One Owner 1972 Toyota Land Cruiser - Mechanically Excellent

Description

One Owner 1972 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40

They have the mystique and magic of objects that time has somehow forgotten. Youwon't hear about the extensive restoration, it hasn't occurred. Like an enigma that hassomehow turned back the hands of time, lovingly cared for or, in some cases, sparinglyreserved for special occasions. "Survivors", as we call them, are experiencing a newfound appreciation among auto enthusiasts. Survivors may not be perfect, yet that is, inmany cases, what makes them perfect.The term “Barn Find” is well used in the vintagecar market but this 1972 one owner FJ40 literally lives in a beautiful timber frame barn,I’m guessing she qualifies!

Owned by one family since new, this 1972 FJ40 comes with over $17,000 inmaintenance receipts that have been kept along the way. Most recently a new carb,radiator, steering rebuild, new upholstery, starter and more. The truck is mechanically great! The original wheels are not on her today but they do come with theCruiser. This is the perfect candidate for an easy restoration, a Father & Son project orjust driver her “as is”.

A STORIED PAST FULL OF ADVENTURE

On March 18th, 1972 when this Horizontal Blue FJ40 arrived at Calvert Motors inArlington, VA, Ken, the owner, was in Cusco, Peru about to be married. So, his Fatherpaid the $3,696.25 and picked up the new FJ40 for him. Upon returning to the U. S.the Land Cruiser was ready to take the new bride and groom on a backpackinghoneymoon in the Rocky Mountains of the U. S. and Canada.

In 1974, after considerable research, the newlyweds decided to drive the Land Cruiserfrom Washington, D. C. to Cusco, Peru. They drove the FJ40 from Washington toPanama on the Pan American Highway. There is no road through the Darien Swamp toColumbia. So in Panama, they made arrangements to ship the truck on a freighter toBuenaventura on the west coast of Columbia. They removed the back seats andinstalled wooden boxes to keep their equipment safe during the journey. After flying toBogota they met with their shipping agent in Buenaventura on the Pacific coast ofColumbia. Soon they were back in the mountains and heading south on the PanAmerican Highway again. The FJ40 navigated the Avenue of Volcanos in Ecuador anddescended to the desert coast of Peru.

So far all the travels had been on paved highways, but near Trujillo, Peru they turnedfrom the coast and headed to the mountains with an auxiliary fuel tank filled with 96octane fuel. The first obstacle for the FJ40 was crossing a 13,700 foot pass in theCordillera Negra. They descended to the 10,000 foot Callejon de Huaylas. The auxiliaryfuel was needed because once in the mountains the typical gasoline was 66 octane, andthe pump with the rocket painted on the side was 85 octane. At that time there were noroads across the next mountain range, the Cordillera Blanca, the location of the highestpeak in Peru: 22,205 foot Mt. Huascaran. After ascendeding the Cordillera Blanca tothe end of the road at Lake Llanganuco, they left the Land Cruiser with the caretaker ofthe Huascaran National Park and embarked on a 100 mile backpacking trek around theCordillera Blanca.

The journey continued to Lima and down the coast to the Plains of Nazca where themysterious “Lines of Nazca” are believed by some to be associated with ancient aliens.

From Cusco, crossing the last range of the Andes, the Land Cruiser descended into theAmazon basin. It was a one lane road with travel east and west on alternate days. Atthis point, you are in Cosnipata, and headed to the end of the road at a mission,Shintuya. The road was primitive and they had not yet built any bridges. It wasnecessary to ford the rivers early in the morning before the afternoon tropical rainscaused the river levels to rise.

Finally the FJ40 was driven back to the coast to the port of Callao and shipped in acontainer to New York City where it was eventually driven back to Washington, D. C.

In 1976, the FJ40 was driven across the northern U. S. to Seattle, WA. where it’sremains on Marrowstone Island in Puget Sound since that time, it is only driven around theislands. The owner is sentimentally attached to the vehicle that she drove home toCusco, Peru. The FJ40 has been kept in good mechanical condition and it can stillcruise the highways at 60+ mph. Now, she enjoys a great home in a timber frame barnwhere she’s waiting for her next adventure.

Click here to see several photos of this 1972 Land Cruiser