1979 Toyota Land Cruiser HJ45 Troopy Diesel 5-speed LWB Long Wheelbase fj40 fj45

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You are looking at a 1979 Toyota Land Cruiser HJ45. Early Land Cruiser models are by far, the most iconic production-vehicle Toyota Motor Corporation has ever built. They changed little in the years this body-style was made, other than varying wheelbases and cab-configurations. This long-wheelbase "Troopy" model was never offered for sale in the United States, so it's a very rare opportunity to find one here. They have a removable top & doors with flip-down windshield for open-air driving fun, 4x4 go-anywhere capability, and rugged good looks. I've seen aftermarket soft-top configurations available new, or if you can find one... even bolt on a factory FJ-45 hard-top pickup half-cab for this vehicle; making it a very versatile 4x4, convertible, SUV or pickup combo. This one features a sweet-running inline 6 cylinder diesel engine with a performance exhaust-header & glass-pack muffler (that sounds silly to Americans for anything but a V8, but it does pick up a few extra horsepower that way). It has been fitted with the more desirable 5-speed overdrive transmission. These vehicles have fully boxed-frame construction & solid front & rear axles with sealed-ball type u-joints so you can cross creeks & rivers without having to re-pack your wheel-bearings with grease. This one has the full-floating heavy-duty truck rear-end not found on the U.S. models.

Land Cruisers have been used in Safari Expeditions all around the World for the past 60 years, and have tried & true off-road capability & extremely good dependability! I have driven this vehicle quite a bit, and would say you could hop in it, and drive anywhere on the Continent at a moment's notice. It's ready to roll. It has a new water-pump, new belt and good hoses. The brakes work well, tires have lots of tread remaining, and there's a spare under the rear-floor of the vehicle. The wipers work & have new rubber blades, interior fan-blower works (heater works, but is bypassed due to a small hose-leak it had back in time). I'd be happy to get it in working order before the end of the sale if it were going to make or break the deal. All the glass is good, but there are some tiny rock chips on the windshield. The transmission shifts well, and I was told by the previous owner that it has a newly replaced clutch. It does grind a tiny bit going into 5th gear once in a while, but I think it's just due to the synchronizers starting to wear out. I have no problem driving it, and it's been like this the whole time I've owned the vehicle. See videos of it running and driving. A previous owner installed super-loud air-horns under the hood, perhaps to scare the kangaroos, and there is a formidable grill-guard on this thing!

This odometer reads 74,300 kilometers (46,167 miles), but I'm sure it's probably turned over sometime in the past 40 years. It has power brakes, but manual steering (it's not hard to steer, even when parallel-parking). The dash switches and levers are all still intact which is pretty uncommon for these vehicles. The headlights, hazards, turn-signals, brake-lights and taillights all work. The engine runs very smoothly and doesn't exhibit any ticks, knocks or extra noises. It does not burn or consume crankcase oil. Also no major leaks anywhere. The vehicle drives excellently down the road without slop or play in the steering/suspension components. The four-wheel-drive transfer-case works great in 2-high, and 4-high, but sometimes I can't get it into 4-low-range (seems like the shift-forks just aren't plunging all the way into place). There are lockout hubson the front axle (for free-wheeling when not in use to save on fuel). The frame is super solid, and not rusty. For the most part, the body is, too, but does have upper rust around the rain-gunnels, as well as some rust around the windows on the doors, windshield frame, and cowl areas. The door-bottoms were rusted out, so I just glued new skins onto them. A person could weld them on if desired, but I didn't want to warp the doors from excess heat. The rear doors have some pin-holes down low, too, and the floor-pan has been patched up front, but is very solid in the rear.

The interior is in nice condition with captain's seats installed in the rear, the front seats are worn, but have animal-print seat-covers to match the floor-mats going for the safari-theme. There's plenty of room for a 3rd row if one wanted to add more seating, but the cargo-space is really nice to have back there. I can haul 4 passengers, fit my son's Power-Wheels Jeep in the back, and still close the rear ambulance-doors! A full exterior roll-cage & roof-rack was installed back when this thing lived in Australia. It is a legitimate outback-vehicle... this is no poser mall-cruiser! I do have the contact info of the previous owner, and could put you in touch with her to hear the history on this vehicle, and what it was used for Down Under. As you can see it's right-hand drive, which is not at all hard to get used to, and after about the first day I drove it, I fell in love with it being that way! It makes it all the more fun, unique and interesting. I thought about getting a rusty fj-40 parts Cruiser and just swap the steering-box, tie-rods, and other components over to make it left-hand drive, but just decided to leave it. It's part of the character of the vehicle, and it's original this way. It's up to the next owner if they want to convert it over. It looks really easy to do, as the heater-core is right in the center of the dash, and there's really nothing obstructing the left side for putting in a steering-column over there.

The wheels are custom, wider-than-stock units which I fabricated a way to accept the factory Toyota J-series dog-dish hubcaps. I just prefer that look over anything else on these rigs. I want to go right on record saying that there is some patina to this vehicle. It's been well loved and while not all dented up, it has been touched up (sometimes with a brush) in multiple areas over the years. From 20 feet away, it looks perfect, but up close, it's clear that while most of the original 1979 paint is still in place, some areas have been touched up. For a daily-driver, and something you actually might like to take off-road on some trails, and not worry about getting a scuff or a scratch, it's perfect for that. Many people take these to concourse, pristine levels, though, and then they are so nice they can never really be enjoyed. This one gets used. my kids LOVE the roof-rack, and I even have pictures of the family up there laying on a mattress for some star-gazing, or a campout. That roof rack isn't just for looks... it's a sturdy unit that you could put a LOT of gear up onto if you were going to use this thing as an expedition-vehicle (which is what it's made for). I've seen ones with tents on the roof, pop-up camper tops, and all sorts of other innovative ways to make them into campers.

This is a vehicle that you can be proud to drive just the way it is... or fully restore it, and make it pristine to park in a museum if you like. It definitely gets lots of compliments everywhere I go with it! I've been using it as my daily driver, so it may have a few more kilometers on the odometer by the time the sale is done, but I will stop driving it once it has a bid. There are a lot of very good reasons people love these rigs! It's a super-rare, highly collectible, iconic, classic 4x4 built with Toyota quality. It has so much more room inside than the little FJ-40s that were sold here in the U.S. The picture of a Troopy with the top and doors off is a different vehicle, but I just included it to demonstrate what they look like with them removed.

Thanks for looking, and we welcome anyone to come inspect this vehicle in person throughout the duration of the auction, or arrange an inspection at one of the local garages in town (which I can drop it off at), but by bidding on, or otherwise agreeing to purchase this vehicle, you acknowledge that it is being sold As Is with no warranty. A scan of the front and back of the clean title in my name can be provided to you, and a $500 security deposit is due within 5 days of auction's end via PayPal, or money order. If you intend on having this vehicle delivered, a wire-transfer or cashier's check is preferred, and Atlas Auto Shippers (888) 285-2706 is a company I've used & had excellent luck with over the years. They have competently moved many classic cars around the country for me, with careful track-records and are very competitively priced transporters. The title and vehicle will be released upon the clearing of funds. If additional time is needed to get it picked up, storage is not a problem, but please have it paid for within 2 weeks of auction's end either way. If picking this vehicle up in person, please bring cash for the remainder of payment (or a cashier's check from a National bank chain like Wells Fargo, so we can go right down and verify the funds on the spot at a local branch here in my town before I release the vehicle). Deposits are considered non-refundable. Thanks for your cooperation and understanding.