You are welcom Medic, we all started some where. Some of us were fortunate enough to have been born into wrenching. I come from a hot rodding and muscle car background. My dad built very impressive high horsepower engines to put into some very interesting rigs. Back before Rat-Rods were a thing, he had a customer that wanted a 460 powered 1940 gmc pickup cab mounted on a Toyota sr5 frame. My dad ended up putting together a wicked chromed out 428 SCJ backed by a Turbo 400 transmission running to a locked short spec 9" rear, while the fabricator mated it all together on the 'Yota" frame rails. The Engine made the pilemof rust worth 15,000 back in '92.
I started out going down the muscle truck road for my first ride. I bought a barely running 1981 Ford Courier when I was 12 years old. By the time I was a sophmore, I had the truck dropped and bagged, the stock 2.0 4 bannger was punched out to a 2.9 L stroker, superchareg and a bottle adict. I drove it with the stock Ford Baby Blue color until my Senior Year when I tore the truck a part, put in a 427 strocker, 4 speed top loader back to a built 8.8" rear with 3.77 gears. I painted it emerald green with silver accents. The 427 stayed in the truck about 2 weeks before I pulled it out and swapped in a 289. (way too much power) I drove the truck to my graduation, and then drove it a few more times to races and car shows.
At the time I was building my 427, a budy of mi e got his hands on a 1969 Toyota Landcruiser FJ40 for 1500 bucks. I helped him build his stock 6, aloi replaced the wiring with breaks, wiring and a few other things. Then he took me for a ride with a few otner people to show me what trail riding was. I was hooked and my quest for a 4x4 began.
My first 4x4 was a 1957 Willys pickup. The truck was a rolling pronect. No motor, transmission, or transfer case. No interior, well actullay nothing more than sheet metal, frame and axles. I scrounged up parts for about a year, got a 134L backed by a T-18 transmission and a Dana/Spicer 20 transfer case all mounted up. Then sold the project to get a 1960 Willys Wagon with the 226 super hhricane. I rocked that Rig for 4 years driving all over from Vancuver BC, all the way down to Monterey California, all over North East Oregon, and parts of Idaho. Until I put a hole I. The oil pain.
Next was a Bronco II, then 2 Explorers back to back, Then A YJ Wrangler, the 2 XJs, another Bronco II, 2 second Gen Rams back to back, 2006 TJ, fallowed by my current 89 Bronco.
......... I'd have to ask questions.
