Tom Hanks might be a great actor, but we never knew he had great taste in cars too. The Saving Private Ryan star apparently owns a 1980 Toyota Land Cruiser. However, he won’t own it much longer as it is going up for auction soon, but that means a new lucky owner can.
The Rustic Green FJ40 was commissioned by Hanks as a restomod and is far from stock. The main difference is the fact that the Toyota F-series engine has been swapped with a more modern GM-sourced 4.3-liter V6 and a GM 5 speed manual. The setup even has BAR certification, for those wanting to purchase in California.
The frame sits on heavy-duty Old Man Emu shocks and also features Warn front hubs, power steering and power brakes. The chrome wheels on Toyo Open Country 31×10.50R 15LT tires serve as rolling stock.
The interior been customized as well, with power high-back Porsche seats (the original seats are included with sale), Sony AM/FM cassette player with added speakers, and aftermarket air conditioning. The legendary actor’s signature also graces the dash, a reminder of this J40’s provenance.
While the modifications make the Cruiser less pure for a collector, whatever drop in value that may entail might be counterbalanced by the celebrity ownership history. This isn’t Hanks’ first dalliance with a Toyota truck, either. In Toy Story, Hanks voiced the character Woody, who hitches a ride on a hooptie Toyota pickup pizza delivery truck. Hanks’ FJ40 will be auctioned at the Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction at Monterey next month.
I like that the looks remain mostly stock and can understand the seats, but a GM 4.3 in a Toyota. That can’t be forgiven even as well done as it appears to be. I could tolerate a GM 5.7 or 6.2 .
Hanks is also selling his Airstream trailer he lived in on movie sets with custom interior along with a 2011 Ford F-450 with around 4500 miles on it that was only used to tow the trailer. All at Monteray Aug 2021
Eh, the original straight six was pretty much a carbon copy of a Chevy unit, but yeah, I feel you – the 4.3 is a wheezy boat anchor. A reliable, tough-as-nails boat anchor, but a boat anchor nonetheless.
The less said about the Porsche seats the better.
Back in the ’70’s dropping in a Chevy V8 was pretty common.
The original inline-6 was smooth. I know from experience that the 4.3 V-6 is rough as a cob.
Restomod… with a Chev V8. I’ll be honest, I love those older V8s.
Pretty cool nonetheless.
Interesting as long as Tom doesn´t ride in it, God knows what could happen.