The Truth About Cars » Toyota Land Cruiser

Picked Clean: 1971 Toyota Land Cruiser Skeletonized By Junkyard Vultures

Murilee Martin — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 13:00:02 +0000

Toyota Land Cruisers don’t last long in self-service wrecking yards, as we saw with this ’85 earlier in the summer. When I saw this ’71 FJ40 a few weeks later, I could see the scavengers circling overhead. Now look at it!
All the easy-and-valuable goodies had been grabbed during the several days between being placed on the yard and my first series of photographs, but I knew that some portable-Sawzall-armed customer would want the sheet metal.
Sure enough, that’s what happened.
The Chevy-based six in these trucks is pretty hard to kill and good-running examples are plentiful, so I’m guessing this engine will go to The Crusher with whatever fragments remain of the truck.

Junkyard Find: 1971 Toyota Land Cruiser

Murilee Martin — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:00:41 +0000

While the regular junkyard visitor might run across the occasional FJ60 Land Cruiser in a cheap self-service yard, especially here in 4WD-centric Colorado, there are some Toyota trucks you just don’t see in such junkyards. One is the 4Runner (I’ve found exactly one so far) and another is the FJ40 Land Cruiser. But wait— look what I just found!
I shot this truck in the yard’s “not ready for customers to be pickin’ parts off yet” lot a couple of months back, and I assumed that it would be sold as a unit to a Toyota-specialist yard or collector instead of getting put out among the ’93 Tercels and Daewoo Lanoses. It looked pretty rough, but still had plenty of good stuff.
By the time I found it in the yard, it had been picked over pretty well.
Still, there’s always something worth pulling if you’re restoring a much-sought-after FJ40.
Like the glovebox door, for example, or what Land Cruiser folks call “the pocket.”

Holds seven in foam-seat comfort!

Junkyard Find: 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser

Murilee Martin — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:00:44 +0000

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.

Junkyard Find: 1989 Toyota Land Cruiser

Murilee Martin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:00:25 +0000

Well, here’s a truck you almost never see in junkyards. In Colorado, FJ60/62s have been considered sufficiently desirable that even beat ones mostly get snapped up at pre-Crusher auctions. Perhaps that’s all changing now, what with gas prices knocking down the prices of newer, more modern/less “truck-y” SUVs.

This one’s a bit battered, but it appears to be free of the tooth marks of the Rust Monster.

The good old pushrod F engine! This would make an interesting swap into, say, a mid-70s Corona wagon… but that will never happen. Next stop, Chinese steel smelter.

Snorkel-ized, RHD Diesel Land Cruiser Laughs At Denver Winter

Murilee Martin — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:00:17 +0000

In my first Denver winter after a driving lifetime in coastal California, I’m now experiencing my first real taste of driving in snow. My ’92 Civic is doing pretty well (i.e., I haven’t crashed or become stuck yet), but I’m starting to eyeball Craigslist listings for IHC Scouts and FJ40 Land Cruisers. After spotting this Toyota in my neighborhood, I may have to forget about the Scouts.

I know better than to attempt to specify an exact model year on one of these things, especially when it’s an visitor from some far-off land where drivers sit on the right and engines drink oil. Let’s say early 1980s and leave it at that.

Australia? Japan? The UK? Land Cruiser experts, what do you say?