In Search of the Elusive 1980 FJ55

[SHMac]

I was researching the FJ Company ( The FJ Company | FJ40 for Sale | Land Cruiser Restoration Specialists ) in Miami, who just purchased a '72 pig on a Bring-a-Trailer auction for $25,750.

They have a 1980 FJ55 listed on their site ( 1980 FJ55 Land Cruiser - For Sale - Capri Blue White ) as a full restoration candidate and list the frame number as 120563. I cannot track this number with any of published lists of FJ55 frame numbers.

I have searched the for seemingly elusive 1980 on IH8MUD and elsewhere, but could not find anything conclusive. There seems to be a difference of opinion as to whether there are any 1980 model year 55s - with some writers claiming that there was just an extended production cycle of 1979 model pigs which were manufactured in the 1980 calendar year.

Anyone have more information about the elusive 1980 pig?

 

[onemanarmy]

with a build date of Jan. 1 1980 or later?

Can't believe that 1972 went for that much. It has weak paint and dents, and the 1F and 3 speed, rust coming through the rockers, a broken rear window....interesting. I've seen rockers like that, once they are cut open, the entire cavity is rusty.

wonder what it would have gone for without the auction hype?

 

[SHMac]

with a build date of Jan. 1 1980 or later?

Can't believe that 1972 went for that much. It has weak paint and dents, and the 1F and 3 speed, rust coming through the rockers, a broken rear window....interesting. I've seen rockers like that, once they are cut open, the entire cavity is rusty.

wonder what it would have gone for without the auction hype?

Yes, presumably with a build date of Jan. 1 1980 or later.

I predict that we will be seeing more 55s listed on Bring-a-Trailer

 

[scrapdaddy]

There's a guy in AUS. who claims to have the youngest pig alive, it's an 80. He posted on MUD, so we should be able to find his thread.

 

[Ferntucky]

Yes, presumably with a build date of Jan. 1 1980 or later.

I predict that we will be seeing more 55s listed on Bring-a-Trailer

Ha ha, yeah! I may throw my '76 up there for some crazy bidder.....just need to put original wheels with hub caps on it and make up a good story......

 

[SHMac]

There's a guy in AUS. who claims to have the youngest pig alive, it's an 80. He posted on MUD, so we should be able to find his thread.

Found his thread, but I did not find anything particularly helpful in it. Maybe I missed something?

 

[scrapdaddy]

I thought he talked about the VIN a lot and how it was the earliest found.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

I have only seen tale of a 79. pre august 79- later would be an 80 production year, right?

 

[scrapdaddy]

Here's one thread in which Final pig talks about his, also...1980 FJ55 project

 

[Hank Tank]

The FJ Company guys source a lot of their projects in Columbia. So it may be that Toyota still exported 55s to South America after they had already introduced the FJ60s to the US Market.

 

[SHMac]

Here's one thread in which Final pig talks about his, also...1980 FJ55 project

OK thanks - I was looking at the wrong thread. Looks like the build date on that one was 1980, but it did not have a model year "B" pillar plate showing it was a 1980 model. I will keep looking

 

[SHMac]

I have only seen tale of a 79. pre august 79- later would be an 80 production year, right?

That would make sense. The Toyota Global site says the Model 55 series was produced from 1967 to 1980 and there is evidence that 55s were built in 1980. But was it separate model year? Maybe it is a distinction without a difference.

The FJ Company guys source a lot of their projects in Columbia. So it may be that Toyota still exported 55s to South America after they had already introduced the FJ60s to the US Market.

Yes- I am finding that there were 55s built in 1980 - but not sure if they were directly imported into the US.

 

[SHMac]

I've just realized that one common feature of all of the 1980 55s, that I have been able to find (including the one at the top of the page that started this thread & the one referenced above by scrapdaddy), is that they all have ambulance doors. A little further research has led me to believe that 55s with ambulance doors were not originally imported into the US. They were only sold in Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, South America, Europe, Canada and the maybe the Middle East. So I think Hank Tank is probably right that Toyota continued to sell 55s (and 56s) in some markets in 1980, but the 1980 model was not sold in the US and 1979 was the last model year for 55s originally imported to the US.

Does anyone know of a verifiable 1980 FJ55 without ambulance doors (i.e. a US Model)?

 

[onemanarmy]

My next pig will have ambulance doors

 

[crawlin cruiser]

I actually owned a 1980 pig. It was a complete roach. rusty as, and it was torn down for parts. Steve Tetu (Ebi cruisers) may still have some bits of this left. But that was over 10 years ago..

 

[onemanarmy]

did it have a build date of Jan 1 1980 or later?

was it an official north american import?

 

[SHMac]

I actually owned a 1980 pig. It was a complete roach. rusty as, and it was torn down for parts. Steve Tetu (Ebi cruisers) may still have some bits of this left. But that was over 10 years ago..

did it have a build date of Jan 1 1980 or later?

was it an official north american import?

Did these pigs have ambulance doors? Any idea of where they were imported from?

 

[PabloCruise]

I think you may be correct, the 1980 Pigs might have been for rest of world, not US...

 

[PabloCruise]

There's a guy in AUS. who claims to have the youngest pig alive, it's an 80. He posted on MUD, so we should be able to find his thread.

New Piglet - last pig ever made

 

[SHMac]

I think you may be correct, the 1980 Pigs might have been for rest of world, not US...

I am continuing to search and I have not found any 1980 pigs that were made for the US market.