1982 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser - True Original

With an off-the-showroom-floor look and feel inside and out, Randall Elkin's '82 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser has also been properly outfitted to function ably on the trail. A Natick, Massachusetts, resident, Randy first happened upon his FJ40 in 1992 while driving past a Land Rover dealership. In bone-stock form, the FJ40 was parked among a host of new Rovers with the only nonstock items being a set of Rancho shocks and a hood bra. After getting it home, Randy informs us, he "kept the shocks and ditched the lingerie for obvious reasons."

Since that time, Randy and his '40 have become immersed in East Coast Land Cruiser culture, and he even became an inaugural member of the Yankee Toys club, which now has members in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and New York.

Randy's basic build plan for the FJ40 was to create a durable and capable trail truck that retained the basic Land Cruiser drivetrain and classic good looks. In the years that he's called the FJ40 his own, he's honed his mechanical abilities and amassed a good collection of tools, allowing him to wrench on the 'Cruiser himself. He also developed his welding and fabrication skills, which are displayed on the vehicle in the custom rock sliders, rear tub sliders, and rear bumper. All that work, however, didn't come without some assistance. Randy received a lot of help from Yankee Toys club members, Tedd Brown at Cruiser Solutions, friends at North Country Cruiser in Madison, New Hampshire, and the good folks on ih8mud.com, who offered suggestions and guidance as he tackled the building of his FJ40.

In maintaining the factory look of the classic rig, Randy had the stock wheels widened by Stockton Wheel. The hubcap-shod 15x8 wheels now hold a set of Q78-35 Super Swamper TSL tires that measure 35.5x9.5 inches. Under-fender clearance for the much-taller-than-stock tires was created using 2-inch Skyjacker lift springs up front and 4-inch lift springs at the rear. A Skyjacker 2-inch steering-correction kit was also installed, as were extended shackles and Skyjacker Hydro shocks. The suspension components were installed by Cruiser Solutions in Hampstead, New Hampshire. The Cruiser Solutions crew also fabricated a full rollcage in the FJ's interior and installed a tuned-port header on the Toyota 2F I6 engine. A Weber 38 carburetor further enhances the otherwise stock motor.