Cruisers in Japanese Books and Magazines

Go here for English-text cruiser lit.

1958

This a 1958 Land Cruiser owners manual from Japan, 6"x8.25", 34 pages plus fold-out schematic. I didn't scan all the pages, most of it is Japanese text with some illustraitons. Here is the cover, inside page, illustration of some of the FJ2X trucks and the table of contents. I wish I could read the third and fourth pages. If you can read Japanese, could you please send me a translation? The book appears to detail models FJ20 through FJ29. Looks like fire trucks figured into the Land Cruiser line early on.

1959

I don't know what year this is from, but I think it was 1958 or 1959. It's a four-page brochure detailing the Land Cruiser line, FJ21, FJ24 and FJ28. It measures 8.5"x11.25". There are some interesting details. It appears to show the cast-iron transfer case, the parking brake is a lever on the floor, the battery is mounted mid-frame, turn signals are the mechanical type seen on old Land Rovers. The SWB wagon looks like a Willys wagon and the pickup looks like a Land Rover pickup. The 4spd transmission has a deep low of 5.41 forward, 5.44 reverse. The PTO pictured mounts on the transmission and not the transfer case. It's a cool brochure.

Here's another early brochure, I think it may be from the same year.

Here is the English variant of these brochures:

Here are some pages from a 1959 Japanese book I found. The book details the travels of a small group labeled 'MISION JAPONESA DE AMISTAD' through South and Central America. They drive an FJ21 OR FJ25 (see ad below) soft-top and tow what sure looks like a Land Cruiser trailer. The book is full of text and pictures.

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1979

Here are some cruiser-related ads I found in the January 1979 issue of a Japanese magazine called 4x4Magazine. Check out the Toyota ad - I think it references the trip documented in the book above. Notice that the rear view shot is labeled "FJ21-KB"!

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This is a 1979 Land Cruiser brochure. It is big, so big that I had to scan each page in two sections and then stitch them together with the GIMP. (Linux Photoshop-like software) Cool brochure. Dave tells me the red cannister is a mandatory road flare. I dig the sporty Japanese dudes.