RUDY TROOPY

HERE'S LIVING PROOF THAT SOMETHING THAT WAS ONCE A WORKHORSE CAN BE TURNED IN TO A FAMILY PET

- WORDS * PHOTOS OWNER WITH GUY ALLEN

For Sean Santoro, while the looming COVID lockdowns of 2020 had lots of negatives, there was perhaps one bright spot: He decided he needed a project. He explains, "It was about June 2020 and I was thinking it would be great to have something in the garage I could tinker with."

Okay, but what exactly? “So then I started looking at YouTube videos, camping videos - one thing led to another and I got on to a channel called Overland Travellers.” They're an Australian couple that were going around the country in a troop carrier - albeit a later model than Sean’s.

With a target in mind he then started looking for further inspiration and tripped over the FJ Company out of the USA. It builds custom restomods out of early LandCruisers, many of which look fabulous. And so they should. As Sean noted, “Their pricing starts at US$180,000! And I started thinking well I could do something for less than that.”

He found a good 'foundation' for the project for about $10,000 and reckoned he could get what he wanted, doing much of the work himself, for well under what the finished product was likely to be worth.

We're talking of a 1978 model FJ40 Troopy, in tired but reasonably complete shape. "It had nice straight channels and it wasn't too rusty," says Sean. "It was good enough to work with."

And, of course, you should have some fun along the way.

"The idea was to get it into the garage, pretty it up, have a beer in it, tinker with stuff. I've got a great photo of me and my mate sitting in the back with a beer There is another of daughter in there, with a headlamp on, reading a book."