Without a doubt some of the coolest vehicles ever built came from the military. Just think of where we would be without our beloved 21.2-ton axles or one of the greatest vehicles of all time-the Willy's MB (the original flatfender). Like most military technology, the old is constantly being discarded just as the new, more advanced tech gets quietly ushered in. This leaves us (the civilian market) with a wealth of discarded military toys that we can get our greasy hands on to create our own superior machines.
It was with this notion that Todd gronsdahl built his beastly blown Toyota Land cruiser for his snow wheeling adventures in kelowna, British columbia. We caught up with Todd after an off-road expo here in southern california and convinced him to show us that his monster can dominate more than just the snow. One of the more unique features of the custom cruiser is the combination of gama goat axles with a custom front and rear independent suspension setup from creative Motor sports that allows Todd to raise and lower each individual tire via the custom joystick controller mounted atop the center console.
The idea behind the aluminum-bodied rig was to combine high ground clearance and big power within a lightweight platform to keep the snow hurler powerful enough to get through the soft stuff, but light enough to not become snowbound. From the 550ci blown big-block to the monster 46-inch Mickey Thompson tires, we can't help but think that this has to be one of the coolest powder huckers that we've ever come across.
Year/Make/Model: custom tube frame with aluminum Toyota Land cruiser FJ-40 body
Drivetrain
Engine: 550ci cadillac with Weiand blower
Transmission: nv4500
Transfer Case: atlas ii 3:1
Front Axle: Magnesium-cased gama goat, 5.57 gears
Rear Axle: Magnesium-cased gama goat, 5.57 gears
Suspension
Springs & Shocks: custom air-ride 16-inchtravel shocks from creative Motor sports with Fox remote-reservoir shocks
Steering: Front and rear hydraulic
Tires & Wheels: 46x19.50 Mickey Thompson Baja claws on Weld racing 15x14 bead locks
Other Stuff: Joystick controller to control the air suspension, 11.2-inch chromoly chassis, custom bumpers, Warn winch