[Rzeppa]

In ancient Land Cruiser history, the very first prototype was the AK10, produced in January of 1951. It used a B type 3386cc 6 cylinder gasoline engine which was installed on the SB type 1-ton truck chassis. Toyota called its prototype the Toyota Jeep, and by combining a B-type engine with a Jeep model it was known as the BJ. Large scale production of the Toyota Jeep did not begin until August of 1953.

In June of 1954, responding to claims of trademark violations by the Willy's Corporation, Toyota renamed it the Land Cruiser.

The FJ25 made it's debut in August of 1955. Technically, this would be the first Land Cruiser with the "FJ" designation, and there were a number of differences in this model from the BJ.

The first B type 3.0 liter 4 cylinder diesel was introduced in 1974 in the BJ40. Interestingly, the H type 6 cylinder 3576cc diesel was introduced in 1967, apparently installed in a 40 series.

The above information is from "The Land Cruiser - Special Issue of the 50th Anniversary", published by 4x4Magazine Co., LTD of Tokyo in 2001. This book was available through SOR, but is now out of print. Their description is item number 403-100.

It's a fantastic book, loaded with history, trivia, specs, stories by some of the original designers in their own words, lots of great drawings and photos. It covers practically every model from the AK10 through the 100 series, including models I had never heard of before, such as the FJ35 wagon.

Happy cruisin'!