greetings to everyone! :cheer2: i'm new here and i can't help but register after reading this particular thread. mtgal na ko nagbabasa-basa dito, actually mga 2 months ago, since nacarnap un FX namen sa harap ng bahay mismo . i was awake that time, heard the engine start, and just had enough time to get up from bed while watching a movie, peek through the window of my room, see it getting driven away and say: "see ya round buddy. not.". at first, looking me for security stuff n pwde lagay sa sasakyan pra d n maulet then mga review ng sasakyan if ever we decide to buy a new car.

anyway, meron kaming otj, circa 1991. inassemble sha d2 sa garahe namen and my father would say it's "katas ng sabong". it ran on an isuzu diesel engine, the name of which i forgot, and thanks to the magic of wikipedia i learned that it is pulled by 53 horses but the torque stayed elusive. indeed his brothers and buddies use it every weekend to "go to school" and our personal school service on weekdays. gamit din namen sha pg uuwi kme to quezon from pasig and i remember ako lan an di natatakot pg humahataw na ito to 80kph and overtaking provincial buses on a 2 lane/2way hi-way (since bata lang me then) since mjo mkalampag sha, while fully loaded with 9 people inside and any combination of boxes of fighting cocks, coconuts, rice, buwigs of banana etc. on the top rack. i started to learn driving in it at age 11 (1996) since abot ko na un mga pedals nya then a few months later bnili namen un fx. at first alternating sila ng takbo but we eventually favored the fx since it's more fashionable, we loved a/c and we don't get soaked pg umuulan. nun mjo regular na ko nagd-drive (i.e. going to school, going out w/ my girl), gnagamit ni erpat un otj pg sabay kme my lakad, and i drive him around in the fx pg libre ako.

then na-stroke my dad 6 years ago, paralyzed the right side of his body. the doctor said dun sa scale na 1-15 where, if i remember correctly 13 killed fpj, my dad suffered the 11 (or 13 if fpj's was 15, i forgot). we expected he would recover but parang he wasnt willing anymore kya until now, he can't speak, it takes him 10mins to walk from his room to the dining room, around 8meters. so kme na lan nun half-brother ko (to my mother) driver nun 2 vehicles and i guess understood na na ako my priority dun sa fx if i needed it. by 2006 bhira nman kme sabay my lakad ng kuya ko and since 1 car lan un garage namen, my uncle asked my mother if he could buy the otj for a cheap 10k since relatives naman and it wasnt exactly a beauty. he would use it for his work in construction and we had no idea how exactly it was being used.

now na wala n un fx, knuha namen un otj since we need a vehicle for some errands. the supports of the top rack on the left side was bent, prolly due to heavy cargoes, and the engine roars on the slightest touch of the accelerator on top of the engine sounding four times noisier.

it's always been my mother's dream to steeltop our otj and a/c'ed. indeed, she never even glanced on any vehicle that doesn't resemble an otj when we were considering on buying a new car. mjo mlaki un ggas2sin nun nag-canvass kme and i told her if ggastos din ng ganon kalaki, bihisan n lan un owner kesa doble gastos of buying a new one, not to mention ako na lang ang driver dito sa bahay after my brother died 2.5 years ago. it's been 3 weeks since the work started and in another week, bbalik n sha. i hope mganda un kkalabasan and i'll post pics. sayang lang walang pic nun lumang ichura nya but he looked more or less liked other older otj's posted here.

ano na balita dun sa otj club na10 hehehe? cheers and good day! :bye: