How it got started (With me)

In September 2004, my son Matthew and I were invited to attend ICBM (I Cruised Barnwell Mountain-http://www.texasmotorizedtrails.com/), a Lone Star Land Cruiser (LSLC) sponsored event. We drove our 1998 H1 Open-top Hummer to Gilmer, Texas and met up with a great group of men that were members of the LSLC Club (www.lslc.org). It did not take long for me to realize that the H1 Hummer was NOT made for offroading, or at least the type of offroading the Toyota Land Cruiser guys were doing. On the 2nd obstacle, the H1 got bound up and it took 4 land cruisers and 3 winches to get it out of trouble. It had minimal damage but I immediately went and parked it in camp. Matthew and I rode in a couple of empty seats in other rigs for the rest of the weekend.

Well shortly after the trip, I sold the H1 and bought a 1969 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser from Jeremiah Proffitt. Her name is "Meanie". Jeremiah runs a cruiser shop in Delta, Colorado. See www.proffittscruisers.com. Proffitts FJ40 had a Chev. 400 small block engine that needed many parts to get it running, including: An Alternator, PS Pump, Flywheel, Starter, Radiator & fan, Manifolds, exhaust, etc... By the way, did I tell you I am NOT a mechanic? The FJ40 had an TH400 automatic transmission, stock Toyota transfer case, Holley Carb., Detroit lockers in the rear and ARB in the front. It was sprung-under and I put new IROK 36" tires on it.

With a little help (ok a lot of help) from my mechanic friends, the engine ran and we were off to Clayton, Oklahoma for our test run. Since we did not have anyone to wheel with, Matthew and I just hoped to find someone with smaller tires than us on the trail and we could wheel with them. We came upon a group of Jeepers (Jeep Owners). The smallest tires were 39 1/2 and went up to 44". We quickly found out that the Holley carb. would not work when we were on a steep angle. It spit and sputtered and the engine died several times. In addition, the stock transfer case was geared way too high for rock climbing. Spinning tires on a steep incline is NOT a good thing!

Over the past year, we have upgraded the 69' FJ40 to become a very capable trail rig. The current specs are as follows: Chev. 400 sb, TH400 Auto Tranny, Rochester Carb., Orion T-Case, Detroit locker in rear, ARB locker in front, Hi-steer Kit, SOA Conversion, Spring Flip, Billstein Shocks, Saginaw PS Conversion, New Disc Brake Calipers & pads, WARN winch.

Matthew has become a good driver and I am comfortable letting him wheel the FJ40 now.

In March of 2005, I ordered a new custom FJ40 Rock Crawler from Proffitts Cruisers. Here are the specs: 1978 FJ40 Tub, Chev. 5.7 Ltr. Vortec 350 EFI, TH400 Auto Tranny, 3.8 Atlas T-Case, Dana 60 in front, Dana 70 in Rear, 35 Spline Inners/Outers, CTM Joints, WARN hubs, Detroit Lockers F & R, Full Hydraulic Steer, Art Carr Shifter, Tom Woods Super Drive Lines, Beard Seats, 4-Link suspension w/ 1/4 elliptic in rear, Super Swamper 44" TSL's on MRW 15" Beadlocks, 2 1/2" Sway-a-Way Coilovers in the front, Billsteins in the rear.

I took delivery of the rig at the end of September 2005 and tried it out in DeLeon, Texas this past weekend. For more on the shakedown run, see http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=398987

I consider myself very blessed to have a hobby that my 17-year old and I can share before he moves out to college. It is also a great help that I have an understanding and supporting wife that encourages Matthew and I in the sport. Maybe some day I will get the power shoppers (my wife and 14-year old daughter) out on the mountain.

Upcoming wheelin' trips: October 22 - 23 and November 19-20, 2005 in Clayton, OK.