There are not many cars that inspire the kind of quiet reverence reserved for the 1986 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60. Toyota created this vehicle to straddle the design philosophy between early off-road trucks and modern-day suburban jacked-up wagons. We love these old Land Cruisers here because even back in ’86, they were about function over form with absolutely no bullshit. Let’s start this review off with the basic numbers that make a factory FJ60 a FJ60:
- Engine: 4.2L 2F (N/A) inline-six
- Horsepower: 135 hp @ 3,600 rpm
- Torque: 210 lb-ft @ 1,800 rpm
- Transmission: 4-speed manual
- Drivetrain: Part-time 4WD with high/low-range transfer case
- Suspension: Solid front and rear axles with leaf springs
- Curb Weight: Approximately 4,240 lbs
- Wheelbase: 107.5 inches
Form Follows Function in the FJ60’s Design Language
Looking at a well-kept FJ60, one cannot help but marvel at its utter practicality. There’s no vanity or superficial tough-guy details here. From the rearview, a factory-FJ60’s boxy station-wagon shape and massive greenhouse inform you that this truck was built to haul people and things, and do it in conditions that a modern “on-road” vehicle simply can’t handle. Note the rounded headlamps set in a simple grille and wide stance — these design cues serve to give the driver maximum vision on a trail or through a forest.
And speaking of vision, Toyota took special care to make the FJ60 as driver-friendly as a utilitarian vehicle could possibly be. Think padded cloth, reasonably-sized analog instrumentation, and all the creature comforts you’d expect to find in your average ’80s-era econobox. With air conditioning, power steering, and a cabin that can be easily scrubbed clean after a weekend of mudding or camping, the Land Cruiser is almost too comfy to toss this baby into the nearest river!
The Soul of the Land Cruiser
Under the hood, the real magic begins. Toyota shoehorned a burly 4.2-liter 2F inline-six into the FJ60’s engine bay, one better known to most gearheads as the tractor motor. This durable workhorse of an engine uses a simple pushrod valvetrain and a single Aisan two-barrel carburetor to achieve its advertised output of 135 horsepower at 3,600 rpm and a lusty 210 pound-feet of torque at 1,800 rpm.
Toyota’s FJ60 is also one tough-ass truck, especially when compared to today’s crop of gutless modernized jeeps. Pair the iron-block, iron-head 2F inline-six with a likewise substantial H42 four-speed manual transmission rated to handle this torque, and you’ve already got plenty of the mechanical grunt that people seek in old-time field trucks.
While there’s nothing particularly special about the FJ60’s drivetrain components (the company employs tried-and-true live front and rear axles and a two-speed transfer case), Toyota built serious vehicles back in 1986, and the best part about the Land Cruiser is that it feels very much like one. The FJ60 uses leaf springs rated for thousands of pounds of compressive force rather than independent suspensions. Put another way, the 1986 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 is built to last — and to do it, it must get dirty.
The Road and the FJ60’s Driving Experience
You don’t immediately feel at home in an FJ60 — not the way you might in, say, a current mainstream full-size SUV. The steering wheel is slow to react, the FJ60’s shifter is quite wide, and it takes some time to build up speed on the highway. What it feels like is driving something mechanical, something with a soul, rather than the drive-sapping numbness of an over- and under-assisted modern crossover.
FJ60s reward the thoughtful, deliberate driver who enjoys getting in the tiniest bit of dirt and having the best damn vehicle imaginable for exploring the backcountry. The driving feedback is genuinely outstanding from behind the steering wheel, as is the overall comfort at reasonable speeds. We can’t think of another modern factory SUV quite so focused on being both an off-road machine and a comfortable automobile.
This old Land Cruiser may not have the luxury and convenience “features” of today’s SUVs — or even the drive quality of Toyota’s own later Tundra models — but it still has a magic that can’t be found in vehicles produced in 2022. The 1986 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 is truly the last of the old school, a relic of a time when “vehicles” were built to be repaired rather than replaced and when a car meant a means of transportation rather than a destination.
Built to Endure: 1986 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 Review
Few utility vehicles enjoy the enduring prestige of the 1986 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60. The FJ60-series represents a logical evolution of the classic Land Cruiser design, built to serve between the FJ40’s raw frontier credentials and the burgeoning popularity of the ’90s-era family wagons.
By the ’80s, manufacturers had grown adept at building light trucks for specific purposes, and the ’86 Toyota Land Cruiser utilizes appropriately sized and reinforced Japanese steel to fulfill its stated task: going places with you where modern roads rarely travel.
Industrial Grade Architecture
Underneath the FJ60’s familiar boxy exterior architecture, a substantial body-on-frame platform utilizes massive sheet metal thickness and cross-member reinforcement far removed from anything seen in modern unibody SUVs.
Live axles at front and rear mount Toyota’s preferred multi-leaf semi-elliptical spring bundles and heavy duty hydraulic dampers. The Land Cruiser ’s four-wheel drive system utilizes a purely mechanical transfer case, with drivers required to step out from behind the wheel to turn the front manual locking hubs in preparation for engaging the transfer case’s low-range, park, and neutral settings.
The approach and departure angles remain excellent for a vehicle of this size, making a Land Cruiser a fantastic choice for any expedition that wanders into the backcountry. Not one computer governs the FJ60’s 4-wheel drive system – no sensors, no ABS brakes, no center limited-slip differential, no air suspension or electric parking brake.
Tactile Engagement from the Cabin
Inside proves to be an equally competent meld of comfort and utility. The factory ’86 Land Cruiser FJ60 employs patterned cloth interior and a utilitarian flat dash, large analog instrumentation, and expansive glass area that grant unparalleled vision from the driver seat.
Driving experience involves a certain amount of mechanical engagement – the clutch pedal travels a far distance before fully disengaging, the recirculating ball steering linkage requires patience and planning to navigate through tight turning radius, and the live axle suspensions telegraph every detail of the road texture to the driver. But at the same time, the 1986 Land Cruiser drives on a well-matched chassis balance that conveys a hypnotic stability at a steady 60 mph highway cruise.
Where modern mainstream automakers employ increasingly fragile electronic driving aids at the expense of actual skill, the ’86 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 can be thought of as the ultimate expression of mechanical drivetrain engineering – designed not for short-term ownership, but built to last forever.
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