Would you drive 500 miles in your cruiser?

Would you drive your FJ40 500 miles in two days?


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I just drove from my house in NC to my college in SC, about 4 hours and 30 minutes or so. Other than the extreme pain in my right knee from pushing down the gass pedal, it was great! I need to invent some sort of throttle control cable.
 
1000 miles/2

I just flew to SD and drove my first cruiser home to PA. It was 1100 or so miles,but a sbc and nv4500 made it ok. I did take earplugs and had no stereo, but a 4" lift and noisy 35's made it loud anyhow. The list of cruiser-friendly mechanics would helped me; the bracket that holds the steering stabilizer on broke! and I found a Toyota dealer to help. There is an ugly stretch of road (I90 in MN) and for about 10 mi the semi drivers were howlin as I was trapped and bouncing ...
 
Did I mention I'm 47? Almost too old to bounce down the road, but I had to have a cruiser!
 
Think about the guys in Who needs a road?. Around the world....

B
 
Hi All:

Oh no! Its back!! After six months, someone just *has* to revive this thread!!

;-)

I agree, I own the Land Cruiser, pay to insure and license it, I've spent a lot of time, effort, and $$ on upgrading and re-building it, so "hell yes!" I'm gonna drive it as much as possible!

Last Summer, while driving the top less FJ40 just weeks after the completion of the rear 2/3s body tub swap/paintjob/roll cage install I had a young guy (20s?) roll-down his car window at a stop light and say "Dude, that rig is sick!" I'm hip enough to know that "sick" is a compliament! ;-)

I'm not adverse to driving the rig a ways to go 'wheeling, but i prefer to go on backroads/rural highways at lower speeds than use the super freeways! Lets' face it, the on-piece transfer cases are *noisy* at highway speeds!

I hope to get my FJ40 down to Moab someday; I'd need to take 2 or 3 weeks off to drive down there! ;-)

Regards,

Alan
Seattle
 
I haven't driven that far in mine but I while I was doing some research on roof top tents I came across an article where a family from Australia bought a troopie and drove from South Africa to Europe. Would love to do that in my 40...

http://dreamers1.com/africa/Africa-01.htm

"We travelled through Africa and Europe from bottom to top, 40,000 km, 20 countries in 8 months from September 1998 to April 1999. Eight months was too short and meant that we had to skip the Middle East. In hindsight we should have allowed twelve months."
 
hell yes I'd drive that far, and a hell of a lot further!
I want to drive all the way accross Canada when my rig is finished some 5000 plus kilometers - don't know how many miles that is...
but yeah, can't wait!
 
Flew up into norther BC, drove a new to me 1984 BJ42 1280kms south in the worst snow storm they had seen in decades.

My face was pressed to the windshield and some of the trip was traveled at no more than 30MPH.

Longest trip of my life, but guess what?????????????


That little cruiser in 30 plus below weather never let me down.

Rob
 
My last fairly long trip killed my '77 FJ40. I blew a head gasket on the way back to North Carolina from Georgia, but I have had better trips in the past. A few years ago I drove it from Anchorage, Alaska to Huntsville, Alabama while towing my wife's Acura Integra. The old Cruiser has driven the entire width of the continent (Alaska to South East or vice versa) five times. I would do it again in a minute (after I fix the head gasket, of course). I won't say those trips were without incident, though. I have a few interesting stories about roadside repairs in the middle of nowhere.
 
WE were near Beaver Lodge, Alberta when an "over adjusted" valve caused a push rod to split right down the middle.
Troubles.webp
Devil's-Cruiser.webp
 
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Dun dat alreddy...

Drove my '45 from 'Lanna to St looey, 620 mile dat is an man.. my butt sore an my ears dey be achin!:grinpimp: Not to mention de leg crampins from de no leg room!
 
skitch said:
Drove my '45 from 'Lanna to St looey, 620 mile dat is an man.. my butt sore an my ears dey be achin!:grinpimp: Not to mention de leg crampins from de no leg room!

I know what you mean. I drove to Alaska by myself with no radio or anything. It was a killer. I got tired of singing out loud and yelling at cows but I had to do something. I sure wish I had some kind of cruise control other than jamming my foot between the transmission hump an gas pedal.
 
First trip: After she sat in storage for 1 1/2 years I ended up driving it from Ogden UT to Killeen TX (1500 some odd miles) after merely changing the oil and adding new plugs. It made it here fine, 73 F 3 spd mind you, but within a couple months after getting here I had to do a valve job. There was so much carbon caked on the seats that it wouldn't even run at that point.

Second trip: Killeen TX to Enterprise AL (approx 8-900 miles or something like that) this time it ended up covering the hood of my wife's car with oil spatter but we made it.

That was the old beast which had tons of problems. The new rig I'd love to take on that kind of trip but the cost of such a trip is just way out there, but for the most part I would be confident in her.
 
Best Trip Ever!!!

I just drove from Tampa to Chicago (1120 miles) in my 79 with 35s, no radio, no power steering (made the mountain section interesting), no heat (it was 35 degrees) and no license plate (its a long story). she ran perfect and if i had to do it again i would not hesitate. it was one of the best adventures i've ever had.
 
Just got back from driving AND WHEELING my 1964 lwb fj45 with 3 on the tree, manual steering and no heater over 3500 miles in 10 days! Weather ranging from 92 degrees in Mason TX to 32 degrees in a heavy snowstorm south of Salt Lake City!

Did I mention stock bench seats! YEEAOUCH!
 
Cool trip Mark. I am about to go on a 900 mile trip this week. I love the stock bench seats, my butt goes numb from the discomfort after a while so it doesnt hurt.:rolleyes: :D
 
VTFJ40 said:
Interstate, probably not. Anything else yes.

CHAT!

I contradicted myself by driving mine over 1100 miles on the interstate this past summer. MTR's and 4.56s did leave a little ring in the ears.
 
In college I used to have a 78 FJ40 with SOA and 35's that I used to drive back and forth between Detroit and Houghton. About 550 miles each way. Fun times.

:beer: :beer:
 
Hell yes!
I regularly drive my 78 FJ40 the 650 miles to visit my daughter in OK. Once drove it about 1800 miles in 40 hours, stopped off at the in-laws on the way out and back for a couple hours sleep. The armstrong steering, bias tires and the stiffest suspension (PO installed a RANCHO kit with re-arched springs?) i have ever been in will were you out, but its still a fun trip.
 
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