the new Land Cruiser looks good, obvious visual connection with the early ones... and 20 minutes after I see that in traffic, I see the Lexus version

 

Jun Cheng Manufacturing in Baoying China

https://www.facebook.com/Larry.Chen.Driftfotos/posts/pfbid02n96sNGXxkSAvqPWn2WSUBhycnKsiG79S4BSDriLDD9n8ArmYtP84MwBLnsEQ3NZ7l

this is quite rare.... a 1990s left hand drive Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Active Vacation (JDM Camper edition)

It's hard to stand out in Mira Mesa in the Asian car area of San Diego. But this does it.  

I just heard from my morning FM radio show hosts, that there are a LOT of stories, mostly tear jerkers, during the current winter Olympics. Here's one they mentioned

U.S. Olympic cross-country skier Ben Ogden, who raced at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and the current 2026 Italy Winter Olympics

His father, John, a former cross-country skier, famously woke up at 4 a.m. to clear a homemade ice rink on a local pond using a John Deere lawnmower equipped with a custom-built Zamboni attachment to save his son the time wasted to go to town (or something similar) to get in his practice efforts on the local ice rink

Ensuring the ice was perfect for them, he engineered his own "Zamboni" system to smooth out the ice, a testament to the DIY spirit that supported Ben's athletic development.

Ben Ogden made Olympic history earlier this week, ending the United States’ 50-year medal drought in cross-country skiing. The two-time Olympian claimed silver in the men’s cross-country skiing sprint. He is just the second U.S. man to claim an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing since Bill Koch, also a native Vermonter like Ogden, did at the Innsbruck Games in 1976.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/us-olympian-ben-ogden-was-introduced-to-skiing-by-his-father/ar-AA1W62Ee#:~:

I just learned the origin of the Land Cruiser was the same as the Range Rover... the WW2 Jeep

After the war, the Jeep lived on in Japan in two different forms. 

In the early ‘50s, Toyota produced a version called the Jeep BJ with the intention of selling it to the US military then embroiled in the Korean War. Instead, Toyota ended up selling it to the Japanese National Police Agency thanks to a stunt that involved driving a BJ up Mt. Fuji. 

In an effort to differentiate their Jeep, it was later renamed “Land Cruiser,” which soon became its own line of original, Japanese-designed off-road vehicles. 

The Land Cruiser would also become the first major overseas sales success for Toyota, despite only selling exactly one of them during their first year of operation in the United States.

https://www.zimmerit.moe/the-cars-of-yasuo-otsuka/

Con Ferr, of Burbank, built/customized two vehicles for Steve McQueen, a Jeep, and his Thomas Crown Affair Manx.... realizing this makes it a very significant company, I had to learn about it

and the Super Jeep https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/08/con-ferr-incorporated-in-burbank-made.html which I haven't figured out, did they build it for Steve, or, did he do them the favor of posing with it for publicity photos, as they sure were in business together, they sold the seats Steve patented, that Solar Productions made (see below)

This only JUST connected for me today, that Con Ferr, did two vehicles for Steve McQueen, and got me wondering, what WAS Con Ferr? Did they have a name for making customs? Or just working for the very rich? 

So, here's what I found out:

Con-Ferr was a company known for manufacturing off-road accessories and equipment, particularly for Jeeps and other 4x4 vehicles. founded in 1961 by Pete Condos & Frank Ferro though eventually Pete bought out Frank to become sole owner.

Pete Condos was an innovator in accessories for Land Cruisers, he coined the term Off-Road

Pete had a background in Scouts, while Frank had a background in Jeeps. Their goal was to provide specialty off-road products for both types of vehicles. To that end, not only did they run their parts shop in Burbank, California, they also built custom jeeps like the Super Jeep.

Pete’s driver, Bill Haddad, drove Condo’s race jeeps to 18 victories in the 21 races in which he entered.

Pete would go on to co-found the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA) in 1966, which produced races like the Baja 1000 and Mint 500. During that time, Condos also produced racing vehicles for other folks, such as off-road racers for Steve McQueen and James Garner.

In 1970, Con-Ferr billed itself as America’s largest Off-Road vehicle accessory provider and had more than 44,000 square feet of storage, work, and retail space. It was an authorized dealer of Kaiser Jeep, Toyota Land Cruiser, and Manx.

https://www.ewillys.com/2019/07/30/early-1970s-con-ferr-catalog-pages/

I translate "by Solar Plastics" as meaning this is the Steve McQueen patented seat I posted about

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2006/11/steve-mcqueen.html

This is the Scout, that Pete Condos owned

Con-Ferr stuff was available at IH dealers. Many accessory parts were 'tied in' by corporate and made available for direct order by dealerships. Offerings were commonly noticed to dealers using the Parts Mike bulletins, and included specialized dealership tools. A lot of the accessories were also issued as addenda to the MT-87 Necessaries catalog.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/pete-condos-frank-ferro-con-ferr.351433/

Wow, imagine being at that Hall Of Fame ceremony... Garner, McQueen, Hickey, Stroppe? That's the Who's Who of celebs in off roading

Born on May 8th, 1925, Condos grew up in the suburbs to the north of Chicago. He spent many hours of his young years at a local speed shop learning the skills needed to customize cars making them into hot rods. He helped to hop up Model A’s and B’s, but his time spent at the garage came to a quick end with the beginning of World War II.

In 1942 he joined the United States Navy. He served on the U.S.S. Nevada as a seaman. After the war he returned to Chicago and completed his high school education and resumed his interest in hot rods. 

He began building and racing roadsters and coupes. His first Roadster was a 1934 Ford that he completed in 1948, and he became a charter member of Andy Granatelli's Hurricane Hot Rod Racing Association.

In 1948 he moved to So Cal and joined the Throttler Car Club, (dry lakes racing). 

In 1950 Earl “Madman” Muntz hired him to assist with the fabrication of the Muntz Road Jet car. Condos worked for Muntz building the high-end custom cars which were purchased by Hollywood’s elite. 

In 1961 he purchased his first I.H. Scout so that his hunting trips to Nevada, Montana, and Idaho would be easier, while on the trips, he realized the need for different accessories for the Scout and he began making accessories for the Scout. He worked with Frank Ferro and the two would discuss accessories that would be useful for both Jeeps and Scouts. The two men started their own company, Con-Ferr in 1961.

https://ormhof.org/pete-condos

How crazy of a coincidence is that, I just posted on the Dec 7th Pearl Harbor attack yesterday and Pete was crew on the USS Nevada, the only ship that got underway that morning. 

Amazing... he was in WW2, in the Throttlers CC, worked for Muntz, co founded NORRA, pioneered Baja racing, coined the term Off Roading, made the Manx for Steve McQueen in the Thomas Crown Affair, and made cars for James Garner... which I'll guess was the Olds or the SC/Rambler Baja racers... I'll see if I can verify that

I'm still surprised what people drive to work...

 

damn shame someone doesn't see these interesting concepts and make them real and bring them to SEMA , Goodwood, or the Autorama

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10227771069362408&set=a.1617402035143

In the classic 70s Disney sequel to The Shaggy Dog, there is a scene in The Shaggy DA where the bad guys are chasing the good guys, who grab a Toyota Land Cruiser to try and escape from a warehouse.. interesting paint scheme

why does it seem like they tried to make it look like a Wrangler

fun looking Land Cruiser hot rod in the Toyota stand at the west end of the central hall

Anyone else get a kick out of the classic 80s movies, and the cool vehicles in those? I do, and am rewatching some, like tonights flick Lost Boys (hell of a great soundtrack too, maybe, the best)

this is a 1968 Land Cruiser

the comedy bit, was grandpa took the young kid into the barn to got to town in his 57 Fairlane, but he only turned it on and revved the engine, then shut it down and got out.

Looks like a Power Wagon behind the Land Cruiser

Made in Japan, exported to the Persian Gulf area, and now for sale at auction in Palm Springs

 

from an auction company I've never heard of before, McCormick's of Palm Springs.

Their site has a nice feature, and a lousy one. The photos are pinhead size. But, you can organize the list of "all" and then "by year" so you can quickly see if something you want is listed. 

Since there is only one car from 1970 and only 3 from 1969, you can easily see that they don't have a whatever you wanted, for example

Or you can arrange by manufacturer, and see quickly that there are only 2 Mustangs. So, if you wanted a BOSS 302, for example, you'd know instantly that they don't have one

https://www.classic-carauction.com/featured-cars?auctionid=13264

the Toyota Land Cruiser came about when Japan wanted a vehicle similar to the American Jeep, and discovering one abandoned in the Philippines, ordered Toyota to reverse engineer the Jeep and build their own version.

https://garagestylemagazine.com/scenes-from-another-time/

So, that makes the Land Cruiser, and the Land Rover, results of the WW2 Jeep

seen on today's walk

yeah, that is a Mecum auction license plate. 

 

and that is two Z 28s in a couple blocks of each other, but NEITHER is the 69 I'm hoping to find for Mike, unrestored, and for sale

seen on tonight's walk, a lot of cool cars