Old Toyota
- Thread starter wwillson
- Start date
FJ40 Landcruiser.
Legendary reliability. Huge following. Good aftermarket support.
Companies offer completely rebuilt ones for sale. Not cheap. They’ve become a bit of a status symbol...
E.G.
www.fj.co
Legendary reliability. Huge following. Good aftermarket support.
Companies offer completely rebuilt ones for sale. Not cheap. They’ve become a bit of a status symbol...
E.G.
Restored FJ40 Land Cruisers - The FJ Company
The FJ Company is the premier restorer of Toyota FJ40 Land Cruisers. Work with us to design your own custom Land Cruiser, or select a vehicle from our inventory of FJ40 for sale.
www.fj.co
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
I seen this and was getting ready to PM you about the new section of the forum. Nice Toyota by the way. Is that section for all members?
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2024
Guy I work with has had one for years, but it is done correctly 6.0/4L80E. 
Joking aside his is really nice and drives beautifully.
Joking aside his is really nice and drives beautifully.
WOW are those expensive!!!! and way coolFJ40 Landcruiser.
Legendary reliability. Huge following. Good aftermarket support.
Companies offer completely rebuilt ones for sale. Not cheap. They’ve become a bit of a status symbol...
E.G.
Restored FJ40 Land Cruisers - The FJ Company
The FJ Company is the premier restorer of Toyota FJ40 Land Cruisers. Work with us to design your own custom Land Cruiser, or select a vehicle from our inventory of FJ40 for sale.
SBC engine swaps have been a “thing” in FJ40s for decades. I don’t know how that old, short wheelbase, chassis would do with a 6.0...
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2024
In fact the more I think about it. There a few around here, not a lot of rust so they live a long time.
They have a fanatical core following. I suspect they’re not any better about rust than any other truck of similar vintage. It’s likely the enthusiast owners that keep them in excellent condition.
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2024
Yeah it moves pretty good, but it has very nice manners. I think he has had the thing for over 20 years now. Really clean in that Toyota beige.SBC engine swaps have been a “thing” in FJ40s for decades. I don’t know how that old, short wheelbase, chassis would do with a 6.0...
He drives it very often.
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2024
You are not wrong, not rare to see a 20 to 30 year old daily driver out here with no rust. My daughter's sister is still daily driving the 88 Buick I picked her up. Still no rust. Having grown up in New York, it still amazes me.
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ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2024
One of the few Toyotas I would own I love the things.
These 4 are all within 2 hours of me and there were 5 on Market place.
The 4.3 one is interesting to me.
1975 Landcruiser
GM 4.3 Landcruiser
1969 Landcruiser
1976 Landcruiser
These 4 are all within 2 hours of me and there were 5 on Market place.
The 4.3 one is interesting to me.
1975 Landcruiser
GM 4.3 Landcruiser
1969 Landcruiser
1976 Landcruiser
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4WD
$50 site donor 2024
I rode in them down many miles of dirt/mud roads in Nigeria … early 90’s …
This is where toughness met harshness … and I doubt many would own these without having something else.
The newer versions we use overseas now are very capable with a better ride.
This is where toughness met harshness … and I doubt many would own these without having something else.
The newer versions we use overseas now are very capable with a better ride.
The FJ40's were built like a tank and weren't prone to being rust buckets. Now days they are not good daily drivers because they can't keep up with modern traffic. The Toyota F-Series (GMC/Chevy licensed knock-off) I6 engine was a tough and reliable engine with good low-end torque, but it was a low-revving/low-horsepower mill, and the 4.11 gear gave them a top speed of "maybe" 65, not to mention the fact that crude 1970's emission controls applied to a 50's era engine design really hurt its performance and drivability. Later versions had a 3.70 gear, an improved head design, EFI, and a 5-speed transmission which significantly improved their performance and drivability.
Since the SBC V/8 engine was a largely a simple and inexpensive bolt-in proposition, and the Landcruiser's drive train was capable of handling the additional power, it isn't hard to understand why so many of them were upgraded with them. If I had the choice between one that has been upgraded with a V/6 or a V/8, I would take the V/8.
Since the SBC V/8 engine was a largely a simple and inexpensive bolt-in proposition, and the Landcruiser's drive train was capable of handling the additional power, it isn't hard to understand why so many of them were upgraded with them. If I had the choice between one that has been upgraded with a V/6 or a V/8, I would take the V/8.
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The more I think of it the more I think Landcruiser was a knockoff of Land Rover to begin with, but surpassed it eventually.
Classic / up to 90s Japanese cars and trucks have a following. My friend's Supra Twin Turbo end up selling for 80k when he sold it at the prime age of 20. Same goes for MR2 of the 90s.
Classic / up to 90s Japanese cars and trucks have a following. My friend's Supra Twin Turbo end up selling for 80k when he sold it at the prime age of 20. Same goes for MR2 of the 90s.
Your post reminds me of a ‘71 Land Rover close to me that I see every day when I’m going to work. It’s owned by a lawyer that I actually went to high school with. The Land Rover hasn’t moved for 25 years, but he won’t sell it, even though the lawyer has no wrenching ability.
Sad.
Sad.
FJ40's sure did rust here, and for a long time you've been able to buy legal fiberglass guards, panels and complete bodies. We had a flatdeck as our shop hack when I lived on an island 30 years ago...it had a PTO winch and we used it as a recovery vehicle and all sorts of other hard use.
Ha - I remember getting stuck in it one day. We were on a vineyard, and some guys had put down 4x2's to protect a hose they had going across the road. I came up gently to the 4x2's because I didn't want to displace them...and the Cruiser just sat there spinning the rear wheels, not getting over 2'' boards. My workmate jumped out and said ''I better engage the freewheel hubs.'' But they were engaged - spinning diagonal wheels on grass, not able to mount a 2'' board. We laughed about that, told the boss we'd be better off with a Lada Niva.
Ha - I remember getting stuck in it one day. We were on a vineyard, and some guys had put down 4x2's to protect a hose they had going across the road. I came up gently to the 4x2's because I didn't want to displace them...and the Cruiser just sat there spinning the rear wheels, not getting over 2'' boards. My workmate jumped out and said ''I better engage the freewheel hubs.'' But they were engaged - spinning diagonal wheels on grass, not able to mount a 2'' board. We laughed about that, told the boss we'd be better off with a Lada Niva.
Toyota Land Cruiser (J40) - Wikipedia
This is what the FJ cruiser is designed after.
My dad had one that was mostly parked at an airport by a commercial pilot. It was like new, low miles with no scratches. It sure was built well, I liked it but the lack of any power with that old six-cylinder engine and the fact that it was very thirsty for gas made my dad sell it.
Yup the good ol' Chevy blue flame 6, 235ci. '53-'63. Yah it would be screaming at 60MPH with 4;11s. Chevvy mostly used 3:56 MPG was a non issue in those days. IIRC a stock 235 rated about 100 hp. A 3.8 would be a great upgrade. Maybe an Atlas I-6 or even the '64-up 250 I-6. Or even a Toyota 6
