1980 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 NO RESERVE ACUTION

1980 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 Description

My wife named this Land Cruiser Pearl. We purchased Pearl in February, 2002, in South Carolina. Pearl was a daily driver from April to November until the past two years. However, even while stored, I started her and kept the oil changed and had Toyota perform needed maintenance. I assume the actual mileage is 143,822, but I have no way to confirm this since this vehicle cannot be traced using CARFAX or AutoCheck.
OVERALL CONDITION: Original (except wheels and tires), 1980 Toyota Land Cruiser 4 wheel-drive FJ40 with factory power steering! Southern vehicle until 2002. Nearly everything works! This is a very solid vehicle that runs and drives well. It is the much sought-after late-model FJ40 (post 1979) that includes the following improvements: 3:73:1 differentials for much quieter and easier freeway driving; larger 22-gallon gas tank moved to under the vehicle between the frame members; larger, more heavy-duty, body mounts; handbrake/emergency brake moved to floor from dash; improved exhaust manifold; reclining front bucket seats; headlamps moved farther apart. In addition, it has the late 1970's improvements that Toyota made to the FJ40, including the following: front disc brakes; power-assisted brakes; rear ambulance-style swing-out doors; pop-out rear windows for improved air flow; larger front turn signals with side-marker lights built in; larger side mirrors for better visibility; and tubular, swing-out, spare tire mount. In 1979 Toyota provided some new options for the FJ40 that included power steering (this vehicle HAS factory power steering).

NEW PARTS INSTALLED: Below is a list of new parts installed over the past fifteen years (approximately in the last 15,000 miles). TOYOTA means work was done by a Toyota Master Mechanic at a Toyota dealership (location indicated). OWNER indicates part that I installed. PO indicates work that the previous owner had done at an independent repair shop in South Carolina. All parts listed below are OEM Toyota parts (unless otherwise noted). I have receipts for all repair work done within the past 10+ years.

New Toyota battery and OEM Master brake cylinder within the last two years (TOYOTA, Iowa)

Rebuilt front brake calibers, new rotors, and new pads installed (TOYOTA, Iowa)

New head gasket, newer manifold installed; oil galley plug replaced (TOYOTA, Iowa)

New Toyota clutch, throw-out bearing, pilot bearing, rear main oil seal (TOYOTA, Iowa)

New Michelin tires and newer chrome wheels from FJ62 installed (OWNER)

New Toyota bearings, pinion seal, shims in rear differential (TOYOTA, Iowa)

New rear axle and rear wheel bearings (TOYOTA, Iowa),

New Toyota muffler installed (OWNER)

Power steering pump rebuilt (PO)

New gear-reduction starter installed (TOYOTA, South Carolina)

Bottoms of rear doors replaced and a little sheet metal replaced in rear quarter panels (PO)

Repaint job (prior to PO) with touch up (brighter white) by PO and OWNER

ENGINE: Pull the choke in any weather (even -30F) and the engine starts right up. A new Toyota gear-reduction starter cranks it fast, even at cold temperatures. Immediately after it starts push the choke part way in and it idles very smoothly and quietly, even at very low rpm. There is no hesitation and there are no vacuum leaks on this engine! I have replaced many vacuum lines and put a new fuel shut-off solenoid on the carburetor, so there is no run on after you shut off the engine. It both accelerates and decelerates without any hesitation. No black, blue, or white smoke; the engine does not burn oil. The engine still has all of the factory emissions equipment on it, so it should pass smog inspections (we do not have smog inspections in Iowa, but the previous owner lived in a state that had smog inspections and the vehicle always passed). Oil has been changed at least every 3,000 miles by me and the previous owner.

DRIVE TRAIN: The original 4-speed transmission shifts smoothly. I installed new Toyota master and slave clutch cylinders. No clunks when shifting up through the gears, although the synchronizers on second and third gears are worn so there is a little noise when downshifting into third and second gears. The transmission does not pop out of gear! The 4-wheel drive works perfectly, although the bearings and seals in the transmission and transfer-case need to be replaced (transfer case leaks gear oil onto ground and into transmission). The transmission, transfer case, and rear differential fluids were all changed within the last 4,000 miles.

The rear differential has been completely rebuilt by a Toyota master mechanic. All new bearings and shims were installed. It is very tight and does not leak a drop of fluid (drips of gear oil from the rear differential are all too common on FJ40s). It has the factory 3:73:1 rear differential which greatly facilitates highway driving (60-65 mph without the engine sounding like a mad bee). The pinion seal on the front differential has also been replaced.

STEERING, SUSPENSION, BRAKES: Did I mention that this vehicle has the rare factory power steering! If you have ever driven an FJ40 without power steering you will fully appreciate the power steering. I looked long and hard for an FJ40 with factory power steering. The previous owner had the power steering pump rebuilt, and it works flawlessly and does not leak any fluid. It works better than the power steering in my FJ80.

The suspension is the factory suspension with the factory shackles and bushings. The rubber bushings and shackles have been replaced by Toyota.

The Land Cruiser stops quickly without any shuddering and in a straight line. The most recent work was to have Toyota replace the rotors and calipers and put new discs on the front.This Land Cruiser can be stopped confidently.

BODY: The body is solid. There are no signs that this vehicle has ever been in an accident. It was used off-road twice by the previous owner. There is some body rust, but much less than is typical for this year (see closeup photos). I considered giving it a fresh paint job to improve it’s appearance, but if I were purchasing an FJ40, I would be suspicious that fresh paint was hiding some serious rust problems. A few years ago I painted the rear wheel wells gloss black. Sometime before the previous owner purchased the vehicle the entire vehicle was repainted. The roof was painted the same color as the body at this time.

The previous owner had a small amount of body work done on the vehicle (to address rust). This work included replacing the bottom two inches of both back ambulance doors with pre-formed metal door bottoms. The body shop that welded them in did a very good job. Only on one door can you barely tell that this has been done. The front floor board on the driver’s side was rusted through and a new floorboard has been welded in. There was also just a bit of rust beginning along the seam between the tops of the rear fender wells on the sides of the tub, so just a little filler was added. Similarly, the vertical seams behind the driver and passenger doors must have started rusting, as a very small amount of body filler was added here. The bottom of the passenger door must have been beginning to rust as there is evidence that a very small amount of body filler had been added here.

The rear half of the vehicle and the front driver’s and rear floorboards were repainted (at least the tub and the rear doors) after the above repairs were made. New, aftermarket weatherstripping was installed on the ambulance doors that is very effective in preventing the doors from rattling.

During the fifteen years that I have owned this FJ40 there has been a little more rusting, despite storing the vehicle inside during all but one winter and driving it only in summer and fall. The front passenger-side fender has rusted through, and the driver’s side rear corner has rusted through. Rust is returning along the seams at the tops of the rear wheel wells and along the vertical seams behind the driver’s and passenger’s doors. I have sanded and painted the bottoms of both front doors on the inside (a brighter white than the color of the vehicle) and used new weatherstripping adhesive to re-attach the weatherstripping to both front doors. I also sanded, filled, and painted a small spot on the bottom of the hardtop on the driver’s side behind the spare tire. I also installed newer hood hinges that are more of a tan color than white. This stopped the rattling of the hood when I sat at a stoplight.

The roll-bar mounts are solid. I personally consider this a diagnostic sign of the degree of rust on an FJ40. I looked at many while searching for this vehicle, and vehicles that “looked” rust free often had rusting roll bar supports in the rear fender wells. It is a safety issue if these mounts are rusted through. Please ask questions!

INTERIOR: The interior is original (except for the front seat covers and added cushions under the driver-side seat cover). The passenger seat and rear jump seats are all in excellent condition. The original driver’s seat-bottom foam cushion is worn out, as is the bottom, original vinyl cover. I added the genuine sheepskin seat covers. These were custom made.

When I purchased the vehicle, all the seat belts were faded, and the driver’s seat belt was starting to fray. The first thing that I did was purchase and install new, Toyota, front seat belts. The rear belts had been discontinued by Toyota, so I purchased used seat belts from an FJ60 (rear center belts) and installed these. The receiver portions of the front seat belts that are mounted to the floor are both original; the red buttons are faded. The center console is original and faded, but free of cracks (except for one hole where it mounts to the floor).

There is no headliner. The old drooping one was removed. I did stop the roof from leaking.

The PO had a CD player installed. I replaced it with an amplified Toyota CD player. The installation of the original CD player required that the radio hole be enlarged.

The upper dash pad has been replaced. It looks new. The bottom dash pads are slightly hard and faded (sun exposure), but they are not cracked. Both were very slightly and neatly trimmed to accommodate the CD/radio installation. The rollbar pads are all present and in good, but faded, condition.

All gauges and dash switches work as they should, except the ammeter, the gas gauge (works only a little), the windshield washer, and light in the light switch. Beginning in 1979, the rear floor heater became an option. This vehicle, because it was sold in the South, did not come with the heater. The front heater puts out LOTS of heat (the blower works well on both speeds), so you won’t miss the rear heater. This gives you more space to haul things, and makes it easier to move around in the rear of the vehicle.

Nearly all safety features, comfort controls, and accessories work, including: heater fan (both speeds), wipers (both speeds), front window washer, headlights (low and high beams), all side marker lights, tail lights, brake lights, back-up lights (new back-up light switch installed when clutch job was done), both license plate lights, dome light, dash light, below-dash light for heater controls, 4-way flashers, power steering, power brakes, and the emergency/parking brake. Owner's manual, Toyota jack, and the Toyota toolkit and jack extensions are included.

REASON FOR SALE: I am selling it because I have too many Toyotas and I have not driven it much in the past two years. I would like to use the garage space that it currently occupies for one of my other Toyotas. I hope this great FJ40 goes to a new home where it can be pampered, cherished, and driven regularly. I have taken very good care of Pearl and have never used it off road; I drove it only locally to work, school, and the store.

VEHICLE HISTORY: The previous owner purchased this FJ40 locally in Charlotte, North Carolina with 112,000 miles on it. He paid $8,500 for it. He owned it about three years. He sold it to me so that he could purchase a new Toyota Camry. The previous owner told me that he used the vehicle off road twice, and both times on 4-wheel drive recreation trails at a state park. The vehicle had been registered in North Carolina at least since 1993, based on the registration stickers that I peeled off the license plate when I purchased the vehicle. Someone other than the previous owner had previously replaced the dash pad, painted the entire vehicle the original color, and installed aftermarket wheels and 31" tires.

THE FINE PRINT: I will not entertain any offers. This is an auction that will run until it ends; I will NOT end it early, so please do not ask. $500 deposit due within 24 hours of auction close. Balance due within 3 days of auction close. Payment by certified bank check (you must allow at least 10 days for the check to clear before I will release the vehicle to you or a transport company), or cash (in person; transaction will take place at a bank). If you are the high bidder, but fail to comply with these rules, I have the right to offer the vehicle to another bidder.