plete knucklehead when it comes to Land
Cruiser alterations and projects. I have
always been pretty poor and so have had
to make or trade for many of the things I
wanted to add to my rig. My wooden bum-
per can attest to this claim. But I had visions
of cool things and some ideas of how to get
the job done. Soon I was networking various
parts for sale for the guys who had come.
They would tell me of things they wanted to
get rid of and I would match them to other
Cruiser guys I knew who were looking for
just that particular thing.
success. There were fifteen trucks at that first
one. I continued to hold an annual event and
the few guys who had come to the first one
told others about our park rally and the event
grew each year. I contacted the guys who
gave me their phone numbers and continued
to place homemade flyers on rigs that did not
come. After years of pestering these driveway
hogs, they would eventually show up to an
event with incredible surprise and excitement.
I can't tell you how many times I heard these
guys say to me, "I will never miss another
event like this. I had no idea how many Land
Cruisers there were in Bakersfield. I thought I
was the only guy who owned one."
received permission from the local Toyota
dealership to hold our next rally on their
premises. I contacted nearby Land Cruiser
clubs from other cities and invited them. I
also encouraged vendors to come and set
up booths for free. I charged no money for
anyone to attend the rally.
the Internet. I heard that local radio stations
would run Public Service Announcements for
free and soon I was advertising the rally on a
few popular radio stations here in Bakersfield.
replaced with a computer printed flyer tell-
ing of the annual Land Cruiser Rally, which
had developed into a Cruiser swap meet
as well. Every year, I attempted to make the
next rally bigger and more beneficial for all
Land Cruiser owners. Now I was pulling
Cruisers in from all over the state and even
an FJ45 from Arizona. One year, we had a
Land Cruiser from the Czech Republic show
up that was doing a trans-world trek and
had found out about us in
Toyota Trails.
Cruiser events, I ran across
numerous opportunities to
pick up old wrecks or some
clean trucks and many parts.
I started selling spare parts
out of my garage and even
got to the point that I listed
them online. I started selling
Cruisers in the local vehicle
ads and eventually moved
date, I have owned over forty Land Cruisers
and always have one for myself. I have kept a
photo album to chronicle these various Cruisers
and the work I did on them before I sold them.
Some I didn't have to do anything to sell.
one event a year was not enough. I don't
have time to call everyone for monthly club
meetings but I agreed to offer an additional
event in the fall on a smaller scale. A restau-
rant owner in town who has a Land Cruiser
offered his parking lot and free food for
the Cruiser owners who came to this event.
We've done this smaller event now for about
five years.
Swap Meet in Bakersfield, California, is set
to take place in April. At this time, I have a
list of over 250 Land Cruiser owners who
have come to this local event over the years.
I now email many of them and call oth-
ers each year. I still place flyers on the old
holdouts around town and hope that they
will one day show up at the Rally. The event
has become bigger each year and I have to
admit, I still love it and always look forward
to the next one.
who have attended this Land Cruiser event
and help make it such a fun get together.
A few guys have stepped forward over the
years and lent a much-needed hand. It has
become more than I can do alone. Though
I have worked hard to establish this annual
Cruiser event, I always feel like I receive
more than I give. The Land Cruiser commu-
nity is awesome.