Ah, the old Land Cruiser. Talk about a legend. Of all the first-generation 4x4s, this is one of the most iconic (alongside the Jeep and the Land Rover, obviously). But now that these have become collector’s items, the temptation to over-restore them is rampant. Case in point with this one.
I’m all for a lovely two-tone paint job and chromed hubcaps in general. That’s why I read and write on this site, after all. But like everything else, there’s a time and a place. And I’m not sure that a late model FJ40 comes from the right time, or is the correct place, for this debauchery of colour, pretty though it may be.
This is a later model FJ40, as evidenced by its square-ish grille, which debuted in February 1979. Our feature car retains the old-style dashboard, so it’s pre-1981. Fun fact: from 1976 to 1981, the FJ40 was the first car sold in Japan with door-mounted mirrors, well before the law changed in 1983. But the door mirrors proved unpopular, so they went back to the fenders after that. This particular car’s mirrors were moved to the windshield – not how it came out the factory, but a pretty good solution, aesthetically speaking.
Land Cruisers of any sort were never meant to be this clean. It’s borderline suspicious. Surely a rugged all-terrain vehicle like this one – with all that gear in front, too – would be happiest frolicking about the Himalayas or wandering about the Gobi desert rather than sharing the pavement with kei trucks and taxis, without the merest hint of dirt anywhere on its manicured chassis?
This reminds me of certain dog owners, the ones who have tiny little mutts, always super-groomed and accessorized to within an inch of being human (little doggy coat, bow ties here and there, etc.) This type of dog owner is particularly prevalent in Tokyo. You see these poor animals being “walked” in their owner’s arms or strolled in little carts, unable to stretch their little legs.
Peeking inside (on the wrong side, the only one available), the painted ‘60s-style dash is just pure gravy. However, upon closer inspection, I was quite surprised by the blatantly-not-original seats in this Land Cruiser, which appear to have sprouted a whole TV-remote’s worth of buttons.
Don’t get me wrong, these aftermarket thrones looked fine, but also pretty weird. I did a bit of image searching on both the English and Japanese web, but I haven’t found anything that compares to this James Bond-like arrangement. What are all those extra controls for? Rocket launchers? Oil slick? Automatic pilot? Inquiring minds demand to know!
Here’s an extreme close-up. Looks like electric seat controls, for the most part – though with 10 buttons to play with, there may be some hidden features. It looks like there’s a wire connecting these seats to the firewall, probably to provide electric power for all this stuff.
This just makes our FJ40 even more of a pampered city pet, as opposed to the beast of the steppes it was designed to be. The dog reference I made earlier is perhaps inappropriate. This is a feline car, comprehensively pussified and Hello Kittied out, its canines removed and its litter box close by. Sure, it looks like it’s ready to take part in the Camel Trophy, but it clearly has zero intention of doing so.
I’m not really a dog person, so I’m fine with this. And after all, this FJ40 survived four decades of use, so maybe it’s earned its retirement. The only thing that still seemed strange was the spare wheel, which in this photo looks almost comically oversized, although it really isn’t. Just a trick of the camera lens, I guess. You really cannot trust what you see, with this crafty Toyota.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1965 Toyota FJ Land Cruiser – The First Toyota Sent Out To Conquer The World, by PN
Toyota Week Finale: 1980 Toyota FJ40 – A Victory Lap for a Trailblazing Upstart, by JPC
Keys left in the ignition? Maybe it’s trying to escape.
Is this common in Tokyo?
Looks great, although I understand your meaning. In aggregate it’s no worse than all the G-Wagens that roam your streets although I suppose the LC was likely sold at the time with more of an actual off-road intent than anything MB builds today.
I think the two-tone may be standard or at least an option, I can’t quite tell if that top can come off but I don’t think it’s that uncommon.
And I believe the seats are an upper-echelon Recaro version from years past. Interesting that someone put electric seats where there weren’t any before when there are any number of manual Recaros that would probably have worked just as well easier.
It looks like the controls for Recaro CSE.
Bingo!
Thank you Cleaveley, Jim, et al.
Aced it as per usual, CCommentariat. “Ask and you shall receive”, that’s your motto.
I’m sure you’re right about the seats being Recaros. I was thinking maybe they were from a early C4 Corvette, as I recall those had the seat controls on the bolster like that.
In 78-79 I was in grad school driving a Datsun 1200 with 2-spd. automatic.
Had a terrific GF …… but, was frequently distracted by a classmate, a “tough chick” in boots, with a red FJ-40 ……
I lived in Tokyo for a time and I am sure this FJ has plenty of boonie-bashing opportunities in Shinjuku traffic.
It is not much different than here. I see lots of tarted-up Jeeps with jacks, light bars, jerry cans and all the other stuff you can get at the “off road” shops. None that I have seen even sports a scratch.
This is a beautiful FJ. It always amazed me how many cool and unusual cars I saw in Japan.
Just a stage that it’s going through. At some point (and it may be in the distant future), it will pass to a new owner who will do something different with it, that at a minimum is likely to involve a seat swap! My guess is that if you wait 50 years, it will be pretty much completely back to original. And there’s no doubt in my mind that an FJ40 that has survived until now is long since through the classic car bottleneck, and will still be here in 50 years.
Very true! Certainly in the top 10 all-time desirable Toyota models. And stock is exactly the direction I’d go if I were the next owner.
Interesting that with all the time that’s been put into this, that 4 Wheel Drive badge on the rear still shows 41 years of patina. I’m itching to repaint that red 4.
This is a really pretty FJ40, which you rightly point out is maybe not the most appropriate description for an FJ40. They are lots of things but pretty is not what one tends to think of them as. With those primped and pampered little dogs you mention, I wonder if they have any embarrassment of their condition as they are carried around in their owners’ arms or even a special little bag. In the same manner, I wonder if this 4×4 is self-conscious of it’s kept status as it sits in its tiny, ultra-urban parking spot.
Nice find!
Great looking truck. I wish Toyota had made the bloated FJ Cruiser more like this and less like a Japanese Hummer H2.