Auction-bound FJ Company-restored ’83 FJ45 Is One Badass Rock Crawler
Restored Land Cruiser’s engine was rebuilt with OEM parts to make it an unstoppable beast.
The 2020 Land Cruiser is the evolution of six decades of off-road prowess, combined with the best luxury you can find without upgraded to a Lexus badge. There’s even a Heritage Edition available, which wears the classic Land Cruiser badge found on the longest-running FJ40 generation from 1960 to 1984.
Of course, some of us do prefer the classics over the more modern SUVs. In fact, we found such an example the other day, a 1983 FJ45 heading off to the auction block at Mecum Auctions’ Chicago happening, scheduled for October 24 through 26 at the Schaumburg Convention Center in the Chicagoland suburb of Schaumburg, a half-hour away from downtown.
This old-school cool was restored by The FJ Company of Miami. The company began with a restoration of the founders’ grandfather’s ’82 FJ40 shortly after his passing in 2009, then went on to restored dozens upon dozens of FJs and other classic Land Cruisers from 2010 onward.
Under the restored hood is the Land Cruiser’s 4.2-liter 2F inline-six, which was rebuilt in a machine shop with OEM parts in order to once again make the 135 horses and 210 lb-ft of torque it did in its day. The 2F is paired with a four-speed manual and a transfer case to motivate all of the corners when climbing the toughest trails.
Inside the restored factory-correct green paint is a fresh tan leather interior, with the door panels still wrapped in plastic for extra freshness. Everything looks better than new, helped with a new electrical system to guarantee everything works as they should.
The rest of the restoration package includes a hardcore winch setup to pull anything and anyone out of trouble (including itself, if need be), Old Man Emu suspension to take off-roading to the next level, a Hi-Lift jack for making off-road repairs a breeze, and a gel cell battery to keep things clean under the hood when cornering.
The 2020 Land Cruiser may have all of the luxury comforts one expects from an SUV these days, but even it can’t hold a handle to a classic FJ45, especially one as stunning as this restoration.
Photos: Mecum Auctions
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