1973 Toyota Land Cruiser

Convertible

4.2 2F Inline 6

Manual

FJ40143679

Clear

Up for your viewing pleasure is my FJ-40 offroad beast. I've had this truck for almost 15 years & it has been off-roaded all over the midwest. It's been all through Badlands in Attica, Cliffs in Marseilles, Silver Lake in Michigan, Rockport, southern Virginia & numerous other smaller places. Usually, I offroad with Jeeps running 35-37” tires, locked front & rear & it is a pretty good match. This easily keeps up with Rubicons & blows away any stock vehicle. It is fun to drive either on or off the road. There are conversations started all the time since FJ-40s are far & few between in ILL. Most people think it is a Jeep & are surprised to find out it’s a Toyota. I’ve had it up to 85mph on the tollway, but it cruises a lot quieter at 65-70. Running around town with the doors & top off in the summer is just a good time. In low gear at idle, I can walk faster than it goes. It does pretty good on the rocks, but there’s not to many rocks in ILL, so most of the time it’s playing in the mud, where it does great. We’ve gone through deep water, 3-3 ½ ft, which is exciting. This truck just keeps on chugging along what ever we get into. Silver Lake is great for sand running, most of the time I air down to 7-9 psi & don’t even need four wheel drive except for the biggest hills. Usually, I'll drive it to the off road parks, sometimes pulling a pop-up, but it is set-up with an included towbar & lights to be flat-towed also. I’ve tried to keep the drivetrain all Toyota, since Toyota overbuilt everything so much. Over the years, I’ve picked the best parts from the different years of production to get the strongest all-Toyota drivetrain. Saginaw power steering, 4 wheel disc brakes, 35” GoodYear MudTerrains with spare, shackle reversal, 9500LB Warn winch, rear locker, hardtop, CD player, CB radio 1973 Body & frame 1978 2F engine, rebuilt in 2002, 750 hours since rebuild, head was milled to bump compression to around 9 to1, new bearings, new rings, valve job, oil pan replaced, exhaust header added. Running Toyota carb, Toyota electronic ignition & K&N air filter 1978 4-speed transmission (1973 transmissions were 3-speeds) 1969 transfer case (lowest toyota gears available) 1976 front axle with disc brakes (1973 came a 4-wheel drums) 1973 rear axle with disc brakes 1978 front & rear pumpkins (strongest pinions available, 27 spline), 4:10 gears, Powertrax locker in the rear 1976 hardtop & barn doors When I first bought this, it was a typical illinois truck where the rust monster had attacked it. I drove it that way for a couple years, then took the body off one winter & fixed/upgraded what was underneath. The frame has been reinforced where it was weak with 1/8 plate to box it in. I added a 2" hitch to the back that is strong enough to yank Jeeps & pickups out of the mud all day long. The floor & wheelwells are made of 1/4" 6061 aluminum plate. The transmission tunnel is made from 1/8 aluminum. The body was attached to this rock solid floor, then the inside of the body and the gas tank were sprayed with a gray RhinoLiner coating. The front bumper is made from 1/4" 2x4 steel tube & the back bumper is made out of 1/4" 2x2 tube. A complete rollcage from SOR was then put in to protect everyone in the truck. It’s mounted to steel plates which are bolted solidly to the ¼” aluminum floor. The 9500lb Warn winch is mounted on a 1/4" steel plate bolted to the frame. This winch is great! It has pulled every type of vehicle out of some nasty situations. The outside was sprayed with flat olive drab paint which makes for easy touchups after blasting through trees & bushes. After a day of wheeling, open the doors, pull the drain plugs & just hose the inside out. The seat mounts were modified to fit Jeep seats, the back seat is from a Dodge minivan. Seat belts in the front were replaced with new & the back seat belts are from the same minivan the seat came from. Seat belts are mounted on the rollcage. All the factory gauges work & the following aftermarket gauges have been added, Tach, Voltmeter, Temp & oil pressure. A CD player is in the dash with a Jeep soundbar mounted overhead on the rollcage. There is also a CB radio mounted overhead on the rollcage. There is lockable storage with a 40mm ammo case mounted between the seats. Also included are 2 cupholders from Comiskey Park. The taillights have been replaced with LEDs & the headlights have been replaced with H4s. There is a hardtop & barn doors included along with the softtop. The soft top is an older one & has some trail damage, but it keeps me dry when it’s raining. Plan on giving me a hand putting the hardtop on when you pick it up. A shackle reversal has been done to improve the ride on the road. It helped, but it still rides like a 39 yr old truck, so keep the lid on your coffee. It has roughly a 3” lift from stock. My limit on the lift was keeping the center of gravity low, but more importantly so it fits into a standard residential 7’ garage door opening. The highest point on this truck is 6’ 8 ½”. Rear disc brakes were added last year, along with a new master cylinder & new brake booster for a 93 Landcruiser. This truck stops on a dime! I was amazed at the difference from stock & even better, there’s no more drum brake maintenance. A Saginaw power steering system has been added. There is even a power steering fluid cooler added on for the tight twisty trails. Basic maintenance has been kept up on this truck because I want it dependable when I’m 5 hours from home or way out in the woods. All the hoses & belts are replaced every few years. All fluids (axles, trans, transfer, brakes) get replaced every couple years. Oil is changed regularly with a ZDDP additive used. Valve lash was checked last month. Some things that have been replaced over years, fan clutch, radiator, new starter last year & heater core. The clutch was replaced 2 years ago. The are a few small leaks, the transfer case seeps (about a 3" puddle in a month) & the front axle seals are seeping. Yes, the voltmeter doesn't work in the video. I have a new one to put in this week. I have a couple boxes of extras to be included, gaskets, seals, distributor, carb, manuals & numerous other spare parts I’ve acquired over the years. Mileage is unknown. The odometer didn't work when I bought the truck. It is now working. I reset it to zero when the engine was rebuilt. It is showing 18,086 miles now. The speedometer runs slow due to the 35" tires, so it probably has 21K since the engine was rebuilt. Tires all have between 14/32" & 17/32" of tread left. They came new with 21/32". There's a short test drive here. http://s1058.photobucket.com/albums/t418/offroadtoyota/?action=view¤t=101_4710.mp4 http://s1058.photobucket.com/albums/t418/offroadtoyota/?action=view¤t=101_4718.mp4 To sum it up, If you are looking for a show truck, this ain’t it. For a fun, dependable, aggressive looking truck that can be driven anywhere, this IS it. You can pick this truck up & drive it home, straight through the fields, woods & streams if that’s what you feel like. This is located in Batavia, IL & I would highly encourage serious bidders to check it out. Pls send any questions though EBay so everyone can see the answers. My phone# is 630-803-1910 if you want to see the truck. At completion of auction, a $500 deposit is required within 48 hours with payment in full required within 7 days of auction close. I can store this in the garage for up to 30 days as long as payment is made in full. Deposit can be either Cash or Paypal. Remainder in Cash or certified check. Check must clear my bank before vehicle or title will be released. On Jul-25-12 at 06:27:26 PDT, seller added the following information: Some additional info I came across last night, The left rear barn door will not open with the current spare tire rack on the bumper, I'm not sure about the right door, it'll be close. I welded a solid mounted tire rack to the back bumper a few years ago when I needed to open up the back for the back seat & have only used the soft top since. I will include a $50 hinge pin from Iron Pig & enough tubing to build a swinging tire rack. I've had the materials but not the time to get this done. On Jul-27-12 at 19:12:39 PDT, seller added the following information: Whoever called me today about milage & fuel, i didn't get your number. I would estimate 10-12 mpg. I have gotten as good as 18mpg once, steady 55 mph & before ethanol. Fuel type is gasoline. On Jul-29-12 at 21:37:48 PDT, seller added the following information: I went out Friday & did some light wheeling @ Badlands in Attica IN. Check out some samples- http://s1058.photobucket.com/albums/t418/offroadtoyota/Badlands%20July%202012/