Despite the numerous vehicles made in the late 1970s of dubious quality and performance, the FJ40 Land Cruiser was one of the bright spots. If you measure performance in durability and utility, the Land Cruiser basically puts many, many other vehicles of the era to shame. The problem is, most of them are rustbuckets if not completely restored, though this example here on eBay seems to walk that line nicely as a cheap project worth rebuilding.
The seller doesn’t show any truly egregious corrosion but there’s plenty of surface rust spots; however, they look like the kind you can live with for now in the floors. The rear quarters appear to be past the point of reasonable repair and the seller is including what looks like replacement panels for those areas. There’s no mention of what happened to the original interior, so I’d count on replacing the carpets and seats at the very least.
As you can see, the areas beneath the beltline on the rear quarters to have corrosion that runs a bit deeper than surface-only. The doors have been removed but I’m not sure why; they are included with the sale. The one big question mark is the engine, which the seller says has been partially torn down but all removed parts are included with the sale. It supposedly also ran before the engine rebuild was attempted.
The seller claims the FJ40 can be put back on the road with minimal work, and I might be inclined to believing him. Truthfully, you could like with the body in the condition it’s in for some time and just focus on finding some seats to bolt in (along with the engine rebuild). Bidding is just over $1,000 with the reserve unmet, so this could be a cheap restoration project for someone to get into FJ40 ownership without ponying up the big bucks for a restored example.
Heck with the Toyota. I want a look at the lifted Beauville next to it.
Awesome machines when dolled up a bit … drive the carp out of mine on the farm here in Tennessee. ( yes the backend is eatenup – therefore the diamondplate for now )
I worked on a lot of these with a diesel engine. I remember getting one in the shop where the owner put gas into it. The precombustion chambers looked like someone had cut them out with a torch. The vehicle was in very similar shape to this one (same color too). The insurance company decided to write it off rather than fix it. I made a bid on it but lost. The appraiser ended up with it and brought me the engine to fix. He fixed it right up and then sold it to someone on the west coast. He bought another almost identical unit that was powered by a 350 Chevy. Must’ve decided he needed more power than the diesel could give him….
Back in the 80s, installing a 350 was common.
I love this generation Toyota FJ Land Cruiser. I’d buy one with the original 2F engine, and upgrade it to a Duramax 2.8 litre diesel engine and a 5 spd. manual gearbox.
I had a BJ40, (the diesel), for many years. The running gear on these trucks is bullet proof, and it was the most reliable 4×4 I have ever owned.
The bad news, was that the body was a rust magnet, and even though I don’t live in a salt zone, I had to have mine fixed up and painted twice. I have a feeling that it was the poorly quality of steel that was available in the 70s.
The diesel had plenty of low end performance, but really needed a turbo for more flexible driving on the highway. A friend of mine had an aftermarket overdrive installed, and it made it possible to drive at 70 on the freeways, and still get good mileage.
It was fairly common for enthusiasts with the gas versions to install the Chevy 350. It was basically a bolt in, and considerably improved the performance, with virtually no effect on the mileage.
My idea of the perfect 4×4, would have been to have the aluminum Land Rover body on the Toyota Landcruiser chassis.
Bob
Got that right on the rust. I had a 1970 FJ55, was a great vehicle, until the body rusted clear of the frame.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew-turnbull/3295884452
Rust can certainly be a problem. As long as it’s surface rust, I can live with it.
I own a 75 FJ40 it’s my DD . It has 5.3 FI , 350 transmission , Toyota transfer case and running gear
Could the days of the $50K dollar Landcruisers be over? Very popular in Colorado ( one person in my little town has 8 of these, I tell ya’, America, 2 or 3 isn’t enough, got to have 8,,,) Great vehicles, but still utilitarian, and I think people found out, there’s nicer $50 thousand dollar trucks. Like the 1st gen Bronco, these are pretty much like an old CJ.
one in shop for a lill make over: re-jet carb, aim exh. better, mount lic.plates, new ster.wheel, etc.
1982 (& ’83) only yrs w/the 6 cyl (250/4.1). Very nice. Has it all over my ’69/’77 Bronco in terms of drive train beef. But EB is more st. than off rd anyway. Like the FJ60 even better (even different purpose, tho). These 3 show “Application” is everything in the automotive Q.
Has a great ‘progressive’ carb ruined (the ‘pinto’ 2v, HolleyWeber 5200 or Weber 32/36). Owner had the linkage tied together so no longer a progressive. Sucks (more ways’n 1).