Australian Car Guide

The 40 & 45-series LandCruisers were the mainstay of the Toyota four wheel drive range through the 1960s into the early 1980s until replaced by the 70/ 75-series. Pictured right is Ryan Zonneveld's 1976 FJ40 at Eli Creek, Fraser Island. (It is standard but for a long range fuel tank, chassis mounted roof rack and a 350 Holly carburettor.)

4wd.sofcom.com/Toyota/Toyota.html

The short wheel base (SWB) 40 series came as a soft top (ST) or hard-top (HT). The long wheel base (LWB) 45 series came as a cab-chassis, a ute (pickup), or a LWB HT. The latter could have four inwards facing seats down each side of the rear body so that it could carry eleven good friends in total.

The 40 and 45 shared mechanical components with the 55 series station wagon but Toyota gave the 55, and later the 60 and 62 series station wagons, distinctive body shapes to stand them apart, presumably for marketing reasons.

As the 40 and 45 series LandCruisers have aged, many of them have been converted to other engines, Chevrolet V8s being a popular choice. It is recommended to upgrade the brakes to discs at the front - available from later model LandCruisers - so that the stopping matches the going.

Rust is the main threat. The doors, the lower rear body and the rear chassis are vulnerable; everything is vulnerable if the LandCruiser has been used on the beach and in salt water.

Toyota Land Cruiser FJ43 from South Africa. It was registered in South Africa in 1975 but apparently came from Angola originally. Mine is relatively standard besides a Chev 350 motor - Guy Boardman [9/'00] who would appreciate any information on FJ43's.

• FJ25 LandCruiser
• LandCruiser 45 series Crew Cab
• 70 / 75 series LandCruiser
• Go to the Toyota (main) and Bandeirante (Brazil) pages