1965 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ

During the early 1950s, Toyota designed a prototype all-terrain utility vehicle and by 1954 had gained the 'Land Cruiser' nameplate. The Imperial Japanese Army had occupied the Philippines in the early 1940s and several American Jeeps were discovered. They were sent back to Japan where they were reverse engineered, and by 1942, the AK10, a predecessor to the FJ series, was born. The 1950s brought the onset of the Korean War and the United States government mandated the Toyota factory in Japan to produce a vehicle with similar specifications to the Willys Jeep. The result was the Toyota 'Jeep' BJ, with 100 examples ordered for the United States Army. Additional vehicles were built for use as the official patrol vehicle of the Japanese National Police. The Willys Corporation filed a trademark dispute in 1954, resulting in Toyota's removal of the 'Jeep' moniker and instead switched to the 'Land Cruiser.'

The Toyota Land Cruiser would earn a reputation for its practicality, simplicity, ease of maintenance, repair, operation, and ruggedness, and was soon available along with a wide range of body styles and chassis lengths. In 1960, exports of the short-wheelbase FJ40 Land Cruiser to the United States began and was the company's best-seller through in the American market for much of the next decade, where it was offered through 1983. The following year, Japanese domestic market production ended. Supplementary models for the United States included the FJ45 four-door, pickup, and wagon from 1963 through 1967, and FJ55 from 1968 to 1979.

The Land Cruiser's 3.9-litre 'F-Series' inline six-cylinder engine had a similar design to Chevrolet's 235 cubic-inch light-truck engine, fitted with an improved GMC-derived cylinder head and developing 125 horsepower fo the U.S. market.

During its production lifespan, the FJ40 received relatively few changes and modifications. In 1974 it received a four-speed transmission and an increase in engine displacement in 1975 to 4.2 liters resulting in 135 horsepower.

In 2004 Toyota paid homage to the model by introducing the retro-styled FJ Cruiser, approximately twenty years after the original's production run ended.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2020