FJ40 model year confusion/question? (1 Viewer)

[79FJ40TLC]

I need to know if my FJ40 build date of DEC of 1978 is considered an “early 79” model year or a very late 78 model year ?
My first FJ40 ( 30 years ago..) was an April of 79 and had the newer body tub, the 3.70 gears and so on but my recent purchase is titled as a 1978 model year and has all things in common with pre-79 stuff such as the old style tub , 4.11 gears etc…
Am I to assume that the 79 model year FJ40’s did not follow the normal model year change in September but rather possibly January of 79 build dates ?

Please help clarify this and educate me on this - I’ve included some pics of the tags if needed.
Thanks, Tom

 

[Living in the Past]

An owners manual would call that a 78. Major changes 1/79 to the 40 series.

 

[brian]

78 model year ran till dec of 78 due to 79 being a large change year,

 

[Economist LC76]

Frame# says: Dec 1978, USA, Van (hardtop), Swing out back doors, with Roll bar

 

[Living in the Past]

The model number has the information. FJ40LV kCJA F=six cylinder petrol, J family of vehicles it belongs too, 4=series, 0=number in the series, L=LHD, V=hard top, K=four speed, C=full length swing out van doors, J roll bar, A US market.

VIN contains the FJ40 and a serial number. 81 models and later contained seventeen digits in the US. Those contain more information.

 

[Bear]

As your "VIN" number indicates FJ40-296255, factory records indicate your vehicle was manufactured in December 1978. The first January 1979 frame has a stamped "VIN" of FJ40-298314. Because auto manufacturers jump the gun with yearly model changes before the beginning of a calendar year, consumers can be puzzled with a specific vehicle model at hand. And for the 40-series, because there are major revisions in the "1979 model" from the earlier models, the differences can be very obvious.

Bringing in revised parts to an assembly line, or creating a new assembly line, in the midst of ongoing continuous production, must be a major undertaking; all the while using up existing inventory and/or returning it to the spare parts warehouse. Fixing a precise date to begin construction of the "new" model would be much more difficult, than with the typical "mid-year" changeovers that can be more vaguely started. It's not surprising that sometimes vehicles are produced with a mix of earlier and later components, and they may be referred to as "the current model" or "the new model."

Just having how many of the newer-style parts comprise "the new model" is an interesting question with a lot of differing opinions. Many of us look at the external body and its appearance for a quick answer, but others may have a different opinion. My personal two cents opinion on "1978 model" vs "1979 model" 40-series is crudely based on the location of the fuel tank: inside the vehicle for 1978 models or under the vehicle for 1979s. However, with so many other changes made at that time, you can choose the opinion that satisfies you.

On a side note, since production figures are kept and dated for vehicle frames, there is the question of just when is the frame number stamped onto a frame: at the end of a final vehicle assembly or some time earlier. When is that frame assigned a date? Are frames stamped earlier in masse and somehow stored in sequential order for future assembly? And specifically, what is Toyota's method?

This is probably more than you wondered, but food for thought anyway !

 

[OGBeno]

Frame/VIN is stamped (laser etched now) after the frame is assembled and before it is shipped cross-town to Yoshiwara for assembly.

That's why Plant is generally A11: A1: Honsha Plant; 1: Manufacturing line #1

Everything is in sequential order and there is no spare stock. Everything is manufactured and used immediately.

 

[JohnnyC]

Everything is manufactured and used immediately.

Just-in-time

Thank you Mr. Ohno

 

[Bear]

Thanks Onur @OGBeno ,

So were pre-stamped frames sent to the countries that had their own assembly plants, and were they taken from within the same sequential order as the ones sent to the Honsha assembly plant? I ask since these other assembly plants may not have necessarily assembled vehicles sequentially at the same time as those in Japan, and thus perhaps completed far later than their position would indicate on the factory production charts?

I have been trying to accumulate production numbers for the 45/47series early Land Cruisers, both those produced in Japan and those done "overseas," to get a handle on how many of each variety were actually made and sold worldwide. If you know and could point me to a resource with information on "overseas" production numbers, dates, and frame numbers it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[79FJ40TLC]

Thanks for all the input and data -
Y’all are a great source of L/C knowledge, no doubt what so ever !

This info confirms what I was thinking about the appropriate model year of my “new” FJ40 - I believe that it’s at home in the 1978 family year span.

I get what was said about assembly line running changes. I build industrial megawatt generators for a living and we have special component cut-ins fairly often on the moving line and it makes our build books a nightmare to keep the numbers straight.

Thank Y’all so much for the input - it is all much appreciated - Tom

 

[cruiserdan]

Thanks Onur @OGBeno ,

So were pre-stamped frames sent to the countries that had their own assembly plants, and were they taken from within the same sequential order as the ones sent to the Honsha assembly plant? I ask since these other assembly plants may not have necessarily assembled vehicles sequentially at the same time as those in Japan, and thus perhaps completed far later than their position would indicate on the factory production charts?

I have been trying to accumulate production numbers for the 45/47series early Land Cruisers, both those produced in Japan and those done "overseas," to get a handle on how many of each variety were actually made and sold worldwide. If you know and could point me to a resource with information on "overseas" production numbers, dates, and frame numbers it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

It's not clear to me when export frames were numbered. I do know a couple things. We have a very late 1985-build FJ40 that was assembled in Venezuela. It is a one-owner vehicle and we have the original sales papers. The VIN stamp font is totally different than the typical font seen on Japanese frames.
I also know that service replacement frames are not stamped with a sequence number.

 

[JohnnyC]

I was under the assumption that it depended on where they were being sent and the extent of the CKD

@cruiserdan
The frame stamp was like this one from V

 

[Bear]

Thanks, Dan @cruiserdan .

Over the years there has been some discussion about owning the "last" 40-series built, a magazine article, and "bragging rights." I believe the one in question was assembled in South Africa. Since those factory records are sparse or not published, I've often wondered whether a frame that was unused was later "discovered" and a vehicle assembled on it. "Last" to me indicates a time-component--a date of completion-- but this one seems an outlier, out of sequence construction, done after the Japanese factory ceased production of that model.

With exotic cars, "last one built" can carry extra value and a certain panache within that collector community, and authentic factory records be the final arbiter. Frames, whether pre-stamped or blank, along with satellite assembly plants, can really muddy the waters. Not a problem with low-numbers exotic cars, but for a large corporate producer like Toyota, much harder to document.

Thanks to you and Onur for sharing your knowledge on this !

 

[cruiserdan]

I was under the assumption that it depended on where they were being sent and the extent of the CKD

@cruiserdan
The frame stamp was like this one from V
View attachment 3236383View attachment 3236384

Yup, exactly. When I first saw it I thought it was fake

 

[JohnnyC]

That one btw is a 1986 fj45 from Venezuela

Those crazy Venezuelans @Exiled

 

[Bear]

Thanks Johnny @JohnnyC .

Excellent example of what came from the Venezuela assembly plant as Dan shared. That frame number doesn't appear on any of the published assembly line sequences for an FJ45. So I imagine that that frame was either made in Japan and sent un-stamped, or created in Venezuela or somewhere else. "VIN" plates are easily reproduced and stamped, frames another matter.

Seen have been Spanish VIN plates going back to the 1950s, Japanese worded plates, perhaps others for Europe, but frames not certain about. Certainly the font you illustrated is different in style and size. Likely that frame was NOT a replacement frame, but part of a production sequence done in Venezuela.

One of the intrinsic "values" many see in the Land Cruisers is their longevity, beefiness, and quality of components. If, and whether, local legislation that required in-country manufacture and installation of non-Japanese parts occurs, you would imagine Toyota would have requirements that any non-Japanese manufactured parts meet a certain minimum level of quality commensurate with that being produced in the Mother country.

 

[cruiserdan]

That one btw is a 1986 fj45 from Venezuela

Those crazy Venezuelans @Exiled

From what I can see production on 4x ended in September 1985 and that may have been Venezuela exclusively. Ours says 1986 on the paper work and it was sold new in march of 1986, in Venezuela . It too has a leading 9 in the frame sequence. That is probably the assigned range for CKD 4x in that market.

 

[OGBeno]

All -9xxxxx number are CKD specific for all 4x series trucks. They are assigned at Honsha but could easily be stamped in country of assembly.

 

[JohnnyC]

The latest I’ve seen was 11/85 op got it as a danish firetruck most likely sold as cab chassis … so not production line truck

@Bear might recall that one

 

[OGBeno]