Since the Toyota FJ-25 Land Cruiser is a true “FJ” in every sense of the word, and it being the undisputed “great grandfather” of all our FJ Cruisers, I thought it would be appropriate to post up a build thread of my 1959 FJ-25 here in the Member Build-Up section.
A little bit of history about my love for the vintage Land Cruisers. When I turned 16 years old in 1967 (yep, I'm even older than this truck
), I wanted to buy something
slightly different as my very first owned vehicle. While all my friends were desperately seeking a deal on a '57 or '58 Bel Air, I found a used midnight blue ’59 FJ-25 in the back of a local Chevy dealer’s used car lot, and it was love at first sight.
$750 later, and it was all mine.
(
Yes, I actually had a waist-line
and a hair-line back then.)
As years went by, my original FJ-25 reluctantly got sold to make way for a variety of changes in life's events. But, I
still regret not being able to hang on to my "first love."
As I grew a bit older, the mystique and novelty of the old Land Cruisers still remained in my blood. And, I rekindled my affection for the vintage FJ’s by "adopting" (
buying) neglected and cosmetically-challenged FJ-40s, and doing what I could to resuscitate them back to life through restorations.
Before and after example:
14 previous FJ-40 restorations have now come and gone through my garage. Sure enough, as soon as I’d restore one to be the "perfect" FJ-40 for
me, $omeone would come along to make me an offer I just couldn’t refuse. But, rather than mourn the loss of each of those, I find solace in the fact that there are now 14 very nice FJ-40s out there that are still alive and well, and have found a good home with loving new owners.
However, a
15th FJ-40 (a
near-stock 1978) appears to have taken up permanent residence with me, and has even agreed to share the garage with its 20 year older ancestor.
About four years ago, I found what appeared to be a (rare) beautiful 1959 FJ-25 on eBay. Sight-unseen, I posted the winning bid and had the truck shipped to me from Bristol, Rhode Island.
Fortunately, I got lucky with this leap-of-faith purchase, and it turned out to be an FJ-25 with some interesting history. It’s a
non-USA import version that started life as a work truck on a pineapple farm in Hawaii. The second owner had it shipped to Washington state, then to another owner in Missouri, and from there it ultimately ended up in Rhode Island.
My luck furthered with the fact that this particular rust-free FJ-25 retained virtually all of its original components, parts, F-engine, drive-train, and a slew of accessory rarities seldom seen today in the few surviving FJ-25s. Plus, the previous owners obviously had some respect for what they had, since there were
no modifications or “hillbilly” chops of any kind. Not to mention, the engine runs strong as ever and is a very reliable source of transportation.
This FJ-25 had been nicely re-painted a dark burgundy color about 8 years before I took possession of it. Not an original Land Cruiser color, however, well-suited for this particular truck. Some re-painting here and there, and a substantial amount of buffing eventually brought out its underlying potential luster. (I guess you could say this was
also the original "Black Cherry FJ."
)
The actual build date of this FJ is October 1958. The VIN number indicates that this particular FJ-25 was likely the 4th Land Cruiser that Toyota manufactured. (I think the extended warranty may've just recently expired.
)
First of all, some unique and very rare FJ-25 parts and accessories that somehow managed to survive this FJ’s nearly 50 year-old existence:
Stock 115hp 1st generation Toyota "F" engine.
Original Toyota single-barrel carburetor with fuel bowl level window.
The original Km/H speedometer. (Not to worry; the Temp gauge defaults to "H" with the engine turned off.)
Completely original transmission: Non-synchromesh 4-speed w/ 5.41:1 1st gear, and a sophisticated single range transfer case . . . . 4WD
On / 4WD
Off.
Completely original chasis and undercarriage (axles, suspension, brakes, 4.11 R&P's, etc.)
Original FJ-25 "elephant horns" and “glass cup” fuel filter.
Original FJ-25 16” wheels and original FJ-25 "T" hubcaps.
Totally unmolested and non-modified dashboard with original dash placards.
Battery still mounted under the driver’s seat.
And of course, the infamous bezel-less chrome front grill and the signature FJ-25 inverted T-bird.
(Due to photo limitations, this thread is continued in the following post.)
