This is a Toyota Land Cruiser FJ43 from 1978 that formerly belonged to Robbie Wolfe, it’s now considerably more powerful than when it was factory fresh, thanks to the fitment of a 5.7 liter Chevrolet 350 V8.
The 40 Series Land Cruisers are the models that really put the Japanese automaker on the map in the 4×4 community. Their combination of reliability and go-anywhere capability has endeared them to countless owners over the decades, and they make a popular platform for mods.
Fast Facts: A V8-Swapped FJ43 Land Cruiser
- The Toyota Land Cruiser originated in 1951 with the Toyota Jeep BJ, developed for Japan’s National Police Reserve. After losing the government contract to Mitsubishi, Toyota began civilian sales and adopted the Land Cruiser name in 1954. The improved 20 Series arrived in 1955, followed by the legendary 40 Series in 1960.
- The 40 Series retained a ladder-frame chassis, live axles, and leaf springs, with multiple wheelbases and body configurations. Early examples used a 3.9 liter inline-six producing 123 bhp, paired with a 3-speed manual transmission and dual-range transfer case. Later improvements included diesel engines, 4-speed transmissions, front disc brakes, and a larger 4.2 liter six-cylinder engine.
- The Land Cruiser helped establish Toyota in the American market, becoming its best-selling US vehicle until the Corona arrived in 1965. The 40 Series remained in production through the mid-1980s before being succeeded by the 70 Series. Production of the closely related Brazilian Bandeirante continued until 2001, demonstrating the design’s remarkable longevity.
- This 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ43 previously belonged to American Pickers star Robbie Wolfe. Refurbished between 2024 and 2026, it received beige paintwork, orange vinyl upholstery, a removable white hardtop, and a Chevrolet 350 V8. Further upgrades include Old Man Emu shocks, Black Rhino wheels, and BFGoodrich tires. It’s now offered for sale in Nevada.
History Speedrun: The 40 Series Toyota Land Cruiser
The 40 Series Land Cruiser line actually began back in 1951 with the release of the Toyota Jeep BJ. Toyota developed it for a Japanese National Police Reserve requirement, but the contract went to Mitsubishi’s licensed Willys Jeep. Toyota ended up selling the BJ to civilian buyers instead, it started volume production in 1953, and renamed it the Land Cruiser in June of 1954 because “Jeep” was a Willys-Overland trademark and they were getting irritated at Toyota for using the name without permission.
This is a Land Cruiser advertisement from the period. It’s hard to imagine anything like this flying nowadays! Image courtesy of James Dunn Tractor Sales.
The Land Cruiser 20 Series landed in November 1955, it had bodywork much better suited to civilian buyers and Toyota soon began full-scale exports, including to North America. In 1958, its first year of US sales, Toyota sold 287 Crowns there but only one Land Cruiser. It was only 13 years after the end of WWII, and American buyers were skeptical of Japanese automakers, who had not yet established the positive reputation they have today.
Engineering The 40 Series
The 40 Series kept the 20 Series chassis underpinnings, a ladder frame with live axles front and back on semi-elliptic leaf springs. It came in three wheelbases: the short FJ40 at 90 inches (2,285 mm), the medium FJ43 at 95.7 inches (2,430 mm) and the long FJ45 at 104.3 inches (2,650 mm). Toyota reworked the body mainly to give more cabin space and added a new grille bezel framing the round headlights.
The engine was the F-type, a 3.9 liter overhead-valve inline-six with a 90 mm bore and 101.6 mm stroke. In 1960 form it had a 7.5:1 compression ratio and was rated at 123 bhp at 3,600 rpm and 210 lb ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. A standard canvas-top FJ40 had a curb weight of 1,480 kgs (3,263 lbs) and a top speed of 84 mph (135 km/h). Not bad numbers for the time.
Whereas the 20 Series had a single-speed transfer case with no low range, the 40 Series paired a 3-speed manual with a dual-range transfer case, the first ever on a Land Cruiser. The transfer lever moved from the floor to the dashboard, and four-wheel drive was part-time.
Toyota’s 4×4 American Foothold
After pulling the Crown from the American market, Toyota’s US company sold only the Land Cruiser until it had a passenger car suited to what Americans actually wanted to buy. Remarkably, the company made a profit in the USA by 1961. Its Land Cruiser sales rose from 249 that year to 2,595 in 1964, and the FJ40 remained Toyota’s best-selling US vehicle until the Corona arrived in 1965.
Toyota offered 40 Series soft-tops, two and four-door vans, pickups, and even fire engines. A 116.1 inch (2,950 mm) wheelbase arrived in 1963 for export pickups and cab-chassis trucks. Image courtesy of Toyota.
That success created a problem of its own though, Toyota’s US dealers were concentrated in rural and mountainous areas where 4x4s were most in demand, so the Corona needed a new network built around cities.
40 Series Variants + Changes
Toyota offered soft-tops, two and four-door vans, pickups, and even fire engines. A 116.1 inch (2,950 mm) wheelbase arrived in 1963 for export pickups and cab-chassis trucks. In July of 1967 the four-door van gave way to the FJ55 station wagon, which had its own body, and the 104.3 inch chassis was dropped for good.
Diesels came in the early 1970s, first the H-type 3.6 liter six, then the B-type 3.0 liter four in 1974. In Japan the diesels qualified for the “4-number” small-truck registration, which gave private buyers a financial advantage, and they became the Land Cruiser’s engines of choice in their home nation as a result.
A 4-speed manual began replacing the 3-speed in North American trucks in late 1974, and US-market 40s received a 4.2 liter version of the six, the 2F, in 1975. For the 1976 model year, North American FJ40s swapped their front drum brakes for discs, keeping drums in the back. In 1979 the fuel tank moved out of the cabin and grew in capacity – that same year, power steering and air conditioning became available as options.
Successors + Legacy
The FJ55 wagon took over the four-door role in 1967, and the 60 Series replaced it in 1980. The 40’s direct successor was the 70 Series of late-1984, whose styling Toyota based on the 40. FJ40 sales in the US ended in 1983, Japanese production ended in 1984 for the home market and in 1986 for export.
Whereas the 20 Series had a single-speed transfer case with no low range, the 40 Series paired a 3-speed manual with a dual-range transfer case, the first ever on a Land Cruiser. Image courtesy of Toyota.
This wasn’t to be the end though, far from it. In Brazil, Toyota do Brasil built the 40-based Bandeirante from 1968 with Mercedes-Benz diesels, switched to Toyota’s 14B engine in 1994, and ended production in late 2001. The 40 Series had remained in production from 1960 right the way into the 21st century.
The V8-Swapped 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ43 Shown Here
This 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ43 was previously owned by Robbie Wolfe, a cast member of the wildly popular TV series American Pickers. It was imported into the United States under previous ownership and has since undergone a significant series of modifications, not the least of which was the installation of a Chevrolet 350 small block V8.
The refurb took place between 2024 and 2026, during which time the vehicle was repainted beige and fitted with a removable white MPR hardtop. The interior was retrimmed in orange vinyl, covering the split front seats, inward-facing rear seats, and door panels. It also has rear ambulance-style doors, a steel front bumper, a pintle hitch, KC auxiliary lights, a Pioneer stereo, and ceiling-mounted speakers.
In March of 2026, the Land Cruiser received a Chevrolet-sourced 5.7 liter V8 equipped with an Edelbrock carburetor and intake manifold. Power is delivered through a 4-speed manual transmission and a dual-range transfer case.
This 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ43 was previously owned by Robbie Wolfe, a cast member of the wildly popular TV series American Pickers. It was imported into the United States under previous ownership and has since undergone a significant series of modifications, not the least of which was the installation of a Chevrolet 350 small block V8.
It also benefits from Old Man Emu shock absorbers, Aisin manually locking front hubs, and 17-inch Black Rhino wheels fitted with BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO3 tires installed in October of 2026. The five-digit odometer currently displays 2,800 miles, although the vehicle’s total mileage is unknown.
It’s now being offered for sale out of Las Vegas, Nevada with a clean Texas title. You can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer + Toyota
Articles that Ben Branch 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.
