Rebirth of a 1967 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser

Rebirth of a ’67 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser

Having been an auto enthusiast since he could scoot a Hot Wheels die-cast around, it was then no surprise Herbert Langlois III would own his first car even before obtaining a driver’s license.

During these same teen years is when Langlois spotted a strange Jeep on his way to school. It stood out sitting on a major street in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, surrounded by small compact cars. Since it didn’t have any notable emblems, it was hard for him to identify or even describe it when he asked his father what it might be.

After a week of driving past it, he finally had to get off the bus and take a closer look. As luck would have it, the owner spotted him admiring his tan FJ and proceeded to tell him all about it. The owner stated that his FJ was the most reliable vehicle he had ever owned and that he even drove it down from his home in Vermont. From that point on Langlois decided that one day he would own one also.

“IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE LANGLOIS WAS ITCHING FOR SOMETHING ELSE TO PUT IN THE QUEUE AND DECIDED TO LOOK FOR SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THE FJ40 OF HIS CHILDHOOD DREAMS. “

Many years later, Langlois had rebuilt and restored various autos including a ‘57 Willys CJ-5, a ‘72 Chevy K10 short bed, and an ‘89 Wrangler Sahara with SBC overdrive transmission pushing a Ford 9-inch rear and Dana 44 front diff. Langlois currently has a couple of ‘69 K10’s underway to which one was a support vehicle in the Baja 500/1000 races, and he is restoring to stock a red ‘73 FJ40 at Procision Industries located in Walpole, Massachusetts. This FJ soon earned the nickname “Little Red Riding Hood.”

Over time, the hobby of searching for project vehicles to work on evolved from the days of Want Ad magazine and Uncle Henry’s to internet listings and classifieds like eBay and Craiglist. This optimized looking for restoration projects beyond the salt belt of New England, increasing his chances of finding the best possible candidate that was hopefully far from cancerous rot–like conditions that most are accustomed to in this region.

“LANGLOIS DIDN’T THINK TWICE ABOUT BRINGING HIS NEW OFF-ROAD TOY OVER FOR A FULL RESTOMOD AT PAT O’BRIEN’S CUSTOM SHOP, PROCISION INDUSTRIES.”

It wasn’t long before Langlois was itching for something else to put in the queue and decided to look for something similar to the FJ40 of his childhood dreams. After a six-month nationwide search, first by looking local (you never know!) then on to Hemming’s, Mecum, Barrett Jackson, and the usual internet route, he found what he was looking for in Southern California.

There was a rust-free original black plate ‘67 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser with a completed V8 swap being used in the desert. Sweetening the find, it just so happens it was the same color combo as the first one he saw. The two-door short wheelbase version was a hardtop model. This led to a short call with a friend, Rick Dreher, who resides out in California, to inspect the new find. Not long after, the FJ was being worked out for transportation to the opposite coast.

When the ‘73 was at a good spot in its restoration process, Langlois didn’t think twice about bringing his new off-road toy over for a full restomod at Pat O’Brien’s custom shop, Procision Industries. This new project was quickly dubbed, “The Big Bad Wolf.” Langlois had seen O’Brien’s work on several builds around the Boston area, and the quality work coming out of the shop was impressive. Langlois was extremely confident with having O’Brien on the Wolf.

They both decided to have the Toyota ready for the following year’s World of Wheels custom car show. The goal was to keep as much of the original, iconic roots of the FJ40 as possible while bringing it into the modern era with improved technology, drivability, reliability and comfort to where Langlois would be able to go to any auto parts store to keep it on the road. That means no more need to look for 50-year-old parts!

“THE POWER PLANT THAT MOTIVATES THE WOLF WILL HAVE SOME TOYOTA PURISTS CALLING BLASPHEMY; LANGLOIS CALLS IT PRACTICALITY WITH A HEALTHY DOSE OF POWER AND RELIABILITY.”

Langlois needed this 4×4 build to work in the traffic cluttered city of Boston, on the highway at speed, and capable of being taken off-road. It was critical to Langlois that he can safely maintain highway speeds and not overheat sitting in big city traffic jams. This is one reason they opted to not install a snorkel and roof rack, keeping road noise to a minimum.

The power plant that motivates the Wolf will have some Toyota purists calling blasphemy; Langlois calls it practicality with a healthy dose of power and reliability. A look under the hood reveals a completely rebuilt, well-blueprinted, fuel-injected Chevy 350 with factory-style GM electronic fuel injection that is sparked by an HEI ignition, all of which was expertly crafted by Viking Custom Works. The motor is cooled by a Ron Davis Radiator system while cast RamHorn manifolds were used for longevity and allowed enough clearance to mate a custom three-inch exhaust to the system.

A Toyota H42 four-speed transmission from a later FJ model was used utilizing the authentic factory shifter. The later model transmission and T-case were rebuilt by Mark’s Off Road using OEM parts before installation. Mike Downey then came by with several wheel and tire combos to try out. Originally 35-inch tires were desired, but that would have required unwanted body modifications. On the other hand, 30-inch tires were too small and provided less clearance typically desired, so 33-inch Generals ended up providing the perfect solution utilizing the classic 15-inch wheel. Although the tread pattern was fairly aggressive, it would be relatively quiet at highway speeds.

A Saginaw power steering box with custom mounts was utilized on the factory reinforced frame to easily turn the four-inch Spector Off Road suspension. The brakes were converted to a later model FJ40 disc set-up to help the FJ stop on demand. It is propelled by a custom Double Cardan driveshaft from an FJ60 that was provided by 1021 Driveline.

Attention to every detail was given to the body which was painted with U-POL Raptor, a protective coating often used for truck bedliners, in the subtle uncommon factory color that Herb had seen many years ago. The paint is very durable giving Herb quite a head scratcher the first time he gave the FJ a wash. All you need is a hose and water, and not all the polish and wax typically needed to clean up caked on dirt. The newly coated body was complemented with NOS (new old stock) taillights near the large rear-mounted spare tire and factory NOS emblems.

An auxiliary fuel tank was placed under the rear bumper and is protected by a protective skid plate that connects into the factory tank located under the passenger seat and feeds via a transfer pump. The characteristically known blunt face of the FJ, with its close-set headlights and central grille opening, are still present, albeit much brighter LED units replace the classic halogen headlamps. For increased nighttime visibility, an LED bar was placed over the windshield.

“PROVING THAT IT’S THE DETAILS THAT MATTER, TOYOTA’S ICONIC FJ HOOD SPEAR AND TRIM PACKAGE WERE INSTALLED, SURELY TO THE DELIGHT OF MANY AN FJ ENTHUSIAST. “

Proving that it’s the details that matter, Toyota’s iconic FJ hood spear and trim package were installed, surely to the delight of many an FJ enthusiast. Procision Industries fabricated the front bumper to incorporate recovery D-rings, a Smittybilt winch mount and winch, and flush mounted LED corner lights that aid lighting up trail perimeters. Lindsey of Touchless Glass provided new glass for the FJ since originals were unavailable.

The interior uses a variety of treatments to keep it retro looking, but adds a decidedly modern look including U-POL coating, plating, and a custom mix of Billet Silver paint. The interior details thoughtfully follow with the original factory colors to help restore various components and creates an old-meets-new look. The dash was kept mostly factory by restoring the original gauge cluster while only adding switch clusters, vintage air controls, and an auxiliary 12V power source.

Factory seats were removed to accommodate a pair of Recaro’s on custom frames and the old temperamental factory wiper motors and linkage were swapped out for custom servo motors. The original vacuum dash mounted transfer case actuator was refreshed and brought to like-new condition.

Because music is important for any road trip, Mark McGrath of Bubba’s Custom Audio provided a Bluetooth enabled sound system. Mark used a Planet Audio waterproof enclosure, which he upgraded with new speakers and an 800W amplifier. The easy to remove sound system also provides LED illumination to the cargo bay and some added in-vehicle storage.

 “LANGIOIS BEING AN ALL-OR-NOTHING-TYPE BUILDER, ALONG WITH  O’BRIEN’S VALUABLE INPUT MEANT THERE WASN’T ONE THING LEFT THAT NOTHING WAS OVERLOOKED.”

As with most projects, this one went right up to the deadline for debuting at World of Wheels in Boston. Completing the Big Bad Wolf lead to many late nights and the supportive understanding of Pat’s newlywed, Amanda. (She’s a keeper!) Langlois being an all-or-nothing-type builder, along with O’Brien’s valuable input meant there wasn’t one thing left untouched on the FJ40, which gives him complete peace of mind that nothing was overlooked. The work and attention to detail was well rewarded at WOW, as the Wolf came back with the 2017 Street Achievement Truck ISCA award. Well done.

UPGRADES

1967 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser

ENGINE:
VIKING CUSTOM WORKS FUEL-INJECTED CHEVROLET 350 V8, FACTORY STYLE GM ELECTRONIC FUEL-INJECTION, CAST RAMHORN MANIFOLDS, HEI IGNITION, CUSTOM 3-INCH EXHAUST, RON DAVIS RADIATOR SYSTEM

SUSPENSION:
4-INCH SPECTOR OFF ROAD

DRIVETRAIN:
TOYOTA H42 4-SPEED, 3.73 REAREND, CUSTOM FJ60 DOUBLE CARDAN DRIVESHAFT

WHEELS & TIRES:
33-INCH GENERAL GRABBER ON 15-INCH WHEELS

ARMOR:
CUSTOM FRONT BUMPER, CUSTOM SKID PLATE

LIGHTING:
CUSTOM LED HEADLIGHTS, NOS REAR TAILLIGHTS, NOS EMBLEMS, LED LIGHT BAR, LED CORNER LAMPS

ACCESSORIES:
CUSTOM AUXILIARY FUEL TANK, SMITTYBILT WINCH, FJ40 DISC BRAKES, SAGINAW POWER STEERING, U-POL RAPTOR COATING BY PROCISION INDUSTRIES, FACTORY WITH ADDITIONAL SWITCH PANELS AND VINTAGE AIR CONTROLS, PLANET AUDIO BLUETOOTH ENABLED CUSTOM SOUND SYSTEM, RECARO SEATS, NEW GLASS BY TOUCHLESS GLASS