but couldn't afford one until about now, so I got a 2000 100 series for me 2 years ago, then a 2004 hundy for the wife last year (which she loves more than any other car she has had) and on Jan 1st, 2009 only 21 years later, I finally bought a 1987 FJ60, that is all mine (needs some work)! ...Now if I can just get a 5 speed for it!!

What's your story!?

 

[In2cruisers]

We moved from Sunny San Diego to the not so sunny Washington state. My hobbies were surfing and windsurfing,.....since there is neither of either I found myself watching crap TV and eating junk, and watching it rain.....GETTING FATTER BY THE DAY !!! Sooooooooooo time for a new hobbie and FAST !! I had always loved early brancos and 40 and 60 series landcruisers, just the ruggedness and styling. I bought my first 60 just after 9/11 and being layed-off (airline employee.....no one was flying!!) so time to kick start myself....before I ended up watching soaps.
I found my first 60 in the penny saver in Portland Or. hopped on a plane, guy met me at the airport...looked her over and...was soon driving my first Cruiser home. My wife is keeping count...the last 40 I picked up a couple months ago ( according to her ) is # 17 of which we still have 3

The running count
3 FJ40s
11 FJ60s
1 HJ60
2 HZJ80s

HELLO, my name is Chris...........and I'm a Cruiser-aholic

 

[lehiguy]

I had a mentor, a guy in the nieghborhood who knew how to fix stuff. He took me and my brother to the sand dunes with motorcycles, helped us with merit badges when we were Scouts, etc. He had a Land Cruiser, a '78 FJ40. He had owned Jeeps too, but always talked about how much more substantial a Land Cruiser was then a Jeep. Later in life I went with a friend into the Needles District of Canyonlands by way of Elephant Hill in the back of his FJ40. I had to have one! My '74 FJ40 took me to lots of places, towed the motorcycle to lots of races, always got me to work at Snowbird ski resort no matter how bad the weather was. The FJ60 came about as a way to move not just myself but the family into places where nobody else wanted to go. Thirteen years and 180K miles later, the FJ60 is still on the job. There is nothing being offered for sale today that would be it's equal and I fully expect it to be in the garage the day I leave mortality.

 

[billmc]

Summer 1982 I saw a brand new Nordic Blue FJ40 parked on Edgartown Wharf. It was love a first sight. I went to the dealer to get one, but was told that there were no more available, that the rest of the production run was consigned to the Middle East (presumably to be used as technicals). 10 years later I bought my next door neighbor's Nordic Blue '82 and it's been 'under restoration' ever since.

Bill

 

[Trapper50cal]

Well, while it was dormant for quite a while, the first girl I ever kissed at like 8yrs old...her Dad drove a dark green 40. Later in life, almost 30 years, my Wagoneer torched a valve and I bought an old rusty FJ55 from a friend, and it was off to the races.

 

[bigDcruiser]

the first one that caught my eye was back in '96. i had just moved to dallas and drove by an apartment complex were it was parked almost daily going to work. it was a blue fj60 and i knew nothing of them but always loved the way it looked. fast forward ten years; i had quit my slave job in the corporate world to go back to school and pursue a second bachelors degree. i've always loved old 4x4's and spent some time online looking at a cheap project i could pick up. when my '03 f150 was totalled i decided not to take on another payment until i graduated so started looking for something that could be a DD. found an immaculate one owner '88 bronco in austin and bought it. two months later the '84 fj60 that had been parked in my in-laws neighborhood went up for sale. i was pissed. even though it wasn't in nearly the condition of the bronco i would have looked at it. i drove the bronco for exactly 12 months before being hit head on by a drunk on my way home from work. totalled the bronco and the SOB that hit me kept on going. it was 1:30am and took the police 1hr 20mins to arrive. never found the other driver and i took it in the a$$ from insurance. there was a happy ending though, the fj was still for sale. picked it up for a song, found mud and now i'm addicted.

 

[DirtyRice Joe]

What started my obsession? I had previously owned two Jeeps and finally realized I liked driving 4X4's more than fixing them. I think that sums it up...

 

[iaintscared1969]

My Brother got me started on his 84 FJ60 when he got a 350 installed and I was the one who did it. After putting projection in it he had an idea for me to buy one. Well 2 years later and year after his passing I now have my own FJ62. But I was never without a toy during the 2 years as I have been swapping in vortecs the whole time. Finally nice to have my own obsession now.

 

[andacondadrew]

My pops.

 

[Spike Strip]

I was told the FJ60 was a chick magnet.

 

[krookedpandas]

I rode in a 1987 4runner for my entire life so naturally when it came time to get my own truck I wanted a toyota. However, my dad had a 1st gen 4runner and my brother had a 2nd gen. I didn't want IFS so cruiser it was. Also when I was like 13 I saw these two extremely modified 80's while waiting for the bus and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

 

[mwdubs]

I have to say I think I started this obsession all by myself. Paid $1800 of someone elses money princess when we didnt have it to spend. I drove by the thing for 3 months sitting on the side of the road, i think it was sending me messages via its rusty quarters, floors, doors, rockers (should i go on): It said to me I will only cost you money and probally give you a few nights of sleeping on the couch but underneath this dreary exterior lies a champ. For this reason and to make my dad mad for bringing a jap vehicle into a till death GM family. I told him I only paid $800 for it so he wouldn't flip. I think he has actually come around now after seeing the drivetrain I took out of this weekend.

 

[fowldarr]

Same story as everyone else. I grew up wheeling in the mountains with my dad, who was always a fan of SUVs, we had a series of Broncos as I grew up, a couple of Ramchargers, and a Blazer. My first 4X4 was an S-10 blazer pos. But it got me where I was going then a Ford Exploder, then I had a kid, and couldn't afford to maintain a second car payment so I picked up a 77 Blazer for $700, with the deal that if it was dead dead (hadn't been started in years) that I could return it. So I set to wrenchin, changed the fluids, new battery, some carb cleaner, she started right up. Well then a buddy wanted that one, so I sold it for $1800 (he wasn't that close of a friend), and I bought a 78 Scout, I loved that truck and watching the road go by through the floorboards. I did a lot of work on it, but an electrical fire cut our time together short. So then I was without 4 wheel drive. As you can see I had developed an affinity for old 4 wheel drives. Throughout all of these other projects, I'd always like land cruisers and drove by a consignment lot one day and a beautiful example of an 88 fj 62 was just sitting there. They were closed and I had work, but every night I would pull into the lot and admire it's beauty under the streetlight. I bought it a week later. Owned that one for a month and it was demolished by a girl trying to get to school on time. It got replaced with an FJ 80, that we drove for awhile until my wife decided she wanted the dreaded minivan. So that left me cruiserless. So I picked up my latest, an 84 fj60. it's going a few years now, and has been a great project, but wish I still had the first one.

 

[Melloj123]

About 5 years ago my son was living in Portland Or. On a visit he asked me if I knew what a Toyota FJ40 was and I said no. I had been a car nut all my life and had restored several 55 & 56 Chevys but could not remember seeing FJ40's in Kentucky in the 1960's and 70's. We went and looked at one that was advertised and I was hooked. When I got home I started searching and bought a rough '70 40 in Knoxville. About a year later I found a really nice rust free Nevada '77 40 here locally and bought it. My son bought a '78 40 in Oregon and had it shipped home when his family moved back to KY. I now have the '77 40, an 85 60 and a mint 96 FZJ80. My son has the 78. We have something to work on all the time. I guess you can say I got hooked and its all his fault.

 

[NobleSteed]

My obsession started for two reasons... my best friend growing up had an old FJ40, beige with all the original Toyota graphics on it. I learned how to drive a standard on that thing up in the mountains... was awesome!

My other reason for appreciating Cruisers is my equal passion for Land Rovers... their unreliability makes me appreciate all the old Cruisers have to offer and both trucks offer some really cool history and features.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

My story is a little different I suppose. I have always been into cars and general mechanical things since I was about 7. I started getting into cars heavily when I was 13 or 14, generally older BMW's and VW's. My first cruiser came to me when I was 16 after it had been overheated and the manifolds warped all out of wack. Rebuilt the top end and it purred like a kitten up until some dick driving a lexus ran a stop sign ( long story ). Anyway, after a BMW that had a fatal water leak, I just bought my second 60 a year and a half ago, and I couldn't be happier!

Count:

2 FJ60's
1 BMW 635CSi

 

[Tofudebeest]

My former mentor drives an '83 FJ60 with a Fairey overdrive, which he bought new from the dealer. White with candy cobalt blue in the mid panel, gray interior. Repainted by the Orlando Lamborghini dealer ($7,000 paint job, lifetime warranty). I saw first hand how a stock 60, with sagging springs and on 31" road tires could go places that the full-size rams, F350s, Silverados and Cherokees (that are routinely driven by the people who I go into the field with looking at property to purchase) simply could not. Plus, it had style and a heritage. I wanted one, but a diesel, so I could burn bio in it like my wife's Mercedes DD. I found one (Sheila), bought it, and was immediately bitten hard by the bug, despite the seller being totally dishonest and the truck turning out to be horribly rusty. My finances have been bitten hard too, in the arse, but I am a better man for it and have new hobby and skill set.

Count:

1 dual fuel NZ issue FJ40 (for less than a week).
1 HJ60 (Sheila)
1 FJ62 (Tofudebeest); now an HJ62.

 

[Matt60]

Toyotas have always been in my family from my birth starting w/ my dads commuter starlet to my first truck a 91 pickup that was also a father commuter passed down to me and not to forget my sisters 87 sr5 corolla. i still own the 91 and it sits w/ 300k on it, we bought it new. after working overseas for the man in different countries i had the pleasure to drive all types of Hi-luxes to 70, 80 series landcrusiers and even a toyota bus. with saved war money i bought my 83 fj60 to work on and now have a 04 tacoma to daily drive. not that different i suppose... oh and the 60 gets the ladies!!! even if they are hippie bar trash..

 

[smkymntn]

For me it started with my friends owning early 80's pickups and beating the living hell out of them. They did no PM and they never ever let us down. I was into motorcycles at the time. When it came time to get some wheels I floundered through the domestics for a few years then got an 87 corolla gts, then an 88 corolla gts, then a 99 tacoma, 00 tundra, 02 tacoma (still have ), 99 4runner. Decided it was time to fulfill a longstanding dream of owning a cruiser as I have always loved the look and utilitarian nature. I rarely do anything with cars half assed, so I jumped in hard, sold the 4runner, sold my polaris ranger and had my 60 completely redone. I paid too much for it, I put too much into it but I daily drive my 60 and couldnt be happier with the decision. I dream of owning one of each model, and will get an 80 one day if my wallet ever recovers. Personally I would rather not drive anything else.

 

[Joe_E]

Back in the mid eighties my cousin and her husband had a multiple trophy winning FJ40 mud hopper machine with a 400 sb named Crude. Did quite a bit of traveling with them having a good ol time. You guys would cry if you knew how many 40's and 55's we bought only for the bulletproof rears out of peoples back yards and scrapped. On many occasions they ran like champs and we would rev the 2F up and drop nuts and bolts down the carb to see how long it would run till she finally blew. I'm so ashamed now.

We also had road 40 's and belonged to a small TLCA sanctioned club called Totally Landcruisers of NJ. James Asti was club prez at the time then he left for Va and started Landcruiser Connection. Don't know what ever happened to that cool dude.

Fell in love with the 60 series and finally picked up my present love in 1990.