My brother's friend had an old Land Cruiser, the FJ40 type. It was ugly as sin, with a rattle can paint job and lots of off road war wounds from the rocky terrain near Durango, CO (where my brother went to college). The Land Cruiser had a 350 Chevy V8 fitted (not a hard thing to do with the proper conversion I hear, as the Toyota inline six was nearly bolt-for-bolt a copy of a Chevrolet inline six). I rode in it just once during a visit. It was downright scary when the secondaries opened up, as the truck was lifted on large tires, and its owner alluded to having rolled it more than once. It wallowed like a boat in a sea swell to the glorious tune of a very American sounding engine underhood. When the road got the better of it, repair was done simply with more spray paint and I assume a blunt, heavy object when necessary.

What a cool project, though. All the appeal of an old Land Rover or Jeep, with a distinctly Japanese flair. This is a vehicle from when the Japanese were not yet world class car makers, let alone masters of succeeding in export markets. This, of course, leads to all kinds of charm. I distinctly remember the glove box being labeled with the word "pocket". Must have seemed normal to Toyota at the time.