Looking to buy an FJ43. Is this legitimate?

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Kub9009

Kub9009

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May 7, 2026
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Brooklyn
New to the forum and have been looking to get a FJ43. I have never owned one but would love to own hardtop one. I know that hardtops are very rare and that most 43 hardtop's were once softtops modified.

Not sure if this the correct place to post this but I stumbled upon this one. Just looking at y'all's thoughts regarding the car and the restoration.

Thanks for your help in advance
 
Welcome to the forum.

I’m no expert on FJ43s, but wheat I’ve learned from others is watch out for imports from South America. They’ll take a beat up POS make it “look” pretty and sell it to somebody up here who may not know what to look for.

If I didn’t know who did the work I’d pass.
 
Would have it inspected by someone who knows the 40 series before spending that kind of money. The seller states it's a long wheel when it's a mid wheel base 40 series. Sounds more like a salesman than someone who knows the 40 series. @Chamba knows about this. Didn't spend that much but still spending more on it. If this is a Bonda Queen could expect another $20K or more on the body unless you do the work yourself.
 
Kub9009 said:
New to the forum and have been looking to get a FJ43. I have never owned one but would love to own hardtop one. I know that hardtops are very rare and that most 43 hardtop's were once softtops modified.

Not sure if this the correct place to post this but I stumbled upon this one. Just looking at y'all's thoughts regarding the car and the restoration.

Thanks for your help in advance
Click to expand...
A few things to note:

The FJ43 was never sold in the US by Toyota. So any FJ43 you see for sale here now was imported here some time after it was legal to do so, meaning after it was 25 years old. Most of these were imported from South America. Many of them coming from Venezuela and Colombia. LCs from Venezuela of this era were actually assembled in Venezuela at an assembly plant using Toyota parts shipped in kits from Japan. For this reason, I have always put Venezuelan LCs a bit below the quality and value of Japanese built LCs, even the "good" ones. I believe, although I am not certain, that LCs from Colombia were from Japan. Either way, these vehicles spent 25+ years in SA where they were really worked and used as intended, leading hard lives. Since the value of vintage LCs started to skyrocket here over the last 20-25 years or so, there has been an influx of South American LCs showing up here. These are usually vehicles that were in very bad shape, that underwent "restoration" in its home country before being shipped up here, usually to Miami. In my experience these vehicles are basketcases. They look good in pics, but nothing has been sorted, and many of the systems dont even work, sometimes even the most basic things. I would look for a North American market FJ40 or if I really wanted an FJ43, Id probably look to a company like the FJ Company in Miami who does actual restorations, but they are a lot more than $40k.

I personally wouldnt touch the vehicle you linked with a 10 foot pole.
 
The hard top on this one is a Colombian made fibreglass aftermarket top. You can see from the hood latches that it had the common Colombian modification of 70 series front lights.

They've since retrofitted the correct 40 series lights, but they've left the latches moved back about four inches to clear the 70 series that were there. This can be corrected relatively easily but it will require body work and repainting. Curious that they didn't correct that during the refurbishment.

It would be handy to know where in Colombia this truck was from. Inland and higher altitude tend not to have quite as much rust as those on the coast.

Bear in mind that, in my experience, when they rebuild these vehicles they tend to use almost exclusively after market parts. The legendary reliability of these vehicles is based on the vehicle's made with entirely toyota parts; the whole as a sum of its parts , so to speak. Chinese cars are not renowned for the reliability and nor are their parts. I would consider any vehicle 'restored' in South America to be a project vehicle unless it was done by a known, quality restorer.

It has an interesting mix of rims, which may indicate that it was done by someone who has some Toyota knowledge, but perhaps not Land Cruisr-specific knowledge.
 
So where are the pic's of the under carriage? That kind of money I'd want oil analyses of every fluid. How about a vid of it driving in every gear.
 
I’m a fan of the 43 and a proud owner. I have owned 2 NA 40’s in my day and I couldn’t be happier with my 1981 Colombian FJ43. There are definitely 40 owners on here who fear the SA 43 and 40’s. Yep there are some bad ones for sale but like wise same with junk NA 40’s being pawned of as restored but are simply lipstick on a pig.
That said, you could do much better that the one you show here. Too much tinkering to it. Find one a little more raw so that you can see it clearly and then you will have an idea of the resto it will require. Parts, both body and mechanical are easy to come by. Except for the hard top.
The hood latches, that is an interesting subject! Was it because of the 70 Series lights or not? Even Dan at the Heritage museum couldn’t answer the question. At the the Museum they have a Saudi 43 and a Colombian 43 side by side. Both have the signal lights on the fender. The Saudi spec has the hood latches like we are used to, the SA spec has the latches moved back as if to make room for the 70 lights, but has them on the fender. Who knows, Dan didn't know! Even AJ who is an importer down in Austin never recognized the difference till it was pointed out?
The 43 is a general market vehicle and was only available in Japan, UAE, and Colombia. Never Venezuela.
I digress; keep looking! Yes hardtops manufactured by MRP for the Colombian market only are hard to find. Move on from the one above and learn a ton more about the 40 Series as you go.
You might want to reach out to AJ here on Mud to see what he has? @aljollano

PM me if you have specific questions

Drool photos for you are attached

IMG_6501.webp


IMG_4646.webp


IMG_6997.webp


IMG_5694.webp
 
Last edited:
studawg said:
A few things to note:

The FJ43 was never sold in the US by Toyota. So any FJ43 you see for sale here now was imported here some time after it was legal to do so, meaning after it was 25 years old. Most of these were imported from South America. Many of them coming from Venezuela and Colombia. LCs from Venezuela of this era were actually assembled in Venezuela at an assembly plant using Toyota parts shipped in kits from Japan. For this reason, I have always put Venezuelan LCs a bit below the quality and value of Japanese built LCs, even the "good" ones. I believe, although I am not certain, that LCs from Colombia were from Japan. Either way, these vehicles spent 25+ years in SA where they were really worked and used as intended, leading hard lives. Since the value of vintage LCs started to skyrocket here over the last 20-25 years or so, there has been an influx of South American LCs showing up here. These are usually vehicles that were in very bad shape, that underwent "restoration" in its home country before being shipped up here, usually to Miami. In my experience these vehicles are basketcases. They look good in pics, but nothing has been sorted, and many of the systems dont even work, sometimes even the most basic things. I would look for a North American market FJ40 or if I really wanted an FJ43, Id probably look to a company like the FJ Company in Miami who does actual restorations, but they are a lot more than $40k.

I personally wouldnt touch the vehicle you linked with a 10 foot pole.
Click to expand...

Not sure if the twenty five years rule dates back to when these were new. But guessing most in the country came in after that rule. All these South American imports have aftermarket hard tops. Not many 43 hard tops were exported outside of JDM. Rarer to find one that is LHD. Before I wound go south of the border I would start a search in the Middle East. Would research the area as some are better for rust than others. If I had fewer cruisers and still had some life left in me I would search for one there. Ideally a 83/84 for ease of adding an H55F. At least a 8/80 with upgrades that came on later models.
 
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