Given some of the mad prices being fetched for old FJ LandCruisers in recent times, you’d reckon that Greg Abrehart may have pissed off a few Toyota purists with his super-modified pull truck, ‘Sudden Impact.’
Fear not, Greg reckons that there’s enough bog in this FJ45 cab to justify its role as a wheelhouse in the 2-wheel-drive truck pulling class.
In fact, that’s pretty much all that is Toyota on the whole rig. Under that bonnet is a Dandy Engines built and stroked 510 cube big block. The mumbo gets to the gumbo via a Powerglide, a 10-speed overdrive Road Ranger and the planetary diff out of a Leyland bus. All that sits in a Mazda T3500 truck chassis!
Truck class pullers are restricted to naturally aspirated power plants, and most opt for big-block donks.
Sudden Impact is the result of a four-year build and this has been its first season out of the shed. It debuted at this year’s Tooradin pull, and Greg is pretty happy with the result.
“It’s been a crowd pleaser, that’s for sure,” he says. “And we haven’t had any breakages this season either!”
It was clearly a crowd favourite when we filmed it at the Diesel and Dirt Derby in Keith, South Australia, with that raging big-block Chevy bellowing down the track and the ’Cruiser hanging the wheels in the air more than a couple of times.
With a grin Greg signs off with, “We’re just having fun at this stage!” Fun indeed.