RECAP: 1st Car Show of the season!

I just got back from my first car show of the season today, and only a couple things stuck out at me. Unfortunately, the turn out of cars and trucks wasn't as plentiful as I had anticipated....even with the near perfect weather for it.

Surprisingly, there was a small row of 4x4's at the show today. Usually the trucks are limited to classic pick-ups, and/or slammed 2wd trucks. The 4x4 crowd doesn't seem to get much attention at these local shows. But that might be changing...

When you see 4x4's at car shows, you tend to get a lot of Jeeps. And for what was actually at this show, the only 4x4 I saw that wasn't a Jeep....was this recently restored IH Scout! This Scout was good enough (in comparison to what else was there) to take my vote for "Best In Show" for trucks.

 

Having seen a lot of Jeeps in my day, and having owned one as well, the only one that stood out to me was this clean looking CJ5. 

Something tells me that if I had had the Baked Pig FJ55 finished and at one of these local shows....I'd have a really great shot at "Best In Show" in the truck class. Jeeps are fun, but plentiful. Scouts are less common, but you have to like the shape/look of them. 

But a 1979 FJ55 Land Cruiser? Well....that would be hard to beat in my opinion. 

Finding a "barn find" 1979 FJ55! (Part 1)

For most of us car crazy guys out there, we dream of the classics with a never-ending fervor. Whatever your preferences may be in the auto world, you no doubt have had your share of daydreams in which you are the lucky person who stumbles upon a neglected and forgotten classic...long hidden away from the prying eyes of the world around it. This sort of find has come to be known in the car world as a "barn find".

In my lifetime, I've seen plenty of YouTube videos about such finds, and I've read countless articles about the lucky guys who are unearthing a rare muscle car in a barn, or an ultra-rare exotic in some long forgotten storage. For as many stories as there seems to be coming to light with every passing year, there seems to be as much variety in the circumstances surrounding these amazing finds. But one thing is always the same: somebody, somewhere, had a particular vehicle that they thought enough of at one point in time....to store it away instead of getting rid of it....yet didn't think enough about that vehicle to keep it on the road. Whether for health reasons, financial reasons, or mechanical ones....these "barn find" vehicles are allowed to stay tucked away in time.

And then for whatever reason...that changes all of a sudden.

Sometimes it is the death of someone that facilitates the sale. Other times it's nothing more than a realization that they will never see their vehicle back onto the road...and know it deserves to go to a better home with someone who will. Most of the time, it seems, the guys bringing these "barn finds" out into the light again...are professional car guys of some sort. Guys who work around cars in one manner or another, and who always seem to have their ear to the ground for a lead on the next great "barn find" classic.

Then there is me. A life-long "car crazy" guy, who isn't a professional car guy by any means....but who also appreciates a good treasure hunt when given the map. Unfortunately, that method relies heavily on sheer dumb luck. And sheer dumb luck was exactly what I had when I found this rare 1979 FJ55 Land Cruiser hidden away for the last 15 years.

1979 Toyota FJ55 Land Cruiser "Iron Pig" (1 of only 250!)

To be continued...

Welcome to my FJ55 Land Cruiser blog!

Welcome Land Cruiser junkies, "Iron Pig" fans, and FJ55 aficionados!

This blog will serve as a chronicle of my attempt to rescue a "barn find" U.S.-spec 1979 FJ55 Land Cruiser from its sunny southern California resting place, and return it to its former glory here in beautiful Wisconsin.

If you know about FJ55 Land Cruisers then you know just how rare this pig is; being 1 of only 250 imported into the U.S. for 1979. 

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Be blessed Land Cruiser fans!

-"Big Bacon"