FJ45 and 80 Series hybrid is the ultimate LandCruiser

The term masterpiece is hardly new. In fact it’s something that has been coveted since the Middle Ages.

Something apprentices and journeymen aspire to create in all realms of craftsmanship and artistry.

Under the old guild system, young men and women learning the skills to be Goldsmiths and Masons, Painters and Sculptors, Bakers and any number of countless other talents would work under a master as they honed their skills.

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Eventually, with proper guidance and perseverance, they’d produce a piece of their own work so perfect in all aspects that they could be admitted to a guild, and become masters themselves. Their masterpiece.

The LandCruiser you’re looking at on these pages is a masterpiece in its own right. The result of painstaking lessons, impeccable attention to detail, and sheer perseverance. But what the ruddy hell is it, actually?

In short, it’s an FJ45, although it’s also an 80 Series. And technically, there’s a little 75 Series and some Lexus in there too, and a seemingly endless supply of box tube. But let’s start with the chassis, yeah?

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From the ground up

Despite the 1971 FJ45 cab perched on top like a crown, underneath, and on the rego papers, Patrick Savery’s masterpiece is a 1994 80 Series LandCruiser.

“I had begun to restore a short wheelbase 40 Series,” Patrick tells us. “But as I progressed I realised it wasn’t going to suit my needs. Leaf springs and a thirsty 2F petrol engine wasn’t my idea of comfort or performance.”

As luck would have it, when a mate reached out with a complete 45 Series Cab, an 80 Series chassis just happened to pop up for sale in the same town. Some things are meant to be, eh? Another call to good mate Hugh Ager from Limitless Chassis in Coolum Beach and things really kicked into gear.

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A spot was cleared in the corner of the shop, plans were sketched out, and the roar of welders and the sizzle of grinders wouldn’t stop for two years.

Peel your eyes off the stunning body for a second, past the custom cab mounts, and you’ll find a surprisingly stock 80 Series chassis hiding underneath, doing a convincing job it’s meant to be there.

Up front, two-inch lifted coils slink their way into the factory coil buckets, a pair of Superior Engineering remote reservoir shocks the only giveaway this 45 drives a whole lot better than stock.

Up the back has a similar treatment, with the only addition being a pair of adjustable upper control arms allowing Patrick to dial the pinion angle back in. It’s a real testament to Toyota just how good these chassis are and why they’re such a hot ticket item with resto-modders.

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Powerplant

While the diffs at either end may remain largely stock, the drivetrain combo spinning them couldn’t be further from stock if you tried.

Nestled between the rails up front is none other than a 1UZ-FE. “I decided on the 1UZ-FE as I wanted the Cruiser 100 percent Toyota,” says Patrick. “I truly love the history of the engine, it’s still heralded as one of the most reliable V8s ever built.”

Not the kind of donk you’d typically find in a 4x4, Patrick sourced a Lexus LC400 to pinch the 4.0L V8 from and promptly set about tearing it down for a full rebuild. A custom alloy sump was welded up at Limitless Chassis to clear the front diff under full articulation, while custom engine mounts in conjunction with LC74 rubbers get the 1UZ bolted in place.

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With a gut full of factory forged internals, Patrick knew with a freshen-up the 1UZ would be more than up to the task of reliable power and set to work making it a hoot to drive.

The solution was a Dellows Automotive bellhousing mating up a five-speed manual cog-swapper from a HZJ75 Cruiser – that’s a H55F for any Toyota nerds eager for all the details. There’s an Exedy heavy-duty clutch linking the two, while the HF1A transfer case and Aisin free-wheeling-hubs from the 75 finish the part-time 4x4 conversion of the LC80 chassis.

Of course a combo like this doesn’t come together easily; a custom gearbox crossmember was needed to hold it up in place, and as the cab floor was sliced and diced to suit the H55F package, a custom cover was fabricated to keep things civilised inside.

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A symphony roars out twin stainless exhaust tips either side of the 130L LC79 fuel tank down the back.

Modified & Driven Fabrication expertly pieced together the twin stainless system snaking its way through the compact chassis. The end result, after all that hard work, is a 6200rpm redline, an idle so smooth Top Gear famously balanced a glass of water on the intake manifold without a hint of vibration, and twice the horsepower, and 50 percent more torque than an FJ45 rolled off the production line with.

When the clutch drops and the revs pick up, 35-inch Nitto Trail Grapplers on all four corners scrabble for traction. Inside them, 16 x 9-inch steel wheels give an old school look, with more precise steering than the 15-inch rims of yesteryear.

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Above the chassis

Back up on solid ground and that attention to detail throughout the drivetrain is taken to a whole new level.

Up front, trick JTX LED headlights and late-model 45 grille are well protected with some sleek yet strong bar work. Patrick pieced together the custom stubby front bar including the integrated recovery points and UHF antenna mount.

Following the body lines back and McKinnon’s Cruisers flat-pack wheel arches were pieced together at Limitless Chassis, and bracing added including tie-ins to the shock towers for additional strength and to help close in the engine bay. Matching flat-packed McKinnon’s Cruisers sliders were welded together at the same time.

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Moving past the period correct and oh-so-smooth silver paint to the rear-end really drives home just how passionate Patrick is about the Cruiser not just looking good, but working well too.

“I’m very proud of the canopy,” he says. “Many people told me it’d be too tricky to make, but I worked hard on it for three solid weeks and got it don’t just in time for our maiden trip.”

Constructed out of a lightweight steel frame with aluminium skins, Patrick worked together with Kahn Burrel from Hardarc Engineering to make sure it would not only have ample room for camping kit, but Patrick’s Kelpie pup Blue would be right at home in there.

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There’s carpeted flooring and roll-down covers for wet rainy days, and dual air vents and a fan for warm summer days.

Sure, there’s a shower for Patrick too, fed from an 85L water tank and 12V pump mounted under the tray, but he knows where he sits in the pecking order.

A simple 12V system also managed to sneak in, a Redarc BCDC Core charging the 130Ah deep cycle for the fridge, with the 1UZ’s starting battery snuck back there as well.

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Interior design

On the inside Patrick has attempted to walk the tightrope between serious improvements in comfort, without butchering the sheet metal and making the place unrecognisable.

The biggest standout improvement is without a doubt the pair of Suzuki Vitara seats. Riding on custom mounts they’ve been bolstered, re-upholstered, and somehow look period correct and comfortable all in one hit.

The seats are paired with a Brass Monkey centre console fridge and fresh black carpet, making the 52 year old cab is a seriously nice place to be. Rather than cut into the 40’s iconic dash, Patrick pieced together an LCS4X4 overhead console with a few custom tweaks including the Sony touch screen stereo and faux croc-skin trimming.

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“I firmly believe that attention to detail makes a big difference,” Patrick says. “This classic interior, with a subtle modern twist, makes for a great place to be.”

Old bodies on new frames are hardly a new concept, and Patrick’s is far from the wildest modified Cruiser we’ve ever seen, but it’s that attention to detail that has elevated it beyond anything you’ll spot down the local tracks. It’s just proof that, with a little creativity, a handful of good mates, and a whole bunch of hard work, a masterpiece just might be within reach.

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