With the rise in Japanese vehicles being imported from overseas, it can become easy to lose sight of the truly special models that have always been here, underneath our noses. Here’s one that caught me by surprise: the FJ45-series Toyota Land Cruiser pickup. Despite most of the examples you see come up for sale today being imported from far-off places like Australia or Panama, this pickup is part of the small batch of vehicles actually imported to be sold in the U.S. in the 1960s. The rough estimate is that about 1,000 units were sold before Toyota pivoted away from the pickup body, and this one is listed here on Facebook Marketplace with a Chevrolet-sourced 283 under the hood.
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A few years ago, I was in Washington State and on a back road, I spotted a Toyota pickup I knew to be rare. The tell-tale sign was a combination of a short box bed and four proper doors, and even though I could barely see the truck through tall grass, I knew it to be an imported model that wasn’t sold here new. I had the same reaction upon seeing this similarly unusual Toyota pickup, instantly recognizing the front end but finding the pickup bed an odd retrofit. However, like most niche vehicles, there’s an entire digital ecosystem that tracks vehicles like these, and those resources confirmed the FJ45 was sold here for a short period.
The Toyota is in Brick, New Jersey, which is another odd detail; trucks like these are typically found on the West Coast and other climates where they can survive. Despite being on the Eastern seaboard, it doesn’t look all that rusty but I’m sure you’ll find some pockets of corrosion here and there. The interior is dirt simple but still intact, and the seat upholstery is surviving. The seller notes this Toyota is equipped with a 3-speed manual floor shift, and obviously, the original F135 inline-six has been removed, which is a shame. This also impacts the value of the truck, in my opinion, as most serious Toyota enthusiasts will want a rig like this to be as original as possible.
The 283 under the hood is certainly an upgrade in the power department, but don’t sneeze on the F135 – it offered Toyota owners a ton of torque. I did find a listing for a known, good, used engine offered for $5,000. Is that a fair price? The Toyota experts will have to weigh in. The seller is right to ask top dollar for this rig considering the rarity, but the price is still a lot to absorb if you’re the type that needs to have your project truck look absolutely pristine. Me? I love the patina but would probably want the paint to be in better shape for 30 large. Still, rare is rare, and I doubt you’ll see another US-market FJ45 any time soon.
The tipoff that this is a US model and not a JDM unit, is the left hand steering, of course. Also, removing the six defeats the purpose of this vehicle, which is off-road crawling. The six works better with its controllable torque. This truck reminds me of a J10 jeep pickup on steroids.
A little more research shows, while the box is an odd fit, much like the Toyota/Datsun trucks, these were shipped with a box, and therefore subjected to the 25% tax, perhaps limiting sales. Trucks shipped without a box were considered incomplete and only charged 2.5%. The outfit in Long Beach, eventually bought by Toyota, made over 100,000 pickup boxes! The style looks similar here.
Splitting hairs on what motor is better. For $5 grand, they can keep their dang motor, $5 grand is pushing it for this heap alone, terrible, and quite frankly, the SBC is probably a better choice anyway.
For those that can’t get FB, and mentioned,, the price is ,,,$30 grand! That’s right,,$THIRTY,,,,,grand. And away we go,,,
Right on. The seller must be popping mushrooms or vaping the good stuff. I have a perfectly good SBC with a rebuilt top end and good compression that I’d sell for $2500 in a heartbeat. $5K for an old 283 is stupid money. $30K for this piece of rare junk is an order of magnitude too high. Drop a zero. Beautiful dreamer…..
Eric, the $5k is for another ‘original 6’, not a 283.
Sweet looking Toyota FJ45 Land Cruiser. It’s a damn shame that Toyota discontinued the pickup truck version of the Land Cruiser. I get it. Toyota already had the Hilux truck and at this point, the Stout. So what? Why should people be limited in what they’re allowed to buy, or what engine powers what vehicle? I’ve always loved the Toyota FJ Land Cruiser of the 1960s through to the early 1990s.
If anyone is looking for a much cheaper Land Cruiser option, I listed an FJ40 for a friend. He has owned it over 40 years. Original paint low miles blue plate California car. Unrestored original condition. Price is $12,500. It is listed here on FB: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/10075710399195296
Why not auction it with us?
IMO this truck in this condition (and with a SBC engine) is worth $10,000 to $12,000.
All that for only 30 G’s? I better hustle, there’s gonna be a long line by the time I get there.
I don’t mind rust, as long as there are no holes to compromise the integrity of the frame and body of the vehicle, and therefore safety of the vehicle.
This truck came from the factory with a 3 on the tree shifter. (If you look carefully, you can see the fitting/hole at the top of the column behind the steering wheel.) A popular conversion was the floor shift. Toyota thought that because the 4×4 shifter (as seen on the dash of this FJ) was on the dash. It was convenient to have the transmission shifter close by. I was in a former life a Toyota dealership parts manager in a very populated FJ area. ( according to Toyota, 80% of all FJs were sold within a 250 mile radius of my dealership.) I still have my FJ40 (over 42 years now) And would love to have an FJ45. Yes, many people converted to sbc engines. And many were sorry that didn’t install a 350 or larger because they lost torque (particularly in low rpm situations) AND they lost fuel economy. I really like these older units for the “below windshield” vent. That combined with the “kick vents” in the body in front of the doors made for a wonderful breeze at anything over 10 mph. The price seems high, but if no frame rot/damage, then the price is about right. I have seen many rottedout FJs in the last 40+ years. And NEVER saw a rotted out frame. Since the V8 conversion has been made and a reasonably priced “original style 6 cylinder” was not available. (And $5,000 seems to be about the going price) I would install a 400 small block, upgrade to a 4 speed (with the 3 speed transfer case for lower low range gearing) and install a TPI system. That way you have all the torque and gearing you will ever need. I really want this. But the rust and price are exclusive of each other.
Wayne, do you have any more info on the 3 on the tree setup in these ? I am in Australia and have driven dozens of these – they were EVERYWHERE back in the day and I have never seen one with column shift ?
All FJ40s sold into the US until 1984 when they came with the 4 speed gearbox. Were 3 on the tree. And as far as I knew everywhere else also. I don’t remember the supplier, (Maybe Downey Toyota) made a comment that they had sold more “floor shift conversion kits” (to remove the 3 on the tree to floor shift) than Toyota had imported. Being an ex-Toyota parts manager. I still have a microfische machine and original microfische film. So I could look up original part numbers and you could talk to your Toyota parts person about ordering the parts. HOWEVER, #1 I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF BUILDING A NEW HOME. SO ALL MY STUFF IS PACKED AWAY SOMEWHERE MAKING LOOKING UP PART NUMBERS IMPOSSIBLE RIGHT NOW #2 THE LIKELYHOOD OF YOUR DEALER BEING ABLE TO GIVE YOU A PRICE BEFORE HE/SHE ARE BILLED BY TOYOTA FOR THE ITEMS. Is highly doubtful. SINCE THE PART NUMBERS ARE NOT LISTED IN THE CURRENT PRICING SHEETS. Back 40 years ago when I worked in the parts department. I was able to order any part listed in the microfische. Regardless of country of original sale. (I ordered euro suspension parts for my Celica for example and USA discontinued FJ40 parts that were still available in other parts of the world.) But that may no longer be the case. I will be happy to help, but ot sure when and if it will do you any good.
Well this thing was definitely used for what it was built for over the years if its spent its life in NJ and NOT shipped up from one of the dryer states then its a hard pass because that salt and brine crud they treat the roads with has caused a lot more rust than what the pictures show. However if it was mine and I needed to sell it I would do the same toss it out with a stupid high price and see if it sticks.
That is a factory long bed, they were available in the US with a short bed (in both fixed and removable cab configurations) from 1963 to 1965 and in long bed configuration from 1963-1967. Toyota import numbers were minimal during those times as the vehicle only found limited commercial success (niche applications and/or regions of the country). Even though the FJ45 long bed was made through the end of production in 1984 (Japan, 1985 in some CKD markets), importation ceased in the US in 1967 as they couldn’t compete with larger, more powerful domestic pickups, despite their proven offroad prowess. Also, cab dimensions in these vehicles were clearly not designed with American users in mind.
Honestly, it doesn’t look too bad, especially for an East Coast truck. There is strong demand amongst Cruiserheads for 45s of all versions (there was a Gifu-bodied 4-door wagon also available that is even rarer, and a 45 “troop carrier” version with a removable top that was only sold overseas, all built on the same chassis and with the same drivetrain). $5K is a more than reasonable price, I’m sure it will go quick.
Except for the fact he wants $30k not $5k-