1981 Toyota Land Cruiser

FJ40 SUV

4.2L 4227CC l6 GAS OHV Naturally Aspirated

Manual

JT3FJ40C1B3341647

Clear

Gasoline

There is no doubt that these Vintage FJ40's are coming into their own in the collector vehicle market. There is some difference of opinion, however, among Cruiser lovers as to which would be a better investment: A fully restored, frame off restoration Land Cruiser with new sheet metal, painted axles, new interior, etc. etc., or an original, well cared for, low mile, unmolested example with its original paint still intact and in remarkable overall condition. If the trend in the collector car market has shown us anything, and is any indication, it has shown us that the latter will by far be the better investment. While fully restored, sparkling Cruisers can be found in numerous places these days, due to the growing number of reputable Cruiser shops that specialize in these restorations, they are becoming more and more commonplace at local car shows and for sale all over the internet. But the original, low mile, virtually pristine for their age examples are much rarer, and therefore more desirable and expensive, than their restored counterparts. They will absolutely make for a better investment long term. That is exactly what we have here. This is an original, unrestored FJ40 with less than 56,000 documented miles that has spent its entire life in the dry, semi arid area of southern Idaho. It has had 2 owners up until my purchasing it. The first owner pulled it behind his motorhome most the time for an estimated 10,000 - 12,000 miles during the first six years of it's life. The only alteration that was made was that he had the Toyota Dealership spray underliner underneath the entire Cruiser, and he had them install Air Conditioning as most of their travels in the motorhome were to be in the desert southwest. Then, the original owner sold it to his brother in 1987 with just over 20,000 miles on the odometer as recorded on the title. The second owner added a Warn 8274 Winch along with a winch bumper as soon as he purchased it. That is the only alteration to the Cruiser he ever made. I have been offered $2000 for the immaculate Vintage Warn Winch alone. It has all the original controls as well as a Warn recovery kit. The interior can only be described as immaculate. No rips or tears. Underneath the floor mats you will find the original insulation still adhered to the solid floorboards. Surface rust only around the drain plug as shown in the pics. He had a piece of insulation along with a rubber mat that he put in back to help reduce road noise. Over the years, the insulation stained the rear bed slightly from being damp or wet, but there is absolutely no rust at all in the rear bed or the rear sill. Not even surface rust. The exterior is almost as immaculate. Incredibly, there is absolutely no rust repair needed. In addition to the marks already mentioned in the bumper from the tow bar, you will find some paint chips and bubbling in the drivers side front fender and bib, and a small amount of paint bubbling in the lower edge of the read door, approx the size of a crayola crayon cut in half. The marks I mentioned from the tow bar could easily be removed with a quick 2 minute sanding and a can of flat black paint. But you will notice that, in order to keep this vintage cruiser just that, and to keep it original, I refrained from the typical liberal black spray painting to the axles, differential and underside to make the pictures look better. This Cruiser simply doesn't need anything to make it better in my opinion. They are only original once, and I elected to keep this one exactly that way.The original undercoating is fading and starting to chip and peel underneath. I will let the next owner decide whether to re-apply or just let the original sheet metal shine through! I put brand new BFG 33X10:50 All Terrains on the Cruiser. The top has never been off as evidenced by the original paint with no scratched on the bolts. No cracked glass. All the rubber window gaskets are original and in excellent condition. Everything works, including the A/C and the dome light! Has the original tool kit, bottle jack, etc.. This is an excellent chance to own an investment grade, original LandCruiser. If you want to remove two the non original items, ie the Warn Winch and Air Conditioning components, you could easily do so and sell them for $3000. I will NOT disclose the reserve price, but I will say that I am not asking the $30,000 and up that you will find most cruisers of this caliber at. I require full payment within 5 days, preferably via wire transfer. Any other form of payment other than cash will need to clear before title or cruiser leaves my possession. I will help with being available to your shipper for transport, or you can fly in and drive it home. I reserve the right to end the auction early if it sells in other venues, unless the reserve has been met. Once the reserve has been met, I will not end the auction and all other venues that this Cruiser is for sale in will be cancelled. Title is free and clear and I have it in hand. If you have any questions, you can contact me at 605-641-3465. You will most likely need to leave a message, but I can usually get back with you within an hour or so. On Feb-03-15 at 00:16:09 PST, seller added the following information: Just learned the following that I wanted to pass along. A gentleman that knows more about Land Cruisers than most everyone, is perhaps one of the top 20 experts on these Cruisers in this country, and that I have known for quite some time and I highly respect, has informed me of the following:The side mirrors on this year Cruiser always had a plastic back to them. These ones are chrome, so have been replaced at some point. The mirror arms are original, and the shape is correct, but are not plastic and therefore not factory original to the cruiser.Also, although the tool kit is Toyota, it is not of the correct type for this cruiser. The rear bed has had a thin coat of a bedliner type coating, though not near as rough, applied. The color matches perfectly with the cruiser. I had not noticed this, and called the prior owner to inquire about it today. He informed me that it was applied many years ago by a paint shop in order to help keep items such as tackle boxes and other fishing items from sliding around. The fellow at the paint shop also told him it would help protect the bed from rusting and reduce road noise as well. After some use, he found the coating really was not rough enough to keep his contents from sliding around, so found a rubber mat to throw in back. Just wanted to mention this in the interest of full disclosure. And I thank the gentleman for his keen eye and knowledge that he kindly took the time to give me today!