November / December 2014 A Publication of the
Toyota Land Cruiser Association www.tlca.org
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November / December 2014
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Trailhead 4 by Todd J. Kaderabek
10
Chapter Reports
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Engineer Pass, Colorado
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by Ciara Cusack
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by David Lee
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by Greg Overton
Membership Application
29
Merchandise 30 Top of the World Trail, Waring Mesa, Utah
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by Kristy Lassiter
The Western Sahara Adventuring Into the Forgotten Badlands of Terra Incognita
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by Damjan Vrencˇur
Truck Tech
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by Roger Brown
The Ultimate Hitch
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Be sure to notify the TLCA of your new address. Toyota Trails is periodical mailed, meaning the post office won’t forward your magazine unless you upgrade to the First Class option ($15.00). Email membership@tlca.org, or call Jennifer Lorincz at (800) 655-3810.
A Publication of the Toyota Land Cruiser Association 104 NW Pecan St. Blue Springs, MO 64014 (800) 655-3810 Membership Services: (800) 655-3810 The Toyota Land Cruiser Association (TLCA) and its publication Toyota Trails are not affiliated with or authorized by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Mike Hess from Wasatch Cruisers piloting his 1977 FJ40 toward the historic campsite of the Donner-Reed Party, just north of the Silver Island Mountains, Utah, during the CruiserFest 2014 City of Rocks Run. Photo by Adam Tolman
ON THE COVER:
with Robbie Antonson
The Elusive Survivor
Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065056 Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail 4960-2 Walker Rd. Windsor, ON N9A 6J3
6
by Frank Ledwell
FJ Cruiser—A Dusty Trail of Memories
Printer: American Web, Denver, CO
Business 21
MOVING?
by Ross Woody
Tech Exchange
Individuals 1,844
Total Membership
Table of Contents
Toyota TRD Pro Series–4Runner
Toyota Trails - Issue #6 Toyota Trails is a bi-monthly publication
Chapter 781
A Publication of the Toyota Land Cruiser Association
Trail Leader
TLCA MEMBERSHIP
42
by Tony Konovaloff
Chapter Directory
44
On the Hunt for Vintage Land Cruisers
45
by Joel Ericson
Premier Business Member Directory
50
Event Calendar
52
Photo Shop
52
Tyler Arnott’s 1998 4Runner scrambling up British Columbia’s Whipsaw Trail. Photo by Charla Downey
BELOW:
T OYO TA T R A I L S
2014 TLCA OFFICERS & COMMITTEES President
Ross Woody 513 Lockwood Drive Vallejo, CA 94591 (707) 235-0247 rosswoody@earthlink.net Executive Vice President
Perry Lowery 6911 Northridge Drive Dallas, TX 75214 Plowery42@yahoo.com
Administrative Vice President
Nick Stone 6020 Lantana Lane Fort Worth, TX 76112 (817) 455-5060 diesel42@sbcglobal.net Secretary
Perry Lowery 6911 Northridge Drive Dallas, TX 75214 Plowery42@yahoo.com Treasurer
Casey Campbell 726 53rd Street Des Moines, IA 50312 (641) 791-8044 (515) 314-3255 cmcampbell@gmail.com Eastern Individual Rep.
Kyle Massengale 122 Chatham Circle Madison, AL 35758 HOTSouthCruisers@gmail.com Central Mountain Individual Rep.
Josh Marten Flower Mound, TX (214) 675-3530 joshmarten@hotmail.com Western Individual Rep.
Marcel Clement 19271 North 78th Lane Glendale, AZ 85308 (602) 206-4776 FJ40_Landcruiser@cox.net International Individual Rep.
Charla Downey R.R#2, Site 13, Box 6 Red Deer, Alberta T4N5E2 ratpuke@gmail.com (405) 354-5505 Administrator
Jennifer Lorincz 104 NW Pecan St. Blue Springs, MO 64014 membership@tlca.org Marketing Vice President
Bill “Billybongo” Wright P.O. Box 309 Oceanside, OR 97134 (503) 539-1705 billybongo63@msn.com
Advertising Sales Manager
Chris Hatfield 23600 E. Maples Hills Ave. Parker, CO 80138 (720) 230-6951 hatfieldcb@yahoo.com
Toyota Trails Managing Editor
Todd J. Kaderabek 8 Corbran Drive Fairview, NC 28730 editor@tlca.org (828) 712-1982 Webmaster
Matt Farr 7337 S. Hudson Way Centennial, CO 80122 (303) 918-7099 day (303) 224-0255 evening tlca.webmaster@gmail.com 2
Trail Leader Hello everyone. I hope this issue of Toyota Trails finds you happy and healthy and that you’ve all had a chance to enjoy the great outdoors. You never know if it will be your last chance. For those of us in California, this has been a very difficult summer, as we experience our worst drought in recorded history. Those drought conditions have led to some very large fires in our forests in Northern California. As I write this today, the Kings Fire is threatening to destroy the El Dorado National Forest and the entire Rubicon area. The fire started in Pollock Pines and has closed Highway 50, which is the primary route to the Rubicon Trail. So far, 70,000 acres have burned through areas like Stumpy Meadows and Hell Hole. It is very close to Union Valley Reservoir, Ice House Reservoir, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Loon Lake and Gerle Creek. Because the fire is so large and is growing so fast, Cal-Fire can only attempt to save homes, allowing the fire to burn through the forests. The winds are pushing the fire towards Georgetown, Wentworth Springs and possibly Auburn. Many of our TLCA members are located in these areas and we can only hope that their homes are saved. Rubithon will not be the same. On the TLCA front, we are stable for now but are looking to improve some things for our members and for TLCA. One of those is the web store, as we’ve found that we just aren’t selling enough and it’s costing us too much. It’s also costing far too much to ship many of your purchases, which hurts sales even more. Our Webmaster, Matt Farr, and our Board Members, Bill Wright, Casey Campbell and I, have the taken on the task of finding a better way to do things. More to come on that later. I got the chance to go to the Jefferson State Cruisers’ event, The McGrew Trail Ride, in July with my daughter Hannah. We both had a great time and we were able to get up a day early to
join the main group on Friday. The Smith River is one of the last wild rivers on the West Coast and it runs right through the camp area. We had a great day just floating in the river and I had another chance to meet and talk with both new and old TLCA members about their vehicles and their experiences with TLCA. Jefferson State Cruisers’ Saturday potluck was one of the highlights as the club brought up a “La Caja China” box to cook a whole pig. It was very tasty! On the home front, I decided to repair the Rubicon Trail damage to my FJ Cruiser. While it’s shiny and pretty now, it also looks a little sad having lost the battle scars. There are seven years of trail runs and beauty marks gone but I know I will take it out again and get new ones. Thanks for taking the time to read this again! ROSS WOODY
TLCA President, Member #7,704
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
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T OYO TA T R A I L S
Toyota Trails Publishing Office
8 Corbran Drive Fairview, NC 28730 (828) 712-1982 Managing Editor
Todd J. Kaderabek editor@tlca.org Design and Production
Evolutionary Graphics charlie@evolutionarygraphics.com Technical Editor
Robbie Antonson: techeditor@tlca.org Advertising Manager
Chris Hatfield (303) 324-8751 hatfieldcb@gmail.com
Editorial Submissions to:
Toyota Trails 8 Corbran Drive Fairview, NC 28730 editor@tlca.org (828) 712-1982 Truck Tech Editor
Roger Brown P.O. Box 61092 Sunnyvale, CA 94088-1092 Phone: (408) 247-0422 Fax: (408) 247-1246 r.c.brown@ieee.org Advertising and Editorial Deadlines
January/February issue, due November 15 March/April issue, due January 15 May/June issue, due March 15 July/August issue, due May 15 September/October issue, due July 15 November/December issue, due September 15 Business Advertising:
Space must be reserved by above dates. For rates and specifications call (303) 324-8751 or E-mail: hatfieldcb@gmail.com Classified Ads:
See “For Sale” section for rates. Ads run for two issues. Editorial contributions are welcome and should be accompanied with SASE for return of materials. Information in this newsletter is from varied sources and TLCA gives no warranty nor claims responsibility as to the accuracy or completeness. All submissions to Toyota Trails may be published by TLCA in different media. TLCA holds copyright over material published in Toyota Trails, on the web and in promotional materials manufactured by TLCA. All material published in Toyota Trails is protected by copyright. No material can be used or reproduced without express permission of the Publisher.
T
here I sat on the side of the road in my Land Cruiser, watching yet another of my Land Cruisers going down the highway with a new owner at the wheel. It’s always a strange feeling but this time, I was genuinely at peace. Having spent years (literally) working on that FJ40, this might seem strange. There was indeed a lot of time, effort, blood and sweat (but no tears) invested in the truck. It had occupied our time and a place in our lives for quite a while and there was definitely a hole created by its absence. Still, it seemed like the right thing. If I’m being honest, we covered maybe 300 miles in the vehicle in 2014—fewer than that the previous year. While piling up miles is never the goal with a vintage vehicle, a lack of use can be an indication that a change may be in order. In our case, we simply lacked the time to use the vehicle and that was honestly the deciding factor. Looking toward 2015, I foresaw even less time to drive the FJ40. New job, college visits, time spent pursuing whitewater slalom racing and a dozen other things led me to finally bite the bullet and list the truck for sale.
There were a lot of basically new parts on the truck, including the suspension. When I have replaced suspensions in the past, I’ve generally taken the truck out for a weekend, then checked all the components throughout the weekend and have given the truck a thorough inspection when I got home.
A Publication of the Toyota Land Cruiser Association
But when 500 miles of use takes place over two years after the suspension is replaced, this sort of inspection can be overlooked. And in this case, was definitely overlooked. I can’t begin to tell you how dismayed I was to learn that while driving the vehicle home, the new owner noticed that the
104 NW Pecan St. Blue Springs, MO 64014 (800) 655-3810 Membership Services
(800) 655-3810
bolts in the rear spring hangers had backed out. Thankfully the springs remained in place and no one was injured—and there was no damage to the vehicle. That was just lucky though and we can’t rely on luck. We have to take seriously the responsibility for safety—both our own and that of others. An inspection of the suspension components would have quickly revealed the problem but on a vehicle that saw little use and that sold quickly, this did not happen and I bear 100% of the responsibility. I should have inspected the new suspension even after limited use and I did not. I certainly should have inspected it prior to sale of the vehicle. Shame on me and again, I’m glad no harm came to the new owner or the vehicle. Don’t follow my bad example. With winter around the corner, now is the time to begin the process of being ready to safely use these vehicles in the spring. Take this responsibility seriously. Your life and the lives of others are at stake. Be safe.
And then it was gone. It took no time at all to sell it and related, I did very little prep of the truck. I didn’t even wash it—just dusted it off a bit. I was still locating parts when the prospective buyer showed up. In hindsight, this was a mistake.
Printer:
American Web, Denver, Colorado. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065056 Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3.
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Trailhead
TODD J. KADERABEK
Fairview, North Carolina
In the previous issue, we credited Tony Konovaloff as the author of, Do-It-Yourself Pressurized Water. Eric Burch is the author. We regret the error.
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
18443CabeToyota:Layout 1
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FJ55 REPRODUCTION 1/4” GLASS SEALS These FJ55 cargo weather strips are an excellent reproduction of the originals made with high quality materials for factory quality fit and durability. -DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME-
Each + Tax
OR
Per Pair + Tax
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FJ55 TAILGATE UPPER GLASS SEAL An excellent quality reproduction made with superior materials for even better durability than the original. Each + Tax
-DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOMELimited to stock on hand. Prices subject to change without notice.
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T OYO TA T R A I L S
TOYOTA TRD PRO SERIES
4RUNNER by Frank Ledwell
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The moment I stepped off the elevator and saw the inferno-draped TRD Pro 4Runner glistening in the sun with “TOYOTA” emblazoned on the grille, I was admittedly smitten. So it’s no wonder that after visiting with the team who developed the truck, I had become impatient to actually get onto the road and eventually offpavement to evaluate its driving capabilities. In short, I was thoroughly impressed.
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
Interior and Exterior Of the three TRD Pro Series trucks, the 4Runner features the most aesthetically pleasing and sensible interior. The materials look and feel very high-end (unlike in the Tundra) and the instrument cluster, dashboard, door panels, steering wheel and seats are top notch (not so much in the Tacoma). Perhaps it’s because this is the only truck of the three fully built in Japan but it could also be that the vehicle is not a truck—it’s an SUV. The TRD Pro 4Runner shares its interior with the Trail Edition 4Runner, including an intelligently laid out instrument cluster which provides all the information you need in a simple yet modern arrangement. Big, simple knobs for radio and climate control are dummy-proof, appropriate power outlets with USB-integration are thoughtfully placed and the leather-wrapped seating is quite comfortable with prominent TRD Pro stitching.
The interior of the 4Runner is very nicely appointed.
This skid plate means business.
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High-end finishes are found throughout the interior.
There is no mistaking that Toyota intends this 4Runner to be taken off-road.
The grille of the TRD Pro 4Runner is extremely aggressive.
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NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
Additionally, the seating is extremely comfortable in the back of the vehicle with plenty of legroom, making the 4Runner an excellent option for families who need ample space to go on any adventure without suffering from cabin fever at the end of the journey. There is also lots of cargo space in the rear to allow for integration of storage drawers, a fridge/freezer and all the gear you’ll need for a long weekend in the backcountry. The shift knob and floor mats incorporate TRD Pro badging so anyone who enjoys the ride knows they are riding in a purpose-built truck. And the prominent Toyota name on the front grille not only looks better than the front grille of the stock and Trail Edition 4Runner, it fills the space better.
Performance The TRD Pro 4Runner’s on-road and offpavement characteristics are impressive, with an active suspension that delivers extremely comfortable on-road handling and exceedingly functional travel while driving off-road. As is the case with each of the TRD Pro trucks, a Bilstein suspension is the heart of this vehicle’s namesake. The front and rear digressive piston and valve design provide an additional inch of wheel travel versus the Trail Edition, with significantly larger pistons (60 mm versus 32 mm OEM; 18 mm shafts versus 12 mm OEM up front; 46 mm versus
The 4Runner’s off-road manners are impeccable.
32 mm OEM, along with remote reservoirs in the rear). The front springs are also TRDtuned, providing an additional inch of lift. This translates to a more comfortable ride with more wheel travel and exceptional capacity under load, which is important for adventure travel over varying types of terrain, particularly when loaded with all the gear most overland-style travelers incorporate into their adventures. Additionally, the TRD Pro 4Runner incorporates a fully functional, quarter-inch thick front aluminum skid plate, which also creates an aggressive look. Seventeen-inch black TRD alloy wheels are mounted with Nitto Terra Grappler A/T tires and while the tires chosen are specific for the 4Runner (the TRD Pro Tacoma features BFGoodrich A/T KO and the Tundra uses Michelin ORP rubber), I’d be very curious to see how all three TRD Pro trucks perform with BFGoodrich’s new KO2 tire.
Nitto Terra Grapplers are the perfect fit.
To assist the vehicle in any driving conditions, the TRD Pro 4Runner features front and rear locking differentials, along with Crawl Control and a multi-terrain selectable system, which the vehicle shares with the Trail Edition. This sophisticated system helps remove a lot of the guess work when driving off-road and not only helps those who are new to off-road driving feel comfortable with traveling off-highway but also compli-
ments the driving skills of more seasoned off-road drivers.
Overall Impressions After having spent a significant amount of time in each of the TRD Pro vehicles, I have to say the 4Runner is undoubtedly my favorite. The quality of materials in the interior, along with its comfortable seating, cargo space and tuned suspension have me thinking this could quite possibly be one of the best, if not the best, 4x4 vehicles straight from showroom floor. It’s certainly a fantastic option for families who desire a vehicle that’s not only purpose-built for off-road travel but also extremely comfortable when driving around town and on the highway. PHOTOS BY FRANK LEDWELL AND DAVID DEWHURST
Frank Ledwell is the Editor-in-Chief of OutdoorX4 (www.outdoorx4.com) and has been Editor and Publisher of several consumer titles and industry publications since 2006. He is a member of the Texas Auto Writers Association and his articles on off-highway travel, adventure destinations and product reviews have been featured in numerous publications. Frank resides in Texas with his family. 9
T OYO TA T R A I L S
Send technical questions to: Robbie Antonson, TechEditor@tlca.org
Tech Exchange with Robbie Antonson
W
ell, here it is fall already— the time of year with some awesome changes in the air. Snow is on the way and I am looking forward to playing in the snow this year. I know, not everyone likes snow but I do. And the rest can just hate me because I like to ski. Ever wonder where my email address comes from? It’s my love to strap on some long planks and play on the snow! Anyhow, I have a few things to share about work and one interesting trail fix. I recently worked on my wife’s 2007 4Runner, doing the transmission oil change as well as an engine oil change. Her 4Runner has the 4L V6 power plant. During this time, I found a coolant leak from the water pump. I also found the serpentine belt idlers making noise and the tensioner pulley for the serpentine belt additionally making noise. I want to alert people and give a part number for the tensioner pulley. Toyota will only sell you the tensioner pulley with the tensioner and bracket. And this bracket is in one interesting place to install. To install the tensioner and bracket, you will need to remove the A/C compressor or at least loosen the back bolt and remove the front two bolts. The bracket for the tensioner is part of the support for the A/C compressor. To remove the water pump, you will need to remove the upper idler bearings for the serpentine belt and remove the tensioner bearing. I ended up using two new Toyota idler bearings. I bought the upgraded type and also needed to buy a spacer washer to mount these bearings—they do not come with the new bearing.
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I did not want to buy a whole new tensioner and bracket assembly so I went to NAPA to come up with a solution. My trusty counter guy (who I like a lot), Lalo, helped me find the perfect match for the tensioner pulley. It is a Gates pulley made in Canada, part number 36174. You will not need the bolt and the spacer that is also in the kit. Just remember that the tensioner is a left hand thread, not your normal right hand thread, so loosening is like tightening most other times. On the stock Toyota bolt, mine had an L stamped on it for left hand thread. So continuing on to the removal of the water pump, I also needed to remove the power steering pump on the side of the engine. This was easy. Now that I had all the tensioners and pulleys and the power steering pump out of the way, the water pump could come out. I cleaned up the surface of the block and installed the water pump, then did a reversal of the removal of all the parts. I then filled it with new coolant and did the engine oil change. Yes, if you are wondering if I removed the fan clutch and the fan shroud, I did. One other note is that the thermostat is part of the inlet to the engine. This part is thermoplastic and the thermostat is very similar to past generations of thermostats that Toyota has used. However, this one is special because it is part of the filler neck and it will cost you $50. That is how special it is, whereas a typical thermostat price is about $18, so Toyota has you by the short hairs on this one. I did not see that this plastic part needed replacing and I have seen some other engines in the Toyota line that use plastic and the thermostats are not part of it. I guess the engineers now do not trust the technicians to place the thermostat in properly. With this part, you cannot mess the
placement up. It is either that or they want to make more money off of us. I then started the engine and made sure it was topped off, checking the oil for the proper fill level. Then I began on the transmission. The five-speed automatic is a wonderful transmission. I love its performance. However, Toyota recommended that the fluid be changed basically never when the truck first came out. Down the road, they started recommending a fluid change every 60,000 miles. I never really paid attention to all this really well. I have only done one of the transmission fluid swaps in the past. That experience was not really fun so I let my wife’s transmission go to 140,000 before the first change. Boy, was it ever black. To swap out this fluid, you have to support the vehicle (FJ Cruiser, 4Runner or Land Cruiser with the same five-speed automatic) on all four corners. It needs to be fairly level or equal to the rake of the vehicle when it was new. The fluid temperature can only be between 111 degrees F and 133 degrees F. I tried to keep it around 120+/- degrees. I used my scan gauge to tell me the temperature or it would not be easy to tell the proper temperature. My transmission would only drain three quarts at a time so I drained and filled it four times. To get the temperature of the transmission to 120 degrees, you need to start and run the vehicle to circulate the fluid and get it warm. There is no dipstick on this transmission but there is a fill hole at the back of the main body of the transmission. It is 24 mm and the drain plug is also typical with a 14 mm head. The level fill plug is the one that takes a Torx male bit.
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
So I would fill all three quarts into the pan through the big hole, then run the vehicle until the transmission was about 120 degrees and then drain out the fluid. I did this a total of four times and by the fourth time, I had a reasonably reddish color to the fluid. How do you know the transmission is full? By removing the Torx plug with the engine running and waiting until only a slight flow of fluid is coming out of the hole. There are a few write-ups with photos online. That is what I did the first time I tried this, after I read several threads. I also looked at Toyota Information Service but drawings are not as nice as photos. During this time, I also greased the driveline u-joints and looked over other parts of the 4Runner. My wife was going to visit her sister and I wanted to make sure it was safe to drive. I was glad that I did. Now I know that running 140,000 miles on the World Standard ATF is not really great but still did not seem to hurt her transmission. Live, experiment, learn from what transpires…. The next little story may help those stranded by their more modern vehicles. I was home on the weekend relaxing when I heard my cellphone ring. I looked and it was from a buddy that I really did not want to chat with at the time so I did not answer. Well, it was a good enough buddy that he knew our home phone number so he called it and I answered. He was stuck on Red Cone Pass and the FJ Cruiser he was riding in (which belonged to a friend) would not start. They had shut it off at the summit and walked around and when they got back, it would not start. They had been trying everything to get it started. I started talking them through how to see if they had fuel pressure, spark, etc. He stated that it seemed like there was no spark and sure enough, no spark. Then it hit me. I once had a situation like this with the FJ Cruiser Trail Teams. When we went to a parking lot to pick up some of the FJ Cruisers for the start of the year, one would not start. I tried and tried—everything. It was after hours in the parking lot and getting dark. I had spent about an hour trying everything: looking at fuses, looking for fuel and spark, etc. No such luck.
Then I looked at the key and it dawned on me that it was not a chipped key. So I asked the guy with the key to see if there was another one—and I hope it was a chipped key. I was lucky that day and the guy with the key had another one—and it was a chipped key. The FJ Cruiser started right up and we drove it off and headed out. So I asked my friend what had happened between the time they left their FJ Cruiser on the summit and when they returned. I had to ask a couple more questions but he chatted with his buddy and they got back on the phone. He had fallen with the key in his hand and had broken the key fob with the chip in it. With no battery to power the fob, it was messed up. Luckily, he said he had a spare at the back of the FJ Cruiser, in a magnetic holder. He retrieved the holder, pulled the key out and while holding his breath, tried to start the FJ Cruiser. And it worked! I heard the engine start and they let out a whoop and laughed and said they owed me big time. It pays to carry a spare chipped key for the newer vehicles. Even if it is the valet key, it could make your day a good bit brighter.
Reviving a 1966 FJ45LV Hi Robbie, I recently purchased a 1966 FJ45LV. It currently doesn’t run and there is no telling when it last ran. I’m not naturally mechanically inclined but thankfully I am a member of the Olde North State Cruisers and several friends from the club have offered to help me get this old truck back on the road. One guy has had some recent success in getting some old trucks running again but he does not consider himself to be an expert. I have searched the Internet and have come across a lot of advice on the steps to take in restarting an engine that has been sitting for an extended period of time. I was wondering, do you have your own checklist you follow or do you know of one you would recommend? Thanks. David Miller, TLCA Member #19,611
Hello David: The following would be my approach, in this order. Drain out the engine oil, then replace the filter and add fresh oil (knowing it will be used to clean out the oil system). As the old oil drains, look for any signs of water or coolant. If coolant, then you may have other issues, like freeze plugs popped out behind the side cover behind the distributor. Replace the drain plug and fill with fresh oil. You may also want to remove the distributor and using a drill with a long screwdriver tip, pre-lube the engine. If it has been sitting for a really long time, any oil on the bearings will have migrated away from the surfaces so pre-lubing will help. This pre-lubing typically only lubricates the bottom end, cam and fills the filter. It typically will not oil the valve assembly. These rotating parts can only be lubricated if the cam is rotating and the cross drilling has aligned properly to lubricate beyond the cam to the head. But by getting oil to the cam, it will take less time. Next remove the spark plugs and put about one tablespoon of oil in each of the cylinders. Some folks prefer a product like Marvel Mystery oil for this process. It is thin oil that will lubricate well. Allow it to soak for a bit before turning over the engine. Then remove the valve cover and look at the valves to see if there are any issues. Sometimes it may help to see if there are water issues beforehand. Now drain out the fuel and the fuel lines, replace the fuel filter and disconnect the lines at the carburetor to allow the engine to pump old fuel out of the fuel lines. Hook up the old hose and allow it to run into a jar or bucket to pump it all out. Look in the carburetor bowl for fuel (I am hoping it is all evaporated). If you have coolant in the radiator, that is a plus. You can add water to look for leaks or let it go until it starts. If no coolant, then you may have a leak or a freeze plug blown out but I would not worry about this until it runs. You can run an engine for a bit with no coolant in it. If it starts and runs, then I stop it and fill with water first, then coolant a second time if the water comes out looking OK—no rusty looking water and no leaks.
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Then install a fresh battery or a fully charged battery. I try turning the engine over by hand first, after I have pre-lubed the bottom end. Then without the coil hooked up to 12-volt power, so the coil does not provide spark, try to turn it over with the starter to lube the cylinder walls and to get any fuel out of the system and to circulate the oil. After a bit of turning the engine over, I stop and hook everything up. This includes the fuel lines with new fuel filter, putting the spark plugs back in, and hooking up the coil. Try to start it. If it starts and you did not add coolant, add water and see if the system holds. You may find leaks at this point. If I have knowledge that the engine ran before it sat, then I wouldn’t suspect too much being wrong. But If I had no knowledge, after pre lubing and oiling the cylinder and rotating, I might take a compression test to see how the engine’s compression is before trying to start it (but only after prelubing to not hurt the bearings). If I have low compression or no compression and the engine rotates well, I would suspect some issues, such as valves not seating well or a bad head gasket (especially if it does not turn over by hand). If it will not start with fresh fuel and you have spark, maybe try a bit of ether. If the fuel in the tank is really rusty, you may want to try to run it out of a bucket or small fuel can, especially if you see fuel in the bowl area of the carburetor. I recommend ether because it will compression start if needed. Some people like WD40 but I do not. Don’t use ether for a long time, unless it is the ether with upper end lubricant mixed in. If it will not start and you have spark, it may be an issue with a passage in the carburetor, especially if it will run on ether but not with the carburetor. I hope this helps. If there is any confusion, ask me. Robbie
Hi Robbie, I’ll let you know how it goes but I suspect it might be as long as one month before everyone’s schedules will allow. Thanks again! David Miller
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Hello David: I have heard from some people where they just go and try to start these beasts after sitting for a long time with no negative effects. I personally would rather take the time to make sure I will not harm what may still be good. But it is all a choice. You and some of your friends may want to do things differently or in a different order. Good luck with the choices and have fun with the 45LV. Robbie
Hi Robbie, I’m with you in that I’ll take my time to ensure I don’t do any harm to the motor. Thanks. David
New Wheels & Tires Hi Robbie,
What kind of shape is the engine in? How is the rest of the drivetrain? Worn or in great shape? Catch you soon. Robbie
Stubborn Crankshaft Bolt Hi Robbie, Thanks for reading this email and thanks for all you do for TLCA. My question concerns the crankshaft bolt removal and oil pump seal cover removal on a 1997 FZJ80. I tried the starter bump and it did not work. What is the next step as far as getting that crankshaft bolt removed? Is it safe to use one of the bolts accessible via the inspection cover on the transmission? Also, upon completion, what is the best method to torque that bolt back up to the 325-foot pound specs? Thanks for your help.
I have a 1977 FJ40 that is mostly stock. I recently bought some of the stock 15" by 7" steel wheels. I got tired of fighting the rust on my white spoke wheels, which are wider. What is the tallest tire that you recommend for this rim? I have about a three-inch lift. Thanks. Timothy Wishum
Hello Timothy: Most OME lifts are 2.5 inches. These can run a 33-inch skinny tire really well but your gears will not like you much. I would suggest a 31-inch tire unless you re-gear. Also, depending on what part of the world you live in (meaning elevation will get the best of the engine, power-wise) and if your engine is at all tired (meaning old, worn to some degree), you may not want the tallest tire you can fit, unless you are going to fix up the engine or re-gear the Cruiser. So by skinny, I mean no more than a 10.5 inch wide tire. You may also not like a big tall tire until you change to power steering. So a 9.5-inch wide tire will be better for manual steering. Why not tell me more about your Cruiser? How many miles? Has it been re-geared?
Matt Reed, TLCA Member #12,322
Hello Matt: I have never failed to have a bolt come loose with the starter bump method. It may take a couple of bumps but it has always worked. Is your battery old and not very strong? Are your starter solenoid contacts not making good contact? I have a ¾"-drive Snap On breakdown torque wrench I use for both removal (the torque reading end comes off the breaker bar end) and for torqueing. For torqueing the bolt, I use a 6-inch, ½" extension at the inspection area of the torque convertor. I use this extension braced up against one side of the aluminum backing plate of the engine and a bolt on the torque convertor. I imagine that you could do the reverse to loosen the crank bolt as well but I have never done this. I either use my air impact if the radiator is removed or the starter bump method. Moving on to the oil pump cover, I use a number 3 Phillips driver out of an impact driver set. I have a battery impact driver I use to remove the Phillips screws from the oil pump cover. I use brake parts cleaner to clean the slots of the screws with a small
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independent TOYOTA service center TOYOTA 4wd truck & Land Cruiser Specialists
ourney
the j enjoy
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steel bristle brush. I then tap the Phillips driver bit into the screws and use the impact to remove the screws. Before using the impact driver, I would tap the bit into the screw and use a long handle 3/8" ratchet drive with a socket to remove the screw. I typically would have to put pressure on the back of the ratchet to hold the bit into the screw head. If I did not put pressure on the socket wrench, it would typically strip out the screw. When this happens, I would try tapping on the screw with a pin punch to remove the screw. If that did not work, I would need to remove the radiator, drill the screw out and then go on to the next screw. It can be a painful process if the screws strip out. I typically replace the front main as well. I will sand the inside of the pulley to allow it to slip more easily on to the crank and have even lightly greased the inside of the pulley to allow it to slide. If the pulley binds and you do not get a good crush on the gear that drives the oil pump, you could have problems with the engine down the line. Hopefully this helps you. If you have more questions, fire away. Good luck. Robbie
If all this is good, have a helper step on the clutch while you lay under the Cruiser (make sure the parking brake is set and there is a wheel chock or a block of wood under a wheel so it does not roll on you). While the helper is stepping on the clutch pedal, is the fork moving? It should move in and out. If not, then go back to making sure the hydraulic system is working (the fork is moving in and out). Next remove the inspection plate. After the plate is removed, look to see if the throw out bearing is moving. It should move in and out, thus moving in and putting pressure on the pressure plate finger. When the pressure is on the fingers, it will move the pressure plate away from the flywheel, allowing the clutch disc to spin freely. If any of this is not working right, then it may be time to replace the clutch set. Recently a gentleman in the club near me thought his clutch was acting up. After going through all the testing, it was determined that the syncros in his transmission had failed and that was the reason for his transmission not working, even though he thought it was the clutch. Anyhow, for older Cruisers, the factory service manuals are hard to come by. If you plan on keeping your 1968 FJ40, you may want to invest in a book of some sort to help you answers the basic questions that will come up from time to time. Good luck. Robbie
Clutch Problems Hi Robbie, The clutch is not working on my 1968 FJ40. It won't engage or disengage. Thanks. Richard Whitman
Hello Richard: These are the places where I look. I initially look to see if the hydraulic system is working. Is there fluid in the clutch master cylinder? If not, fill it with fluid and bleed the slave cylinder down at the bell housing. It typically takes a 10 mm end wrench to loosen the bleed port. I normally have a gallon jug with a clear line going to it that will fit over the bleed port to contain the brake fluid. Gravity will bleed it typically.
80 Series Diesel Power Hi Robbie, Still running the 1FZ-FE but researching my re-powering options. The new 3.0L Ram Eco-Diesel looks like an ideal engine for an 80 series Land Cruiser for torque (420 ft./lbs.) and horsepower (240). Other than fabricated engine mounts, an adequate sized radiator and a custom adapter and relocated cross member and drive shafts for the eight speed transmission to Toyota transfer case, what electrical gauge sensor issues would you foresee? Cheers. Drew Gilchrist, BC, Canada
Hello Drew: Wow. What a great project. I have thought a bit about this myself. There are some great new power plants coming in the future (if only Toyota would join the movement). But here in the USA, you would need to also look at whatever emissions systems there are on the exhaust and make sure it complies with the local laws (or maybe you live in an area where you can get away with emissions deletes and having the computer tuned for it). Most of these systems are drive by wire, which means moving over the throttle sensor as well. Which side does the exhaust dump on? All the brake systems are for the most part running on the driver’s side of the 80 series. So if you have a driver’s side exhaust system, you may want to figure out the heat. 14
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The fuel tank with the Toyota has a fuel pump in the tank (it pumps at higher pressure than I think you would need as a lift pump). I would remove this gas fuel pump, as it could create a fuel restriction. Put in a fuel sock for some minor filtration. Does this diesel system need a lift pump from the fuel tank to the injection pump? If so, they typically are low-pressure, high volume systems. Depending on fuel demand, you may need to increase the size of the fuel lines as well from the tank to the fuel pump. On an off-road vehicle, a good fuel filter and water separator may be nice. It seems like a bunch of the modern diesel SUV’s and cars no longer have a water separator built into the system. You seem to have thought about a bunch of this but beyond what I have stated, I cannot really think of more issues. But if I do, I will bounce an email your way. Good luck and send a link to a write up if you like. Or write this up for Toyota Trails but if you want to go this route, contact Todd (our Editor) for the details of what you can do. Thanks. Robbie
RPM and another 10 psi for every 1,000 RPM as a minimum. I look at bearings as the primary source of low oil pressure. One thing you may want to look at is oil viscosity. Are you running a 5w or 10w-30 oil? Are you living in Alaska or Canada? What part of the country are you living in? 10w-40 oil is a great weight for these Toyota engines for most places in North America. If you are in one of the warmer places in North America, then you may want to run 20-50 oil in the summer. Anyhow, does this help you? Have more questions? Fire away. Pictures of this adjustable oil pressure relief valve would be cool to see. Thanks. Robbie
FJ Cruiser Locker Versatility Hi Robbie, I have a 2013 FJ Cruiser Trail Team Edition. I would like better control of the rear differential lock. I would like to be able to lock the differential in high gear, either 2WD or 4WD.
FJ40 Oil Pressure Hello Robbie, I have a 1969 Land Cruiser with the variable oil pressure control nut mounted on the engine. What should the oil pressure be at idle and what should it be when running down the road? Which way do I turn the adjustment screw to increase or decrease the pressure?
Toyota has the locking differential set up where it can only be locked in 4WD Low. And even then, it will only lock when a differential between axles is detected. Being able to lock the differential to cross a simple mud hole would be so convenient. Thanks.
Thank you.
Jim Devro, London, Arkansas Edward Fitzgerald
Hello Edward: I tried looking on the Internet for a definitive answer and could not find anything. I have not seen this adjustable pressure device you are talking about. Is this with the oil pump or is it an external device? Most of the oil pumps have a pressure relief valve and I guess with the early F engines, you are able to adjust this (I am assuming this by your description). I have in the past increased the oil pressure in a bunch of different Toyota engines by shimming the spring, thus having more pressure on the relief valve, allowing a high-pressure relief. This is typically only for the top oil pressure you would see at or near 3,000 RPMs. So if you have an adjustable oil pressure relief valve, I would think you would increase the top end oil pressure by screwing in the screw, thus increasing spring pressure on the relief valve. Are you trying to increase low RPM pressure? If so, you are looking at the wrong part to gain low RPM oil pressure. Low RPM oil pressure could be a sign of the oil pump being worn out or the cam or main or rod bearings being worn out (or all three sets of bearings). I believe Toyota's typical low is 4 psi, which is quite low. 40-60 psi is for 3,000 RPM. I have always liked to see about 10 psi at 1,000
Hello Jim: The factory rear locker on the FJ Cruiser is a fine spline metal collar that is moved by an electric motor with a spring-loaded gear system. The spring-loaded system protects both the gear and the electric motor from being damaged. This fine spline collar then locks the axle shaft to the side of the differential carrier, thus locking up the spider gears and not allowing any differential action to happen. So these splines need time to align and lock the axle to the carrier. This statement is not accurate: “And even then it will only lock when a differential between axles is detected.” Nothing is really detected by a computer. The splines need to align; mechanical action is needed. All manual FJ Cruisers were a full time 4-wheel drive system and all the 4-wheel drive FJ Cruisers were a part time system with selection of a full time setting as well as a locked center (both manual and automatic transmissions). You make it sound like you have an automatic transmission and are running around in 2-wheel drive and then wanting to go through a mud puddle. Is my assumption correct? If so, the simple act of driving around in 4-wheel high with the center locked will provide you with a great amount of traction. This will also 15
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allow ATRAC to work and move you through this mud fairly well, if it is truly a simple mud hole. I speak from experience when I say that ATRAC will work great for simple mud but not really deep mud. But if it is thick gooey mud that requires both a front and rear locker, you may need to use chains or buy an ARB air locker for the front. Some of the aftermarket lockers are instant on and off but nothing in the Toyota factory locker line is instant on and off. All are using mechanical collars being moved by electric motors and a springloaded system to prevent damage to the components. I hope this helps you. Robbie
FJ60 Inclinometer Installation Hi Robbie, I am trying to get information about installing an inclinometer in the dash of my FJ60. I just bought an inclinometer that fits in the dash under the radio. When I remove the blank cover plate, there are no mounting tabs in the dash to support the inclinometer. Also, I do not see any plug to power the lights/clock for the inclinometer. Is there some secret to installing an inclinometer? Is there a webpage that addresses this installation? I think I can get the electrical sorted but am stumped on getting the inclinometer mounted within the dash because there are no mounting tabs to secure the inclinometer. Also, the opening is smaller than the inclinometer and there are no escutcheons to hold the inclinometer face in place. How is this done? Are there any step-by-step photos that show the inclinometer being mounted in the dash? Thanks. Roy Beeson
Hello Roy: I have never seen an inclinometer in an FJ60. I will look a bit for you but in the meantime, look at Spector Off Road's website. Page 177 is a parts diagram of the dash. It does show that the inclinometer goes in place of the cubbyhole above the ashtray and to the right of the heater controls. I am working on a 1985 FJ60 tomorrow and will take a look and see if it still has the cubbyhole. Here is a link to Spector Off Road webpage: http://www.sor.com/cat177.sor. It looks like you would remove the cubbyhole and then screw the inclinometer right in.
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I would think it was a more popular item in Japan or maybe Australia or some third world countries. It’s very cool that you have one. Robbie
Hi Robbie, Thanks. The inclinometer is from Australia from an FJ60. I have seen pictures of these mounted in the dash. SOR used to sell these but do not have any in stock. I bought mine on eBay. The inclinometers are supposed to go into the opening just below the radio. I removed the slot cover. The inclinometer is larger than the slot so my thoughts were that the inclinometer is to be installed from the rear (removing the dash panel). However, while there are mounting tabs on the inclinometer, there are no tabs on the FJ60 dash. Also, if the inclinometer does not penetrate the dash and there is no surround to lock the face in the dash, the inclinometer will not be "locked" in place and could move when driving on a rocky road. When you look at the FJ60, give me your thoughts. Thanks. Roy Beeson
I have always changed the brake fluid and coolant every two years, in both the Land Cruiser and my Toyota trucks. For nine years, a certified Toyota mechanic worked on my vehicles at the dealership (after hours, weekends, in the good old days when the company allowed it) and out of his shop at home, after hours at the dealership. However, for reasons unknown, he vanished over a year ago. He texted me last Christmas and after that, nothing. It has been a little over 2 years and I am thinking of changing the Land Cruiser brake fluid and coolant. I went to a shop referred to me and the head mechanic told me Toyota vehicles don't need their brake fluid or coolant changed anywhere near that much. He said I was wasting my money. This is the first time I have heard this from a mechanic. I live in Eugene, Oregon, which is not exactly dry and brake fluid is hygroscopic. My intuition tells me that moisture will get into the brake fluid. And anti-freeze breaks down over time. I also own 2 BMW's and every mechanic I have worked with over the last 20 years is fanatical about changing the brake fluid and coolant in these cars. I also change the power steering fluid in all these vehicles, although not every 2 years. All of this has been done with the proper tools needed to do it, especially the ones needed for getting all the coolant out and new in. What is your opinion on this? Thanks.
Hello Roy: I wanted to drop you a line on what I found. Maybe you have already have taken care of it. If so, let me know what you did. The August of 1985 FJ60 I am working on had a slot to the right of the heater controls, very much like in the parts pages shown at SOR. I removed the trim panel; this took four screws at the top and three at the bottom of the trim panel. Then there were two screws holding up the bracket for the ashtray. Once removed, the trim was a bit touchy to remove without breaking. Take your time. Behind the trip panel, the cubbyhole to hold things had two screws on the left of the hole and one screw on the right. Maybe that is where the inclinometer bolts up. This sort of seems like what you want to hear. Maybe there will be a wiring harness to just plug in this part and all will be right with the world. Robbie
Marc Smith
Hello Marc: Short answer is, what your gut and training has told you. Every 2 years for the brake fluid and coolant. I personally do not like the red coolant in the 80 series. And I do recommend that coolant be changed every 2 years as well. But brake fluid, even the new synthetic stuff, I change it every two years or 30,000 miles. Power steering fluid or Dexron III should be changed every 2 years or 30,000 miles. Coolant does break down, mostly in the additive package that prevents electrolysis. The hot and cold additives in the coolant almost never break down. So find a different mechanic who will do what you want. Good luck. Robbie
Varying Opinions on Maintenance Hi Robbie: Since 1985, I have owned 5 Toyota trucks (purchased new for my business), including my current one, a 2012 Tundra Double Cab SR5 4x4. I also own a 1997 FZJ80 40th Anniversary Land Cruiser with factory lockers (128,000 miles). I am a TLCA member and really like the magazine. I have built the Land Cruiser for off-road with ARB, Metaltech, Slee, Kaymar, Old Man Emu, etc. products. It has been lifted with bumpers, winch, rock sliders, skid plates, larger tires, etc. 17
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Chapter Reports Rising Sun 4x4 Club of Colorado It's business as usual for Rising Sun 4x4 Club of Colorado as we continue to get out and enjoy the trails even after the summer season has ended. In fact, some our most storied trail runs take place as the aspen leaves fall and the snow starts to fly. Our annual Spooky Night Run will celebrate its 14th year this Halloween season. This gathering of Rising Sun and TLCA members has become a family staple with kids in costumes, delicious food, decorated Land Cruisers and a full-on night run through the woods on a local trail. Over the years we've had everything from totally uneventful trails rides to all out scary nights with mountain lion sightings, unidentified creatures near the trail and sounds that none of us could explain. They say that Sasquatch still lives in the hills of Colorado and you never know what you might find in the Rocky Mountains under a full moon. Stop by and see us at www.risingsun4x4club.com. Stan Wright TLCA Delegate and Event Coordinator
Capital Land Cruisers By the time this TT hits your mailbox, we will have conducted a successful raffle of the 1977 FJ40 restored by our club and conducted the event raffle for Bay to Blue Ridge Cruiser’s (BBRC) annual Fall Crawl. The truck raffle raised more than $14,000 for the Fisher House Foundation, $9,000 for the Blue Ribbon Coalition and $7,000 for TLCA! Thank you to all the TLCA members, clubs and businesses who contributed to this great cause and helped make it a huge success. 18
Fall Crawl at the Cove Campground in Gore, VA was another great event. It gets better every year. We joined forces with BBRC this year and took on the task of coordinating the general raffle held on Saturday night. Thank you to all the companies that stepped up to donate prizes. We will provide a more extensive list of event sponsors in a future TT. Lastly our club membership continues to grow with new members signing up at almost every meeting. We've added 10 new members in the past year. At our September meeting, we voted Tom Thorton in as a lifetime honorary member in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the club throughout its existence. Next up is getting ready for the CLCC Rites of Spring Swap Meet, scheduled for TBD date in April 2015. Mike Thomas
Olde North State Cruisers I’m writing this report as I recuperate from ONSC’s annual flagship event, Cruisin’ the Carolinas/ Logan’s Run. We fought the weather and won, and all at Uwharrie National Forrest had a hot, sweaty and rainy time. Over 50 trucks attended and carried almost 120 people. One of our long time members, currently on active duty, was finally able to attend this event with his son and even stopped on his way in to buy an early 80’s mini truck so he wouldn’t be out of place while his Cruiser was seeing some shop time. This year’s event was massively dominated by 80s but the 40s, 60s and HZJ75 that showed weren’t afraid of the rocks and mud at all. We also had a great turnout of sponsor representatives who wheeled their own rigs and fit right in with our group. This event keeps getting
bigger and better and continues to draw from other clubs along the East Coast due to the great people and family-friendly environment we’re known to offer. We can hardly wait for next year to do it all again. We’ve had some new purchases in the forms of 40s, 80s and a few 60s this summer. All of them are beautiful in their own ways and even the crustiest of them is still a capable Land Cruiser. It’s almost unbelievable how many of us can’t stop at one. Our summer trip to the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee was a huge success again. This year there were many kids from ages 3-15 along for the ride. It was primitive camping over two nights with no specific plan except to eat, sleep and not hit pavement until it was time to leave. One of the 40s involved was on its maiden voyage after a lengthy reworking and looked mighty good back in its natural element of the untamed wild that was kind enough to offer up a bear sighting. No major carnage has occurred this year, which is great considering that some trucks got new engines, axles or both just days before long, out of state wheeling trips. Our HJ60 conversion, mentioned last issue, came to life just in time for Logan’s Run and is proof of just what can be accomplished when a madman has a dream and the TLCA knowledge base to help guide him. There are still a couple of ONSC events planned before the year is out and we’re working hard to do them up right. We’re also now having regular meetings in three cities to best accommodate our large membership. Please visit us at www.onsc4x4.com or find our clubhouse on www.ih8mud.com. John Vargosko
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
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Gordon Wells crossing the frozen landscape of Engineer Pass, Colorado. Photo by Ciara Cusack
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A Dusty Trail of Memories by David Lee Las Vegas, Nov. 5, 2013: Toyota unveiled the 2014 FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Ultimate Edition at a press conference held at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturer Association (SEMA) show. The FJ Trail Teams Ultimate Edition pays homage to the iconic FJ40 Land Cruiser. A white grille surround and “Heritage Blue” paint scheme show the link that exists between these vehicles—spanning decades from the 1960’s to the present.
TOP: U-boat piloting at the Canadian Press Event—no engines were hydro-locked! This was a good test for the location for the FJ’s air intake.
Photo courtesy of David Lee
The author and spouse camping along the Mojave Road circa 2008. Photo courtesy of David Lee
MIDDLE:
FJ Cruiser owners compete performing a tire change with minimal tools at an event in Hungry Valley, California. Photo courtesy of David Lee
BOTTOM:
RIGHT: The FJ Cruiser left its footprint in Hawaii too, with a loyal community of owners who wheeled in some spectacular places. Photo by Todd Yee, Servco Pacific (Toyota’s distributor in Hawaii)
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Toyota Corporate Product Training personnel get their skills sharpened at the FJ Cruiser training event near Irvine Lake, California.
At the same press conference, Toyota also announced the end of the line for the FJ Cruiser here in the U.S. The 2014 model— including 2,500 Ultimate Editions—will be the last model year sold. As an avid off-roader and Land Cruiser owner, I was saddened to hear this news. It didn’t take long for me to roll back the clock in my mind and revisit the time when the FJ Cruiser was brought to market. For me, the FJ began as a personal desire to see Toyota produce a modern version of the old FJ40 Land Cruiser to compete with the 90-inch wheelbase Jeep products available at the time. I recall asking our Toyota executives about the possibility of building a modern FJ40 at a company outlook meeting held in 2005. They looked at me and grinned, then said there were no plans to do so. It wasn’t long after when things began to take shape for the FJ Cruiser. My best friend in the company is Bruce Hunt. He is currently the Product Planning Manager for Trucks but back in the day, he was the planner for the 4Runner. It was from Bruce that I first got a glimpse of what was to come.
Photo courtesy of David Lee
It was typical for us to have informal discussions on product content and features—usually focused on driveline components. We’d discuss the merits of different types of differentials, lockers, limited slips and the like, and how they might perform on products like the Tacoma, 4Runner or Land Cruiser. Bruce and I were discussing the use of locking differentials combined with a variation of traction control when he said he was working on a project for a new off-road vehicle…. “What…? Really…?” I was shocked. Then Bruce continued to say it was a short wheelbase vehicle…. After I was revived and propped back up at his desk, we continued our conversation.
we would have a very interesting product for sale in the near future. I continued to ask Bruce questions about the dimensions of the truck and possible equipment and driveline configurations. I think Bruce had to finally kick me out of his office that day
It turned out that those executives at the meeting must have known something—that’s clearly why they were grinning at me! Bruce told me that he was the planner for the new short wheelbase vehicle and that the Chief Engineer was Akio Nishimura. I was now paying very close attention. Akio Nishimura is something of a legend within our walls and is known as a very enthusiastic off-roader. With Akio at the engineering helm and Bruce doing the planning work, I reckoned
When asked how the project got off the ground, Bruce recalled, “The FJ type product was a concept we wanted to bring back for many years prior to my involvement. Several long range planning groups worked on projects and studies to convince our parent company that an FJ revival would be welcomed with good volume. It was after the formation of a new group within planning that the current FJ Cruiser concept was born.
By the time Bruce and I spoke, the FJ Cruiser was actually down the road a bit in its development process. Bruce had already been involved for a while and had been quietly working with Mr. Nishimura and the Toyota Motor Sales Product Planning executives to bring the FJ to life. I sat down with Bruce recently and asked him about his experiences with the FJ Cruiser Project.
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After revealing the concept in Chicago, the project was approved.” Hunt went on to tell me how he got the assignment to work on the FJ Project: “I like to say I was doing a good job with my other projects and proved I could handle multiple vehicle planning. But it was more likely I had the least amount of work in the group and got lucky. I also had a good relationship with the Concept Planner, Akio Nishimura, who later became the Chief Engineer for the FJ Cruiser. I think this helped as well.” As it was with many of us at Toyota Motor Sales, Hunt’s job was also affected by working on the FJ. I had to laugh when he told me about his times out test-driving early prototypes. “Off-road testing was probably my most memorable time working on the vehicles. Heck, it got me out of the office and allowed me to do some “genchi genbutsu” (go look and see). While testing on a few black diamond trails in California, we had the top off-road driver in the company help with the test mule. Since I was a novice offroader at best during that time, I watched as our top driver just slammed big Land Cruisers and our Prado (FJ) mule into ruts, rocks and berms—you name it—and was just amazed at this driving style. I thought to myself, ‘This guy sucks!’ Later that night at the test team dinner, the driver came over to me and said, ‘I heard you questioned my driving style.’ I was like, dang, I’m busted…. He told me his job was extremely important to our off-road vehicles. He went on to say his job was to break them (the vehicles) to find the weak points. ‘Once those points are located, then we can make enhancements and improve the performance and durability.’ He added, ‘We have Land Cruisers in some of the most remote places in the world and my job is to make sure those vehicles do not break.’ What an aha moment for me. Much respect for this man!” Hunt went on to explain a bit about the teamwork between the Product Planning and Marketing Departments. “Frank (Gomi) and I worked together on Land Cruiser and Sienna prior to FJ. We had a great working relationship and worked as a team on the transition between planning and marketing. This is when I met Paul (Czaplicki). Paul was a good visionary on how to launch FJ. The decision was made to do grassroots marketing—prove it tours—to show folks FJ was for real and not just a styling exercise. The ‘prove it’ concept 22
FJ Cruisers in action during the inaugural Trail Teams training in Colorado.
led to the creation of the Trail Teams. What a brilliant marketing move.” New product development at Toyota involves many departments and their staff, including designers, engineers (both design and production specialties) and finally sales and marketing staff. Prototype testing is always important to vehicle development and the FJ Cruiser went through rigorous testing both in Japan and in the U.S. Here in the States, Joe Bacal was tasked with off-road testing the FJ. He put the prototypes through their paces in several locations—including the Rubicon Trail. Bacal became involved with the FJ Project in 2005 and was asked to take a lead role in evaluating prototypes. Joe had been
Photo by Paul Williamsen
a test driver at Toyota’s proving grounds in Arizona for some time. Bacal had extensive experience driving on and off-road and over the years had shown his ability to give the engineers great feedback on suspension tuning as it related to overall ride quality and performance—both on pavement and off. The marketing of a new product takes a lot of planning and coordination with the other departments involved. Within the Marketing Department, there are primary groups that work to help get a product off to a good start. A key role in this is the Product Vehicle Marketing and Communications Manager.
Story continues on page 25
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by Greg Overton We’ve all seen beautifully restored classic automobiles. The body comes off, the engine comes out, the interior is redone and every part of the vehicle is evaluated, refurbished or replaced before reassembly. These efforts come with descriptions like, “No expense spared” and “Better than new." The end results can be visually stunning and financially staggering.
Then there’s that “other” genre of classic automobiles. They have the mystique and magic of objects that time has somehow forgotten. You won’t hear about the extensive restoration; it hasn’t occurred. Like an enigma that has somehow turned back the hands of time, lovingly cared for or, in some cases, sparingly reserved for special occasions. “Survivors” appear to be experiencing a newfound appreciation among auto enthusiasts. Survivors may not be perfect, yet that is, in many cases, what makes them perfect. They have transcended the boundary of time and escaped an onslaught of use and abuse. Where the others have failed, they have somehow prevailed. Their owners may have taken them out of the game early or perhaps just had the wisdom to maintain, appreciate and protect what the manufacturer designed and built so many years ago. This is a rare occurrence, especially when it comes to rugged utilitarian vehicles that were meant for work. What qualifies a vehicle as a survivor? Popular opinion says the vehicle must be all original in terms of paint, motor, chassis, drivetrain and interior. Not unlike original art, original vehicles have their own brushstroke and it can’t be duplicated. It’s not possible to duplicate what was originally built at the factory. The metalwork, seams, gaps, welds, paint and all the nuances of how these vehicle were originally 23
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assembled are the result of the time, place, materials and methods used where the work occurred. Survivors tell a story that is typically wiped clean with a restoration. Down to the items you may find under the seats or still resting in the glove box, a survivor retains the essence of its owners and is the reflection of an era. Decades of registration and insurance cards, owner’s manuals, window stickers and often handwritten maintenance records combine to catapult you into the past. The mantra of owners with vehicles in the survivor category is simple: “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it." Can you live with a scratch or would you prefer to paint that hood to get rid of it? Survivor fans say, “Leave it alone!" Survivors have a patina that covers them like a funk from the front bumper to the rear. Once you start replacing parts, that flow is disrupted. In some cases, the need to replace items is unavoidable. Certainly tires are the first thing that comes to mind. While I’ve seen survivors still rolling on their original tires, it becomes a safety issue at some point. Replacing parts in the name of maintenance also does not compromise your survivor tag. Restoring that old classic is rewarding, enjoyable and certainly preferable to sending it to the scrapyard. Let’s face it, however: anyone can write a check. If you’re like a growing number of nostalgic gearheads out there chasing classics, you may find yourself daydreaming about the alluring and mysterious appeal of the rare and somewhat enigmatic time capsules known as survivors. FullPage(bw)wBleed
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2:38 PM
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PHOTO BY P. MUMFORD
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NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
FJ Cruiser—A Dusty Trail of Memories continued from page 22
The FJ Cruiser was initially assigned to Frank Gomi—a veteran Product Manager. Gomi had experience marketing other off-road capable Toyota products and was a perfect fit for the job. Gomi got involved in the project in mid-2005 and worked hard to get the prototype FJ Cruiser ready for its introduction at the Chicago Auto Show in 2006. Gomi completed the early market research, which set the direction for the FJ Cruiser marketing strategy. The program targeted authentic offroaders and Gen X buyers who enjoyed offroading and customizing their vehicles. Gomi explained that the FJ Cruiser had a very positive impact on the market. “Before the FJ Cruiser arrived, the only real McCoy was the Jeep Wrangler. So we added some spice to the body-on-frame SUV market. We truly believe that we created a stir in that market and created a thirst for true off-road capable vehicles.” When asked how he felt about the end of the line for the FJ, Gomi said, “I’m sad and yet happy about it. This run of seven years or so puts a “collectable” cachet to the FJ Cruiser. Kind of like a “Limited” series and should create an aura of desirability to the series. It’s left the market place; however, it created another FJ legacy story.” Entering the fray a bit later was Paul Czaplicki—a veteran of the Marketing and Product Planning Departments. Paul was tasked by Jim Farley—then the head of Marketing—to run with a program of his design that utilized the initial strategy put together by Frank Gomi. Czaplicki was given autonomy to market the FJ Cruiser as he saw fit. This was a bit unorthodox for the TMS Marketing Department at the time but he came to the job with experience as a Product Planner for the Land Cruiser—and as an off-road enthusiast. I think these talents and experience gave Farley the confidence he needed to allow Czaplicki to work unfettered. As it was for me, Czaplicki got wind of the FJ Project as discussions with the Product Planning Department started to take place. Not long after, Farley brought him on board and turned him loose with the task of launching the FJ in a non-traditional manner. Farley had just come over to the Toyota Division
Joe Bacal negotiates his way through the Rubicon Trail.
after running the Scion Division and was known for launching products in unusual and creative ways. Given complete creative control over the program and not a lot of time, Czaplicki set to work. Recently we sat down and I asked him about his experiences with the program. I was interested to know what information caused him to take the program in the directiovn he did. “It (the FJ) was not well received in the initial clinic research,” Czaplicki said. “Consumer targets less than age thirty felt it was a rip off of Hummer. The targets over thirty remembered the FJ40 and had the opposite reaction. This key insight was why we launched targeting the true off-road enthusiasts first and leveraged black and white photography for our print ads. The idea was that we would appeal to true off-roaders with capability. If this group accepted the product, then the younger demographic would see it as a legitimate off-road truck.
Photo courtesy of Joe Bacal
In retrospect, Gomi and Czaplicki were successful in gaining a level of acceptance for the FJ Cruiser in the off-road community. The FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Program was Czaplicki’s brainchild too. “Butts in seats,” Czaplicki told me. “Ride-and-drives are some of the most effective marketing tools we have. TV, web—it’s a passive sort of observation. Print also. Auto shows let you see the product but a ride-anddrive allows you to experience the product. I wanted ride-and-drives to be the cornerstone of the launch. If we were going to effectively convince the enthusiast off-roaders, you had to prove the product.” I’ve always wanted to ask how the Trail Teams got their name, so I put the question to Paul. “In the event world, ‘street teams’ refers to any activation that goes out and
“We wanted to avoid having the FJ labeled as some ‘cute and trendy’ truck. FJ Cruiser is a real off-roader, not just some fashion statement. “Ironically, it was not as important to us if the enthusiast off roader purchased the truck; it was more important that they endorsed it as legitimate. They were the key opinion leaders that the under-forty crowd looked to.”
The Trail Teams drivers during training for the third year of the program. Photo courtesy of David Lee 25
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tries to find the target buyer in a particular environment. The Trail Teams name was just an internal phrase I created to try to quickly explain the idea of taking the trucks to the enthusiasts in their environment. Internal marketing is often as important in selling a project as external marketing. The name immediately conveyed the concept. It’s a bit ironic that we ended up using it as the external communication name also.”
to be a part of the program. As a training guy and an enthusiast, this was a plum project! I had been quietly hoping I’d get the chance to work on the program. My conversations with Bruce Hunt had piqued my interest and enthusiasm and I couldn’t wait to get to work. Visions of testing and evaluating the FJ against various competitors in off-road conditions tantalized me! Like Hunt, I felt blessed to get this assignment!
Gomi and Czaplicki essentially agree that the FJ Cruiser program proved that Toyota could launch and market a new vehicle type with virtually no use of traditional TV advertising. The initial sales targets for the FJ were easily exceeded—further proving the success of their unconventional program strategies. Hunt echoed this by saying that the program proved Toyota could do “niche.” Paul went on to say that the FJ Cruiser infused the lineup with excitement.
Working closely with the key departments, we produced a product training course for the dealer sales associates, as well as introduced the FJ to the news media alongside Farley and Nishimura. I will always have fond memories of the FJ training program events. It was truly a pleasure to be able to talk to people about the FJ and how to use it off-road, as well as on-road. I spent hours describing the use of FJ’s rear locking differential and A-TRAC system, as well as its general dimensions, which made it so capable in the dirt. I can still see the smiles on people’s faces as they left a test course.
I became involved officially at the order of my Manager, Paul Williamsen. I was excited
The FJ seemed to impress those who drove it early on. It was very interesting to see how people reacted to it while driving it on-road too. The FJ’s looks steer drivers’ thoughts towards a rough and tumble vehicle that would have little on-road driving capability. In some ways, I think this was the FJ’s true surprise. Drivers were stunned after spending time in the FJ on a road course. They couldn’t believe how well it handled and rode. Some were further stunned to hear that it could tow up to 5,000 lbs. as well. Throughout the training program development and execution, I consulted with the Product Planning and Marketing Departments as needed, offering my thoughts on topics ranging from vehicle feature content and operation to demonstration course design as well as assisting with ad brochure photo content. On the flipside, these groups made a lot of great suggestions on how we could enhance our program as well. This really was a multi-departmental effort that included a lot of back and forth dialogue.
Kevin Fukuchi (the second FJ planner) and the author out with the Toyota teams near Borrego Springs, California.
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Photo by Bruce Hunt
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
Williamsen and I spent three years helping to train the Trail Teams drivers on Toyota products—alongside the renowned off-road instructor Bill Burke, who got them prepared to show off the FJ and assist potential and new owners in getting to know the FJ. It’s been a bit since I’ve spoken to Bill but I will never forget heading up to his place in Colorado with Bruce Hunt for a good dose of off-road training. I had a lot of experience driving in the California desert and sand dune areas, yet lacked rock crawling and woods trail driving experience. I can still clearly see the look on Hunt’s face as Burke asked him to drive the truck into an area that we both clearly didn’t think a vehicle could fit in. When we successfully drove out of that ravine, Hunt and I were hooked on what we were doing. I saw Burke as a 4x4 God that day and am still in awe of him as a driver—and as a man. Hunt and I came away from a week with Burke with a much more complete picture of how the FJ could be used off of the highway.
The family that plays together… Bruce Hunt and his son at Borrego Springs, California. Photo by Kevin Fukuchi
The Trail Teams drivers also benefitted from time spent with Burke. We couldn’t have had a better instructor for the Trail Teams Program. Burke took the time to teach each driver and blended a serious approach to driving safety with enthusiasm for the trail, the environment and the vehicles. The drivers are a great bunch of folks and it was my pleasure to work with them. I still go off-roading with some of them to this day and I try to keep up with them as they continue to work and play outdoors. In fact, you can find Hunt, Czaplicki, Kevin Fukuchi (Hunt’s successor for FJ planning), Paul Williamsen, myself, and a fairly good-sized cadre of Toyota Corporate folks on the trails here in Southern California. I asked Hunt how he felt about the end of the road for the FJ. I reckon his response says it all: “Get one now! It will be a collector’s item! I view it the same way I view the FJ40s riding down the road— dang, that is a cool ride. Keep driving them!” Working on the FJ Cruiser Project was a fun time in my career and I truly felt like a kid in a candy store. This was one of those times in my life when there was some guilt over taking a paycheck for the work, as it was so fun and rewarding! The work and the friends I met will be a source of good memories for the rest of my life. 27
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today. I’ve personally seen these trucks in testing and they are the real deal. So don’t shed too many tears over the departure of the FJ Cruiser, as Toyota will continue to bring the sort of products to market that keep us dirt-oriented folks excited about our hobby!
A Trail Teams driver contemplates a steep descent at Borrego Springs, California. Photo courtesy of David Lee
The FJ Cruiser changed the culture here at Toyota forever. Although this is the end of the line for the FJ, it’s hardly the end of the line for Toyota and its heritage of building offroad capable products. I asked all of the old team members how they felt about the future of off-roading from each of their perspectives. They responded with enthusiasm and support for the future products.
28
The FJ’s DNA will continue on in the new TRD Pro vehicles—Tundra, Tacoma and 4Runner. Each vehicle will have a unique blend of off-road components that include a suspension that is off-road biased, as well as traction systems and controls that are oriented towards the enthusiast. Hunt and Czaplicki continue to work on these products
David Lee is a senior Product Education Administrator for the Toyota Product Sales and Engagement Department. He has created the sales training programs for a variety of Toyota vehicles including the Sequoia SUV, the 200 series Land Cruiser, the two most recent generations of 4Runner, the current Tacoma pickup and the previous generation Tundra. He continues to develop programs for the Prius family and Avalon sedan and drives extensively in California wilderness areas as well as on various corporate test tracks and courses.
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
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31
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The Western Sahara Adventuring Into the Forgotten Badlands of Terra Incognita
by Damjan Vrencˇur
Damjan & Janja Vrencˇur
are passionate overlanders who concentrate on discovering the less visited parts of the world. After a decade of overlanding trips that led them all over the Balkan peninsula, Turkish Kurdistan, the Syrian and Jordanian desert, and after crossing the Sahara and exploring the sidetracks of Sahel, they realized that the real desert interests them the most. The Western Sahara and its native inhabitants, the Saharawis, anchored in their hearts and so they keep returning, year after year. They have thus far spent more than eight months in the desert of the Western Sahara and more adventure awaits.
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The feeling is genuinely strange. It’s not the first time we (Janja, my wife, and myself) found ourselves alone in the middle of the desert, at least 150 km from the nearest settlement, but this time it’s definitely a different experience. To say the land we are exploring now is not a very popular overlanding destination would be quite the understatement. Word has it that the Western Sahara is one of the most non-travelled parts of the biggest desert in the world. The rare locals living here have two main occupations: smuggling and banditry. And the land is covered with unmarked minefields, left after the sixteen-year armed conflict ended with a ceasefire in 1991. “What the heck are we doing here?” would be the only plausible reaction.
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
But we chose to come here, fully conscious of the possible perils. After researching the subject, it seems that all “knowledge” on what lies within the Western Sahara is really based on rumors, with a positively untraceable history. You could count the overlanders that were able to describe this land from their own experience on the fingers of one hand. No expedition reports, no photos on what lies behind the horizon, no observations from the coastal route that connects Laayoune with the Morocco-Mauritanian border post at Guerguerat.
In our reasonable vicinity, fairly easily accessible, there still exists a land the size of Colorado of which we—and by we, I mean the worldwide overlanding community— know roughly the same as pioneer settlers knew about Colorado two hundred years ago. Tens of thousands of square kilometers spread out unexplored, untrodden by the feet of Westerners. The more we dig for information, the more we understand what Western Sahara really is to a modern overlander: an existing, true, unique Terra Incognita. One of the last of its kind. We just can't resist. “We should give it a try,” is the consensus. After all, if it proves uninteresting, we can still spend some quality weeks overlanding in Morocco.
So we arrive and after three days on a ferry crossing the Mediterranean, two full days of driving south through Morocco and then another two days of dicey driving deeper and deeper into an unknown desert, we are here. Where exactly? The screen of the GPS plotter is empty apart from the information on longitude and latitude, as there are no reasonably detailed GPS maps for the Western Sahara available for general use. The printed maps we have are old Russian topographic charts and while they prove themselves quite usable as far as important landmarks are concerned, they are painfully outdated regarding the wells, settlements and pistes that connect various parts of this country. Where exactly are we? And what bearing should we take?
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Camels gathering at a well.
At the coastal town of Boujdur, we leave the paved road, turning east. The well defined track that we choose soon splits into three or four minor tracks, each of them heading in its own direction, each connecting some remote well, oasis, maybe even a small settlement, with the coast. The tracks all seem the same to us, even to the point that we don’t really care which one we choose. This indifference is hard to explain, let alone justify, but then again, from our viewpoint, everything is new and each track will lead us to some sort of discovery. Unable to explore them all, we are satisfied in knowing that effectively, there is no wrong choice. The rough plan is to push east as far as seems reasonable and then turn southwest, heading towards the coastal city named Dakhla. We are quite successful following this idea, choosing tracks that generally lead in the eastern direction. We cross a flat, stony hamada during the first fifty or so kilometers. Outcrops of grass are definitely not abundant but they evidently offer enough food for numerous herds of camels—interesting animals, unbelievably well adapted to the harshness of life in the desert. Poetically called the “ships of the desert,” camels were the means of transport that 34
Shepherds preparing lunch—the curved trunk of an acacia tree tells of strong unidirectional winds that sweep across this part of the Sahara.
not only facilitated the trans-Saharan trade but made it possible in the first place. Although the camels in the Central Sahara today perform “beast-of-burden” tasks similar to those for which they were introduced to the Sahara around two thousand years ago, here they are mainly raised as a source of staple meat for the locals. The herds we see seem to wander unattended in search of a day’s graze but this is only a first impression. A closer look reveals that every camel carries a sign on its neck, certifying that the animal in question is property of a tribe or family. After a while, we spot shepherd boys, shyly hiding here or there, a nomad tent pitched in the questionable natural shelter provided by a small, rounded ridge that could hardly justify the name. The end of the day catches us at what seems to be the edge of this relatively fertile and populated flatland, just as the terrain became increasingly uneven, beginning to break
into more and more articulated valleys. We choose a convenient spot protected by some bushes and acacia trees for a bivouac. At the end of an intensive day on the trail, a well-planned and smartly implemented camping solution pays off immensely. Satisfyingly tired, a bit hungry, with heads full of fresh impressions that demanded, even cried out to be recollected, rethought and arranged, we aren't particularly eager to break our backs in order to prepare our shelter for the night. So we are quite happy about the simple but effective (and above all time saving) organization of our overlanding gear, a
Story continues on page 38
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
If you are searching for, building, modifying, or maintaining a Toyota 4WD mini-truck (Pickup, Hilux, 4Runner, Surf or Tacoma), send your Truck Tech questions to Roger Brown at TruckEditor@tlca.org or r.c.brown@ieee.org. I’ll try to answer your questions with authority!
Truck Tech with Roger Brown Load Sensing Proportioning Valve-Bypass Valve Hello Roger; I have a 1987 Toyota pickup that I am removing the proportioning valve on. How many brake line plugs do I need? Would I need a female thread from the return line from the proportioning valve to the tee and one other? Thanks. Mike Smith
Hi Mike; On my 1985 4Runner, all I needed was one male plug for the tee up front. I was able to reroute the rear hard line that fed the LSPV directly to the flex line that ran down to the axle. I left the brake hard line that ran from front to back as-is. That said, two female plugs could be used to cap the ends if you wanted or it could be removed. The LSPV—or more correctly, the load sensing proportioning valve-bypass valve (LSPV-BV)—is part of the Toyota pickup and 4Runner brake system. It performs three basic operations, hence the long name. It is typically located inside the left side frame rail, over the rear axle. First, it is a proportioning valve that adjusts the rear drum brake pressure lower than that of the front disc brakes. This is because drum brakes produce more braking effort at a lower brake fluid pressure than do disc brakes. Likewise, the rear brakes also do less of the total braking effort than the front brakes due to the weight shift forward under normal braking. This leads into the second function and that is load sensing. Especially in a pickup, you
The sensor line removed from the front brake tee fitting with a brake line plug installed into the open port of the tee.
can go from a very lightly loaded rear axle when you have an empty bed, to a very heavily loaded rear axle when the bed is filled to the rated cargo capacity. So a long rod that extends down from the LSPV-BV to the axle accomplishes the load sensing part. As the vehicle is loaded with cargo, the rear springs settle, shortening the frame to axle distance. This causes the sensing rod to move upward and that makes the LSPV-BV increase the rear brake pressure accordingly. One point to note is that when people install a suspension lift, they are increasing the frame to axle distance. The LSPV-BV senses this as a very lightly loaded rear axle and it cuts the rear brake pressure to a minimum. So if you are wondering why your braking is so much worse after lifting your truck, you
probably forgot to adjust the LSPV-BV after you installed the lift. The reason for the LS and PV parts of the valve are to prevent the rear tires from locking up before the front under hard braking. However, this leads into the third function, the bypass valve feature. This works by sensing the front brake pressure and if that were to fall for whatever reason, the bypass valve would kick in and boost the rear brake pressure to the maximum to try to compensate for the loss of front braking. This front to rear sensing line is actually the one that causes the problems when bypassing the LSPV-BV. I ran the original LSPV-BV on my 1985 4Runner up until about five years ago when I installed disc brakes on the rear axle. I had been running with the load-sensing por35
T OYO TA T R A I L S
tion of my LSPV-BV disabled for over ten years with no issues. I have a brief description of that modification on my web page: http:// www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_suspension.shtml#ProportioningValve. With disc brakes in the rear, I no longer needed the proportion valve function and without that, there was no need for the bypass valve either. I simply removed the original LSPV-BV. That valve has three male threaded ports: one for the main brake line from the master cylinder; one for the sensing line from the front brakes; and one that feeds the rear axle brake hose. I was able to carefully bend the main brake line around and reconnect it to the female fitting at the bracket where the rear axle brake hose attaches.
I do still need to install an adjustable proportioning valve up front, since I find the rear brakes can lock up before the front brakes. With any project related to your truck's braking system, be sure to understand what you are doing and make sure to do it in a safe manner. Don't just bypass or remove the LSPV because you read about someone doing it on the Internet. For the plugs, the older Toyota rigs use M10x1.0, meaning 10 mm diameter and a 1.0 mm thread pitch, with an inverted flare. That can be a hard size to find plugs and caps for, at least in the US. I have heard of people taking an old brake hard line with the desired male or female threaded end on it and cutting the end of the hard line off, crimping it over and welding or brazing it closed to fashion a plug or cap. The following link is a source for ready-made plugs (male) and caps (female): http://4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/ BrakeLinePlug.shtml. Good luck with the project. Roger
1985 4Runner Modifications Hello Roger; As the new owner of a bone stock 1985 4Runner, it was awesome to come across your site. Extremely helpful. Do you still own your 4Runner? If I were mainly going to use mine on-road with only maybe 20% off-road, what upgrades would you recommend? Say top five. Would really appreciate your feedback. The original LSPV-BV, following removal.
The front brake sensor line was disconnected and left in place and the short hard line between the LSPV-BV and the rear brake hose bracket and the LSPV-BV itself was removed. Up front, I removed the sensor line from the front brake tee fitting and installed a brake line plug into the open port of the tee.
Thanks. Joe Miles
Hi Joe; Congratulations on your 4Runner purchase. Yes, I still own mine and drive it most every day. It is hard to say what the top five upgrades are; it depends a lot on what you want to do with the truck. Upgrading the suspension is always a win. Aging, sagging springs are no fun to drive on the road and don't work very well off-road. After that, your best bet is to hook up with a local off-road club or TLCA chapter and get out there and see how the truck does. Then upgrade those things that you feel are holding the truck back. Things you would do to build a rock crawler are different than what you would do for a mud truck or for desert pre-running. Likewise, things you might do just going out on Forest Service roads to go camping in a remote spot for a night or two would be different than building an expedition truck. Thanks. Roger
The main brake line bent around and reconnected to the female fitting at the bracket where the rear axle brake hose attaches. 36
PHOTOS BY ROGER BROWN
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
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T OYO TA T R A I L S
Hospitality is an indisputable norm among Saharawis. A traveler is always invited for a cup of tea and if the time is right, also for a meal.
THE WESTERN SAHARA Adventuring Into the Forgotten Badlands of Terra Incognita continued from page 34
collection of cherry-picked, field-proven quality equipment, together with practices that we developed and evolved during our years of overlanding together. It’s a sort of ritual, carried out almost mechanically, without words. I stop the engine, unload two heavy-duty aluminum storage cases from the trunk plus the two foldable chairs and a table. Meanwhile, Janja checks the water in handy bottles and refills them from a built-in water tank if necessary. I erect the Maggiolina roof tent—a sturdy and practical design that packs together with all the sleeping gear, with no setting of a bed necessary and no time-consuming arranging the next morning. Janja starts preparing the food, our tried and true MSR stove unpacked from the storage drawer. While I'm putting on my overalls to make a routine mechanical check of the vehicle, I already catch the first smell from the field kitchen, guessing what is on tonight’s menu. Finishing the check, assuming everything is as it should be (and it usually is, this is a Land Cruiser, after all), I help with the kitchen if necessary. We clean up and fifteen minutes after stopping, all the crucial work is done and we can relax and enjoy the 38
A typical desert home of the Saharawi locals, with two “haima” tents and a decades old Land Rover Santana.
evening as we please. The next morning, it will take us roughly ten minutes to pack the camp and drive away, leaving nothing but some marks in the sand—marks that the desert wind will take care of in a day or two. Setting forth, we descend from a stony plain and enter into a vast depression, filled with light sand that won’t support the weight of the vehicle very well. The track dissolves and we are soon completely on
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
A secluded guelta provides a welcome natural shelter from the seemingly ever-present desert wind.
our own, trying to negotiate a passage to the hills that are protruding on the eastern horizon. It takes us two bold hours to cover these fifteen kilometers. Our tires are deflated for soft sand driving, all three differentials are locked (thanks to Toyota for equipping our HDJ80 with reliable factory lockers on both axles) and still there is a lot of struggle when the going is too soft to remain optimistic about our chances of reaching the other side.
sounds—primeval and rough—that crossing a sebha is a serious thing. Thus we feel a deep relief when, approaching the other side, the ground finally becomes firmer and the going easier. But there is no time to celebrate a successful crossing. Another obstacle is rising before us, fueling our anxieties. We reach the hills that we first spotted from the other side of sebha and now we see that these are no hills in the usual meaning of the term—these are sand dunes.
These salty desert plains have an ominously treacherous name in the Arabic language: sebha. It is evident from the very way this word
Tom Sheppard, a legendary desert explorer, once wrote about driving through fields of sand dunes. “Avoid them if possible.” It is one thing
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39
T OYO TA T R A I L S
Although a GPS system does most of the navigational work today, the classic dead-reckoning method is still useful— especially as a backup in case the electronics fail.
when you are on a short trip, in a company of friends with their own overland vehicles or in a reasonable vicinity of civilization, where you can find help and get assistance if things go wrong. On such occasions, bashing over sand dunes can be a relatively carefree and fun experience. But when you are alone, one vehicle more than one hundred kilometers from the nearest settlement and far off the regular tracks, you think twice before you dive into a sea of dunes. This is what Tom (who has done many of his amazing desert trips solo) had in mind when writing those words and this is exactly our situation. From the topographic map, we learn that this field of dunes should be, although more than 150 km long, quite narrow at 10 kilometers or less. We proceed with due caution, searching for the easiest passages and religiously sticking to assessing by foot before driving over crests. The progress is slow but steady and it isn't long before the flat space between the dunes widens and finally we set our eyes on the vast plain that stretches to the other bank—more river than sea of sand. A monotonous view, it’s true, but we are quite content to see that the terrain promises no further technical difficulties; we are more than ready to trade a bit of adrenaline for a leg of
A camping spot at the base of a sand dune.
40
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
easy, peaceful driving. After all, it is already afternoon and time to start searching for a suitable spot for the night. It will be more than two weeks later, when returning north, following fast tracks not far away from where we are standing now— the tracks that remain from the heyday of the Paris-Dakar rally—that we will meet a knowledgeable elderly Saharawi who would speak basic French and so we will learn about the names of the areas we drove through previously. The stony Hamada is called Imrikly; the treacherous sebha is known as el Mohor; and the long but narrow field of dunes bears the name Ifrafir. The vast sandy plain that now spreads before us is part of the great Oued El Khot, a very important dry stream that stretches far to the east, over the inglorious Moroccan version of the Berlin Wall, crossing the Polisario Free Zone and finally vanishing in the sandy sameness of the Mauritanian Empty Quarter, possibly the biggest sand pool on Earth. The decision has to be made. Today we will make a camp here, in the shelter of a big sand dune but where to turn tomorrow?
Shall we continue east or perhaps it’s now the right moment to curve our course more to the south. We are aware that pushing to the east has its sensible limit. Doing so, we will sooner or later bump into a Moroccan army patrol, supervising the area along the “wall of shame,” the 1,800 km sand berm that separates this part of the Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco, from the part that is controlled by the Polisario Front partisans. It’s true that there still exists 80 km of more or less empty, potentially very interesting and picturesque desert between us and the infamous wall but we want to be 100% sure to avoid this militarized zone. A glance at the topographic map helps with making a decision. The area east is depicted as a more or less monotonous set of dry streams, while the southern direction looks more promising regarding overlanding action. We will start following the strip of sand dunes that we have just crossed, the strip that according to the map extends far to the south. We will cross it again near its southern edge and then proceed southsoutheast. The terrain there seems to be more uneven and fast changing, thus promising
an eventful drive in a picturesque landscape. We will aim at reaching another band of dunes that stretch parallel to the coast and then more or less follow it until the end, not far from the paved coastal route that will finally lead us to the city of Dakhla. Following this plan should keep us busy for another two or three days. After that, we will find a hotel in Dakhla and take a rest for a day, maybe two, writing, arranging photos and making plans for our next disappearance into the inland of the Western Sahara. One thing is certain. What we have experienced confirmed our belief that the Western Sahara is a surprisingly interesting country, so far unjustly overlooked by the 4x4 overlanding community. It’s only a small part that we've seen so far but the seed that has been planted into a fertile soil has germinated and the consequent growth cannot be stopped. According to the maps, the south promises to be even more picturesque, with larger basins of sand and mountain ranges. We cannot wait…. ˇUR PHOTOS BY DAMJAN VRENC
After two hours of searching for a drivable passage through the soft sand, we finally find the firmer ground that leads us to the other side.
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T OYO TA T R A I L S
the Ultimate
Hitch by TONY KONOVALOFF
Ball hitches have some serious flaws when it comes to using them off-road. They just don't have enough room to articulate more than about seven degrees in each direction. Pintle hitches, while easy to hook up with a proven history of strength and durability, have their own problems—primarily noise going down the road. I hate it when a hitch rattles. To remedy this problem, I came up with my own hitch. It is fully articulating, tough, easy to fabricate, silent and Rubicon-tested. If you look at a hitch in the simplest way, it has to turn left and right, move up and down to go over bumps and has to twist if the rig and trailer are at different angles—which happens all the time off-road. My hitch is made up of ½" flat plate, two ¾" grade 8 bolts, a 2" hitch ball and some square tube. You’ll need a hitch ball with a fairly long threaded section. I started by fitting a 2" square tube to a standard receiver, using a hitch pin to secure it. I next added weld beads ground down so that it wouldn't rattle in the receiver. Then I added steel to make the end sticking out a
solid piece and drilled a hole horizontally. This creates the up and down pivot axis. The front of the trailer got some flat plate welded to the top and bottom of the tongue to create the left to right pivot axis. To connect the two, fit the hitch ball into a short section of 2" square tube with the threaded section sticking out. You have to grind the ball into a square shape. This part goes into the space in the tongue and gets a hole drilled through it. Prior to bolting it in, drill two pieces of 3"x3"x½" plate with holes that will fit over the threaded section of the hitch ball. One of these is welded to the square tube you have already fitted over the ball. This 3"x3" section of plate forms the bearing surface of the roll axis. The hitch with a long threaded section.
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NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
The project coming together nicely.
Hooked up and ready for use.
Fit another section of plate to the threaded section but this time, it is not welded to the ball assembly. You add two pieces of plate to it to form a U-shaped section. This U-shaped piece is bolted to the ball assembly with a nylock nut and you now have a roll axis. You can't use the lock washer that came with the hitch ball because it would prevent the assembly from rolling or it would come loose as the trailer moved on this axis. The other end of this U is bolted to the tube you fit to the hitch receiver.
You now have a fully articulating hitch. To remove it, simply pull the hitch pin from your receiver and push the trailer back. While it is a little more inconvenient to hook up than other hitch designs, it is secure, silent and best of all, fully articulating.
And just to make sure everything keeps moving as planned, I took everything back apart to drill and tap all the pivots for grease fittings.
All told, I don't think there is more than $30 invested into this hitch design. And now that I have a small mill, I have plans to make a more compact version of my hitch. PHOTOS BY TONY KONOVALOFF
Hitch complete with grease fittings.
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Chapter Directory Alamo City Land Cruisers San Antonio, TX (210) 393-5922 alamocitylandcruisers@gmail.com
Deep South Cruisers Hal Hall 1445 Caribbean Circle Alabaster, AL 35007 205-664-8723 halhall@bellsouth.net
Appalachia Cruisers Rance Sharp 7917 Mountain Brook Rd. Knoxville, TN 37938 sharpfzj80@gmail.com
DixieLand Cruisers 2215 Country Club Drive Montgomery, AL 36106 Clarence Specht clank506@yahoo.com
Battle Born Cruisers of Northern Nevada Dan R. Johnson 806 Packer Way Sparks, NV 89431 rusty.tlc@gmail.com www.battleborncrusiers.org Bay to Blue Ridge Cruisers John Embrey 873 Kellogg Mill Road Fredericksburg, VA 22406 jmembrey@adelphia.net Bayou State Land Cruiser Assoc. P.O. Box 271 Youngsville, LA 70592 www.bslca.com info@bslca.com Beach ’N Toys Gregg McNab (760) 630-8088 72zippyfj40@cox.net wwwbeachntoys.com Bluegrass Cruisers Thom Placier 123 Winners Circle Georgetown, KY 40324 (502) 316-3590 Book Cliff Cruisers Jonathan Harris P.O. Box 985 Clifton, CO 81520 BookCliffCruiserClub@gmail.com http://forum.ih8mud.com/co-book-cliffcruisers Capital Land Cruiser Club Tracy Barker 2875 Towerview Rd. Ste 1000 Herndon, VA 20171 (703) 467-9341 cptbarker@aol.com Cascade Cruisers Bill Wright billybongo63@msn.com (503) 539-1705 Channel Islands Cruisers Oxnard, CA Ken Welch (805) 485-5740 kenwelch1@verizon.net Central Oregon Cruisers Todd Winkler 17165 SW Blue Jay Road Terrebonne, OR 97760 Central Valley Crawlers Dan Hull 9860 West Ferguson Ave. Visalia, CA 93291 hulld@earthlink.net (559) 280-6105 Coastal Cruisers Steven Tetu 81 Moray Street Port Moody, BC V2H 3M2 (604) 461-3540 cruiser@uniserve.com Colorado Land Cruisers Mark Janzen 6 Studio Pl. Unit B Colorado Springs, CO 80904 (719) 473-7257 info@coloradolandcruisers.org www.coloradolandcruisers.org CottonLand Cruisers Jeff Murrah 512 Carlisle Circle Madison, MS 39110 601-954-9558 murrah40@gmail.com Dakota Territory Cruisers Ann Thorson P.O. Box 2238 Rapid City, SD 57709 (605) 391-4788 dakotacruisers@gmail.com www.dakotacruisers.com
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FJ Island Cruisers Josue Estrada G. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 08ttbrujablanca@hotmail.com Florida Land Cruiser Assoc. 9680 N Enellia Ave Citrus Springs FL 34433 JD Dixon 352-637-5399 newsletter@flca.org www.flca.org Georgia Cruisers Andrew Howe amhowe1@yahoo.com www.gacruisers.com Gold Coast Cruisers Wally Boggess P.O. Box 681 Somis, CA 93066 (805) 523-7628 mpguy@aol.com Gotham City Land Cruisers Metro NY, NJ, CT www.gclcny.com president@gclcny.com Green Country Cruisers Deano Kothe 9915 E 136th St N Collinsville, OK 74021 918-371-3511 ourtlc@aol.com www.okoffroad.com/gcc High Desert Cruisers Shawn Williams 210 Montana Wells Rio Rancho, NM 87124 swilliams@bernco.gov www.hdcruisers.org Hoosier Cruiser Club Jeff Weissenberger jtw2308@gmail.com
Heart Of The South Cruisers Chris Davis 122 Chatham Circle Madison, AL 35758 HOTSouthCruisers@gmail.com Horsetooth 4 Wheelers 5608 Gabriel Dr. Loveland, CO 80538 Ryan Eddy ryan.eddy1992@gmail.com www.forum.ih8mud.com/co-wy-horsetooth4-wheelers-cruiser-club Jefferson State Cruisers 1658 Nunnwood Lane Grants Pass, OR 97527 info@jeffersonstatecruisers.com (503) 209-1650 Louisiana Land Krewesers PO Box 372 Mandeville, LA 70470 info@LaLandKrewesers.com www.LaLandKrewesers.com Lone Star Land Cruisers – DFW Nick Stone, Vice-President 6020 Lantana Lane Fort Worth, TX 76112 (817) 455-5060 diesel42@sbcglobal.net www.lslc.org Lone Star Land Cruisers – Austin Austin, TX www.lslc.org
The Los Angeles County Trail Crew Daniel Liverman www.thetrailcrew.com Minnesota Toyx4’s Greg Kemper P O Box 270574 Vadnais Heights, MN 55127 651-429-3989 gkemper@aol.com www.mntoyx4.com Mountain Transit Authority Phil Johnson 905 Susan Ct. Gilroy, CA 95020 (408) 847-7828 pjohnson@netgate.net Mountaineer Cruisers Steve Lindsley 611 Oliver Ave. Fairmont, WV 26554 info@lindsleyart.com Northwest Cruisers of Idaho Brian Thompson 10438 Lancelot Ave Boise, Idaho 83704 thusimos@excite.com www.nwcruisers.com Northwest Florida Toyota Land Cruiser Club Raymond Towner 803 Kenneth Dr. Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547 (850) 902-0774 RaymondTowner@aol.com Olde North State Cruisers John Vargosko johnveeONSC@gmail.com www.ONSC4x4.com Oil Country Cruisers Tyler Arnott Edmonton, AB (780) 838-8189 oilcountrycruisers@gmail.com http://forum.ih8mud.com/ca-ab-oilcountry-cruisers/ Pacific Mountain Cruisers Dave Thomas 12 Margaret Dr. Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (925) 945-0870, ext. 12 dthomas@tiogaconstruction.com Peace Canyon Toyota Swamp Donkeys Deny Chramosta #207 10139 100th St. Fort St. John, B.C. V1J 3Y6 (403) 354-5505 pctswampdonkeys@gmail.com Razorback Land Cruisers Serving Arkansas www.razorbacklandcruisers.com info@razorbacklandcruisers.com Rising Sun Four Wheel Drive Club of Colorado Scott Yoder P.O. Box 260175 Lakewood, CO 80226 (303) 246-6608 www.risingsun4x4club.org Rocky Mountain Land Cruiser Association Bruce Loewen 225 Covehaven Rd. NE Calgary, AB T3K 5W7 info@rmlca.ab.ca www.rmlca.ab.ca SoCal TLCA Christopher Farmer Orange County, CA (714) 745-1187 www.socallandcruisers.com South Sound Cruisers 2603 Kempton St. SE Olympia, WA 98501 southsoundcruisers@yahoo.com www.southsoundcruisers.org Southeast TLCA Andy Ridge 3285 Griffith Way, Jasper, TN 37347 (423) 605-7831 radioridge@charter.net www.stlca.org
Southern Nevada Land Cruisers John A Day P O Box 26872 Las Vegas, NV 89126 702-873-4013 john@casaday-hollow.com www.snlc.org Tall Corn Cruisers 726 53rd Street Des Moines, IA 50312 (641) 791-8044 (515) 314-3255 cmcampbell@gmail.com Tarsand Toyotas Ryan Barnes 145 Elmore Drive Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Ryan_nes@hotmail.com Tornado Alley Cruisers 1116 East 84th St. Kansas City, MO 64131 president@tornadoalleycruisers.org www.tornadoalleycruisers.org Toyers do Brasil Helton de Souza Rosa Rua Lake Jackson, 219 Pituba Salvador Bahia, 41.810-150, Brazil 55-71-8867-1872 toyersdobrasil2011@googlegroups.com https://groups.google.com/group/ toyersdobrasil2011?hl=pt Toyota 4x4’s of Texas Greg “Buck” Buchanan 1415 North Loop West, Ste. 740 Houston, TX 77008 (832) 798-9043 www.t4x4t.org buck@t4x4t.org Toyota Trail Riders Brian Rogers PO Box 111231 Carrollton, TX 75011-1231 president@toyotatrailriders.com www.toyotatrailriders.com Toys 4 Fun 1543 N. Maple, Suite B Fresno, CA 93703 Membership@toys-4-fun.or Toys on the Rocks P.O. Box 546 Placerville CA 95667 Gordon Wood gordonwoodfj40@comcast.net (503) 344-7334 The Texas Land Cruiser Club of Houston Roy Evans Roy_Evans@tlcc-houston.org www.tlcc-houston.org True North Toyota Landcruisers Paul K Kozmin P O Box 176 Moorewood, ON K0A 2R0 Canada paul_k_kozmin@hotmail.com www.landcruisers.ca Upstate Cruisers Jay Conkin 321 Black River Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732 Wasatch Cruisers Kurt Williams (801) 518-3937 kurt@cruiseroutfitters.com Washington Timber Toys P O Box 6561 Bellevue WA 98008 Tim Davidson 425-562-8014 toyfj40tim@aol.com White Trash of the Elwood Chapter Kowboy Holt Elwood, TX www.elwoodwhitetrash.com Yankee Toys Bob O’Connell 287 Pine St Whitman, MA 02382 Boboconnell76@gmail.com
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
45 ard of an FJ The dashbo e in us of s ar reflecting ye imate. a harsh cl
A few of the dusty old FJ45s sitting off the highway in Al Dhaid.
Ian Ferrier in Dubai with his ex-Yemen i Army FJ43.
T N FO R U H E H T
e g a t Vin s r e s i u r C Land ON
by Joel Ericson
A camel farm er’s FJ45 being used to haul dung.
When my wife and children headed back to the U.S. for an extended visit with family, I was once again a bachelor in the UAE for several weeks. I had envisioned a time of immense freedom… read some books, do some video gaming, tinker with my models. What I found instead was late work hours and my free time spent grocery shopping or cooking. One bright spot, however, was a sixteen-hour day trip through the northern Emirates hunting old Land Cruisers. I left Abu Dhabi early on a Saturday morning and stopped in Dubai to pick up Ian Ferrier. Ian, a Scottish expat with whom I connected on the Internet, also happens to be an FJ43 owner. His 43 was imported from Yemen and has yet to be registered due to the chassis and body having different VIN’s—a byproduct of military service in its previous life. After I was done drooling over his FJ43, Ian opted to drive and we headed out in his Cherokee SRT. By the end of the day, we would wish we had instead taken my 80 series Land Cruiser.
A well-serviced FJ45 that we flagged down in Al Dhaid.
45
T OYO TA T R A I L S
An old 40 series collecting dust in the desert.
Old, stripped and covered in Bondo— . a 45 in a junkyard
g The freshly restored FJ62 bein prepared for jet fuel racing.
a fleet of old Two FJ45s amidst tage Jeeps. vin d an rs ve Ro nd La
Ian had already made a connection with a small Toyota parts shop in Al Dhaid, specializing in old Land Cruisers. The proprietor had given him some leads on workshops that do Cruiser work. On his way out of Al Dhaid, he had also spied several old FJ45s just off the highway. With that groundwork, Al Dhaid seemed the logical place to start our search. Living in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, you can miss out on the Arab and East Asian cultural experience; not so in Al Dhaid. It’s a great little town that reflects predominantly Arab and Indian culture. As we rolled into town, we got off the highway to check out the patch of old dust-covered FJ45s. The trucks were sitting outside several independent mechanics’ workshops. The Indian and Pakistani mechanics spoke little English and were 46
bemused by our fascination with a bunch of old, beat up parts trucks. As we were busy taking photos, popping hoods and poking around the mostly broke down Land Cruisers, an Emirati camel farmer pulled up in a newer model, 120 series Land Cruiser pickup. After discussing a few items with the mechanics, he conversed with us in broken English. The gist of the conversation was that he had an old FJ45 truck out on his farm that still ran and he’d be interested in selling it. He invited us to follow him to his farm south of Al Dhaid. We drove for 20 minutes before he turned off the road into the sand and struck out into the desert. The ground looked somewhat hard packed so Ian gave it a shot in his Cherokee. The traction control soon started
to kick in and we were becoming stuck. He managed to slowly reverse us back to pavement and the farmer came back and we explained our predicament. We then jumped into the bed of his Cruiser on top of a pile of camel feed and headed to his farm. The 45 series long wheelbase truck working his farm was laden with camel dung (sold for fertilizer). It had balloon tires, holes in the roof, a driver’s door that was held closed by nylon rope and the bed had been welded with sheets of galvanized steel. It had no license plate, which isn’t a problem for farm work. However, a lot of these old trucks are relegated to farm use when they become non-licensable due to a bent chassis or other prior issue. It was rough but the drivetrain seemed to be in good shape and there were some good parts on it.
A BJ40 with typica
l desert patina.
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
The end of the line for an old FJ45 that clearly saw its fair share of work.
A new 120 series pickup working
alongside an old FJ45.
With a big smile on his face, he asked for AED 25,000 (about $6,800 US). Cruisers in far better condition have been picked up for AED 10-20,000. I offered AED 10,000 and he wouldn’t budge. It’s common around here for western expats to be given a different price (much higher) than other Arabs or Asian expats. I’m sure he was quite willing to sell if he could get a western expat price. Otherwise, he was equally happy for his old Cruiser to keep hauling camel poo.
pletely restored. The second Cruiser was a butchered 40 series; the hardtop had been shortened to make the cab like a pickup with the rear tub serving as a bed. On the grill of the FJ40 was the much-coveted “Diesel” emblem. An Emirati approached us, introduced himself as Jax (clearly not his name) and asked about our intentions. We explained our preoccupation with Land Cruisers and he gave us the background on the two vehicles in his care.
We headed back into town and stumbled on a mechanic’s shop that appeared to have an old Land Rover sitting in the back. We figured that where there is one old 4x4, perhaps we’d find more and we weren’t disappointed. The first Cruiser we spotted was a freshly painted FJ62. It was in remarkable condition and the interior had been com-
The FJ62 had been restored for a client who would be using it to illegally drag race. The BJ40, now gutted of its diesel motor, was there for the same reason. They strip these old cars down and put in a new motor or convert the existing motor to run on jet fuel, then race them on remote roads. It turns out that Jax’s operation isn’t—strictly speak-
ing—legal, hence his pseudonym. He wasn’t really interested in helping us in our quest but it was an interesting conversation to say the least. Ian had a tip on a repair shop outside of Al Dhaid to the north, so we took the main road heading out of town and kept our eyes peeled. What we found next blew our minds. We drove past a place called Classic Cars that was set back off the road and appeared to have a parking lot full of old 4x4 vehicles. We did a U-turn and drove up a wadi to get to the front gate. Parked outside the shop in organized rows were about thirty old Land Rovers and ten early model Jeep Willys and CJs, in varying states of repair and disrepair. Under the cover of the shop were another twenty well restored Land Rovers, as well as a few other 47
T OYO TA T R A I L S
The fishing fleet is the end of the road for many FJ45s.
45 of the day—note Our first fishing FJ hts and the bed. lig tor ica the ind
t d for sale bu of paint an s. A fresh coat on revealed many flaw ti ec sp in er clos
48
A row of freshly pa inted FJ45s, ready for fishing in Murbah.
obscure 4x4 vehicles (Austin Gipsy, Dodge M37, Bedford, etc.).
Cruisers to haul in their fishing nets so that seemed a logical next step in our search.
Amidst this massive collection of American and British history, we did find two Land Cruisers, both FJ45 trucks in excellent original condition. The facility was closed while we were there (all shops in rural areas close from noon to 3 p.m.) but there were a few guys hanging around an adjacent shop who were able to give us some information. Classic Cars does full body-off restorations as well as training for mechanics. All the vehicles are for sale except the Land Cruisers; those belong to the owners. We got a phone number for the proprietor and headed out with the idea of returning later in the day once the shop was open. In the meantime, we decided to head for the coastal Emirate of Fujairah and see what we could find. The fishermen along the east coast of the UAE use old 45 series Land
We headed up the mountains and then back down again into the town of Diba on the UAE/Oman border, on the coast of the Indian Ocean. We decided to drive straight into the port area to see what we could turn up and we were not disappointed. There were several FJ45 pickups patched together and serving the local fishermen. One truck had four different wheels on it and galvanized sheeting welded into the bed. The front fenders on another had been built up with Bondo to house a non-spec turn signal lens. This was just the beginning, however. The original plan was to then head into Oman. Ian knew of some beaches up the coast where the fishermen would be using old Land Cruisers. However, I forgot my passport so blew that idea. Instead, we headed south along the UAE coast-
line toward the cities of Khor Fakkan and Fujairah. Along the main coastal road, we stopped for one FJ45 that had a For Sale sign in the windshield. A 76 series bed had long ago replaced the stock bed and it was in sad shape. We moved on. We next saw an FJ40 on a lift at one of the mechanics’ shops so we slowed down and drove in and out of a bunch of back alleys. We found another old FJ40 that had sat for ages. It was covered in dust and a scrapping company had put a sticker on the windshield hoping the owner would give them a call to haul it away. We passed through Khor Fakkan—still had some daylight—and decided to continue south. Driving through a little town called Murbah is where we hit the jackpot—and the apparent end of the line for many an old Land Cruiser. We found three FJ45 pickups lined up in a neat row in front of a mechanic’s shop. All
NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
FJ45 components pre pped for paint as part of a full restor ation.
had recently been repainted and the beds had been completely lined with fiberglass for hauling salty fishing nets. The mechanic was servicing an FJ45 axle shaft bearing and we approached him to ask about the trucks. None were for sale; they were for fishing. We decided to get closer to the beach itself and see if we could find any trucks pulling in the nets or doing other work. We found a few Indians tending to their FJ45s after a day of fishing. They had tied off one of the trucks to a tree about fifty meters away and seemed to be trying to straighten the chassis. As the sun was setting, we snapped some photos of them working. These two trucks, while clearly on a saltwater-induced path to death, were chockfull of character. Just around the corner, we found another FJ45 parked under a makeshift sunshade, obviously long out of service. We had found where Land Cruisers go to die. The sun was getting low, we both had to work the next day and once we reached Dubai, I still had to get back to Abu Dhabi so we decided we’d make a sprint back to Classic Cars and hope to find it still open. We started backtracking and the beaches and port areas were now full of old FJ45s that had come in from pulling their nets. Of course, we had to stop for some photos and by the time we got back to Classic Cars, the sun had set and they were closed. Heading back into Al Dhaid, I spotted a little shop with lights on and an early-model Suzuki Jimny on the sign. Something about it seemed promising so we decided to pull over and check it out. Walking into the shop, we immediately happened on an FJ45
long bed sitting on a stand with not a spot of body damage and covered in a fresh coat of primer grey. We had found where Land Cruisers go to be reborn. Parts of the FJ45 pickup were littered all over the shop. The frame was stripped clean. Axles and drivetrain were laid aside neatly. All body pieces were in various states of repair or primer. This shop didn’t use body filler. They were welding in patches of new metal to repair any holes and specialized in full body-off restoration— the workmanship was outstanding. The workers were mostly Indian, speaking little English, and were working with the most basic of tools. In the corner of the shop was a just-finished Suzuki LJ10 in pristine condition. There was another FJ45 pickup as well as a Saudi-imported FJ40, both waiting for the full body-off treatment. We got some information on the owners of the respective Toyota vehicles so we could call them about their projects. Some were personal projects; others were being restored for resale. The restorations these cars were receiving cost anywhere from $7000$10,000 US, depending on the condition of the base car. An absolute steal for the skill of the work. We headed back to Dubai with a full list of contacts for follow up and loads of pho-
tos. Ian had some solid leads on where he could get his FJ43 fixed up. I had a number of good people to contact in my continued search for an old Land Cruiser. After sixteen hours of exploring, we were even more in love with old Land Cruisers. We stopped at a convenience store for a snack and upon pulling into the sandy parking area, we managed to get the Cherokee stuck. A few Emirati locals stopped to help push us out and had a good laugh at our expense—stuck in the parking lot in a Jeep. If only we’d brought a Land Cruiser with us…. PHOTOS BY JOEL ERICSON
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NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014
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Photo Shop For Sale Items: Members, fifteen lines free; non-members: $10, up to fifteen lines. Ads will run in two issues and must include location and price. Photo Shop ads: $20 for members; $30 for non-members. Send ads to: editor@tlca.org or Toyota Trails, 8 Corbran Drive, Fairview, NC 28730
• 1980 HJ45 Rare Left Hand Drive, 24 volt H diesel, 4-speed transmission, minimal rust, Freeborn Red, OME suspension, new front bumper with brush guard, swing out spare tire carrier, 5 new BFG Mud terrains, snorkel, original rear bench seats, Clean California Title, must see to appreciate, I am in the Los Angeles area. $28K OBO. More photos on request. Mike McCormick: (310) 390-3653, (310) 876-4757, hollyandmac@ca.rr.com
Event Calendar Most TLCA chapters organize trail runs and social meetings for their members. If you are not affiliated with any chapter, this is a great opportunity to meet some local Cruiserheads, see their rigs and exchange stories—who knows, you might enjoy the company so much that you’ll become a member right there and then. Look up your nearest chapter in the Chapter Directory. COMING UP IN 2015
12th Annual Lone Star Cruiser Roundup
March 12-15, 2015 K2 Rocks, Mason, Texas TLCA Open Event hosted by Lone Star Land Cruisers Contact: Perry Lowery, plowery42@yahoo.com
3rd Annual Mardi Krawl
April 9-12, 2015, Hawk Pride Mountain ORV Park, Tuscumbia, Alabama TLCA Open Event hosted by the Louisiana Land Krewesers Contact: Mike Legnon, (504) 234-1256 or legnom01@gmail.com
39th Annual Mud N Yer Eye Frolic
April, 2015, Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area, Hollister Hills, California TLCA Open Event hosted by Mountain Transit Authority Contact: Phil Johnson, (408) 406-9629, or pjohnson@netgate.net
Cruise Moab
April 28-May 3, 2015, Moab, Utah TLCA Sanctioned Event hosted by Rising Sun Four Wheel Drive Club Contact: registration@cruisemoab.com
Lone Star Toyota Jamboree
May, 2015, Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area, Gilmer, Texas TLCA Event (Toyota-only) hosted by Toyota Trail Riders Contact: president@toyotatrailriders.com www.lonestartoyotajamboree.com 52
24th Annual Great Smoky Mountain Trail Ride
Rising Sun Rally
April, 2015, Iron Pig Off-Road, 7 Rodney Lane, Fredericksburg, Virginia Contact: Mike Thomas, (267) 761-2711; stumpFJ40@outlook.com www.capitallandcruiserclub.org
SMORR Fall Crawl’N with TAC
9th Annual 4x4 Show & Shine Swap Meet
May, 2015, Wind Rock ORV Park, Oliver Springs, Tennessee TLCA Sanctioned Event hosted by Southeast Toyota Land Cruiser Association Contact: Roger Theurer, (931) 841-0672 or RgrTheurer@gmail.com http://www.stlca.org/
September, 2015, Southern Missouri OffRoad Ranch, Seymour, Missouri TLCA Open Event hosted by Tornado Alley Cruisers www.tornadoalleycruisers.org Contact: vicepresident@tornadoalleycruisers.org, (816) 388-9682
27th Annual Rubithon
Cruisin’ The Woods 2015
June, 2015, Rubicon Trail, California TLCA Hosted Event Contact: Eric Agee, (530) 401-0800, chairman@gmail.com
Coal Mine Cruiser Classic
July, 2015, Rausch Creek Off-Road Park, Joliet, Pennsylvania TLCA Sanctioned Event hosted by the Gotham City Land Cruisers Contact: Event Coordinator, info@gclcny.com http://tlca.org/events/index.shtml#coal
Black Hills Cruiser Classic
July, 2015, Black Hills, South Dakota TLCA Sanctioned Event hosted by Dakota Territory Cruisers Contact: Brian Fletcher, (605) 431-5820, Brian.fletcher@state.sd.us
McGrew Trail Ride
July, 2015, O’Brien, Oregon TLCA Sanctioned Event hosted by Jefferson State Cruisers Contact: Tyler Freeman, (503) 209-1650, info@jeffersonstatecruisers.com
PMC Swap Meet
July, 2015, Petaluma, California Hosted by Pacific Mountain Cruisers Contact: Larry Kitahara, (707) 586-7840
Capital Land Cruiser Club Swap Meet
August, 2015, Jefferson County Stadiums, Lakewood, Colorado Contact: Jeff Zepp, vicecommander@risingsun4x4club.org, (303) 674-2386 www.risingsun4x4club.org/forum2
September, 2015, Brown’s Camp, Oregon TLCA Open Event hosted by Cascade Cruisers Contact: Mike Demetras, mikaeli1@hotmail.com
Southern Cruiser Crawl
October 15-19, 2015, Superlift ORV Park, Hot Springs, Arkansas TLCA Open Event hosted by CottonLand Cruisers Contact: Jeff Murrah, murrah40@gmail.com NON-SANCTIONED EVENTS
Turf-N-Surf 2014
November 7-9, 2014, Oceano Dunes SVRA, Oceano, California Hosted by Central Coast Land Cruisers http://centralcoastlandcruisers.com/turf-nsurf/about/
13th Annual Bakersfield Land Cruiser Rally & Swap Meet
April 25, 2015, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., North Bakersfield Toyota Scion Dealership (Hwy. 99 and Hwy. 65), Bakersfield, California Contact: Andrew Roth, (661) 665-9603
May, 2105, 8:00 AM-2:00 PM, 40 Old Depot Rd, Placerville, California Hosted by Toys on the Rocks Contact Amy Wylie (530) 6225020 or amywylie@comcast.net or toysontherocks@yahoo.com
Razorback Ramble
June 4-7, 2015, Superlift ORV Park, Hot Springs, Arkansas Open Event hosted by the Razorback Land Cruisers www.razorbacklandcruisers.com
Going Coastal Cruiser Days
July 18, 2015, Frasier River Heritage Park, Mission City, British Columbia Contact: Bill Wilkinson, OMRIV@telus.net
FJ45 Run
September, 2015, Deer Valley, California Contact: Georg Esterer, georgesterer@yahoo.com
Fall Gathering
October, 2015, southern New Hampshire Contact: Bob, Rain76King@hotmail.com, http://yankeetoys.wordpress.com/
12th Annual Fall Crawl
October, 2015, The Cove, Gore, Virginia Hosted by Bay To Blue Ridge Cruisers Contact: John Embrey, (540) 850-6248 or jmembrey@comcast.net
Turf-N-Surf 2015
November, 2015, Oceano Dunes SVRA, Oceano, California Hosted by Central Coast Land Cruisers http://centralcoastlandcruisers.com/turf-nsurf/about/
Tom Watson (972) 386-5882 info@N2Cruisers.com
www.N2Cruisers.com
1982 FJ43
AVAILABLE
1980 FJ43
AVAILABLE
1977 FJ43
AVAILABLE
1978 FJ40
AVAILABLE
1981 BJ43
AVAILABLE
1980 FJ43
AVAILABLE
1982 FJ45
AVAILABLE
1985 FJ45
SOLD
1987 FJ73
SOLD
1982 FJ43
SOLD
1983 FJ43
SOLD
1984 FJ43
SOLD
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