ABOUT
BACKGROUND
As a youngster, William Strong was always around vehicles and engine conversions.
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“My Dad would bring in V8 Diesel Engines from USA and fit them into Land Cruisers, so I have always been around Engine Conversions more so than general Vehicle Repairs. When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I would get stuck into the workshop with my Dad.”
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When William was 23 and living on the South Coast of Kwa Zulu Natal, he opened his own business serving the Taxi Industry, doing Engine Conversions on Mercedes Sprinters and VW Crafters to Lexus V8’s. This was bread and butter for many years.
At the age of 27, William moved to Mozambique where he owned two Toyota Land Cruiser – one 4.2 Straight 6 and a V8 – both of which were extremely heavy on fuel.
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“Both of the Land Cruisers were so heavy on fuel. The 4.2, you reversed faster than 5th gear, and the V8 – yes, you got good power, but the fuel consumption was ridiculous. I eventually sold them and bought a Toyota Hilux instead.”
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One day, the opportunity came up to buy a Land Cruiser pickup at an affordable price, as it used to be an Ambulance. Within 3 months, William built the vehicle up, and decided to use the vehicle as the guinea pig for an Engine Conversion.
“This Land Cruiser that I have built up and done the engine and gearbox conversion in has a 2.8 GD6 engine with a 6-speed manual gearbox onto the transfer case for the Land Cruiser, so the 4×4 works and front and rear diff locks all work perfectly.
So this Land Cruiser is not only economical to drive,but it is running a really comfortable RPM at higher speeds.
The ratios are all pretty well matched. I am so confident in what I have done to this vehicle, and I am ready to offer it as a service to others.
I have done 36000km now with the vehicle, towing Sprinter Busses from all around the country – it is a beautiful vehicle to drive!
The main objective for me was to have an economical everyday vehicle for myself – I have two fuel tanks with a total volume of about 170l, and I am averaging about 1600km on them – and I don’t drive slowly, I am rarely driving slower than 120km on the highway..”
