Features > Featured Vehicles
Big Red Machine
Jack Rice’s 1967 FJ-45 Toyota Land Cruiser
story & photos by Harry Wagner
We may be dating ourselves, but one of our favorite shows growing up was Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins. In addition to the beautiful scenery and wild animals, our favorite part of the show were the cool FJ-45 Toyota Land Cruiser pickups that Marlin, Jim Fowler, and Stan Brock could often be found piloting across the globe. Unfortunately, these vehicles can rarely be found outside of your television screen in the United States.
Jack Rice is a longtime Land Cruiser fanatic, purchasing his first one new in 1970, and currently owning a short wheelbase FJ-40, an FJ-60 wagon, and two of these rare long wheelbase FJ-45 pickups. Rice explained that “the two trucks are twins... in the Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito sense of the word.” The two FJ-45s are both painted Dodge Viper Red and feature late model Chevrolet running gear, but this is where the similarities end. One is the tow rig and daily driver while the other, pictured here, is a dedicated rockcrawler.
Jack’s big red machine was a well-worn stock rig when he purchased it four years ago. Over two years time, the battered old pickup was transformed into a mighty trail machine that captures attention wherever it goes. Even more impressive is that Rice himself performed the bulk of the work, in the comfort of his well-equipped shop.
Jack started by completely disassembling the pickup and sandblasting the frame. The front of the frame horns were lengthened three inches to allow the use of longer leaf springs. A plasma cutter was used to section the frame and reduce the wheelbase from 116” to 106”. Rice felt that this wheelbase was long enough to accommodate the drivetrain he planned to run (more on that in a moment) while still being maneuverable enough to navigate the trails around his Bend, Oregon home.
Front Suspension The front suspension consists of 46” long springs mounted over the axle. Also visible is the High Angle Driveline front driveshaft equipped with 1410 U-joints and the rock lights that aid in night wheeling.
Under the hood, a 5.7L Chevy Vortec motor is supported by Advance Adapters motor mounts. This motor produces plenty of power to turn the big Swampers, and was left stock for reliability. Behind the engine is an SM465 transmission that receives power through a Centerforce clutch. From there the torque is transferred to an Off Road Design Doubler system consisting of an NP203 mated to an NP205 transfer case. The NP205 was modified with a Vehicle Speed Sensor to interface with the Vortec electronics and a custom twin stick to provide two wheel drive low range and front wheel drive operation. This drivetrain, combined with the 5.86 gears, results in a final crawl ratio of 154:1. With nearly 300 horsepower and 12 forward gears, Jack can find the right combination for almost any situation.
Bed The reworked bed is home to a fuel cell and an air tank. Enough space is still available to fit an ice chest and a small amount of provisions.
Engine The engine compartment is clean and uncluttered with a 5.7L Vortec motor supplying the power. A Griffin aluminum radiator keeps the mill cool. Visible on the passenger side of the firewall are the solenoids used to engage the front and rear air lockers.
Since Jack planned on running 42” Super Swampers, the stock Land Cruiser axles were replaced with Dana 60s front and rear. Jack narrowed the front axle to 64” wide to match the rear and outfitted both of the pigs with 5.86 Spicer gears, 35 spline shafts, disc brakes, and ARB Air Lockers. Line locks were added to each individual rear caliper to allow for tight turning maneuvers.
Front Suspension A bolt-on truss was fabricated for the top of the differential housing to mount the fixed end of the hydraulic ram used to turn the big Swampers. With most of the steering components mounted behind the axle centerline, a bent tie rod is nearly impossible.
Steering is handled by a .375” wall 1.375” DOM tie rod and drag link combination. The drag link is mounted in front of the axle, while the tie rod is mounted behind the axle centerline along with a hydraulic ram to help turn the huge tires. Rice designed and milled the steering arms himself out of billet steel. Further up the line is a Saginaw steering box, Borgeson steering shaft, and a tilt column from a ’74 Camaro.
Knowing that such a potent drivetrain required a competent suspension, Jack continued his work. The front suspension consists of 46” long leaf springs from the rear of an FJ-60 Land Cruiser wagon. The springs are positioned over the axle and combined with a shackle reversal and 7100 remote reservoir shocks. The rear suspension is a quarter elliptical setup that was designed by Jason Conover of S&N Fabrication. This end of the vehicle is supported by F-350 Super Duty springs that were cut in half and combined with a triangulated four link. All the links are approximately 43” long and are constructed of 1.5” chromoly tubing and 1” heim joints.
Rear Suspension The rear suspension consists of a triangulated four link with quarter elliptical springs. The lower arms are at the axle centerline for improved ground clearance, while the upper arms connect to the axle seven inches about the centerline.
With the mechanics complete, Jack turned his attention to the body. The quarter panels were trimmed just below the cab for improved ground clearance and the front fenders were replaced with custom tube fenders from Metal Tech. These fenders contain integrated side skirts that are two inches higher than stock and more than four inches narrower, allowing for a lower center of gravity and increased compression travel. Jack added inner fender skirts fashioned from expanded metal to keep debris out of the engine compartment.
The stock bed started life 86 inches long and 65 inches wide. Rice cut the bed into twelve pieces (!) and eliminated the wheel wells, resulting in a bed that is 42 inches long and equally as wide. The tailgate was similarly dissected into eight pieces and narrowed to fit the stubby bed. The shorter box, combined with the quarter elliptical rear suspension, allows for an incredible departure angle.
To protect all of this hard work, Jack made a full cage out of 2” HREW tubing with the help of Dave Custer of Alchemy Metalwerks. In order to make the cage strong while still allowing provisions for the stock removable top, Jack machined custom flanges out of 1” thick steel plate. The lower half of the flange is mated directly to the frame to ensure strength and rigidity. The end result is an FJ-45 that could tackle any safari, from Serengeti to Easter Jeep.
Interior The interior of the pickup is spartan but facilitates easy cleaning. A host of Autometer Z Series gauges are fitted in the custom aluminum dash, along with a CB and toggles for the air lockers and rock lights. Controls for the rear line locks are located on the transmission shifter.