When did the 45 sickness start thread!! (1 Viewer)

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I doubt there are many, if any written records about the trucks. I can ask my dad. He would know more. Once when I was about 10 years old I helped my dad bring one of the 40's down from the mountain that didn't have any brakes. It was a steep, winding gravel road. I was instructed to stay in front with his 68 Ford in 4-low first gear. He did the same. Further instructions were that if he, for some reason lost the clutch or skipped out of gear, he would use the truck I was driving to slow down. Two hours later we made it down the mountain without incedent. My dad did quite a bit of the mechanical on the trucks when they got to Eagleville (our summer range). If they broke down prior, nearer Gerlach it would generally be repaired at my uncle's Heller ranch. I did find an old SOR catalog in the jockey box with a sticky notes written in it from Mr. Spector about one of the ones that he bought of the fleet. Also, I found a nose brand under the driver seat and the original jack and three handle pieces. View attachment 2504486View attachment 2504487View attachment 2504491View attachment 2504494View attachment 2504495
Sorry, there is a great deal to respond to here. @middlecalf.I do know Mr. Peterson and his family. My brother is a range con. We sometimes help them ship in the fall. Do you run on open range as well? I love the Sweet, Ola, and Brownlee areas. It's beautiful out there. Thank you all for the interest. When I get more info I'll try to pass it on.
 
We run only on private ground in the summer now, we used to run on some deeded and adjacent leased state ground up by Packer John but haven’t done that in a number of years. John P. subleases that land now from us and often overnights a band or so on our land just above us in Brownlee. In fact I just saw him a couple weeks ago as he was bringing a band down from Brownlee.
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Back to topic of cruisers, that is one sweet original ‘65 FJ45 you have there. Love the canopy, very basque-es! Thanks for posting and sharing. Paul
 
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Man, there are so many great stories here.
 
I guess I've come full circle.

One of my earliest memories is riding along in the seat of a FJ55 that belonged to my dads boss at the time, probably circa 1982-3 and I would have been about 4. It was the company site vehicle and Dad seemed to have it on weekends to do house building stuff. My memory is that of letting the dog out in front of the car and chasing/ following him down a dirt road into what is now a forest park. Its a memory filled with sensory overload, the noise of the car, the smell of the bush and physical limitations of not being able to see over the dash!

Forty series were always plentiful growing up. Every second builder had one, always use to see troopies unloading kids at the beach or sporting events.

Fast forward thirty years and I own a BJ42. Naturally aspirated 3B, 5 speed, disc brake, power steering, ARB rear end. Lots of fun, but the trips to the beach caught up with it and it was time to part ways.

After a couple of years of missing the beej, and looking at numerous for sale ads for 45, I found my current ute. Below is the day I picked it up.
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It then went on to have a starring role in @cult45 's short film, and was put in to light duties moving other peoples stuff and basically being a conversation starter wherever it went. Has been used to haul parts for my dads 47 on 80 project, and general ute stuff. Its a good old rig, honest and straight forward, but family meant a change was in the winds.
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So here we are, full circle. Had the 55 for a couple of months now, will be going in for some rust work and disc brake upgrade soon. By the time its back on the road my son will be the same sort of age as I was when I formed my memories. What hasn't changed is the "old toyota smell", a mix of bull dust, petrol, burnt oil and old grease. I'll try and save him from the burnt thigh syndrome from an Aussie summer that I and many others endured over the years, and hopefully be able to create some lasting memories.
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As for the 45, sadly our time together is drawing to a close. Sad, but things change and need to move on.
 
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That is amazing! that is my truck with Marv sitting in the back, and me driving. It was at the Las Vegas TLCA Glitter Gulch Gambol.... 1986.... hard to believe this plaque has been on my tool box for 34 years.
I will pass this photo on to Mrs. Spector

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It was about 20 years ago that I saw a picture of the WARN fj45 in four wheeler magazine(huge on 44 inch tires)and just had to have one! I started searching (pre internet days) and remembered a funny looking fj40 with a bed! in my old neighborhood,so I went to see if it was still there and to my surprise it was.First time I ever saw a 45 pickup in the flesh.I knocked on the door and talked to the owner,he was willing to sell,so I offered him 1500,(18 years old at the time and 1500 was a stretch,and he said he wanted more.So I left heartbroken,and came back 2 weeks later and learned that he had sold it for $2500!!!:doh:. So after I stopped crying!! the search continued and I remembered another cruiser from the hood,that was parked next to my buddies house from elementary school! I always rembered it as being a 55 wagon and thought why not go see if it was still there.After 17 years, it was still parked in the same spot!!! But wait,it has an fj40 frontend on it!! You can imagine the feeling I got when it was indeed an fj45 wagon.I didnt even know they made a 45 wagon! I had to have it and knocked on the ORIGINAL OWNERS door and turns out he was getting ready to put it in the local auto trader.I asked how much he wanted and he replied..I would like to get 8 or 900!!!I told him I would give him $900 and the first of what would be many 45's was mine.I ended up selling it a few years later to purchase a 65 fj45 lwb.Gumby on the board now owns my old 45 lv and is currently restoring it!! Lets hear some stories, I will dig up some old photos of the lv with original paint!!!
You know what's funny our paths have crossed for many years even though we didn't know each other, but since I've met you at swap meets and dream machines. I remember living in Redwood City and on multiple occasions driving on Edgewood Road I would encountered you driving a white FJ45 which I would drool at, then the green goblin, troopie, etc. I even stalked were you lived. Back in the early 80's my first FJ45 encounter was on 101 in the Belmont area where I encountered a green FJ45, over the years I would encounter the red FJ45 that a Doctor owned, he lived on Skyline and I would see it regularly at what is now Toyota 101. I could never afford an FJ45 and finally my chance became a reality 2.5 years ago. I now own this bad boy that I just discovered yesterday had an IHMUD thread of it's own. 1980 FJ45 in Dubai - Saved From the Sands - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/1980-fj45-in-dubai-saved-from-the-sands.829317/
 
Well, here is how small the Fj45 world is! The first 45 truck I tried to buy was a green one in Belmont !!! I ended up buying a red 45 from a dentist around 2012!!!( it popped out of gear and rolled down a hill and off a cliff!! We need to meet up, I am just down the coast , stop by anytime!!
 
Well, here is how small the Fj45 world is! The first 45 truck I tried to buy was a green one in Belmont !!! I ended up buying a red 45 from a dentist around 2012!!!( it popped out of gear and rolled down a hill and off a cliff!! We need to meet up, I am just down the coast , stop by anytime!!
I know where you are in San Gregorio, we have friends in La Honda up the hill from Apple Jack's and I always look to see what's on your yard :) when we drive by. Do you still have the gray whale?
 
Sold the whale! But have A 66 45 lpb, a 65 Fst 40, and a Troopy!! I am always outside, stop in anytime..
 
I remember 3 very significant 45s that took a pretty significant residence in my non-corrupted young brain. I had been a fiend for car magazines from about 6 or 7......I STILL remember the covers and pictures in them going back 35 years, maybe even 40 years. Some kind of weird photographic memory for things that are not important. In any event, when I was early into my 40 obsession, I would buy every 4WD magazine that was out. There were rarely Toyotas in them. However there was a 45 in a 4WD Action Magazine ....must have been in the early 90s....it was purple with a grey soft top.....pretty well rigged out. It was all I could think about for probably a year. That's what started me going on the mythical 45s. I went to college in rural western VA....I was madly in love with my 40 at that time(still currently in love with it) and I knew most all of them around town. However one day, I caught a glimpse of a 45 pickup that I had heard rumors of but had never seen....well I saw it and fortunately got to talk to the owner. I remember 2 things....he was the original owner of his 45 and he said ALWAYS use OEM parts on my 40.....wisdom that I would not listen to. I probably told that story for 2 years to anyone who would or would not listen. Around 94 I had won a trip to Heavenly Ski Resort in Tahoe....we drove from San Francisco to Heavenly....we went thru all kinds of cool towns on that drive. My eyes had nearly fallen out of my skull due to all the Land Cruisers that we were seeing....all kinds. One of them though was a 45 pickup with a beautiful blonde driving. I had figured we crashed somewhere on the drive and I was in heaven :)

Took me selling my beloved 40 to get a 45 finally.....bittersweet for sure. BUT.....I was able to buy back the 40 a few years after I sold it. So all was good....got the 40, got the 45 pickup! Now if had only been able to find that girl driving that pickup near Tahoe in the mid 90s.....
 
I remember 3 very significant 45s that took a pretty significant residence in my non-corrupted young brain. I had been a fiend for car magazines from about 6 or 7......I STILL remember the covers and pictures in them going back 35 years, maybe even 40 years. Some kind of weird photographic memory for things that are not important. In any event, when I was early into my 40 obsession, I would buy every 4WD magazine that was out. There were rarely Toyotas in them. However there was a 45 in a 4WD Action Magazine ....must have been in the early 90s....it was purple with a grey soft top.....pretty well rigged out. It was all I could think about for probably a year. That's what started me going on the mythical 45s. I went to college in rural western VA....I was madly in love with my 40 at that time(still currently in love with it) and I knew most all of them around town. However one day, I caught a glimpse of a 45 pickup that I had heard rumors of but had never seen....well I saw it and fortunately got to talk to the owner. I remember 2 things....he was the original owner of his 45 and he said ALWAYS use OEM parts on my 40.....wisdom that I would not listen to. I probably told that story for 2 years to anyone who would or would not listen. Around 94 I had won a trip to Heavenly Ski Resort in Tahoe....we drove from San Francisco to Heavenly....we went thru all kinds of cool towns on that drive. My eyes had nearly fallen out of my skull due to all the Land Cruisers that we were seeing....all kinds. One of them though was a 45 pickup with a beautiful blonde driving. I had figured we crashed somewhere on the drive and I was in heaven :)

Took me selling my beloved 40 to get a 45 finally.....bittersweet for sure. BUT.....I was able to buy back the 40 a few years after I sold it. So all was good....got the 40, got the 45 pickup! Now if had only been able to find that girl driving that pickup near Tahoe in the mid 90s.....
The 45 in the 4WD Action Magazine was it based out of Colorado and belong to a photographer? If so, Brian from BTB when they were in San Jose before moving to Henderson, NV bought it and had it for sale years ago.
 
Cruiser sickness stared in ‘88 when my brother took me to my first wheeling event. We lived in a suburb of Minneapolis, and there was a ski hill in western Wisconsin (Trollhaugen for those in the area) that held off-roading events during the summer months. It was all lifted Big 3 trucks, a few Jeeps, and one FJ40. I Instantly wanted a FJ40. It wasn’t until I bought my first house in 2001 that I finally had a garage to scratch that itch. I bought a bone stock ‘74 FJ40 the next month. Soon after I rescued a SBC ‘73 FJ40. I thought they were so cool until I went to the first local Cruiser get together and there were tons of 40s there. I realized they were much more numerous than I thought. That’s when I learned about the “unicorn” that was the 45. The hunt was on. Found my 45 a year or so later, but was out of garage space, so the 40s had to go. The 45 was then the only cruiser that mattered. It was my only cruiser for 8 years. I moved into a new house in 2013 with more garage space, so a couple years ago I finally was able to rescue another 40, and very recently picked up a 55, but the 45 is still the go-to when jumping in a cruiser to go out in. I know my 45lpb isn’t rare, but it is still my baby. Plus, being 6’4” tall makes the 45swb a non-starter. I’d like an LV, but I love having the pick-up bed, so for the time being the 55 will have to suffice as my wagon :)
 
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The 45 in the 4WD Action Magazine was it based out of Colorado and belong to a photographer? If so, Brian from BTB when they were in San Jose before moving to Henderson, NV bought it and had it for sale years ago.

That was the one.....I remember the Colorado plates and the pics were gorgeous. Would love to see a pic of it now......I'm sure it would be a little different than I remember. Ha.
 
That was the one.....I remember the Colorado plates and the pics were gorgeous. Would love to see a pic of it now......I'm sure it would be a little different than I remember. Ha.
I got to see it in person at Brian’s shop, who knows what he did with it. I remember he was asking $18k at the time (years ago).
 
I got to see it in person at Brian’s shop, who knows what he did with it. I remember he was asking $18k at the time (years ago).
I don't think it was an early truck, I'm thinking a later model........maybe a diesel....Canadian or something.
 
In 1963 I was 3 years old. Our family moved to Burbank, CA and Walter Hoffmann, the gentleman who lived across the street from us had a yellow '62 FJ40 and his son Bill had a blue '63 FJ40. I watched them drive up and down the street my entire childhood. In '69 my dad bought a 1967 Nissan Patrol and when I learned to drive he gave it to me. I drove it for a few years in high school but when I was on a mountain climbing expedition just after graduation in 1978 he sold it. I loved camping and fishing so at the beginning of '79 I went looking for another 4x4. Looking across the street at the two 40s, I decided I wanted a Land Cruiser. The second day looking for a FJ40 a just happen to see one parked with a FOR SALE sign in the window. It was a 1975 and I bought it for $3,800. 42 years later I'm still driving it every weekend. I've got two great memories of Walter Hoffmann. The first is on the first day that I owned my 40 I had it on my mom and dad's lawn and was washing it. Walter was driving away in his '62 40 and stopped at my curb and said, "Boy I wish I had a new one", and then drove off. The second was that it was Walter himself that told me about the Saline Valley desert. I have been exploring it since 1988. One year I had just came out of Saline Valley and was heading home on the 395 south. Ahead of me I saw a pale yellow FJ40 on the 395 headed north. As we got closer and were about to pass a hand waved out of the window as Walter himself smiled at me as he turned to enter Saline Valley. He drove his 40 until he died in his 70s. I also have a '84 FJ60 and a '65 FJ45LV and when I think of the adventures I've known and the relationships I've made over the last 42 years because of these great vehicles it makes me thankful for the days I watched those two Land Cruisers drive up and down my street my entire childhood.
 
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