Marlin, in his shop, proudly holding one of his low-geared transfer cases. He pulled this one out of it's shipping box to show me what I would be getting installed into my truck. This one was headed for New Mexico, I think.

I finally came up with the cash to get the upgrades to my truck to make it more capable on the trail and more comfortable to drive anywhere I decide to take it. One of the primary upgrades is the dual transfer case and extra low gears designed, assembled and sold by Marlin at his shop in Fresno, California. After talking to him about getting my truck into his shop for several months, I was finally able to secure an appointment, and took my truck in the Sunday after Christmas, 1998. My buddy Mike went along with me, and drove my Corolla so we could get back home. Marlin has run his main business, an automotive repair shop in the same location for 14 years. He started his Toyota truck and Land Cruiser upgrade business some time later. He has gotten to the point that the Toyota upgrade business is becoming at least a full time occupation, so he is trying to work his way out of the general repair business to concentrate on the upgrade business. He has been working many long hours and weekends trying to keep up with the demand for his many upgrades. You can see his catalog and pricelist on his web page Marlin Crawler .   For now the automotive repair business is housed in the front of the building, while the upgrade business is run out of the back of the building, with access through a side door. You can see my truck, and several other vehicles and trucks parked back there, all in the process of getting some repair or upgrade. Around the back of the building is Marlin's collection of spare parts. He uses old transfer cases as the raw materials to build his upgrades. You can see he is quite a collector. Need any driveline parts for your truck? He is likely to have what you need. Inside the shop, Marlin had his 1980 longbed parked. When Mike and I arrived, he was welding a Marfield joint. You can read more details on the his upgrades to the Birfield joints by following the link. I had previously purchased and installed my set. (#048 and #049) while installing my front True Trac and 4.88 gears.  When Mike and I arrived, Marlin finished his Marfield, then showed us around his shop. I told him I was taking some pictures for my web site and he directed me to the business side of his shop. Here he is showing us some of the adapter cases and other parts he has in stock. While there had been a supply problem in the past, he seems to have the inventory problem solved. Here is Mike, who is a machinist, admiring the finish work done on one of the 4.70 gear sets that Marlin has built for his transfer case upgrades. Mike was impressed by the craftsmanship, and there seemed to be plenty onhand to fulfill incoming orders. Marlin also showed us the super tie rods he makes, as well as the crossover steering he and Jon from All Pro Off Road have perfected. Marlin's truck has a nice setup, as did a flatbed Toy that one of Marlin's associates was working on that day. Marlin spent quite a long time examining my truck, and we talked at length about what I wanted, and what he could do for the truck. We agreed what was to be done, and his original estimate of 2-3 days became two full weeks. That was fine with me, as I have no immediate demands for the truck, and Marlin has other customers who are pressuring him for quicker response. When the tour and discussion was over, Marlin got down to business, and wrote up an estimate for the work to be done on my truck. Here is a picture of him in his 'office', working on the open tail gate of his pickup. I am having a complete second transfer case installed, with 4.70 gears in the rear case. He is going to install short throw kits in both transfer cases, and offset the rear shift lever forward to clear my center console. I am getting the lighted shift lever installed on the center case, to show when the low gears are activated. The installation includes modifying the driveshafts and crossmember as required. He is also going to overhaul my transmission, install the Downey Super Clutch kit I provided, and resurface the flywheel while the transmission is out. He said there are two possibilities for the transmission type I have in the truck. There was an early one with a small diameter input bearing, and a later one with a larger bearing. He promised to be sure I left with the more robust bearing, even if he had to use a case core he had onhand. He is also going to straighten out the mess of the bent and cutout floor I inherited when I bought my truck with its body lift, and install some real shift lever boots. I am looking forward to less road noise coming up through the floor, as well as a quieter transmission, after my 5th gear whine is reduced. And of course, the off-road advantages of the Crawler gears. The whole thing came out just under $3000, plus tax and an hourly rate for whatever time it takes to fix my floor.