I had to choose a color, tiny rust spots were starting to get bigger - a year outside in the elements was accelerating the need for treatment and protection.I could not stick to dune beige...I had 3 different layers of it from previous owner rattlecans, to the original paint. There are 3 or 4 beige 40/43s just in our club.
I liked red..in fact thats the color of the 40 that started all this.
I liked green..but the john deere green color looked too "tractory".
My huz has been my guide and is my soulmate in this adventure. He knows engines, he knows bodywork and he deals with my cranky "I can do it!"Blue. Its his color..its the color of our favorite place (the ocean), its the color in the sky when he feels the need to be outside soaking up sun. Its HIM. Jane had to be blue. Rustoleum makes a professional enamel color called Safety Blue. We initially sanded and sprayed the tire carrier. after 6 months, we had not seen any fade or wear..so..Safety Blue. The huz decided to take a week off before Logans Run just to paint Jane. Everyday, all day in a muggy heavy summer heat he was out there..I had it easier, going to work..and then just taping whatever he had next. I removed small pieces and dropped them in my electrolysis bucket then sanded and sprayed..The huz led this 100 percent and he did a beautiful job..Even now as I look at jane I have a hard time believing this was a rattlecan in my gravel drive way. The man has got a gift. I couldnt live him more.

This year, we went to a Hamom with our club -the club can be found here: www.onsc4x4.com . A hamom convenes members together to work on group projects. Generally the member requesting a hamom does the planning and hosting. We also trailered Jane up to Leith Toyota in Raleigh for a truck show

One of the mud forum members contacted me. He said he had a 1974 FJ 40 and he was loath to get rid of it - but it seemed wrong to leave it sitting. This was my first view of the 40 that has become my personal obsession. Within a week we drove the 3 hours to see this Landcruiser.

The moment I saw her I knew. I almost forgot to ask if I could drive it. I got in, the previous owner in the passenger seat - and I drove it exactly 50 feet, turned it around and parked it. He knew, I knew, my husband knew - this landcruiser could have heaved a gasping death rattle, collapsed and I wouldve still wanted it.

The first step in buying a Landcruiser is to buy it from someone who doesn't want to sell it. My 40s previous owner looked heartsick that day..when we shook on the deal, I squealed, grabbed his hand and gave him a giant bear hug.  For one of us, it was the passing of a family member - and for the other, it was a newborn baby.

My husband had already arranged for a flatbed tow. The tow truck driver jumped out looks at my brand spanking new 40 and scratches his head. My huz asks him "you ever seen a vehicle like this?"
To which he replies "Only in a Tarzan movie"

And meJane, my FJ40 originally rolled off the assembly line in January of 1974 - 38 years later she came to me..Ill leave you with a quote from me in a post on mud

Why do I want an FJ40? Metaphorically - I understand them. They bulky in all the right places, theyre tough and yet beautiful they take a licking and keep on going. Theyre stubborn and faithful. Theyre cranky on cold mornings.. In other words...they remind me..of me!

ih8mud.com - where the enablers of your landcruiser addiction aren't ashamed to say they help you hide the metaphorical bottles.
They were friendly - they knew a lot - and they totally answered my questions..They warned me.
Its a money pit...say goodbye to your kids college fund..youll love it..you do realize it more than likely will not have AC/Power Steering/Power Brakes?
But the best part of it was an invite from the Landcruiser Clubhouse here in NC to a show in Charlotte..and the huz, the kid and I went. Stating the obvious but here goes. Going to the Olde North State Cruisers Show was the first time Id ever actually TOUCHED a FJ40 - yet I was completely convinced that I would have one. Seeing these 40s live and in person made my knees weak - like I was meeting celebrities. I was in love with every single one of them.

This exhibition was five hours from where we lived. We took the backroads all the way home afterwards - I looked at every garage, every field all the way home-wondering where my FJ40 was hiding.

I turned 40 last September - Ive never had a problem with getting older..but if you look back on my other pages here, youll see that a couple of years back I had pretty decent health scare. Ive always been 'lucky'..just not the kind of lucky that helps you win the MegaBucks Lottery.
Im lucky in the way that when I relate my experiences, I get a low whistle from the listener..even to me some of my 'luck' seems a bit on the fantastic side. But I can tell you this with some degree of accuracy, a lifetime of 'luck' did NOT prepare me for putting a face on my mortality when I turned 40.
40. Im officially old and getting older by the day. What does this have to do with the beautiful Toyota at the top of the page..a whole hell of a lot. I was kicking rocks, mopey, working every day - screwing around and just generally not.doing.anything.
One day Im driving down the road and I see this shiny red FJ40 with a for sale sign on it. I couldve run off the road, I was staring at it so hard...with its shiny white top and round eyes..I felt like a giggly school girl.
I thought about it for days. I never stopped to even kick the tires. You dont see 40s here on the North Carolina coast. Not in person..I convinced myself that it had to be selling at a price I couldnt possibly afford.
After a couple of weeks I'd decided that the next time I drove by - I was going to stop in and give it a look..and it was gone. Now I was obsessed with the Toyota FJ40. I was combing Craigslst and skulking around various forums and their classified sections. I was looking at pictures on www of 40s. I wanted one. I would get one. I knew it.After several weeks of showing my patient husband HUNDREDS of 40s online he had one minor question.
"How do you know you want one? You should probably drive one at least once.."
HA! I immediately determined he had no idea what he was talking about..then his ability to read me better than anyone else kicked in and he posed a different question.
"Why dont you join one of the forums - talk to them, maybe one of them would give you advice on where to find one - or maybe even let you at least drive one to see if it really is what you want"
And I did.