1983 Toyota FJ40: Holy Grail of Land Cruisers?
Scant production numbers, original paint, and low miles might just make this Toyota FJ40 live up to the hype!
There are plenty of annoying terms floating around the world of the collectible automobile these days. Things like “survivor,” “sleeper,” and now, “holy grail.” Conjured up by some unknown person and overused by folks like Fast N’ Loud’s Richard Rawlings, holy grail is used to describe a vehicle that is the penultimate find. The best of the best, if you will. And by the seller of this admittedly amazing 1983 Toyota FJ40.
To be clear, he states that “Land Cruiser experts have dubbed the ’83 FJ40 the ‘holy grail’ of FJ40s.” Granted, a good salesman uses whatever tools he must to sell his wares. And in this case, you’ve got to justify that $114,00 sales price. But in all fairness, 78k original mile ’83 FJ40s don’t exactly grow on trees. Mostly because only around 300 of them landed on our shores that year, the last time Toyota offered the FJ40 here in America.
The seller also claims this truck is one of 50 with power steering and air conditioning. But we do know one thing for sure – you certainly don’t see many this original or unmodified. Or at all. And the history of this particular Toyota FJ40 is no mystery. With only two owners since new, one of whom was a mechanic, you won’t be left wanting for much.
The previous, mechanically inclined owner did perform some modifications to the truck. Most of them center around making it even more off-road worthy, including Rancho springs and shocks. Thankfully, none of them are difficult to reverse if the new owner wanted a bone stock FJ. And despite the mods, it’s pretty clear that this thing’s never been abused. Off-road or on.
So many in this case, “holy grail” is an accurate term. Everyone’s got their own opinion of what the ultimate Toyota FJ40 is, of course. But no one can deny that you don’t see many like this one anymore!
