Toyota Jackpot: 1979 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40
It can be a hard pill to swallow when ill health forces a person to part with their long-term project vehicle, but sadly, that’s the fate that has befallen the owner of this Land Cruiser. After 10-years of work, he has been forced to sell the vehicle when the finish line is in sight. There are two pieces of good news for any prospective owner. The first is that the enormous pile of parts at the front of the photo, and many of these are either OEM or NOS parts, will go with the Land Cruiser when it sells. The second piece of news as that the vehicle has been listed for sale in a No Reserve auction. The Toyota is located in Hot Springs, Virginia, and is listed for sale here on eBay. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $5,755, and remember that this is a No Reserve auction.
The owner says that he has not cut any corners in this restoration, and his intention was to only ever use either OEM or NOS parts, which it appears that he has managed to do. The body looks to be nice and solid, and judging by the way he has worded the listing, the whole project is now at the prepare and paint stage. A few glimpses of the chassis in some of the photos also paints an encouraging picture. There are a few additional panels included with the vehicle, so getting the body into shape should be a straightforward task.
Under the hood is a freshly rebuilt 4.2-liter 2F 6-cylinder engine. This is so fresh that I don’t believe that it has even been fired-up yet. The radiator and hoses were recently installed. Once these are hooked up, then the owner says that the engine is ready to go. One thing that does surprise me a bit is the fact that given the level that the owner is going to with the restoration, he didn’t paint or clean the engine-bay while the motor was out. It would have been worth the effort, although it isn’t too late to tackle this task.
Interior trim on a Land Cruiser of this vintage isn’t particularly extensive, but it does look like the seats might be wearing new covers. The photos that the owner has included of the parts cache also reveals a number of new interior trim pieces, so it does look like it is complete. I was going to provide a list of some of the parts that are included, but I thought that it would be better to include photos, in case I miss anything important. So, if you scroll down to the bottom of the story, you will see a pretty comprehensive gallery of photos. This should give you a good indication of what sort of treasure trove the new owner will score.
I have a deep level of empathy for the owner of this Land Cruiser because selling a project like this can be quite heart-wrenching. I have to also give him an enormous amount of credit. It would be so easy to hang onto the vehicle, and keep saying, “I’ll get around to it one day.” That takes a lot of strength of character, and I hope that he gets a reasonable price for his Toyota. Are any of our readers interested in bidding on it?
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Comments
The ad states that it still needs the floor pans replaced. I have owned an FJ40 for 35 years now. And used to work at a Toyota store. I have never seen rusted out floor pans. I have seen rusted out almost everything else however. I would want to see the underside of this vehicle before spending large dollars on this. I also notice that there are no pictures (At least better pictures) of the rear lower quarter panels. This is where they rust out first. And the shiney diamond plate panels (shown in the “parts” pictures) are for hiding that rust in the rear quarter panels.
Lots of promise and money spent. But I see some unexposed/unseen possible problems on this vehicle. Especially considering the neighbor hood it is currently residing in. JMHO
As a top Toyota salesman in ’80, ’81, & ’82, when I saw a new cars transporter truck out the window at my Framingham, Mass. Toyota dealership delivering a wicked pissa John Deere green FJ40 Land Crusher, I just had to have it! Knowing that new cars can’t be ordered for customers with the cars being from Japan, I knew it was available. So, I wrote up a deal for myself to trade my at the time first new car being a mint ’78 black AMC Concord DL coupe with 165000 miles on it. I sold my still new FJ40 for more than I paid for it. To this day, I haven’t seen another John Deere green FJ40, & mine had white wheels matching the usual white Land Cruiser’s roof. Wow
I doubt the claims of the sellers intention of keeping it original with NOS or OEM parts.. the engine compartment appearance screams otherwise with that nasty green stuff that is installed.. there’s a long way to go with this one if “original” is in mind..
The after market wheels also look seriously out of place. Hope the seller saved the originals.
White spokes are VERY period correct on a vehicle like this unless a person is a 100% purist. I know they are period correct because I was quite alive during that era.
I have to wonder where he was taking this build.
The boy racer green in the engine compartment is just wrong.
Yeah this makes me feel reaaaaaaly bad about my own stupidity
What’s with the “ricer” green finish on the 2F? Sacrilege.
I think Grandpa let one of the grandkids go to town, ‘fixing up’ that engine.
Alas, it will need to be fixed once again.
Maybe it is just me.But I don’t get the same feeling looking at a Toyota as I do when I see a Chevelle, Camaro, Impala SS,Mustang, Torino,and all kinds of Mopars.Just don’t get the idea I would want to own it.
Just try climbing around in the mountains or desert in a Camaro or Mustang. You would then get “the idea”. Not the same kind of thrills, but the utility of being able to go where you want to go is very liberating. Not to mention the views from tops of mountains.
I agree Wayne, 4 wheeling and street racing are 2 different mindsets but I love them both as I used to do both. I always wanted one of these rigs but never got the chance to purchase one.