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Winter Driver: Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser

1969 Toyota Land Cruiser Fj40 Front Corner

UPDATE 1/13/12 – After relisting it, someone hit the Buy It Now for $11,500. Well sold.

UPDATE 12/26/11 – The auction ended with 12 bids and a high bid of $6,610. Sadly, the reserve wasn’t met, but we will watch to see if the seller relists it. Hopefully if they do, they will set their reserve at a more realistic amount.

With winter upon us, some of us are probably in need of a 4×4 that can navigate the icy roads. There aren’t too many old unrestored trucks that we would trust on the ice, but we found one that we think would work just fine. This 1969 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser survivor that we found listed here on eBay, with a current bid of $6,100 and a BIN of $12,000.

1969 Toyota Land Cruiser Fj40 Grill

The seller claims that this FJ is completely original and only has 41,000 miles on it. Looking at it, we would say he is probably correct. We cannot find any serious rust, but like always we would check the problem areas. These trucks have great traction while in four wheel drive and we have no doubt this rig could get you through the worst snow drifts.

1969 Toyota Land Cruiser Fj40 Engine

The FJ40 was powered by Toyota’s F series of inline six engines and it appears this truck has the 3.8 liter F145. There were several models of the F series engines and each had different power outputs. Toyota introduced the F series engine in 1955 and continued to use and develop the engine till the early ’90s. This engine is extremely dependable and can easily get this truck through the roughest terrain. If the four wheel drive can’t get you where you need to go, than the PTO driven Ramsey Winch will.

1969 Toyota Land Cruiser Fj40 Rear Corner

This truck has obviously been used, but it looks solid and ready to be driven. The seller claims it is very rust free and seeing as it has spent its whole life in the Washington and Oregon area it seems likely. This truck would be a blast to take off-roading and we are sure it would hold up well. We aren’t sure about the price though. The seller has set a reserve on the auction and is asking $12,000, which seems a bit high. Hopefully the reserve is set substantially lower than the BIN price, as this rig would be a great way to make it through what’s left of winter.

Comments

  1. Avatar Paul R. Roberts

    I wish I had the coin to bid on it. That is one sweet ride and would tame the frozen tundra where I live.

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  2. Avatar snaab

    that is the roughest 41K mile surviver I’ve ever seen.

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  3. Avatar J. Pickett

    Way high for an erzatz jap Jeep. I’ve heard that that 6 was a direct postwar jap type copy of the Chevy stovebolt.

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  4. Avatar scott

    …and you find them, all over the world. I think that attests to their assets and durability.

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  5. Avatar John Campbell

    Hard to believe it only has 41 k and garaged all its life, you don’t get water lines on the seams from being out of the weather and in a garage. Driven hard and put away wet…..

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  6. Avatar Foxy

    I agree with John C. that garage must have leaked pretty bad. these were not jap jeeps. they were jap land rovers. for that much money you could find a decent land rover. jmo

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  7. Avatar Gary Fogg

    I grew up ridding in and driving as a teen my dads 71 Land Cruiser, those are an AWESOME machine ! Both in the snow and out they are a BEAST ! I finally got my dad to hand over the remains of his 71 a few years ago and I fully plan to re-body it and give it a full on restoration. I WISH mine was in as good of shape as this one, it certainly would be a great start off point for a restoration. To the naysayers I am here to tell you do not knock what you know nothing about ! I am a dyed in the wool American muscle car nut but the FJ40 earned MY respect !

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  8. Avatar John Campbell

    @ Gary, don’t get me wrong, they are incredible trucks with a relatively bullit-proof drive-train. A friend had one when they first came out and we had a fantastic time with it. I just don’t think this one is honestly represented. While in good shape it a

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  9. Avatar Chris H.

    Sure seems to be a ton of negativity on this one. You guys need to remember that Japanese sheetmetal (hell, sheetmetal on any foreign car for that matter) did not have the same properties as it does these days. Many Japanese cars of this vintage started rusting before they were sold, so to see one without major structural issues is a big plus, and attests to careful use. The fact that its located in the PNW (wet, wet, wet) would seem to point to the minor amount of rust it’s got. Plus, this was “just a truck” back n the day, and didn’t get the same care lavished on it as a sports car of similar vintage would have, hence the patina. Look to me like a solid, honest vehicle (although pricey).

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  10. Avatar J. Pickett

    Right about the rust. Japanese vehicles still rust pretty good, but now it seems because many of the people who own them treat them as appliances and don’t repair minor damage or wash them. As for the older ones my first Toyota, my first Datsun, and my Honda all were such rust buckets that even thought they were still mechanically great they became unsafe to drive.

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  11. Avatar Louie Hooper

    The drive trains on these beasts are solid! The body doesn’t last beacuse of the poor grade of sheet metal used in Japan back in the 60’s and 70’s. A friend of mine had a 71 back in high school and put a fiberglass body underneath it. Very cool! This one is priced way too high for what it is. For this kind of money, I would buy a jeep with the 4.0 inline six and spend what money I saved on accessories.

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  12. Avatar dan farrell

    Regarding the pacific northwest, you have to remember that Washington and Oregon are bisected by the Cascade mountain range, so while the west side is wet, the east side is high desert with beautiful clean air and only moderate snowfall; ideal for preserving old iron. I Like the Toyota but I agree the price is tooo high.

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  13. Avatar Jeff V.

    A dinosaur SUV, sink sum bucks in her and you got a historical museum show piece.

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  14. Avatar J. Pickett

    Simple cheap and crude. But durable and easy to repair. As long as there’s no salt. That’s why the toyota trucks are the chosen staple of third world countries. Have no illusion that if Toyota had continued to import these to the U.S. that they would be top sellers. The current land cruiser is very expensive and very heavy. Hey at least terrorists and revolutionaries in the middle east depend upon them. You’ll notice there is no current competition for the Jeep Wrangler coming here from Japan.

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  15. Avatar Ernst jeske filho

    È um ótimo jeep ,aqui no brasil ele se chama Bandeirante e era vendido com motor diesel somente ,ainda hoje existem muitos em diversas configurações, pick up ,camionete aberta e até um mini caminhão ,ele só tem um problema crônico ,nos equipados com direção mêcanica há a quebra da coluna de direção bem proximo a caixa podendo ser fatal !

    Translation: It is a great jeep, here in Brazil it is called Bandeirante and was sold only with a diesel engine, there are still many in various settings, pick up, van and open up a mini truck, it only has a chronic problem in equipped with direction mechanics for breaking the steering column right near the box and can be fatal!

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  16. Avatar Gene Stribling

    I took one apart and put under a 66 truck was the first 4 x 4 toyota, all we do is drive and have fun in the trucks we bild. see-ya
    Thank you Geno

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  17. Avatar tom

    Gal from Colo. I knew had one,lot o miles but ran great and little rust. Got Her to Indiana and back to Texas,Colo.and Arizona . Always wanted 1 but missed out on a 5k 1 with little rust.

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  18. Avatar Robert Mix

    Having grown up on the Southern Oregon Coast I can tell you rust was always a big concern for any auto, which my Dad remedied by having us kids wash and wax his new Chrysler products often, from date of purchase. The rain contained enough salt from the ocean to make up for non-salted roads. Vehicles commonly rusted along the welded seams around the windows, doors, hinges, and quarter panels.

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