This 1967 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 has been sitting in the New Mexico sun for decades waiting for someone to rescue it and get it back on the road. It’s currently for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $6,750 USD.
Considering the fact that it’s been sitting outside for so long he severity of the rust doesn’t look unmanageable for the right person, the dry New Mexico climate will have helped with this of course. That said it’s clear that it will need a full frame-off rebuild.
Fast Facts – A Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 Project Car
- The FJ40 is almost certainly the most beloved of all the versions of the Toyota Land Cruiser that have yet been released. The combination of styling, off-road ability, and reliability have set the standard for all Land Cruisers that have followed.
- The model series included the FJ and BJ models, with the “F” denoting a gasoline engine and the “B” denoting a diesel engine. The numbers in the name tell you the wheelbase version, short is 40/41/42, medium is 43/44/46, and long is 45/47.
- Best known as the “J40” series, production commenced in 1960, it ended for most world markets in 1984 but Toyota’s Brazilian factory kept building them until 2001.
- The FJ40 you see here was parked up due to a mechanical issue decades ago, it’s now being offered for sale out of New Mexico requiring a full restoration.
The Creation Of The Land Cruiser
With a name inspired by the British Land Rover, the Toyota Land Cruiser initially took a lot of inspiration from the Willys Jeep. In fact one of the first Toyota four-wheel drives was developed based on the design of an American Jeep (or “GP”) that was captured by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines during WWII.
This is the Toyota “Jeep” BJ from 1951, it was built by the Japanese automaker for the US Government for use in the Korean War.
By the time the Korean War broke out in 1950 the Japanese and Americans were working together, and the United States government ordered 100 vehicles with Willys Jeep specifications from Toyota. This vehicle was known as the Toyota “Jeep” BJ, and it would be the forefather of all the Toyota 4x4s to follow.
In 1954 Willys claimed a trademark violation on the use of the word “Jeep” by Toyota, at which point they renamed the vehicle the “Land Cruiser.” This model name had already been used on the Studebaker Land Cruiser, however as the model was being discontinued in 1954 there were no trademark issues.
The Land Cruisers that we would recognize today first appeared in 1955 as the J20 series. The J20 (and J30) was succeeded by the J40 series in 1960, the J40 series would enjoy an astonishing 41 year production run.
After sitting outdoors in New Mexico for decades (and with a partially disassembled engine) it’s clear that this FJ40 is going to need a bare metal restoration – but it could make a good starting point for a motivated individual or team.
The 1967 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 Shown Here
The FJ40 you see here will need a full rebuild, as mentioned further up it’s been sitting out in the New Mexico sun for a number of decades after an unnamed mechanical fault resulted in the engine being partially disassembled before it was abandoned.
The good news is that the numbered engine block is still accounted for, meaning that a motivated individual (or team) will have the option to restore it back to original condition if they so desire.
The vehicle does look largely complete with the exception of the seats and some engine parts, and the seller on eBay mentions that people are welcome to go inspect it in person, or have it inspected before placing a bid or making an offer.
If you’d like to read more about this FJ40, contact the seller about an inspection, or place an offer on it you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of El Paso Connection
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.
