Hey guys, I recently came across what I believe to be one of the most documented Land Cruisers in America. While I have been a member of the site for several years, I don’t usually post as much as I should; however it would be wrong not to share this with the community. Thank you in advance for your interest and would love to hear any story you may have of a similarly documented truck. Just super curious as to how many of these are out there.
This Low Mileage (69K Original Miles) FJ62 was purchased on BaT earlier this spring (3/28/21) by a gentleman who shares a deep affection for these rigs. We’ve both owned a number of high quality FJ’s and are attracted to exceptional examples. We're passionate about the preservation of these better than average survivors, and enjoy the process of researching and meticulously sorting these trucks. We're not really trying to remove these trucks from circulation, as we believe that they should be driven and enjoyed.
We’re not a restoration shop and/or running a business but, together, find enjoyment in this part of the "circle of life" the same way that some people find enjoyment in driving, restoring or collecting these trucks. We don't really have a road map. We're not sold on just stock. We're attracted to certain trucks for reasons that are hard to describe. We're researching these trucks thoroughly and in some ways letting their history dictate their future.
Arrival and inspection:
When the truck finally arrived a few weeks after the purchase, the first thing I noticed was a huge binder full of documents. I quickly told my wife (showing her the huge accordion binder), its late (it arrived close to midnight) and I am not going to go through all of these documents tonight, but I bet the previous owner has paperwork for other cars in here that we’ll probably have to ship back. The next day, as I started going through all of the paperwork I was amazed to find that everything in the binder actually belonged to this Land Cruiser. It was a little surreal and exhilarating to realize that this was probably one of the most documented examples out there.
Summary of Documents:
The truck has over 175 receipts & original documents. The breakout of these documents is detailed below:
After going through every single receipt, I was very intrigued by a pattern I noticed. The previous owner was literally getting the oil changed on the following dates:
I’m not sure that most of what the Original owner did to keep this truck in top shape was necessary, as we’ve all seen examples that keep running for decades on deferred maintenance, but coming across this 32 years later is rather special. I am always amazed at those original owners that absolutely fell in love with these trucks before they were hip/cool and really cherished them for the decades they were under their ownership.
The work we have done
While I am posting a few pictures of the truck, I want to stay in line with the theme of this post and focus most of the pictures on the documentation. Since there is a 5X image limit per post I will continue to comment with additional images and what you should expect to see. Because I had over 175 Images of just documents/receipts, I had to create layouts with about 8-9 receipts per image so that I would be able to show all receipts but not have to upload 175+ images. While it was a ton of work to lay this all out, I am sure that members of the community will enjoy seeing the original owners meticulous documentation on top of what everyone else that owned it did to contribute to making this so special. Thanks again for your interest in the post and I will do my best to stay as engaged as possible in case anyone has any further questions.
This Low Mileage (69K Original Miles) FJ62 was purchased on BaT earlier this spring (3/28/21) by a gentleman who shares a deep affection for these rigs. We’ve both owned a number of high quality FJ’s and are attracted to exceptional examples. We're passionate about the preservation of these better than average survivors, and enjoy the process of researching and meticulously sorting these trucks. We're not really trying to remove these trucks from circulation, as we believe that they should be driven and enjoyed.
We’re not a restoration shop and/or running a business but, together, find enjoyment in this part of the "circle of life" the same way that some people find enjoyment in driving, restoring or collecting these trucks. We don't really have a road map. We're not sold on just stock. We're attracted to certain trucks for reasons that are hard to describe. We're researching these trucks thoroughly and in some ways letting their history dictate their future.
Arrival and inspection:
When the truck finally arrived a few weeks after the purchase, the first thing I noticed was a huge binder full of documents. I quickly told my wife (showing her the huge accordion binder), its late (it arrived close to midnight) and I am not going to go through all of these documents tonight, but I bet the previous owner has paperwork for other cars in here that we’ll probably have to ship back. The next day, as I started going through all of the paperwork I was amazed to find that everything in the binder actually belonged to this Land Cruiser. It was a little surreal and exhilarating to realize that this was probably one of the most documented examples out there.
Summary of Documents:
The truck has over 175 receipts & original documents. The breakout of these documents is detailed below:
- Original Literature
- Owner’s Manual
- Owner’s Guide (The one with the 1989 Toyota Supra on the Cover)
- Vin Labels for Maintenance
- Dealer Code and Name Label
- 2 Rare FJ62 Brochures
- First one includes all specs and dimensions
- Second one includes all features, interior cloth options and exterior color charts offered that year.
- Pre-purchase Research documents
- Magazine Cutout from November 1988 with a Feature/Review of the FJ62.
- 8 Pages from Automobile Invoice Service with detailed comparisons of options, features and costs between other Toyotas available for sale in the same years.
- 1 front and back notebook page filled out with handwritten notes and calculations as the original owner was rationalizing the purchase decision
- 109 Total Maintenance Records
- 87 Records from the original owner
- About 84 out of those 87 were from Downtown Toyota where truck was purchased new
- Truck has received 86 Oil Changes (all documented)
- Average Miles are 812 per oil change
- Last major receipt was for $6,373.96 in 2018
- Engine was literally resealed at the Toyota Dealership and major maintenance was performed; from brakes to differentials
- 87 Records from the original owner
- Automotive Log Books (2X)
- Original Owner logged Fuel, Lubrication, & Repairs in an At-A-Glance Auto Record Log book.
- First Book was printed in 1988
- Second Book was printed in 1997
- Second Book is Labeled as LANDCRUISER BOOK 2
- Log Book Contents
- Original Owner Logged 370 Fuel Records
- From Dealer Courtesy Fill up @ 103 Miles on 12/10/88
- To 62,530 Miles on 11/18/06
- Logged all Oil Changes
- Logged all Repairs
- Logged all tire transactions
- Original Owner Logged 370 Fuel Records
- Original Owner logged Fuel, Lubrication, & Repairs in an At-A-Glance Auto Record Log book.
- Keys
- Truck Came with Original Keys plus a few spares
- 1 Sheet of Paper with OEM Key Code for key reproduction
- Key codes were common as they could be given to a locksmith to cut a reproduction on the spot in case of a lockout
After going through every single receipt, I was very intrigued by a pattern I noticed. The previous owner was literally getting the oil changed on the following dates:
- March 10th
- June 10th
- September 10th
- December 10th
I’m not sure that most of what the Original owner did to keep this truck in top shape was necessary, as we’ve all seen examples that keep running for decades on deferred maintenance, but coming across this 32 years later is rather special. I am always amazed at those original owners that absolutely fell in love with these trucks before they were hip/cool and really cherished them for the decades they were under their ownership.
The work we have done
- The top item on the list when it came here was to re-install the OEM cloth interior that came with these. The truck had been retrofitted with SOR vinyl seat covers. I was surprised to actually like them more than I thought I would, but going with anything other than OEM with this truck would have been a sin due to how special we think this truck is.
- We had the local dealer go through the truck and do a thorough inspection along with, yes, another oil change.
- Toyota Techs and Dealer personnel found it a joy to see, inspect and work on
- As we suspected, the dealer found nothing at all needed on the truck and in top condition
- I painstakingly removed all of the window tint
- We had the AC charged and replaced the battery.
- We went with BFG KO2 31X10.5XR15’s that showcase the trucks stock stance + spare.
- I have also spent considerable time correcting some of the chrome imperfections and/or replacing some of these pieces with OEM components.
- While most of the work I have done has been cosmetic, I have inspected for leaks (none present), gone through hose brackets and inspected the truck thoroughly on top of what the dealer did.
- Rear wheel ornamentation caps arrived and will be changed this week
- Last on my list is to spend a little more time continuing to gently clean an already near perfect interior.
While I am posting a few pictures of the truck, I want to stay in line with the theme of this post and focus most of the pictures on the documentation. Since there is a 5X image limit per post I will continue to comment with additional images and what you should expect to see. Because I had over 175 Images of just documents/receipts, I had to create layouts with about 8-9 receipts per image so that I would be able to show all receipts but not have to upload 175+ images. While it was a ton of work to lay this all out, I am sure that members of the community will enjoy seeing the original owners meticulous documentation on top of what everyone else that owned it did to contribute to making this so special. Thanks again for your interest in the post and I will do my best to stay as engaged as possible in case anyone has any further questions.
