When a truck still runs but has a wooden post as a front bumper, it generally tells you two things: one, it’s a fairly stout machine that has survived to this point on the most bare minimum of TLC from its owners; and two, its caretakers have treated it like an old farm implement, just doing the very basic that needs to be done to keep it roadworthy. In the case of this 1974 Toyota Land Cruiser, it reminds us that there was a time when these trucks were not all subject to the restomod treatment, and solely intended to be the one vehicle on the property that could be called upon to get from Point A to Point B. Find it here on eBay for $15,000.
The seller claims this Land Cruiser was recently removed from a Colorado barn where it had been slumbering for years. Apparently, it didn’t take much coaxing to fire back up and run smoothly, with the factory inline-six thrumming away under the hood. It’s been in Colorado since new, so it has fared better than most vintage FJs left to sit in a barn for years at a time. While it wears traditional off-road wheels, I’d love to see a matching set of steel wheels and hubcaps like the spare on all four corners to give it that authentic FJ40 appearance.
The 1974 FJ40 benefits from some key improvements, such as a 4-speed manual gearbox and enhanced roll-over protection with the integration of the roll bar as seen here. Otherwise, it’s a bare-bones machine inside, with not much to look out for in terms of condition – aside from the floors, of course, which look to be in pretty good shape. The painted dash suggests this has always been a green truck, and while the paint is in poor condition, at least you have a sense of how it looked when it was new. The seller reports that the windshield frame was previously replaced and that the original comes with the truck.
The inline-six powerplant produces 125 horsepower and 209 lb.-ft. of torque. These were workhorse engines, nothing particularly exotic about them other than its ability to run without much involvement from the driver. The seller contends the engine in this truck drives nicely and that the various systems – steering, clutch, brakes – all work as intended, which I find shocking for a truck that’s been sitting. Regardless, buying an old FJ that has even in the states since new with a story you can piece together versus a total unknown from South America or one that has been overly restored would be my preferred way to acquire a vintage 4×4.
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