Project Evergreen Part 1 – Introduction
Backstory
In 2015 I was bit by the Land Cruiser bug. Having “just” my 2011 Toyota Tacoma to play in, and it being a somewhat expensive vehicle to damage offroad, I decided a second rig was in order. While Land Cruisers are legendary for their reliability, the 80 Series is perhaps the pinnacle of Toyota’s offroad engineering efforts. Overbuilt in virtually every aspect, sporting a solid front axle with birfields, and a full-floater rear axle, they are extremely tough and capable. In my opinion, the combination of capabilities, reliability, and comfort in the 80 Series is simply hard to beat at any price point. I quickly found a 1993 Triple-locked FZJ80 with 234k miles and all the goodies already installed. I went ahead and bought the rig, and the seller has since become a friend of mine, that will become an important fact later in the story.