Rebuild the original engine, don’t LS swap it, even though I’m a huge LS fan. Put new tires, suspension and odds and ends that it needs. Don’t reinvent the wheel on this one, just fix what’s wrong and keep it close to original as your able to. The value will grow as long as you keep it original and don’t screw with adding the latest junk on it.

Buying Tumbleweed has been the best decision Roman Micah has made of late. Every Tumbleweed video is fun.

$8k is a deal! I have a 74 fj40 so I’m excited to see what you guys do with this machine. You’ll find the community with these Land Cruisers is amazing. Excited for the content!

Reminds me of years 4-wheeling with friend who had an FJ40. A couple of things--you can't drive them "easy" through mud, etc.--they are too heavy and, with open diffs, will get stuck every time. Unlike most any other current 4WD, one has to hit such stuff with some momentum, confident that there is just about nothing that will break on the FJ40. Another FJ40 oddity that most people don't know--its crawl ratio in first gear low range is only about 25:1. It can still perform well with that "meek" of a crawl ratio because the Toyota straight six (a Japanese metric knockoff of the old Chevrolet "stovebolt" straight six from the 1940s-1950s) has such massive low RPM torque. You also see the main running pitfall of the 1973+ FJ40--fuel system issues with emission strangled engine. The earlier FJ40s did not have those issues, but also only came with a 3-speed column shift manual transmission. There was also no way to ride comfortably in them. My friend finally sold his FJ40 when he started having lower back problems, partly from how awful the FJ rode.

All you need to do is put EFI on it, repair the suspension, and add a rear locker. The patina is great and those rims are just perfect

FJ 40 vs FJ cruiser video comparison and off road challenge between the 2 vehicles please. The ultimate old vs new.

As someone said, dont swap the engine. fix everything, maybe lift it a little bit, put better tires and add lockers and it will be golden

I'm glad you flipped the bezel. We FJ40 guys are a bit obsessive about that! Seriously $8K for that rig is a good deal. Sure it needs a lot TLC but it's a worthwhile investment. I love my '69 and it was in worse shape when I bought it several years ago for $2K. It's value has increased more than tenfold now!

My favorite vehicle you’ve tested so far! Well maybe a tie with Tommys Jeep, but those two are so simple and classic.

lots of very spontaneous fun and enjoyable content! looking forward to what you guys do with this old land cruiser! wondering what happened to the old Peugeot too, cant seem to find any more episodes

The classics channel to me is the most entertaining of all TLF channel. By far. Always enjoyed this episodes

I’ll say rebuild the 2F and if posible get rid of the emissions stuff that are choking it. The straight 6 give you all its torque at 1200RPM it’s basically a diesel in that regard. Besides if you swap the engine that would tank it’s value when you decide to sell it. 2” lift from Old Emu suspension, locker in the rear and that car it’s as capable as most 4wd out there.

You can't have thus much fun on a brand new vehicle.!

Great content as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along

OK this is the best TFL episode ever!!! At 14 I had a summer job washing cars at a Toyota Datsun Volvo Fiat Dealership washing cars and we had these, all we had were tan with the white tops!

Doing a 2UZ-FE + H42 + FJ80 steering box + SOA conversion + lockers in my 65. I love 40 series Cruisers.

This brought back fond memories for me. We bought a 1975 FJ demo in 1976. Great machine for off road. Very tough. We honeymooned in it. FYI, a thick foam mattress fits perfectly between the roll bar and the roof. The half moon back bumpers were torn off shortly after I bought it. It performed way better with no rear bumper. It was rough riding, rattled, you could throw a cat through the gaps in the doors, not safe over 60 mph, small gas tank under the passenger seat, so in the winter you had to carry a jug of alcohol to pour in with every fill, which was often because it got about 9mpg in the winter. The heater was a joke. We came home for Christmas in -40 temperature dressed in Skidoo suits, Pac boots, Mittens, both us armed with a scraper to keep the windshield clear. Traded it on a Chevy pickup. Thought we'd died and gone to Heaven. Warm and comfortable. Sure miss the FJ though.

Perfect vehicle to do a restomod series! Bumpers were the most limiting factor, other than having aprox 30hp in current form.

finding fuel in the oilpan is usually a sign of a bad fuel pump diaphragm.

I had a 1979 with the diesel, had 17 inch split rims and double crosslink tire chains, and a warn winch on the front the extra heater, just back of the front seats. Used it on many winter cougar hunts, and spring bear. Unbelievable where that thing would go. I sold it when a rock flew off the back tire and rattled around in the cab. I could not believe the rust once I started to look. Lol

I learnt to drive and off-road as a 15 year old in a 1970 three speed manual (floor shift here in Australia) FJ40 my Father had. We did a lot of miles and went many different places and it never let us down or broke anything. The whole top half rear section (including windows) and fibreglass roof can be easily unbolted and removed, which is what we used to do for summer open air driving. I suspect your engine has some broken piston rings or possibly even a cracked piston.

Love the FJ 40! My parents bought a brand new FJ55 LAND Cruiser wagon in 1970. It was awesome. It would go anywhere and routinely pulled out all of my friends Dad’s Chevy’s, Fords,Jeeps etc. I learned how to drive in it out in the desert when I was 7yo. My Dad duct taped wooden blocks to the pedals so I could reach them! Wish I had it now!

I love the old Land Cruisers. When I was a teenager, I used to go visit my father on base, and one of the head mechanics had three personal vehicles. An old U.S. military Toyota Land Cruiser that he brought back from Japan, an old U.S. military Dodge Power Wagon, and an old U.S. military Jeep Gladiator. All three of his vehicles were do anything go anywhere.

I owned a 1972 FJ40 and remembered taking it up the emerald lakes trail back in the 1980s, then hiking over the summit and camped for a week at the bottom and fishing for trout every day. Who knew that those trips would end up being some of the best experiences of my life. I think this is why so many people love off-roading, especially in my home state of Colorado.

Hilarious fun, love the Tumbleweed Ranch videos! I think it would be cool to just go through and rebuild the engine. I would imagine that would be good for resale value to have the original engine.

Best fun I ever had four wheeling was in a 74 CJ5 before I fixed it up. Did a body off restoration and it took me about 2 years before I felt comfortable thrashing it in the woods. Best to leave the body as is and just upgrade the guts. And have a blast.

Love the old Yoto, can't wait to see what you guy's do with it. Even if it's nothing but clean it up. Looks like y'all had alot of fun trying it out.

Please please restore it.. these toyotas run for ever

I grew up with two fj40's in Idaho. still have them to this day. they still fire up and run like hell.

I love how @14:18 he says he loves the suspension and immediately screams of back pain from a horrible suspension 😂😂👍

It’s hard to keep track which TFL channel the taming tumbleweed series lands on. I’d like to see them all in a playlist in a single channel. Good video!

I had the diesel version of this years ago when they were new It was brilliant and would go anywhere Decent suspension and some attention to the engine and she will sing! Looking forward to seeing it again

Great find! Thanks for the content fellas! I had a 76. Keep it Toyota!

I have a 350 in mine, and it’s a beautiful match, but there is a lot to be said for keeping it original. I say rebuild that old F engine, throw a locker in it, pull of that rear trailer hitch, and never look back.

Definitely needs a 2.8 or 4BT Cummins. Tractor motor for a LC that worshipped along side the tractors. Can’t wait to see what you do with it.

I just drove a mint one of these today... So much fun! Was a tractor to drive around town but the looks and thumbs up's I got were amazing...

Great video and sweet rig!

A bike shop owner had one of these when i was a kid in the 80s i bumped into him recently as he was loadin up his shopping in the same landcruiser it was scruffy and unrestored and had plywood for side windows and trailer tail lights but was still a daily driver .

Engine swap options 6.7 cummins 2jz from supra V12 from ferrari 3.0 diesel from hilux 5.0 from mustang Or wankel Or just Restore it with new tires, new seats

Best damn 4x4 ever. My folks bought a brand new 1970 Landcruiser and I drove the crap out of it in Montana............loved every minute with it.

Love how this spine shattering machine sounds like it has a Briggs & Stratton Lawnmower engine in it

Love the format of this video

Wow you just bought a gem for that price, as rough as it is you could sell it as is now for double. The Chevy 350 is the cheapest and fastest engine swap to do, but I would send out the original motor and have it rebuilt so it could be reinstalled at a later time (having that motor in adds a lot of resell value). I would also recommend removing the top and doors for running this ranch, they are getting harder to find and replace, so you don't want to smash it into a tree.

Drove an Fj40 for a couple of weeks in Mexico and have much respect for them , still like my CJ5 but I am a Jeep head .

guys, i had a shorty for 17yrs and would have one again any day. I rebuilt the F engine and added a small torque cam, bumped the compression to nearly 10-1 and ran a 350cfm holly with the spring loaded float for the hilly stuff. I had it as a forestry rig to get me and my gear to the logging sites in NW Aust and it never let me down. I used the std 750/16 rims and put some good lug tyres on and they worked great, she was a bit rough on the highway but honest as the day was long.

Best video ever! That was fun to watch, and I’m a Jeep guy!

Vintage little beast. I can picture monks driving it wearing orange robes. Cool vehicle and great video.

Super fun video. I hope you guys do a full restoration to the FJ. Such an icon 👍

Love you guys bringing David in on camera more!

Not sure about these new Kinetic straps but we used to have to keep them clean and dry after use to prevent deterioration. Hose them clean and hang dry. The ones we didn't keep maintain snapped under load.

You are correct that is not an oil bath filter but it is a K&N filter which uses, guess what? Oil! Glad to see you put the headlight bezel on correctly.

You woulda made that hard left w/o reverse. Cool fj, doesn’t need wheels imo.

I knew a monk from St Benedict's. I recall him talking about this Land Cruiser over lunch one day. Restore it. Not to pristine condition but more than usable. I think Fr William would like that.

Great video Tommy and David that was funny. I enjoyed watching your slap stick Comedy show. Can’t wait for the next show. Stay safe ✌️

Bored and new pistons is all the engine needs, then a weber 38/38 on it, air pump delete and some selectable lockers, lower axle gears and slightly larger tires(with really low psi for ride comfort offroad). This thing is too perfect to seriously modify.

I miss my 1983 BJ46 . We used to install a double parking brake because locker were to expensive , one parking brake per rear wheel so you had to pull slightly on the brake on the spinning wheel to give traction to stuck wheel , and it also help on making sharp turn .

I hope we all will be able to do such hard exercises when become as elder as this car. The Legend.

With good tire's and lifted suspension and maybe a locker would make that truck brilliant and I would swap it out with the factory diesel engine would make it less complex and more reliable

3.0 eco diesel,lockers front and rear and 33” ko’2’s and take those scabbed together make shift bumpers off.

I can’t wait to see what you guys do with this Land Cruiser.

Omg I love it. My Grandpa had one while I was a kid. Good old memories.

4.3 chevy v6-triple the horsepower and take 200 pounds out of the front end. I'd leave the body as it is.The patina is perfect!

I love this video. Have a '74 myself. super fun basic 4x4

Two men having the most fun in the world in an everlast machine

Growing up on a ranch in Arizona our Toyota Landcruisers a FJ 40&55 are the toughest trucks on the ranch. They go anywhere. You were really lucky to find on at the price you paid

This was just fun to watch.. I love land cruisers

hope to see>full resto bar the patina and adding the right gear for offorad capability; tires, suspension, locker(s)at high altitude4x4

Mine 1979 bj40...a diesel version ...I swap the engine to a 4101cc 15b NA...it performed brilliantly

The Cummins 2.8 diesel would be perfect for a little truck like this. The purity crowd is pretty strong when it comes to these old Toyotas so a rebuild would be nice but it would still be a tractor.

Best Buy in the show so far guys, congratulations!

If this doesn’t scream build series I don’t know what does. Before and after off roaring on the ranch. Put 33s new suspension locker fix motor.

I have been using my BJ40 for the last 20 years. Generally it will not give up on you no matter how hard you try to kill it.

That FJ40 was the first motor vehicle I bought in 1973. I never drove a manual transmission vehicle before that one and I had the right theory in mind. After a few kms, I was ok. I missed it a lot. In winter, never had to clear snow of my 400 ft long private road to the house. That 4 wheel drive was a real one. All manual. Today 4 wheel drives are so boring.

i have an old fj40 land cruiser up at my colorado mountain cabin. shits rusted out asf, broken windows, hasnt been turned on in prolly a few years. things crazy

lots of fj40 in Indonesia being cut and swab a 14bt diesel angine or a cherokee xj engine , and its called the tubular fj40

We had a extremely clean 69 back when I was a kid and still to this day give my dad hell for selling it. One of these days I WILL HAVE ANOTHER!

I asked myself the same thing about 5 trucks ago. Why did I sell that truck? I loved it. I always wanted an FJ40 too. Very cool.

Hands down coolest ride on the channel

When is the buhanka going to hit the ranch? This fj acts alot like my cj5 as soon as it gets crossed up it stops. Iv got a limited slip ready to go in!

That is a gem of a find. Lets see what you do to it.

Growing up our family used to take these 40s wheeling all the time. We had some fj40s (gas) and bj40s (diesel), they are a ton of fun and super overbuilt. Ls would be the most practical and fun swap, lots of power all over the curve, no carb to burp or stall, much lighter than the stock LC engine and actually better mpg. 2.8 or 4bt would also be cool, but probably more difficult/expensive. Power would be okay(depends on tuning) but narrower curve relative to a gasser. 6bt would make it too nose heavy and too much torque for stock drivetrain. Look forward to more content on this rig, 40s are awesome!

Let me say this succinctly; I’m jealous…Happy you get to have a tremendous amount of fun, but jealous I’m not in the middle of it! My dad had a BJ-40 when we lived in Panama and it was great, great fun! Here’s to more fun! 🍻

I would love that FJ. Got me thinking now about a hobby vehicle. Thanks.😮‍💨

keep it original...but make it as good as you can...it looks great!

I had a 74 & 75 Toyota Land Cruiser back in the days. Best Jeep’s ever. Now I have a wrangler unlimited.

👏👏👏to you guys out having some fun on a budget

Fix that thing and put km3's on it and drive it love it it's awesome Roman and Tommy

I’ve been delivering pizza since 1998 , one of my customers has one of these, LOL it’s been sitting in the same exact spot after all these years! He allways says he’s gonna fix it up, I told him last week ,you told me that in 1998! He was shocked that it’s been that long

I have had many of these. Off road the best is the Canadian 3B 4 cylinder Toyota Diesel model.

Hopefully the original engine is rebuildable 🤞🏻

Everything you think needs fixed is kinda how they weee new as well. Hard to realize that much of this was normal for 1970s and 80s land cruisers. When i bought my 60 new in 1987 it pretty much rode and drive like this. They were built to do hard work, not comfort.

Very cool!!! Was hoping it was David's . Doesn't look like front lockers are working if it has it.

The best 2f shop in Colorado is Colorado Toyota Specialists. The air filter you have is a k and n filter. It's supposed to have oil on it.

That old paint can sometimes buff out really nice!

I used to work at a 4wd shop in Boulder we did sbc conversions on fj40s they are tanks

Can wait to see you guys fix this up to be awesome 4x4

I work for an electrical distributor here in the Southeast. One of my customers was able to buy an '80 model FJ40 from Bank of America. They used it to pull their corporate jet in and out of the hanger at Charlotte-Douglass airport, or so the story goes. It had 600 miles on the odometer when he bought it. Not 6000, or 60,000, 600. I truly hate that man.

Considering the poor state of everything on the fj it performed well. I'm currently restoring a bj40 here in Australia

I had a few sets of those BFG All Terrain tires, back in the day.

These old rigs must be preserved and restored. It deserves a second life as a wheeler/daily driver. A small diesel in one would be super cool.