About CEV

Classic Expedition Vehicles started as a side project between friends — a couple of old Land Cruisers rescued from the desert and a shared fascination with exploring the wilderness in classic machines.

Back in 2017, I met Devon Barker. We became fast friends and started camping and adventuring almost religiously with our wives and dogs. By 2018, he had me hooked on Land Cruisers and four-wheeling. Devon grew up learning machining, wrenching, and fabrication from his dad, Dale, and understood these trucks from the inside out. I came from a background in engineering and product design, so I saw the same beauty he did in the old trucks, reliability, and capability.

In 2019, Devon started developing a Land Cruiser event called the Steamboat Color Cruise, and I helped from the sidelines. That same summer, he found a Craigslist ad for two old Cruisers sitting in a field in New Mexico. We towed them home — one became Dorothy, my first build and my education. Devon taught me from the ground up. By September, I limped Dorothy through the first Color Cruise with broken leaf springs, a seat bolted too far back, a worn-out clutch, and eight fuel filters later but we made it. That was the start of everything.

When the lockdown hit in 2020, Devon and his wife had just landed in Steamboat for a family visit and ended up living with my wife Emily and me for a while until things opened back up. During that time, Devon started shaping what would become Classic Expedition Vehicles,  the mission, the branding, and most importantly, the mindset: do it right and understand the system. He took on several customer jobs on the side, and I helped when I could while still running my other businesses.

In the fall of 2021, Devon moved to Fort Collins and eventually to Manchester, UK, for his wife’s PhD, and CEV went dormant. Over the next two years, I sold my family business and a startup, did some consulting, and spent time figuring out what I actually wanted to build next.

In the spring of 2023, a few people from the Cruiser community — knowing I’d worked with Devon and on my own trucks — started asking if I’d take on work. With Devon’s remote guidance and Dale’s machining help next door, I decided to pick up where CEV had left off. I ran the shop in Steamboat Springs for two years, doing general 4×4 repairs and mechanical restorations, mostly Land Cruisers, but also whatever else rolled through the door.

That period was a steep learning curve,  understanding the difference between wrenching on trucks for fun and restoring them as a business. It forced me to build systems, and figure out a lot of things that didn’t work, not just mechanically, but operationally. I had to learn what quality and efficiency look like when they have to repeat, scale, and hold up on the trail.

In the spring of 2025, I moved the shop to Fort Collins, new space, lower overhead, and easier access to resources. That move gave me the breathing room to rethink what CEV needed to evolve into.

Now, CEV has a sharper focus: mechanical-first Land Cruiser restorations. We restore classic rigs for the trail. 

Every Land Cruiser has a story. Our job is to make sure it keeps writing new chapters. – Josh Stein

The Team

Josh Stein

Co-Founder

Josh is a mechanical engineer, product designer, and entrepreneur who transformed Classic Expedition Vehicles from a shared idea into a working business. While co-founder Devon Barker brought deep technical experience and mechanical mentorship, Josh applied his background in business development and systems design to build CEV into a structured, service-driven restoration shop. Over time, he learned the mechanical side from the ground up — turning theory into practice through years of hands-on work. Today he leads all mechanical operations, diagnostics, and process development from CEV’s Fort Collins workshop, keeping the focus on one principle: build reliable classic machines.

Devon Barker

Co-Founder

Devon is a lifelong Land Cruiser enthusiast, machinist, mechanic and photographer who originally developed the Classic Expedition Vehicles brand and philosophy. He grew up learning machining and wrenching under his father, Dale Barker, and has spent years building, repairing, and refining classic Toyota 4x4s. Devon’s technical knowledge, design sense, photography and attention to mechanical integrity established the foundation CEV was built on. While now based remotely, he continues to serve as a trusted technical advisor and mentor, helping guide complex mechanical work and preserve the “mechanical-first” ethos at the core of every CEV build.

Niko Stein

Shop Dog & Trail Companion

Niko has been part of the story from the start the first one in the truck and the last to leave the shop. He’s joined countless trail tests, recovery trips, and long build days in the workshop. Niko is always ready for the next adventure to test out new rigs and builds.