I’ve seen a few for sale at almost reasonable prices, and I’m interested in any owner experiences. Tips, tricks or things to watch for.

Look out for rust. My brother has a FJ62 the only issue he has had is dealing with rust.

Go look at the FJ40 section on the forum “ih8mud” https://forum.ih8mud.com/forums/40-55-series-tech.8/

I have an FZJ80 and that forum has a wealth of knowledge

I owned an FJ40 for 15 years. I put 400,000 miles on it.
If you put good tires on it, you can drive to the moon. It will take you places that you might wonder how you are going to get back down.
A winch on front and a winch on back is a must.
Always keep good off-road tires on it. Street tires will get you killed.
A good set of tire chains is a must.
It is a better vehicle than Jeep CJ-5 or CJ-7 ever was.

quote:

Originally posted by Riley:
I’ve seen a few for sale at almost reasonable prices, and I’m interested in any owner experiences. Tips, tricks or things to watch for.

Rust is a definite issue....

And BLIND SPOTS you can hide 2 semi trucks in.

Its a poor substitution for a Land Cruiser.

Andrew

As others said, rust. But I loved it! It was a 1976, bought it in about '85 for $600. I'm curious what "reasonable" is to you.

One of my friends stationed in Japan with the Navy just bought a super clean BJ40. I can’t wait to ride in it when he brings it back to Virginia.

I’ve always loved the FJ40, it’s one of Toyota’s most iconic vehicles.

I think you’re (el cid 92) referring to the FJ Cruiser, not the FJ40. An FJ40 *is* a Land Cruiser. I had one for a few years, built like a tank, rust is always an issue. Unfortunately you’ll usually pay dearly for one in nice condition. Lots of places specialize in Cruiser restoration.



[/QUOTE]

Rust is a definite issue....

And BLIND SPOTS you can hide 2 semi trucks in.

Its a poor substitution for a Land Cruiser.

Andrew[/QUOTE]

Reasonable is $10-15k. With enough structure to be drivable and worth repairing or a little better.

I’m still looking at miscellaneous parts like windshields and such that may not be as available.

I started a classic Camaro years ago, but the direction I wanted to go at the time made it not feasible. The FJ would be more reasonable.

I have owned four. Loved every one
and they are fun to drive. Not a lot of creature comforts. I am currently restoring a 1977 with a frame off rebuild, so far about $25,000.

Prices are anywhere from $500 to over $100,000. A key and title to one in good shape is better than a CD at the bank.

Look for frame damage from rust. They stopped importing them in 1984 and parts are getting hard to find. Good Luck!

quote:

Originally posted by bushpilot:
I have owned four. Loved every one
and they are fun to drive. Not a lot of creature comforts. I am currently restoring a 1977 with a frame off rebuild, so far about $25,000.

Prices are anywhere from $500 to over $100,000. A key and title to one in good shape is better than a CD at the bank.

Look for frame damage from rust. They stopped importing them in 1984 and parts are getting hard to find. Good Luck!

I rebuilt a 1974 with a good AZ body. I did the entire drivetrain, including the axles and diffs. They are easy to upgrade with parts from later years to obtain better specs. I swapped in a front axle from an FJ-60 to get disk brakes on the front and a heavier duty axle. Rebuilt and swapped in an engine and transfer case from a 1987 FJ-60, and installed a brand new Toyota 5 speed transmission. The 5 speed was never offered in the US. We went straight from 4 speed to automatic in 1987. But there was a guy on IH8MUD who was the parts dept. manager at a dealer in Albuquerque who discovered he could still order in the new 5 speeds, and sold many to interested members at about 25% off regular dealer price. It bolts right up to the 2F engine and transfer case (must be a later model split TC). The 5 speeds were OEM on all the FJ's sold outside of the US.
 
Surprisingly, at the time (2010 or so), many OEM parts were still available. For example, I was able to buy all new wheel cylinders and drum parts for the rear brakes, which were 1974. The FJ's use dual cylinders for each brake, and each of the four has a different part number because of their orientation and left side/right side differences in the adjuster threads. I obtained rebuild kits for the transfer case and new side bearings, gaskets, and pinion shims (OEM) for the diffs. Many engine parts were also available. The 2F engine is a heavy and torquey beast. You can climb a pretty steep incline in 4 low and with the engine at idle. The peak of the torque curve is at about 1700 rpm.

My build took about 3 years, and it was for the pure enjoyment of the mechanical work. Not being much of an off-roader, I sold it when finished. It now lives in Baton Rouge, LA. But I did end up with a garage full of neat stuff, like a 25 ton hydraulic press, a 3 ton trolley chain hoist on a beam that was used to pull and install the drivetrain, and a good complement of metric wrenches and sockets.
 
As mentioned, IH8MUD is the premier resource for just about any build or mod you want to do.
 
It pains me that the 70 series Land Cruiser is still made and sold just about anywhere but the US. They are the natural extension of the FJ-40/FJ-60. The Land Cruiser pickups you see in the desert mounted with machine guns are 70 series pickups. Take a look here and wish.

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
I think you’re (el cid 92) referring to the FJ Cruiser, not the FJ40. An FJ40 *is* a Land Cruiser. I had one for a few years, built like a tank, rust is always an issue. Unfortunately you’ll usually pay dearly for one in nice condition. Lots of places specialize in Cruiser restoration.

You're right dry-fly. I was thinking of the FJ Cruiser. Bad assumption when I saw the FJ designation. Thanks for catching that.

Andrew

henryaz,

quote:

It pains me that the 70 series Land Cruiser is still made and sold just about anywhere but the US. They are the natural extension of the FJ-40/FJ-60. The Land Cruiser pickups you see in the desert mounted with machine guns are 70 series pickups. Take a look here and wish.

Toyota USA is just awful. They water down or don’t even import many of their best vehicles. When I saw a Toyota dealership in Melbourne Australia it blew my mind how many amazing vehicles we don’t get here. Land Cruisers that can actually cruise off road, variants of the land cruiser I didn’t even know existed and factory Hilux trucks with snorkels, brushguards and roll bars from the factory.

If Toyota had the mindset back then that they have now the FJ40 would never have made it over here.

Henryaz, I saw a photo of yours on here, I think I requested it.

There are a few FJ40 and around here and they are so much cooler than Jeeps. I was also toying with getting a Series II Rover, but those are even harder to find.

I had a '76 FJ40. Built like a tank. I see a lot of them with rust but mine was fine. I wanted to pull a tent trailer and the 6 cylinder was too wimpy. Installed a chevy 350 with an RV cam, power steering and a second fuel tank. Raised it with aftermarket springs. We drove that tank everywhere. In over 10 years of driving....I only got stuck once....in wet gumbo. Sacrificed a few sagebrush and aired down the tires and drove away. I wish I had it now...

My 76 fj40 could darn near climb a tree.

Great and classic offroad / overlanding vehicle!

Toyota screwed up badly when they reintroduced the Fj cruiser without reintroducing it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: x0225095,

FJ Cruiser, I haven't owned one but have a few friends that have. Be prepared to replace the windshield at least once, and it's not cheap.

quote:

Originally posted by x0225095:
My 76 fj40,could darned near climb a tree.

Great and classic offroad / overlaying vehicle!

Toyota screwed up badly when they reintroduced the Fj cruiser without reintroducing it.

The FJ Cruiser was always intended as an homage to the FJ40. Though some like you would have preferred a pure modern example of the FJ40, you should not dismiss the FJ Cruiser's proven off road capability, particularly the TRD and Trail Teams special editions with manual transmissions. In fact, since being discontinued 5 years ago clean low mileage examples have actually started to appreciate.

I grew up driving a 1970 FJ40 all over the hills of Appalachia. My Dad bought it as a wreck with 38,000 original miles and fixed it up. Three speed on the column, vacuum actuated 4WD. I loved that cruiser. My son inherited it from Dad, and now it sets in pieces spread between both my shops. No rust other than surface rust, and only 42,000 original miles. It should be worth something if he ever gets it back together.

I like them original, but for a few mods. I like the front spring shackles reversed, and I think the addition of power steering can save you from breaking off your thumbs. Tires and wheels, of course.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I think the addition of power steering can save you from breaking off your thumbs. Tires and wheels, of course.

Power steering was another mod I did to mine. Out of a few options, I went with the GM Saginaw box, mostly for the easy availability of parts. It uses a readily available GM pump. Also did the AC-Delco alternator swap. I had to make my own bracket, though (adapted/modified a Toyota bracket).