Land Cruiser FJ45 / FJ55

Every Land Cruiser wagon you've ever seen traces back to two awkward long-wheelbase trucks. The FJ45 stretched the FJ40 into pickups, cab-chassis, hardtops and a short-lived four-door wagon. The FJ55, launched in August 1967, was something new: Hagerty calls it Toyota's first Land Cruiser designed from the start as a wagon, and Wikipedia calls it the first 'real' station wagon in the line. Americans nicknamed it the Iron Pig: Hagerty says the two-tone paint made the front end look like a pig's snout. Wikipedia records 'Moose' as another nickname.

THE LONG-WHEELBASE WORKHORSE

The FJ45 grew out of the 40 Series from the beginning. Wikipedia lists a four-door FJ45V wagon on a 2,650 mm wheelbase and, from 1963, a 2,950 mm long-wheelbase pickup and cab-chassis. Those long trucks became export staples. Truck Encyclopedia describes the super-long version as a major military troop carrier, often with the windshield folded flat, and notes the Irish Army took 77 FJ45s in 1977. They were praised for speed and reliability, and they rusted badly in the Irish wet.

The four-door FJ45V was the shortest-lived variant. Wikipedia says it was replaced by the FJ55 in 1967, and Truck Encyclopedia says only about 60 of the J30-style FJ45-V/LV wagon bodies were built. The pickups carried on through the 1970s, picking up the H diesel in the HJ45 from 1972 or 1973 (sources differ) and the 2H six in the HJ47 from 1980, before the 70 Series replaced the lot in 1984.

THE IRON PIG

The FJ55 was aimed squarely at North America and Australia. It used the FJ40's drivetrain under a four-door body on a 2,700 mm wheelbase, about 16 inches longer than the FJ40's according to Toyota. Under it was the first Land Cruiser frame with fully boxed members. In the US, Hagerty says, it was sold against the Chevrolet Suburban and Kaiser/Jeep Wagoneer, and it brought a rare luxury: a bottom-hinged tailgate with a power window, worked from a dash switch or the key.

Mechanical changes tracked the FJ40. From 1967 to 1974 it used the 3.9-liter F six at 125 hp with a three-speed manual whose first gear lacked synchromesh. In 1975 the 4.2-liter 2F (135 hp), a four-speed and front disc brakes arrived, along with a domed hood to clear the new induction system. Toyota UK says the design brief was a wagon that could cruise comfortably at 80 mph without losing the 40's off-road ability, and that it made up about 11 percent of Land Cruiser sales by the time production ended in July 1980.

HOW IT ENDED, AND WHY THEY'RE SO RARE

The FJ60 replaced the FJ55 in 1980, taking the wagon idea upmarket with air conditioning and a proper interior. That left the Iron Pig as a working truck that was driven until it dissolved. Hagerty says rust is the top concern and complete replacement panels generally don't exist (specialists sell only repair sections such as rockers and lower-fender patches), and trim and weatherstripping are hard to find. Low production and high attrition, it notes elsewhere, are why good ones are rare.

Rarity has started to show up in prices. In Hagerty's FJ55 buyer's guide (first published in 2021 and updated in 2023), the median FJ55 value for all conditions was $34,500 and for #2 condition $46,300, with the median quoted value up 65.8 percent since 2020. Gen X buyers accounted for 58.5 percent of the quotes. The FJ45 is rarer still in the US and turns up mostly as imported pickups and troop carriers. Bring a Trailer lists both as separate model pages.