Say guys, my wife and i have owned Fj40 and Fj80's and she likes the FJ55...we are looking at them. What advice other than looking for rust issues can anyone give us? we found a 72 and a 76. I would prefer the 4 speed manual, but dont know much about them yet...thanks
Advice on buying a Fj55s
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Mechanically, the 76 would be my choice as it has power disk brakes, power steering and the stronger fine spine axles.
Run!
Seriously, I'm with the others. 72s have the wing windows and the gaskets are hard to find among other things.
I have a '78 that is mostly stock. I really appreciate the 4 Speed, 2F, disk brakes and factory air. I think the truck is pretty drivable in stock condition because of these features. But that's just me.
Watch out for Pig Fever! It's real! Good luck and happy hunting!
Watch out for Pig Fever! It's real! Good luck and happy hunting!
I'd pay attention to rust, completeness and body condition. Mechanics are easily found and duplicate the FJ40s. Lots of info on the easily doable swaps like GM small blocks. The FJ55 specific stuff is hard to find and pricey when obtainable, especially trim and most rubber pieces. As an example, you can rebuild, upgrade or modify a lot of the mechanicals for the cost of just a complete weatherstrip kit. There'll be rust, top down on the coasts and bottom up everywhere else, but the double panels on the roof make that particularly hard to deal with effectively.
My wife liked the 55s so much, she bought me a 77 FJ55 as a surprise gift for my 40th birthday! She saw me looking at FJ40s for the last few years, but she preferred the look of 55 and who am I too complain! It's my first Land Cruiser, I'm in over my head and loving it.
She didn't realize it was "missing" power steering and AC when she bought it. Now she wants me to add both....
I didn't have the heart to tell her how much harder it might be to find parts and deal with some of the existing issues. Although the body is in really good shape, the things that aren't - door locks and latches, rear seat latch, rear window motor, have been harder to track down and more expensive to replace than even I was expecting.
I'd be lost without the knowledge base of posts and the members in this forum.
She didn't realize it was "missing" power steering and AC when she bought it. Now she wants me to add both....
I didn't have the heart to tell her how much harder it might be to find parts and deal with some of the existing issues. Although the body is in really good shape, the things that aren't - door locks and latches, rear seat latch, rear window motor, have been harder to track down and more expensive to replace than even I was expecting.
I'd be lost without the knowledge base of posts and the members in this forum.
. Buy it and never look back 
Do it right and buy both. Once you have the swine flu you will wish you did.
What he said
like all others said this is one of the more expensive land cruisers and hardest to find parts however..i'm a wagon guy the more room the better! just watch for rust i'd say they're pretty stout otherwise! I've got the wing vent windows and will need to source some new gaskets this year but it help when you don't have AC!
No PS on '76, unless it has been added...
'72 would come with the 1F engine (2F started in '75). The F engine "may" be slightly longer lived just because it's got less stress due to smaller displacement. But the 2F may be longer lived because of the improved oiling...it's harder to find engine parts (pistons) for an F than a 2F.
PS over rated
...unless you're old and running 37s.