1973 Toyota Land Cruiser

1973 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser Beginning production in 1960, the FJ40 series Land Cruiser introduced the now famous Toyota trucks to the world and played a significant role in establishing the model's reputation for outstanding reliability and toughness. To call this 1973 FJ40 immaculate may be an understatement. Having recently undergone a complete restoration to an extremely high standard, it is safe to say that no bolt has gone untouched on this truck. The painstaking restoration first saw the vehicle taken apart and inspected piece by piece. For the 1973 model year, the FJ40 underwent a redesign which was then redesigned again at the end of the 1973 model year. That means that this particular year of FJ40 has some unique features and is particularly difficult to restore as some elements on the truck lasted less than 10 months. Being a western US truck, this FJ40 retains nearly all of its original sheet metal and only very minor repairs were required before every panel was sandblasted and sent to paint. Utilizing a multi-stage PPG primer and paint process, the goal was to get the red exterior to be as close as possible in shade and sheen to the original finish. Once painted, the whole truck was reassembled using only OEM fasteners and any time an OEM part was not available, the original would be removed and restored to factory fresh prior to reassembly. Both front and rear bumpers are new Toyota parts and the truck is also equipped with the optional Toyota PTO Winch which has been completely restored and still retains its original cable. The interior of the truck was lavished with the same level of care as the outside and similar care was taken to keep things either original or if replaced, making sure they are OEM spec. A notable difference for the 1973 Land Cruiser model was the introduction of bench seats to the FJ40 line and this truck even features the optional headrests. Once the interior was stripped out and cleaned, the seats were taken apart, the frames were rust proofed and powder coated black to match the factory paint and all of the hardware was yellow zinc plated just like they were originally. The seats were then treated to new foam and finally reupholstered in reproduction fabric. As a canvas top model, this truck features a few unique interior accessories like the map light on the passenger side dashboard and the safety straps affixed next to the dash for when you are driving with the doors off. Mechanically, this FJ still retains its stock inline-6 engine mated to a standard 3-speed manual gearbox running through a 4-wheel drive transfer case but every single piece has been taken apart and refreshed. The motor was fully rebuilt with a .020 overbore and the new pistons and connecting rods have been balanced. The crankshaft was reground and a new cam was installed along with OEM Toyota timing gears. The head was fully rebuilt with new valves, valve guides and valve seals and it was all installed with brand new Toyota head bolts.