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40 Series: Coil Conversion, V8

FAMILY MATTERS

This hot Shorty 40 shows what can be done for a good ‘Price’

WORDS BY BRENDAN SEYMOUR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBB COX

Cast your mind back, if you will, to Issue 91. The issue was a corker, with a massive feature on private 4WD parks around the country, heaps of travel yarns, do-it-yourself tech tips and plenty of great custom trucks – including one decidedly tough Troopy.

The Troopy in question belonged to a man instrumental in the success of the Toyota LandCruiser Club of NSW, and in particular the Willowglen Challenge that’s held each year. Tony Price is the bloke's name, and he's the man half responsible for this awesome coil-sprung 40 Series LandCruiser strutting its stuff before you. The other person responsible for the buildup is Tony's son, Steve. Steve's already making a bit of a name for himself around the competition circles, and those who've been to last years' Willowglen Challenge, Nissan Trials or Woodpecker Challenges would more than likely have seen the 'Cruiser getting around. It's not an easy vehicle to overlook!

Although the truck's been extensively modified, the boys held true to the two original ideas they had about the buildup; the first being that it still had to resemble a 40 Series (which has been achieved, even down to the retention of the original speedo) and it wasn't allowed to cost the earth.

You could say the boys have a bit of a thing for tough Tojos. Apart from Tony's Cruiser, at home is another 40 Series, which is being restored to original condition (plus or minus a set of muddies).

It's funny how some parts of the truck came about. After busting the radiator in the mud run on the Willowglen property, someone offhandedly remarked that a mate of theirs had a brand new radiator for sale for $500. A bit steep, it seemed, until he mentioned the rest of the truck came with it!

So off Tony and Steve ambled to check the little old 40 out, which turned out to be a BJ (diesel) with a stuck motor. After a bit of the folding stuff changed hands, the truck was trailered home for a better inspection. The diamond in the rough wasn't just the new radiator – but a genuine 40 Series diesel ratio 5speed gearbox hidden away under the rust!

The radiator, gearbox and other bits and pieces were stripped from the donor vehicle and bolted into the competition truck, and once again it was more than ready for competition.

So what does the future hold? Well, the 307 is getting a little tired, and it's harder to get it to wake up these days. Rumour has it a four-bolt mains small-block Chev backed to a beefed-up auto 'box is being prep'd to be installed in the 40 really soon. Can someone say 'unstoppable'?

The best thing about this truck is that it's completely home-made, on a tight budget. It's as competitive as some of the rigs out there that owe their owners five times what the 40 cost, and it's a fine example of good old fashioned ingenuity. Go the 40!

Under mentioned

Hop into the cabin of the 40 and there's no mistaking what vehicle you're in. Whilst a lot of people doing up these tough Tojos modify the dash with a late-model gauge cluster, the boys remained true to their maxim of 'keeping it 40' by retaining the speedo and adding a few extra gauges. Of course, there's an extra twenty-odd switches to control all the additional accessories fitted to the vehicle, including the familiar Air Locker switches.

A custom-made fuel tank runs beneath both of the aftermarket bucket seats, which are fitted with Sparco race harnesses. Tony mentions that at over 6ft, he's a little tall for the seats and sometimes finds himself bending down to see out of the windscreen. A set of fire extinguishers are in easy reach of both driver and navvy.