Having traveled around the countryside as a child for years in varying models of Toyota’s, it being the very model I was taught to drive in, it was almost inevitable that one day I was going to have a 62 series Landcruiser to call my own.

It didn’t take long for the spanners to come out and the mods underway. And the rest, as they say, is history…

Pictures – click to view

 

Owner Profile

Name: Shayne Tilley
Nickname: Tils
Place you call Home: Lilydale, Victoria, Australia
Years Driving Off-Road: 10+
View Shayne’s Full Profile

 

The Rig

• Make: Toyota
• Model: Landcruiser Sahara FJ62
• Year: 1986
• Color: Gun Metal Grey

The Mods

• 3 Inch Suspension Lift
• 2 Inch Body Lift
• 35 Inch Goodyear MTR;s
• Custom Drawer System
• 350ci Chevy Engine Conversion
• Custom Rear Drawers
• ARB Bull Bar
• DBR Slotted Brake Rotors
• SAAS Bucket Seats and Harness
• Front and Rear ARB Air Lockers
• and much much more…

How did the project begin?

I was happy playing around with a pretty standard truck. Then one hot new years eve the piston bearings went bang in the old 3F. So my long term plan for the chevy engine conversion got put on fast forward and the rest just snowballed from there.

How long has the project taken?

It’s still very much a work in progress, but I’ve owned the truck for about three years with most of the work being completed in the last two. I drive the cruiser to work every day so I’ve got to try and limit time off the road… Anything I can’t do in a weekend I tend to leave alone.

How did you go about the build?

To start of I rebuilt all the running gear, this included everything from the shocks, suspension to smaller stuff like new bearings, brake rotors, tie-rod ends, and bushes. From there I moved to the engine. It took quite a while to complete the conversation but I’m extremely happy with the result. Next was the interior, new seats, harness, roller drawers and so on. As I mentioned it’s still a work in progress, but it’s tough enough to hit the bush pretty hard and comfortable enough to drive an hour to work each day.

What’s been the mod that’s make the biggest difference?

I’m sort of split between two major mods. The 35 inch rubber made a huge difference. I’m extremely happy with the MTR’s. Second would be the ARB Lockers. On an old truck with no LSD the difference it makes is massive!

What was your biggest challenge

I’d have to say the engine conversion… No wait.. convincing my fiancee to let me spend the money. Yeah that was a challenge!

If you could go back in time, what would you change?

In hindsight, I would have probably opted for the chevy diesel. Don’t get me wrong, the power of the 350 is awesome but I ending up having to run straight LPG to satisfy the engineer so it’s limited the truck to weekenders rather than long journeys.

What was your build budget?

I’d say around 20K including the cost of the truck.

What’s next?

good question, I’m probably going to need to freshen up the shocks and springs, I’m considering a coil conversion but I’m not convinced it’s the way to go. I also need to fit some sliders and a custom rear step. Lastly a winch is on the agenda, when I can afford it…

If your interested in more information on the chevy conversion it’s available in a separate article

9 Responses to “Readers Rigs: Classic 62 Series Landcruiser”

• September 15th, 2008 John:

  Love to see some pictures of the engine

• September 15th, 2008 toymods:

  Hey can anyone get there truck featured?

• September 15th, 2008 wyworry:

  Nice Shayne — I wondered when we’d see your truck here

• September 15th, 2008 Shayne:

  @toymods – if you’re interested email me at Shayne (at) 4×4fever.com

• September 15th, 2008 Shayne:

  @John – yeah I’ve got to pull my finger out and take some shots of the engine. I’ll see what I can do.

• October 19th, 2008 Graham:

  Nice 60 mate. I see the 35inch MTRs are the weapon of choice too! I bet its got some grunt with the chevvy.

• October 19th, 2008 Shayne:

  yeah the MTRs are awesome. A good mate of mine runs a beaurepaires store and convinced me it was the way to go. I couldn’t have been happier. And the chev is a lot of fun — I had to quieten it down (by about 30 Db) to get the engineer to sign off, but when I put to hot dog back on, you’ll certainly hear me coming…

• October 20th, 2008 Graham:

  haha nice one. Yeah me too couldnt be happier with the MTR’s. Im hoping to get my 13BT as loud as a chev soon, with a real short straight through pipe. gotta love the sound of a screaming 4wd up a sand dune!

• December 24th, 2008 qacybycu pornij:

  fitting location! fine done!

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