When a person keeps a vehicle of any description for more than four decades, you can be pretty sure that the car in question means something special to them. That is the case with this 1979 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40. Its original owner has taken it on some great adventures, but with nowhere to store this classic, he decided to part with it. The seller has given this FJ40 a clean, but it’s an untouched classic that should have years of faithful service left to offer its new owner. Located in Los Angeles, California, you will find this wonderful old Toyota listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has hit $20,100 in a No Reserve auction.

This Land Cruiser is an unrestored classic. Its Freeborn Red paint is original and untouched, while the stripes are a dealer-applied option that the original owner had installed before he drove it off the showroom floor. The paint shines impressively for its age, although it has accumulated a collection of scratches typical for an off-roader of this age. The panels are surprisingly straight, and nobody has ever removed the top. The original owner upgraded the front bumper to accommodate a winch, but apart from that and the larger wheels, the exterior remains unmolested. There is no visible rust, but that doesn’t mean that the Cruiser is rust-free. While the frame is rock-solid, there is rust in the driver’s side front floor and some in the rear floor. Replacement steel for these areas is readily available. Since the seller recommends that the buyer replace these sections entirely, that represents one of the few financial outlays the buyer will face with this classic. The glass appears flawless, and the overall first impression is quite positive.

The original owner of this Cruiser has only parted with it due to no longer having anywhere to park the vehicle. It has led a life of adventure, and he has clocked up 101,000 miles behind the wheel traveling all over the country. For an FJ40, that’s a mere walk in the park. Anyone who has ever owned one can relate to their legendary toughness. Nobody in my family has ever owned one, but personal experience through my father’s employment allows me to atest to their virtually indestructible nature. My father worked for a power company, and they had an FJ40 of this vintage as a “pool” vehicle for inspecting powerlines in a rural environment. That Toyota spent more time off-road than on, crawling its way through some of the harshest terrain imaginable. It never left anyone stranded due to a mechanical failure and drove as well the day that the company removed it from service as it did when new. This FJ40 is powered by a 4.2-liter six-cylinder engine that produces 133hp and 210 ft/lbs of torque. With a four-speed manual transmission and a dual-range transfer case, it should be capable of climbing Mout Everest if the mood takes you. It is a numbers-matching classic that has never been apart. The original owner recently replaced the entire braking system and water pump, while the fuel system has been flushed and checked following an extended period of inactivity. The result of this labor is that the Cruiser runs and drives perfectly and is ready for more adventures in the great outdoors.

Apart from a vintage Pioneer radio/cassette player mounted on the transmission tunnel, this Land Cruiser’s interior is original and untouched. The dash is immaculate, while it is incredible to find that the front and rear mats have survived in such nice condition. These classics feature a pair of rear jump seats, and while these aren’t the most comfortable in the world, they make the FJ40 a genuine four-seater. The front buckets have some rips and splits, and spending around $530 on new covers would be all that it would take to have this interior presented in tip-top form once again.

The Land Cruiser FJ40 is a legendary off-roader, and Toyota’s mission was to create a four-wheel-drive vehicle that could withstand abuse, and all that nature could throw at it. The fact that so many survive today, even those that have suffered severe neglect, proves that Toyota succeeded in its design goals. The bidding history on this cherished survivor demonstrates that they are held in high regard, and I hope its next owner derives as much pleasure from it as the original did. I’m pretty sure that they will.