Junkyard Find: 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser

by Murilee Martin

Published: May 10th, 2012

The Land Cruiser is one of those vehicles that washes up in self-service junkyards only after its body and interior become so thrashed that even bottom-feeder truck shoppers can’t stand the idea of being seen in the thing. Contrast this with the legions of great-looking 1980s Jaguars you’ll find in the very same yards.

Here in Colorado, FJ60s are still all over the streets, being used as suburban family transportation, work trucks, and (very thirsty) daily drivers. Not quite as luxurious as modern SUVs, but simple and durable. Actually, they were pretty luxurious trucks for their time, but the bouncy suspension, cabin noise, and dearth of cupholders seem very dated today.

This much-abused example didn’t quite make 200,000 miles. The interior didn’t smell so good, which was probably the final straw for its last owner.

The Toyota F engine was pure truck, though supposedly the Toyota Crown Police Interceptor (not what they called it, but they should have) got the F. Lots of torque, lots of noise.

This isn’t a great loss to the world, since most of the FJ60s built are still above ground, but it’s a shame to see one of these sturdy machines get used up like a salvage-title Geo Tracker.

#1980s #1985 #1985ToyotaLandCruiser #4x4 #Denver #DownOnTheJunkyard #FJ60 #FourWheelDrive #Junkyard #JunkyardFind #Toyota #Truck #LandCruiser #ToyotaLandCruiser

Murilee Martin

Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.

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4 of 32 comments

Chicagoland on May 10, 2012

This truck last 27 years, so it is time for good bye, not every sinlge old vehicle can be a 'classic' to be restored to concours level. And not surprise to see a '99 Outback in SS yard, since 90's car values are dropping like rain. To a working class car buyer, a 2000's car is a status symbol.

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Moparman426W on May 11, 2012

The engines in these were a near carbon copy of the old chevy straight 6.

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- Landcrusher on May 11, 2012
  
  One garage owner who wouldn't fix my truck told me Toyota was given a license for that engine during reconstruction.
  
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- Raph on May 13, 2012
  
  @Landcrusher As I heard it, Toyota wanted to emulate what they considered the most successful I6 of the day with that being the Chevy's I6
  
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