This is the beginning of my thread for my 3/1977 FJ40 named “Larry the LandCruiser”. This first post is going to be a bit lengthy as I go into a bit of the background.I’ve included some pictures of my grandfather washing Larry in North Carolina in the 80s, me at a car show in 2024, a photo shoot I did in 2025 and the original window sticker.
Originally purchased brand new by my grandparents in August of 1977 at Trail Toyota in Punta Gorda, Florida for a sticker price of $5,950.82 and now Larry has been in my family for almost 48 years at this point (I’m only 25
).I have a lot of the original documentation including the window sticker, sales receipts, import documents etc. This will be a collection of what I do and some things I have already done while he has been in my ownership.
My grandfather really enjoyed owning Larry he had many vehicles during his life but always kept Larry around but unfortunately passed away in 2008 due to cancer. My aunt and uncle then got Larry and kept him in driving shape til around 2016-2017 when he was parked in my grandparents garage and there he sat until 2023.
In 2023 I was gifted Larry as my 23rd birthday present and at first I had no idea what to do. I have 3 2006 Dodge Ram trucks with the 5.9 Cummins I’m more familiar with diesels but an inline six is an inline six it can’t be that complicated. Over time I found the great people here on Mud and was able to slowly figure out what I needed to look for before getting him started for the first time.
Luckily he was parked and sat for 6 years with an empty fuel tank. I added new gas, primed the oil system and put in a new battery. Had to pump the gas a few times and he cranked for a while but he started and I was amazed to say the least. I only let him run for a few seconds then shut it off and went to get my grandmother to show her. I didn’t plan on it being so easy to get him going. She had the opportunity to see the beginning of Larry coming back in full force and that was a great experience as she was one of the original owners.
I backed him out of the garage and took a lap around the yard and at that point I was hooked. After that I did a full fluid change and drove him around for a while with a weeping water pump I later figured that one out before anything bad happened. In November 2023 my grandmother and I went to a Cars & Coffee event and it was an awesome experience to have her there interacting with people as they came up and asked questions about Larry. I could tell them about his history and she would tell them about memories she had when he was new. That was also the first time I had ever seen another FJ40 in person at that event there were 2 others.
This experience made me want to continue working on Larry and going back to what I said previously I didn’t really know where to start. At that point the first thing I did was attempt to clean the cooling system which for me was just cleaning the over flow bottle and me thinking everything was okay.
That would lead to me doing the water pump, thermostat, new coolant & hoses, BVSV and eventually the radiator.
I plan on updating this thread as time goes on and hope others stop by and enjoy checking in on it.I have put about 2,000 miles on Larry in the past 1 1/2 years and during that time I’ve replaced the following:
Cooling System: Radiator, cleaned up radiator support and replaced canvas shims, water pump, thermostat, all new hoses, BVSV, heater valve, cleaned up the fan shroud
Hydraulics:Clutch master & slave cylinder, brake booster & master cylinder, stainless steel brake line & cutch slave line.
Lighting: OEM Toyota semi sealed bulbs (best $17 ever) resealed the tail lights and replaced the bulbs
Spark: Spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, rotor
Cluster: Odometer wasn’t working so I disassembled the odometer took apart the mileage tracker and lubricated the assembly. The old grease turned to glue essentially not letting the dials turn to track the mileage.
Weatherstripping: Front doors, ambulance doors, & kick vents (less rattles)
Charging: Interstate battery,heavy duty cable set, cleaned up battery tray, new hold down & canvas shims,new fusible link, alternator & voltage regulator were replaced during previous owner ship and I have original
PCV: PCV valve, PCV hose
Fuel lines: In cab soft lines and lines to fuel separator including new check valve.
Suspension: 4 shocks
Misc: Vaccum lines, VTV, air filter, air cleaner intake rubber section, fuel filter, all fluids, updated drain plugs to 10mm hex, greased chassis, hubcaps, pedal pads, cup holders, belts
My grandfather washing Larry in the 80s
Me at a car show in 2024
Me at a car show in 2024
Photo shoot in 2025
Original window sticker
Originally purchased brand new by my grandparents in August of 1977 at Trail Toyota in Punta Gorda, Florida for a sticker price of $5,950.82 and now Larry has been in my family for almost 48 years at this point (I’m only 25
).I have a lot of the original documentation including the window sticker, sales receipts, import documents etc. This will be a collection of what I do and some things I have already done while he has been in my ownership.My grandfather really enjoyed owning Larry he had many vehicles during his life but always kept Larry around but unfortunately passed away in 2008 due to cancer. My aunt and uncle then got Larry and kept him in driving shape til around 2016-2017 when he was parked in my grandparents garage and there he sat until 2023.
In 2023 I was gifted Larry as my 23rd birthday present and at first I had no idea what to do. I have 3 2006 Dodge Ram trucks with the 5.9 Cummins I’m more familiar with diesels but an inline six is an inline six it can’t be that complicated
. Over time I found the great people here on Mud and was able to slowly figure out what I needed to look for before getting him started for the first time.Luckily he was parked and sat for 6 years with an empty fuel tank. I added new gas, primed the oil system and put in a new battery. Had to pump the gas a few times and he cranked for a while but he started and I was amazed to say the least. I only let him run for a few seconds then shut it off and went to get my grandmother to show her. I didn’t plan on it being so easy to get him going. She had the opportunity to see the beginning of Larry coming back in full force and that was a great experience as she was one of the original owners.
I backed him out of the garage and took a lap around the yard and at that point I was hooked. After that I did a full fluid change and drove him around for a while with a weeping water pump I later figured that one out before anything bad happened. In November 2023 my grandmother and I went to a Cars & Coffee event and it was an awesome experience to have her there interacting with people as they came up and asked questions about Larry. I could tell them about his history and she would tell them about memories she had when he was new. That was also the first time I had ever seen another FJ40 in person at that event there were 2 others.
This experience made me want to continue working on Larry and going back to what I said previously I didn’t really know where to start. At that point the first thing I did was attempt to clean the cooling system which for me was just cleaning the over flow bottle and me thinking everything was okay.
That would lead to me doing the water pump, thermostat, new coolant & hoses, BVSV and eventually the radiator.I plan on updating this thread as time goes on and hope others stop by and enjoy checking in on it.I have put about 2,000 miles on Larry in the past 1 1/2 years and during that time I’ve replaced the following:
Cooling System: Radiator, cleaned up radiator support and replaced canvas shims, water pump, thermostat, all new hoses, BVSV, heater valve, cleaned up the fan shroud
Hydraulics:Clutch master & slave cylinder, brake booster & master cylinder, stainless steel brake line & cutch slave line.
Lighting: OEM Toyota semi sealed bulbs (best $17 ever) resealed the tail lights and replaced the bulbs
Spark: Spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, rotor
Cluster: Odometer wasn’t working so I disassembled the odometer took apart the mileage tracker and lubricated the assembly. The old grease turned to glue essentially not letting the dials turn to track the mileage.
Weatherstripping: Front doors, ambulance doors, & kick vents (less rattles
)Charging: Interstate battery,heavy duty cable set, cleaned up battery tray, new hold down & canvas shims,new fusible link, alternator & voltage regulator were replaced during previous owner ship and I have original
PCV: PCV valve, PCV hose
Fuel lines: In cab soft lines and lines to fuel separator including new check valve.
Suspension: 4 shocks
Misc: Vaccum lines, VTV, air filter, air cleaner intake rubber section, fuel filter, all fluids, updated drain plugs to 10mm hex, greased chassis, hubcaps, pedal pads, cup holders, belts
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I kinda threw this together last night before I went to bed. I figured it was overdue 
Hard to find like this. Enjoy it.
