(first posted 8/19/2013) A reference to the “DNA of a brand” is a long overused cliche, which is perhaps, and finally, on the way out. But it can be a valid consideration when thinking about Toyota’s genetic root; one might well conjure up images of the first Corona or Corolla, whose modern descendants (Camry/Corolla) still reflect the basic mission of their ancestors. But isn’t the true Urquelle of Toyota’s reputation legendary reliability and durability? Well, the following historical tidbit may cement the idea of where I’m going: When this FJ40 Land Cruiser was built in 1965, it was Toyota’s best selling vehicle in not only the U.S., but everywhere else outside of Japan. It is what Toyota sent out to conquer the world.
And this well-worn original example typifies it better than any other I’ve seen: it literally exudes ruggedness through the pores of its patina. How many folks has it sold on the Toyota brand over its long life? Hang on for a longish, bumpy ride as I recount the history of the FJ and my own initiation into the cults of off-roading, hitchhiking and Toyota.
I knew right away that this was a particularly old FJ when I spotted those hubcaps. The others I’ve seen usually have a different dog-dish with a cut-out for the front hubs. I’m not sure exactly when the switch was made, but it probably was fairly soon after. I found this one in a hiking trail parking lot on the coast, and the young couple that owned it were enjoying the 360-degree views on a drive down from Portland. It had recently been relocated from Colorado, where it had spent a long life in the mountains. The Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas are where the FJ first cut its well-hardened teeth in the U.S., an appropriate testing ground for its toughness.
I decided to reacquaint myself a bit with the origins of the LC, and here’s the tweet-length version: according to legend (repeated by wiki), the Japanese Army got its hands an early American proto-Jeep, the Bantam MK II, in the Philippines. They ordered Toyota to essentially reverse-engineer it without making it look like a copy. The KA pictured above (which used a four-cylinder Toyota engine based on a Chevy design) was the result. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, few were ever built or used in the war.
Nineteen fifty-one is when the true Land Cruiser DNA first replicated itself. Admittedly heavily influenced by the Willys Jeep (and perhaps even more so by the 1948 Land Rover), the Toyota BJ series spent several years evolving before going into actual production in 1953.
But its trial by fire was an assault on Mt. Fuji, and the BJ went higher than any vehicle ever had previously. Giving it a new Land Cruiser moniker, Toyota placed its ambitions in it and looked toward global expansion. Toyota’s very early efforts at importing the Toyopet sedan into the U.S. had not been successful, and so the Land Cruiser was sent out to prove its mettle. Mission accomplished: the LC found a loyal following in the world’s most difficult terrain, nowhere more than in Australia, which quickly embraced it, and eventually in Africa, where the LC slowly pushed the Land Rover aside. Around 1960, the BJ morphed into the definitive FJ that we see here.
Let’s spend a few minutes paying our respects to the legendary F-Series engine that powered Land Cruisers from 1955 all the way through 1992–quite a run, especially considering it was based on GM six-cylinder engines first designed in the Thirties. That alone may be something of a record. Anyway, the F’s predecessor, the B engine, was a license-built metric version of the original Chevy six dating from 1929; in fact, the F is often reported, although not quite so certainly, as also being built under license from GM. Actually, its block was more loosely based on the old GMC six, and the head on the Gen-2 “Stovebolt” six (1937-1962). Unlike the B engine, corresponding Chevy parts (generally) aren’t interchangeable; nevertheless, it certainly looks familiar.
A long-stroke torquer, it was eminently suitable for whatever task an LC owner could throw at it, all the way into the 1990s when it finally got fuel injection. And although the old Chevy six has a terrific rep, Toyota’s persnicketiness with material and production quality probably give the Toyota version the edge when you’re crossing the Kalahari. Ironically, many of them have long made way for a real Chevy small block V8.
Now there’s one thing Toyota didn’t copy from either the Jeep or the Land Rover: the shifter. Yes, that’s a column- mounted “three-on-the -tree”. Later versions had a four-speed stick in more familiar territory. With its stumpy torque curve, the extra gear probably wasn’t missed that much. Well, actually, I remember the owner telling me this thing is geared mighty low (high numerically), and doesn’t really like to go much over 50 mph–perfect for winding Hwy. 1, or the forest roads that branch off from it.
My seminal off-road memories are part of my first of many hitchhiking adventures, and they involve an FJ. It was the summer of 1970, and a pretty young lass I knew at Towson High suggested we hitchhike together out to Ocean City, where she knew someone with an apartment where we could stay. I didn’t have to mull over that proposition over very long; sadly, “someone” turned out be her love interest, and I was just the traveling escort who would safely deliver her to his bedroom.
I grabbed my pack, walked out and headed south, on foot, until I hit the turnoff to Assateague Island, a roadless sliver of sand some twenty-five miles long. I had never been there, just had heard about it. This was my first time savoring the freedom of the open road without an itinerary or a plan. I headed down the sandy road, and shortly before it ended, an open, red FJ40 stopped and its driver offered me a ride. Things were looking up, even if it wasn’t a girl behind the wheel.
He stopped when the road ended, lowered the air pressure in his tires, put it in low range and we hit the sand. It was an exhilarating alternative to Tish, and probably a more memorable one. I had never experienced the freedom of off-roading before, and it planted a seed that I finally harvested when I bought a Jeep 15 years later.
He was heading all the way to Chincoteage Island, at the south end, and would return that way via Virginia. So somewhere about halfway down, in the last light of day, I hopped out. He drove off, leaving me to hear the distinctive murmur of the Toyota six pushing against the soft sand. And when the sound of the six was finally drowned out by the surf, I was all alone, in the middle of an island, the day now quickly darkening. So what did I do? I hopped in the dunes, spread out my sleeping bag under the stars, pulled out my trusty Craig audio cassette player/recorder (the iPod of the times), and filled the vast empty space of the wilderness preserve with…Led Zeppelin! Being completely alone in the world is not actually all that appealing to a seventeen-year-old.
In the gray wee hours of the morning, I was jolted out of my slumber by footsteps. I opened my eyes to see a handful of wild ponies ambling just a few few feet away, their hot, horsey breaths blowing puffs of steam in the cool pre-dawn air. I suddenly realized I wasn’t really alone anywhere, and I never really felt that emptiness again. Nevertheless, I generally prefer sharing nature’s solitude with the right companion.
Well, I’ve managed to get seriously off-track here, but then, that’s what vehicles like the FJ are all about; the freedom to take the road (or beach) less traveled, although I can’t but wonder if Assateague Island is still open to vehicles. But then, that’s what the West is for.
The FJ didn’t only find a niche off-roading, though; in Iowa City in the early 1970s, they were the vehicle of choice for the hip young guy–the kind of guy who probably ended up hauling his kids in a big Land Cruiser perhaps until fairly recently, before trading it in on a Prius. It’s an interesting arc: the two vehicles that most represent Toyota’s DNA, then and now.
Perhaps the prototypical Toyota – simple, rugged, dependable. I miss vehicles like this. There has always been something appealing to me about a four wheeled machine that is boiled down to its most basic elements. I occasionally see these on the road around my area, but none as old as this one. A true CC.
Having a restored and modified — “restomod,” to use the overused trendy term — 1978 FJ40 (shown in my profile photo), modified with the Chevy smallblock V8 conversion that you mentioned, I found your description of the FJ40 to be on the mark. Low numerical gearing that has the engine roaring at anything over 50 mph, sideways facing rear seats, that instrument panel and glovebox — if I had a dog riding in mine, the experience would be exactly as described and depicted. It gives the impression of competent design and durability that was the foundation of Toyota becoming the largest automaker in the world. If only it did not show another typical trait of Toyotas, in my experience: a propensity to start rusting quickly under normal usage.
Almost 40 years ago there was one of these briefly in my neighbourhood. It had a strange familiarity that my young brain couldn’t quite process in the quick glimpses I got of it in the snowy winter of 1975.
But then seven years ago Robert Farago connected the wires for me when he described the FJ40 Land Cruiser as ToMoCo’s “riff on the original Jeep”.
Good story Paul. In 1972 in Panama my XO had one of these. Since I rode a DT250 Yamaha the itch to go off road was scratched almost daily. I did like it though. It sure fit the guy.
One thing I learned here is that the engine was licensed by Chev. I thought it was just bootlegged. I was no fan of the Chevy six till they changed the bearing type in 1954. I would love to have one in a truck right now.
The Led Zep detail cracked me up. Classic rock went everywhere, for at least a couple generations. 1995, two buddies and I got pulled over in South Dakota in a ’71 Pontiac. Trooper goes through the trunk, including all the cassettes.
“You guys listen to Pink Floyd and you don’t smoke dope?!”
“urquelle”?…you’re lapsing back into German. I can now go back to bed as I’ve learned my one new thing for today.
I thought it was ein Family Matters reference für ein Moment. But then I remembered about Pilsner Urquell beer.
I love the “can I help you? keep walking pal” look on the dogs face.
Also, why even keep the doors bolted on at this point, they are only outlines of doors at this stage.
You’d try glue maybe, the doors are made to be removeable like a Landrover the multitude of faults that came on a Jeep were not repeated by smart manufacturers, proper weather protection was a must in most climates and unlike army vehicles you cant order some poor sod to drive it.
I have no idea what you are talking about, other than your typical negative bullshit.
Land Cruisers (you don’t have to mention Toyota) preferably come with a 4, 6 or 8 cylinder diesel engine, but that’s my humble opinion. A workhorse needs a workhorse heart….
In Australia (and probably New Zealand) they still have the old school heavy-duty 70 series. In most other western countries Land Cruisers are now a mixture between a workhorse and an SUV.
I like this one, the current top-model with a 4.5 ltr. V8 diesel. This one has air brakes
(like big trucks) to give it enough stopping power, given the trailer it’s pulling.
Popular rigs here, but often pulled by a more modest Land Cruiser model with a 3.0 ltr. 4 cylinder diesel…
and a smaller trailer than this one.
A Toyota Dyna exhaust brake can be adapted to some diesels for towing and special braking systems are retrofitted for underground mining operations, yeah Diesel is best but I’m a truckie so prejudiced.
Love these–wish Toyota would have kept importing them. If Jeep can keep making the Wrangler, there’s a place for this kind of Land Cruiser. This is perhaps the quintessential guy-and-his-dog vehicle. 🙂
This might be my favorite current land Cruiser variant:
http://www.arctictrucks.com/Pages/4707
That “arctic package” makes it very impressive, that’s for sure !
But underneath it’s the mid-sized (or: small) Land Cruiser 120 series with the 3.0 liter 4 cylinder diesel engine.
Land Cruisers still have robust and very durable frames with a live rear axle.
Very capable off-roaders and trailer pullers. But they’re also loaded with electronic gadgets and luxury now. The 70-series I mentioned above is the only -relatively- basic Land Cruiser left. But I can tell you that’s a HD 4×4 truck compared to a Wrangler.
I’ve got a 2002 Land Cruiser 90 (model year 2001) which is actually the predecessor of the 120-series. It’s pretty basic, everything still “manual”. Electronic common rail diesel injection and ABS, that’s about it.
You won’t get away with that simplicity anymore when buying a new one….
Yep its Chevy based The 1941 Toyota sedan prototype displayed before Peal Harbour was a reverse engineered Chevrolet sedan, the parts dont interchange but the engines do. Great trucks off road more dependable than a Landrover in that Landcruisers DO NOT break half shafts like Landies do Some were introduced in 58 to Aussie for the Snowy mountains Hydroelectric Scheme As a hillside vehicle they cannot follow a Landrover NOTHING can. Dealerships for Toyota are all over OZ now thats how they conquered the bush you can always get parts should it go wrong many outback towns have a Toyota store and no Holden store these days, good luck finding a Landrover parts store.
I’m sure you know what they say about a Land Cruiser…”the Official Land Rover Recovery Vehicle”.
Toyota kicked Land Rover out of the bush, and anyone else for that matter.
In retrospective the most durable and reliable series of vehicles ever built, no doubt. For many decades in a row.
Good to hear someone else recalls that inline-6 engine sound, I could hear it from your words. Great storytelling and pics.
Durability and reliability where what these were all about! Where I grew up a breakdown could kill you, so these quickly established a good name in the bush, but what kept Toyota going has been good parts and service backup.
There are places where you might not find a Holden or Ford dealer ( Jeep or Landrover? In your dreams, mate!), but there will be Toyota.
These were the kind of trucks featured in those 70s magazine ads for smokes, some dude out in the woods with his FJ & an ax, taking a break to smoke a cigarette.
Neat little SUVs, never gotten that close to one, maybe one of these days. So, they drove that at 50 or less from Colorado? Hmm, well that is not so bad I suppose, just got to enjoy the scenery and be patient. I met a few people in Virginia City, Montana who drove their vehicle at 30-45 from Washington and I thought that was a long distance to go at such a leisurely clip.
I bought my 1994 80 series new in January 0f 1995. It has never let me down or left me stranded. It’s semi-retired these days. I save it for the winter months. It survived 2 teenage drivers. An ideal vehicle for them, big, heavy, and solid as a tank. Each of them decided it would be great to have while in college. “Nope”, it stayed at home.
I struck up a conversation with a guy hauling an old FJ40 rock climber a few years back. His had the original engine with 435,000 miles.
This is my favorite 4WD vehicle, and I’ve had several. In snow and ice, you have to remember to slow down. There was that one time when we slid backward down a narrow mountain road on ice until we hit a dry spot with one tire. My screaming daughter got out at this point. We got down safely.
Sell it? Never.
I’ve owned a few dozen Toyotas of most types but never a Land Cruiser. Mostly due to the rather insane prices on the used market, at least compared to the more common 80s 22R-based 4x4s and Four Runners. And even those are commanding higher and higher dollar.
These are quite popular up here in Sierralandia. They come in two forms:
Original to mostly original with a plow attached and all sorts of rust issues.
Turned into a Rock Monster that just laughs at the Rubicon trail, complete with lift, 35″+ tires, aftermarket axles and a fire breathing 350 SBC.
I can think of one corner in Truckee where three houses in a row have one.
For professional use (4×4 workhorses with a diesel engine) there are only a few real alternatives: a Nissan Patrol and a Mitsubishi Pajero, I don’t know about Isuzu, we don’t have them. (given their background I assume they’re good)
Land Rover: too spartan for high annual mileages, (too) small 2.2 ltr. diesel engine.
Mercedes G-class: capable and durable, yet WAY too expensive.
Jeep Wrangler: overall too weak, not enough towing capacity.
(a new Wrangler is more a rich kid’s toy vehicle)
Anyone know why people tend to do SBC swaps in these? I thought the inline 6 provided plenty of low end torque and was pretty reliable. I’ve got one down the street with a SBC conversion. Just wondering if people do the conversion due to cost, greater horsepower, etc.
My brother-in-law has an FJ. Well, most of an FJ. Okay, okay, it rusted away to leave just the chassis, floorpan, firewall, and possibly the lower rear side panels. It now features a hefty roll cage and is powered by a 350 Chev V8. It isn’t remotely road legal here, but he says his “350-powered rollcage” is tremendous fun on the sea shore and among sand dunes.
You can get an Over Sand Vehicle (OVS) permit for Assateague National Seashore for $70-$150 depending on type of usage. These are often obtained by surf fishermen, some surfers, and folks that know the value of going where few others do on one of the most beautiful spots on the east coast. Let the rest have Ocean City.
As Bryce mentioned the Landcruiser was introduced by the contractor building the Snowy Mountain scheme hydro-electric dams, in very rugged remote country. They also made seat belts mandatory to minimise injuries when the vehicles rolled down the sides of mountains.
From their the superior reliability and dealer network, these are now ubiquitous in much of Australia as the go-to vehicle. You will also find a lot of 40-series Landcruisers running around the place even as off-road use only type vehicles such as stock mustering vehicles on stations in the Northern Territory.
Surely it is not just me that finds it funny they have kept the glass in the door missing the outer skin – I suppose you can choose to have a bit of weather protection for the upper or lower door but one of the two only!
I had a high school friend with a nice red Land Cruiser from the early seventies. Fun vehicle. He once drove down a ravine and wasn’t able to get it out due to the steep walls, causing him great panic. His dad came out to help, had three of us sit in the back seat to weigh it down, and drove it up the steep wall to safety.
Another great article ! .
I’ve never had one, not too long ago older ones were under $5K in California .
As Paul discovered , life is much better when you enjoy your own company .
-Nate
I recently learned that while Studebaker had a Land Cruiser model in the mid-fifties, it was gone before Toyota sent its first Land Cruiser to the US.
What I haven’t figured out was if Studebaker never copyrighted/trademarked the name, or if they did and just never bothered to pursue the matter with Toyota USA.
I was thinking the same thing, although I thought the last year for the Stude was ’52. When I looked it up, they did make them in ’53 and ’54, but it appears to be a regular 4 door sedan, not the long wheelbase version as the earlier cars were.
My Dad’s friend in the 60’s had one…we only went camping with them one time (my Dad had an F85 wagon at the time) to a primitive camping spot somewhere in upstate New York…what I remember about the spot was that the water was orange colored. So was his FJ…remember sitting in the side oriented bench seat in the back.