4 minute read • Mater Cars For Cancer, Car Lottery, Mater Lotteries, Cars For Cancer
History Upgraded
Mater Cars for Cancer lottery No. 112 offers you the chance to step into history by winning an iconic 79-series LandCruiser dual cab, fully upgraded and ready for adventure. Don’t get left behind; grab a ticket today.
The LandCruiser is a familiar face in Australia; after all, we’ve been Toyota’s favourite market for the unstoppable SUV since the days of the Snowy River Project. A small batch of just 13 FJ25 LandCruisers were imported by contractor Leslie Theiss and put to work on the huge-scale project back in 1958, along with more established vehicles from Land Rover, Austin and Willys, who built the original Jeep.
Demanding conditions saw all vehicles involved suffer in some way, with the LandCruisers experiencing front axle and gearbox failures. The crucial difference was that Toyota immediately dispatched engineers to the source of the problem; nothing of this nature gets solved from behind a desk.
Ongoing improvements lead into the FJ-series, which was offered in SWB and LWB forms, with closed cabins, soft tops, utes and even a five-door wagon available. Long before the LandCruiser set shifted to New Farm from real farms, Toyota had the foresight to split the ‘Cruiser range, replacing the FJ75V wagon with the entirely restyled FJ55-series ‘Iron Pig’. This is the LandCruiser that went on to become the ubiquitous ‘Toorak Tractor’ in the 60, 80, 100, 200 and now 300 series, with each improvement balancing suburban duties with off-road capabilities.
But sometimes urban practicality comes at a cost, and as durable as those LandCruisers are, Australia is the kind of place that does not suffer compromise. This is why, in parallel to their passenger offerings, Toyota has continued to sell their workhorse range. The FJ25 series bowed out in 1985 after a 25-year production run and was replaced by the 70 series.
The range is now known as the LandCruiser 70 and despite having nearly four decades under its wheels, it’s far from outdated. Technology is keeping the old truck afloat, as it has done for a certain intrepid archaeologist whose celluloid adventures predate the ‘Cruiser 70, yet who still has a fresh movie on screen right now. Indy could have only dreamed of having one of these rigs while he was fighting the baddies.
The doors might be from 1985 but the internals are not with the latest in safety technology shoehorned into the retro shells. Likewise, pre-collision safety is taken care of with pedestrian and daylight cyclist detection, vehicle stability control, and hill descent control; the stuff of science fiction when the 70 series first hit the market.
Like all of us, the Landcruiser 70’s nose has grown with age, this time to incorporate Toyota’s beloved 4.5 litre turbo diesel V8 which is backed by an unbreakable five-speed transmission. The open road beckons with cruise control, air conditioning, power windows and a Bluetooth multimedia system, but the prize winner is going to enjoy much more than that.
The 4.5 litre V8 has been given a bit of a tickle to wake it up, with a side-exit Legendex exhaust and engine ECU remap. To cope with the extra grunt, the venerable five speed includes a heavy-duty clutch kit and upgraded flywheel. Suspension too has been given the once over, with a full array of Outback Armour gear including springs, shocks, swaybar extension brackets, bushes, and ABS extension brackets to ensure all the factory systems work as they should.
The LandCruiser 70 comes in an array of body styles, including the 79-series a dual cab ute, but this is no mine site hauler. Mater Cars for Cancer has eschewed the regular old tray for a Spinifex Manufacturing combination canopy, packed to the gills with features just aching for adventure.
The canopy includes a drawer system, LED lighting, a Bushman upright fridge, and up top, a roof-mounted iKamper Skykamp tent system capable of sleeping four people. A Hardkorr 270-degree awning keeps the sun at bay during the daylight hours.
The whole kit is complemented by big fat ROH wheels, wheel arch flares and some killer stripes just so the bad guys know who’s coming. These mods add up to over $99,000; making this a seriously adventurous machine. Couple to this some $142,447 in cashable gold bullion, and Mater Cars for Cancer essentially buys you some time away from the tools so you can get ridiculously off-road.
The last few lotteries have sold out early, and this one promises to be no different. Grab a ticket today to ensure you’ve got the chance to win this $330k prize package, and take on the biggest baddies or the greatest goodies this country has to offer.
