japanese dream machines

so i have a couple of new dream machines. i have always been a fan of the venerable FJ40 land cruiser from toyota, but i had completely overlooked (as many do) a wonderful model number that was available at the same time as the dime a dozen FJ40's. i give you dream machine number one;

this is the FJ45 pickup. they came in a short bed (super rare) a long bed, and a wagon model (i've only ever seen one wagon, and it was the only one i could find on google). the one pictured above and below is a short bed, and was restored by THE land cruiser experts at TLC 4x4 in Van Nuys. seriously check out their site and you will know what i mean when i say they are the shit. they are who I will buy a cruiser from when the time comes. if we can find one to restore, i can pick up one of these babies out the door starting at $45k in better condition that it was in when it rolled out of the factory. did i mention that TLC restores the cruisers that toyota itself has in it's museums? 'nuff said. if i got one i would totally get the canvas top for the bed, that thing kicks some serious ass. also these models have a removeable top over the cab. awesome.

so if i can't get ahold of an FJ45 pickup, i might try for one of these:

this is an FJ 55 wagon, and i think they look pretty amazing. there were a couple of these things running around cottage grove and i think they belonged to a commune or something, but they ran like a charm! how can you argue with that styling too, i mean how tough does it freakin look! just to give you an idea of what this thing looks like from the back, and what it looked like before they restored it, here are a couple of more pics. now i promiss i will end this post. i have bored your to tears. aren't you glad i have the internet again!