Vehicle Description
1972 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser
From the Atacama Desert to the Rocky Mountains, from the dunes of
Dubai to the open plains of Australia, the Toyota FJ Land Cruiser
stands alone as the most reliable, long-lasting, and nearly
unbreakable vehicle that gets you anywhere you need to be. The BJ25
was Japan's answer to the American Jeep and the British Land Rover.
There's really no sugar coating it: Toyota reverse-engineered the
Jeep and perfected it within a decade. By the time the US started
placing orders for the FJ to assist in the Korean War, the FJ had
grown into the sturdy 4�4 we know and still love today. From 1955
through 1984, the FJ improved piece by piece, but still managed to
maintain its now-iconic look and feel.
Pack your camping gear, grab some extra propane, maybe a better
sleeping bag, your fishing gear and the raft and don't forget the
groover, we are going to get a little mud on the tires. Purchased
by our consignor in March of 1993, the truck was in rough condition
with rust taking hold on nearly every body panel as well as the
flooring and having logged about 380,000 miles as a daily driver.
This consignment is a frame off complete restoration performed by
our consignor and his wife, and now climbs, lunges, trudges, cranks
and pulls itself nearly anywhere. All of the mechanicals have been
rebuilt, thesuspension has been lifted, some custom seating has
been installed and a snapless white soft top has been added. You
dream it and it will take you there. Simply wild with no stones,
save for the ones you just climbed over, left unturned!
Exterior
With the entire body disassembled, sandblasted, primed and painted
Bright Teal Metallic shiny 2 stage covering the replacement
aluminum tub and drop down tailgate from Land Rover Solutions we
are met with metal as straight as hunting arrows. A white snapless
top courtesy of Kayline Fast Track covers the passenger compartment
and shows with clear plastic windows throughout. A white front
grille with the Toyota badging seen leading the way with single
round outboard headlights and rectangular signal markers floating
on the fenders that hover above the wheels. At the bottom is a
nicely fabricated custom front bumper built with 3/16" steel, all
in black leads the way down low. Small running boards attach to the
squared off front fenders and die off at an angle as they run back
into the rockers. Out back, hovering below the near perfect gate is
a custom rectangle tube bumper specing out at 6"x3"x1/4" with
custom lighting and a tow hitch. 4 factory 15-inch wheels, also
painted white, are wrapped with BF Goodrich all terrain tires in
33x9.50R15 format.
Interior
Utilitarian yet a bit complex with its Cerullo seats on custom
frames all covered in gray broadcloth over the body hugging
bolsters and nicely padded inserts. 2 buckets in front and all
cargo business in the back with the black painted bed on the inside
and front floors. Between the buckets a Tuffy lockable color
matched to the floors console is now installed. The shift levers
are nicely mounted to the painted floor, and the original all
restored dash is in front. Bright Teal Metallic painted metal is
the dash format and a black instrument cluster resides behind the
steering wheel. Factory heat is installed and this utilitarian dash
is looking clean and simple with a black padded topper. A custom
rollbar in black is highlighting theunderside of the white canvas
topper which securely hides the Blaupunkt stereo and security
speakers.
Drivetrain
This truck underwent a complete mechanical restoration including
the engine which is looking original and nicely preserved. It is a
3.9 liter inline 6-cylinder and it is fed by a Holley 2300 2-barrel
carb. During the rebuild the block was bored .030 over then treated
to new pistons, rings, bearings, and a new cam and lifters. The
cylinder head was also redone with new exhaust valves. A rebuilt
3-speed manual transmission with a Chevrolet 11" clutch and rebuilt
transfer case is on back with a 4.11 final drive for the air locker
equipped rear axle. We note a custom driveshaft by Six States that
incorporated a CV joint to correct the angles for the suspension
lift. If things get a bit sticky, a pull of the transfer case level
promptly engages the rebuilt with new seals, bearings, and Warn
hubs 4.11 geared front axle with an Auburn limited slip unit. A
Downey header was added on along with a Dynomax muffler and power
steering using GM parts have been added. Climb like Sir Edmund
Hillary... Sherpa!!
Undercarriage
Plenty of ground clearance, solid steel and plenty of patinaed and
road dirt splattered rust-free surfaces. Leaf springs are seen both
front and rear with the front being 2.5" SoftRide lift springs with
an advanced handling correction kit and 4" SoftRide lift for the
rear both courtesy of Skyjacker. We note Skyjacker shocks all
around and Energy Suspension urethanebushings throughout. Power
disc braking is on for the front and rear whichis a 1980 FJ40 set
up in the front and TSM conversion in the back. An adjustable
proportioning valve is inline for the brakes and a hydraulic
line-lock has been added for the front brakes. Tough as nails
boys.
Drive-Ability
Anything needing a ladder, (at least for this writer), has some
serious ground clearance. Once in I was up and in I fired up the
mill and brought the 3.9 liters to life. We rolled along in our
high and mighty way listening to the hum of the knobbies, and
having our fillings shaken out. Seriously, it actually was a smooth
ride, but you are in a heavy duty truck, so it's not a 58 Cadillac.
Comfortable seats, power steering and the new suspension makes for
a very nice experience and some interesting gear combinations can
be obtained with those dual stick transfer shifters. Ok I'm ready
to get down now Justin!! Can somebody get me...hellllloooo??!
Bloody hell, maybe I'll just drive this rig to New Hampshire and
have a long weekend.
Proof that when a builder sets their mind to make something great,
they can meet and exceed expectations. A frame of massaging of the
panels, high lift, big factory wheels and all terrain tires. I've
practically filled the groover with my amazement gazing at this
creation. Big time 4x4 fer shur. One of a kind..indubitably.
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.
