Toyota has just posted the sixth and final episode of its extensive restoration of a 1982 Land Cruiser. This, in theory, is the fun part, where the rust has been repaired, the body has been painted, and all that’s left to do is reassemble everything with fresh new parts and hardware. Unfortunately, even with the expertise of Toyota engineers and technicians, the team encountered a few speed bumps.
Episode five deals with the installation of all the freshly painted body parts. They take great care to line up the doors, running boards, front panel, and more. But when it comes time to attach the hood, something’s not quite lining up. There’s no choice but to sand and snip bits of the hood and cowl, something that’s especially painful to watch on a freshly painted body.
The goal of the project was to demonstrate Toyota’s reissued parts from the GR Heritage Parts program, which includes parts for the AE86, Supra, and 2000GT as well. However, with such an extensive restoration there were parts that still weren’t available.
For example, the roof liner is no longer in production nor is it part of the Heritage Parts program. Toyota had to source two used roof liners and merge them together to create one that looked decent enough to go with the rest of the restored interior. Similarly, the original tires are no longer made, so they went with modern but retro Firestones.
At the end of the video, they fire up the engine, but a mysterious oil leak appears.
After repeatedly trying to diagnose and repair the oil leak, the technicians discover that an oil seal on the power steering shaft didn’t fit properly. After modifying it, the powertrain was finally tip top.
At last, it came time for the final walkthrough and test drive. Some of the individuals who worked on the restoration were also involved with the Land Cruiser J70 and baby Land Cruiser FJ development. They say that being involved hands-on with the building of an original Land Cruiser helped them glean a better understanding of the new vehicles they were working on.
Yasuhiro Yamamoto, who works on the development of GR Heritage Parts, says that this particular Land Cruiser, a mid-wheelbase BJ43, wasn’t a big seller back in the day. As such, they didn’t reissue any parts specifically for it. But the restoration of this vehicle made him realize that the J43 is fairly sought-after, and he’s now considering making parts specific to the chassis.
The team then took the finished vehicle to the Land Cruiser Fes in June and the Land Cruiser 75th Anniversary celebration in August. Fans were able to see the restored rig up close and get inspired. The car looks amazing and having seen all the work that went into it gives an even greater appreciation for the final result.
We genuinely hope that Toyota releases more videos like this so we can get a peek at what goes into a restoration at the world’s most meticulous carmaker (we sure are envious of the cleanliness and size off their shop). It’s far better than any cable automotive “reality” shows. As the video concludes, we get a great credits sequence featuring the parts that were used in the Land Cruiser’s restoration.
