As gearheads we spend way too much time searching classified ads for our next dream project trucks, and that's just how we came across this Cummins-powered Land Cruiser. The seller had it on eBay, but he was close to our office so we dropped him a line and asked if we could snap some shots before it left the neighborhood. He obliged, and soon we were cruising a local trail in this flat-black oiler. The seller, Joshua Caine, is even thinking about building and selling Cummins-powered Cruisers as a side business so check out customdiesels.com if you need to have one. With early '90s luxury and Cummins torque and efficiency, this should be the recipe for a perfect long-range expedition truck.
The straight-six 5.9L Cummins...
The straight-six 5.9L Cummins 6BT out of a '90 Dodge fit in the Cruiser like a black dress on supermodel: tight and sexy. The engine bay was built for the Toyota gas straight-six, but the Cummins is a little bigger, and though it gets nearly twice the fuel economy of the gas hog it has less horsepower but nearly twice the torque. Adding an intercooler and mechanical fan would definitely take some more work to the engine bay.
The drivetrain seemed a little...
The drivetrain seemed a little undergunned to us with the 700R4 GM automatic, then adapted to the stock transfer case, and axles behind that, but this early Cummins isn't rated for more than 160 horses and 400 lb-ft of torque, so it should live for now. Plus the Cummins can be run on biodiesel or veggie oil, making it the blackest green machine on the trail.
Though it was built as a trail...
Though it was built as a trail rig, Joshua Caine had sold this truck just prior to our photo shoot, so taking it out for extreme wheeling shots was out of the question. Even so, the flat-black beautiful urban adventure vehicle with the rattling Cummins under the hood had us drooling.
Tech Specs
1994 Toyota Landcruiser
Drivetrain
Engine: '90 Dodge Cummins diesel 5.9L straight-six
Transmission: GM 700R4 automatic
Transfer Case: Stock Land Cruiser HF2AV fulltime transfer case
Front Axle: Stock Land Cruiser with 4.11 gears
Rear Axle: Stock Land Cruiser with 4.11 gears
Suspension
Springs & Such: (front) Old Man Emu 4-inch coil springs and shocks; (rear) Old Man Emu 4-inch coil springs and shocks
Tires & Wheels: 315/75R16 (34.6-in) Cooper Discoverer STT on black
stock wheels
Other Stuff: Custom Diesels aluminum bumpers