Reserve Removed: 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40

This 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser was repainted in light blue by its previous owner and features a removable hardtop, a white roof, and a gray vinyl interior. It draws power from its original inline 6-cylinder engine, which was rebuilt in 2010 and comes connected to a 4-speed manual transmission and transfer case for the four-wheel drive system. Equipment includes new outside mirrors, Hella auxiliary lighting, and a roof basket. Located in San Jose, California, this J40-series Land Cruiser is available now with service records and a clear title in the seller's name.

The seller has had this Land Cruiser since 2008. During the previous owner's time with the SUV, it was repainted light blue. According to the current owner, the body has some minor paint chips including one near the headlight on the driver's side and some damage on the driver's side near the rear-mounted spare wheel and tire. They also note a crack in the rearmost side window on the passenger's side. A service record from Dylan's Engineering Consultants Inc. has an entry pertaining to rust repairs on the back end just above the rear bumper.

Equipment includes Warn locking front hubs, a fold-down windshield, and a roof-mounted cargo basket equipped with a pair of Hella auxiliary lights. There is also a front-mounted PTO winch with an additional PTO attachment point on the back of the transfer case. The PTO winch driveshaft is included with the vehicle, but is not installed.

The cabin is furnished with a new headliner, a new carpet kit, front bucket seats with new covers installed during the previous owner's time with the vehicle, a new dashboard cover, and a pair of side-mounted jump seats in the back. It features a new driver's seat belt, an aftermarket radio head unit, and new shifter boots for the PTO and transfer case levers. Floor-mounted shifters control the PTO winch, manual transmission, and transfer case.

Instrumentation in the two-tone dashboard includes a 100-mph speedometer as well as gauges for the fuel level, amperage, oil pressure, and coolant temperature. According to the seller, the speedometer cable was not working from March of 2010 until May of 2021, but they did not drive the vehicle more than 400 miles during that time and the vehicle has a new speedometer cable.

According to the owner, this Land Cruiser retains its original 4.2-liter I6, which was rebuilt in 2010 by Ellsworth Machine Shop of Mountain View, California. In addition to that, it received a resurfaced cylinder head and other parts and adjustments. In April of this year, the exhaust manifold gasket and clutch master cylinder were replaced. Other new parts include the spark plugs and spark plug wires. Since being rebuilt, the engine has accrued fewer than 500 miles. That sends its output through the original transfer case and a manual transmission, which is a 4-speed gearbox as indicated by the diagram on the dashboard.

There are photos of the underbody in the picture gallery to the right. The current owner reports there is a minor leak coming from the transfer case. As the service record from Dylan's Engineering Consultants Inc. dated April 29, 2021 shows, an inspection of the front differential revealed dark fluid with metal flakes in it, which indicates damage to the gears.

The seller states that given the vehicle's low gearing and slow speeds, it is not meant to travel on freeways. The oil has been changed multiple times since the engine was rebuilt, the most recent oil change being performed in May of 2021, according to the seller. Sale includes PTO winch driveshaft, receipts, and service records.