This is a good one.....

So I'm poking around on the 40 I just bought.....(I dragged it down from Canada a couple of weeks ago) and the plate which has the serial number on it, is in German!

Does Toyota have a plant over there? And is my rig a real import....from Europe?!

LOL!!!

:rasta:

Toyota doesn't have a plant in Germany, but Land Cruisers sold in Germany would have had ID plates in German. Considering Canada traditionally has had more open importation policies than the US, it's very possible that's where the truck originally came from. What year is it? There were some characteristics *specific* to Euro-spec 40 series that may give it away, is it stockish or long past that?

I love Cruiser mysteries! :)

thats cool, i like the japanese writing on some of the cruiser parts, pretty cool to have german

I wanna get me one of those shirts with toyota written in gook.:D

It seems to have a pre 74 window frame....wipers are at the top (cant tell if its original). It has standard ignition, whereas the USA models had electronic at that time. Engine serial number jives with the frame serial number (august 78 production).

I'll clean her up, and post a digi pic of the plate.

At what point do newbies have attachment posting privs?

Tommy

Originally posted by Mr McGee
I wanna get me one of those shirts with toyota written in gook.:D


:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
That "gook" would be Katakana letters. Katakana is the syllabic script used for foreign loan words, brand names, or the names of persons and geographical places that can't be written in kanji. Kanji is the Japanese writing system consisting of over 3000 symbols. Try learning that over a 26 letter alphabet. Expand your mind!

Now we are in my back yard....I lived in Asia for 12 years.....most of that time in Hong Kong.....you would not believe the shock value I can generate while ordering at a chinese resty here in the states!

:eek:

Or you listen to them talk about you, when they think you are a dumb American that can't understand, and leave them with a few choice words as you depart in there native language.....:skull:

dig the german plate!
i grew up over there so i can translate if needed, although i'm sure it's pretty self explanatory.

i still have the original keys for my 45 and they have a bunch of "gook" symbols on them.:rasta:

Prior to 1986, importation laws in the US were pretty lax. I researched the number of vehicles imported by individuals, and even with poor records, it was astounding, well over 50,000 a year, of all brands/makes/models.

In my years of tracking down interesting or exotic Land Cruisers I've come across some pretty interesting stuff, FJ40's and FJ45's from dozens of countries, with very interesting stories.

Assuming that Canada had similar laws (probably even more lax, going by existing ones), just imagine the possibilities! And that's for the lighter shades of gray, add to that all the "shady" importations! :)

Originally posted by Mr McGee
I wanna get me one of those shirts with toyota written in gook.:D

Nothing like racial slurs on the BB:rolleyes: How old are you? Nothing like proving to everyone you are a complete RED NECK:clown2: :flipoff:

What does "SOA" mean?

SOA=spring over axel

tnx