Random # 318: Toyota Land Cruiser

Nice ol' truck, I hear you say. But is it?

There's zero doubt that it's nice! I'd say awesome, actually.

I'm just not so sure that it's old. Or maybe that all of it's old.

Why? As best as I can tell, this is a J40(ish) - also possibly known as a "40 Series" - 'Cruiser, or at least looks like one. Our friends at Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Land_Cruiser, accessed 24 JUN 22) tell us that the J40 was built between 1960 and 1984 and - as an amusing side note - that they were called the "Macho" in Venezuela.

As macho as this 40 Series is - and it truly is quite the hairy brute - there was never to my knowledge a coil-sprung version, as this one clearly is, during its near quarter century of production. It's almost certainly possible to modify the vehicle to take coils all 'round. However, my best bet is that this one's a J40 cab sitting atop a much, much newer chassis.

Either way, the quality of this 'Cruiser is amazing! The duco on the cab is thick and lustrous, the wheels look fabulous, and the entire fit-out - from its stainless steel snorkel and custom tray, through to its array of LED lights - is totally kick-arse.

My favourite bit? Without doubt, the heavily patinated front bumper which, I suspect, was deliberately left unpainted to highlight the perfection of the rest of the build and to lend the beast some bush-cred.

It'd be interesting to know what's lurking under the bonnet. There's a fat exhaust hinting at some big cubes but whether they're Toyota, LS, petrol or diesel (the grille badge suggests the latter), or if there's a turbo or not isn't clear. It looks unlikely to be underpowered, anyway!

Did you know that UMPH also features cars from all around Australia? Recent examples have included a sinister-looking C2 Corvette Sting Ray (https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/06/from-seqc-circa-1963-c2-corvette.html), an EK ute (https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/05/from-canberra-correspondent-ek-holden.html) and an amazing Maserati Sebring (https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/04/from-auto-italia-2022-circa-1967.html).

So why not do a Molly Meldrum and check them out? Even better, consider following Upper Middle Petrol Head on Facebook or via their 'blogsite (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au).

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U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

iPhone images.

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