This vehicle started life as a 1964 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ45, in more recent years it was rebuilt and it now rides on a Land Cruiser 80-series chassis with uprated suspension, and it’s powered by a 4.7 liter 2UZ V8 from a 2001 Toyota Tundra.
We haven’t seen another FJ series quite like this, it maintains its Toyota heritage but benefits from a more modern chassis, much improved suspension and brakes, and of course it’s all powered by a vastly more powerful Tundra V8.
Fast Facts – A Custom Toyota Land Cruiser FJ45
- The Toyota Land Cruiser FJ45 was the gasoline-engined, long-wheelbase version of the J40 series of 4x4s from the Japanese automaker.
- Toyota introduced the J40 series in 1960, it would be available in both diesel (BJ) and gasoline (FJ) versions, with different wheelbases getting different numerical codes ranging from 40 up to 47.
- The J40 series would remain in production until 2001, when the last factory producing them in Brazil switched to newer models. In much of South America the J40 Land Cruiser is one of the most respected 4x4s on the road, if not the most respected outright.
- The FJ45 Land Cruiser you see here is one of the most memorable custom builds we’ve seen in recent memory. The man behind it paid great attention to keep it all in the family, using Toyota parts extensively in the rebuild.
The Land Cruiser J40 Series
From its roots as a Jeep clone during WWII the Toyota Land Cruiser has risen to become one of the most respected four-wheel drives in the world. No other vehicle in the world can truthfully claim to be the ride of choice for both upper-middle class soccer moms and Middle Eastern warlords.
This vehicle comes with both hard and soft tops, and the interior has been completely customized.
Toyota first released the J40 back in 1960 as a replacement for the outgoing J20 series, it would grow to become one of the most recognizable 4x4s in the world and it would stay in production for an astonishing 40+ years.
Today we’re seeing a surge in interest around classic four-wheel drives and as a result their values have been skyrocketing. It was once possible to buy old Land Cruisers, Land Rovers, Broncos, Scouts, and Range Rovers for peanuts, but now they can sell for low six figure sums.
Although there are many other historically significant Japanese four-wheel drives the J40 series is still king of the hill, and it’s still influencing Toyota product design today over 60 years after it was first offered for sale.
The Custom Toyota Land Cruiser FJ45 Shown Here
The FJ45 you see here has been significantly modified from its original form – in fact it’s now essentially made up of parts from three distinct generations of Toyotas.
This FJ45 is now powered by a 4.7 liter 2UZ V8 from a 2001 Toyota Tundra with a matching 4-speed automatic transmission.
The project started with a 1964 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ45 that the owner had kept for over 25 years. He sourced a Toyota J80 series chassis for the build and the 4.7 liter 2UZ V8 from a 2001 Toyota Tundra with a matching 4-speed automatic transmission.
The chassis of the J80 is a notable upgrade over the original J40 chassis, it’s more modern, it’s stronger, and it has coil springs rather than leaf springs – potentially offering a better ride and perhaps more importantly, better wheel articulation where driving off-road.
The body was removed from its original chassis and stripped of paint, then repainted in DP90 primer and painted in two-stage Antique Sage Pearl. The bed was shortened 18 inches and a pair of steel half doors were fabricated.
The suspension was raised 3″ and an Icon Slinky system was fitted, including 2.5″ reservoir shock absorbers, custom-made coil springs, adjustable panhard bars and rear links, and Slee Off-Road trailing arms.
The truck now rides on Walker Evans Racing 17″ beadlock wheels which are mounted with 40 × 13.50″ Goodyear Wrangler tires, with Aisin manually locking hubs up front.
This new set up made a power steering system highly advisable, and so a new hydraulic system was added which included a 105 series Land Cruiser steering box.
This truck now rides on Walker Evans Racing 17″ beadlock wheels which are mounted with 40 × 13.50″ Goodyear Wrangler tires.
Disc brakes were fitted at all four corners, capping the chromoly axles, and the differentials are fitted with 5.29:1 gear ratios. The four-speed automatic transmission sends power back through a a Marks part-time four-wheel drive conversion kit with an air-shifted crawl box.
The vehicle comes with a rebuilt interior including Mastercraft low-back bucket seats, a custom steering wheel, a lockable Tuffy center console, a Vintage Air Hod Rod HVAC system, and a custom dashboard housing back-lit Dakota Digital gauges and LED bulbs.
Both hard and soft tops come with the FJ40, and it’s fitted with custom front and rear bumpers, with a Warn 8,000 lb winch with a synthetic rope up front.
This eye-catching FJ45 is now for sale on Bring A Trailer, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring A Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
