The Toyota Land Cruiser is going to be a fixture on the enthusiast landscape for some time to come. While values have teetered out a bit over the last few months, I doubt we’re going to see any drastic reduction in prices in the future, and even with the slight correction, there’s no doubt that the name will remain appreciated by collectors and off-road fanatics alike. The 60-Series trucks are absolutely considered classics by now, but are still entirely usable on a daily basis. This truck is one-family owned and had its engine rebuilt by the local Toyota dealer in 2012.
So, fun story: I recently got a set of “quad headlights” for my 80-Series truck. They are essentially same as the ones you see on this truck, but were used for a short time in the early years of 80-Series production. Yes, I’m intentionally making my truck look older, but the bulbs are H4, which represent a nice upgrade without rigging up some sort of half-arsed xenon system. Anyway, back to the truck at hand: this Land Cruiser has been one-family owned for most of its life and retains this incredible paint job and 80s decal kit. As an added bonus, this FJ62 looks to remain largely stock with no obvious modifications.
The interior is fairly spartan, with crank windows and other manual controls. The Land Cruiser comes with the optional automatic transmission, and I’m here to make an admission: I don’t mind automatics in trucks and SUVs. I am a “Save the manuals” guy to the death, but after owning my 80-Series and a 1989 Isuzu Trooper, both with Aisin automatic gearboxes, I have to say I don’t mind a slow-shifting, slightly dim-witted slushbox that just does its job day in and day out. The upholstery on the seats is in great shape, and the backseat looks like it saw very little use over the years.
Like the later trucks and before Toyota went to a V8 setup, the inline-six is torque-rich for horsepower-light. The 4.0L I6 makes 220 lb.-ft. of torque but just 155 horsepower. So, you’re not going to see anything past “leisurely” for acceleration speeds, but that’s not the point of a truck like this. As the seller notes, this Land Cruiser has been overly maintained by its long-term owners, and the rebuilt engine has around 65,000 miles on it. The chassis shows approximately 273,000 miles, and appears to be largely rust-free. The truck is listed here on eBay with bids to $8,600 and the reserve unmet.
I love these old Toyota Cruisers. The WA weather has obviously contributed to it’s lack of sun damage, and the 273k miles speaks to their longevity. This is a great example of an older Toyota that’s been well cared for. I prefer having an automatic after some hip displacement at an early age too so this would be a great vehicle for me since I’ve been looking to get an older Toyota FJ40 or FJ 60. Thanks for posting it!
For some reason, I never saw many of these, compared to the older ones. Could have been the price, at just over $20grand, almost $5grand more than a Bronco may have limited sales. The motor, the F series, I believe, was horribly out of date by this time, originally from 1949, didn’t ask for any of this. I mean, look at it, I think there’s a motor in there. While extremely popular worldwide, one site says only 17,000 FJ62s came to the US. A 4Runner on steroids, and with over 10million sold, it continues to be a best seller.
Beautiful looking Land Cruiser. My favourite Toyota Land Cruisers have always been the FJ55, the FJ60, the FJ62 and the FJZ80. Given the original condition this is in, I’d be willing to pay somewhere in the neighbourhood of between $10k and $12k. I’d either leave it stock or I’d upgrade a few things. I don’t know what.
I get it’s becoming hard to find but at 273,000 miles….. thanks but no thanks. The world has gone nuts.
They had square wheels and no torgue … sold one to a guy who came back saying he couldn’t get from Napa to Seattle pulling his boat … traded it in on a Suburban, so I made out both ways … they were great for local use, and we sold all we could get, but it can’t climb the mountains pulling a load …
(ROFFL!) What?! Square wheels?! I’ve never seen a car with square wheels.
Have to be a car guy to appreciate it … that’s what we said when a car had a rough ride … you felt every bump in the road in the early Land Cruisers … it would climb walls but would loosen the fillings in your teeth …
Ahhh! Okay. I’ve never owned a Toyota Land Cruiser. I’ve never driven one. So I don’t know what it’s like to drive or ride.