42 bids, no reserve, $29,000: an honest FJ40 finds its level

This FJ40 left the factory in Mustard Yellow and was repainted red with a white roof under an earlier owner, who also fitted the older-style side doors. The current owner bought it in 2020, and it had been through Bring a Trailer once before, in August 2021. It runs the 4.2-liter 2F inline-six with a four-speed manual and dual-range transfer case.

It’s a truck that has been used and kept up rather than restored. WARN locking hubs, Old Man Emu Nitrocharger shocks, front disc brakes, an ARB front bumper with a Smittybilt XRC winch, 15-inch American Racing wheels on BFGoodrich KM2s, a roll bar and black vinyl buckets. The Birfield joints, leaf springs and front wheel bearings were done in 2020, and the maintenance ran right up to an oil change in August 2026.

Why we went no reserve

FJ40s are one of the most active markets on Bring a Trailer. On almost any week there are two or three for sale, which means bidders have plenty of reference points and very little patience for a seller’s wishful number. For a driver-grade truck like this one, no reserve is the fastest route to a real price: it pulls in every bidder who has been watching and waiting.

No reserve only works when the listing is honest, so the 108-photo gallery showed the truck as it sits, and the description said what a buyer would want to know: the color change from Mustard Yellow, the aftermarket doors, the sagging perforated headliner, and a service history with dates. It came with records and a clean Pennsylvania title.

The auction

The auction drew 7,396 views, 853 watchers and 57 comments. Forty-two bids came in, and the truck closed on Wednesday, September 9 at 2:29 in the afternoon at $29,000.

What the number means

In the six weeks around our sale, unrestored and driver-quality FJ40s on Bring a Trailer mostly sold between $16,000 and $30,000, and several failed to sell with bids in the low-to-mid $20,000s. Two days after ours, another 1978 FJ40, a five-speed, also sold for exactly $29,000. That’s about as clean a confirmation as the market gives.

The trucks that went higher were a different kind of FJ40: a freshly sorted 1977 at $50,500, a 1972 at $38,500, and a 1FZ-FE-swapped 1967 at $83,000. Our truck landed at the top of the driver bracket, which is exactly where a well-kept, honestly presented, used FJ40 belongs.

If you own one

The cars that bring top money on Bring a Trailer share three things: honest condition, complete paperwork, and a listing that answers questions before they’re asked. If you have a Land Cruiser, a vintage 4x4 you’ve been thinking about selling, we’ll tell you where it fits in the market and what we think it will bring. We’re a Bring a Trailer Local Partner and we handle everything from photography to the last comment.