My 1983 Toyota Land Cruiser

The diamond-in-the-rough of Toyota's range has a solid history here and Karin Scanlon has kept her Cruiser un-polished, so to speak.

Mrs Scanlon and her late husband Michael bought "Milo" new in 1984 from CMI Toyota in Adelaide.

"It is plated April 1983 and we kept our eye on it for a while on the show room floor," she says.

The family took delivery of their new off-roader and never looked back.

"Milo" is a 1983 LandCruiser BJ42 LX model, powered by a 3.4-litre naturally-aspirated diesel and is one of the earliest of the breed with a five-speed manual gearbox, air conditioning and power steering.

The BJ model designation marks the short-wheelbase model with a 3B naturally-aspirated diesel engine producing 73kW and 226Nm. The 42-Series ran from 1979 through until 1984, when the FJ/BJ model ceased production in most countries.

The short-wheelbase 4WD has been used as its maker intended, taking the family to Tibooburra and Camerons Corner not long after it graced their driveway.

"In 1985 my husband and I and our son took the vehicle to Mootwinge north east of Broken Hill, Tibooburra and Camerons Corner, it was a fantastic trip and the vehicle travelled faultlessly," she says.

It's still only showing 143,000km on its clock - there's a RAV4 that Mrs Scanlon uses day-to-day - and "Milo" is largely original, although some (reversible) changes were made for a recent Simpson Desert trip.

"It was something that my late husband would have loved to have done so I did it for him and thoroughly enjoyed it," she says.

The convoy travelled from Adelaide north to Roxby Downs, through to Dalhousie Springs, Purni Bore and across the Simpson Desert to Birdsville , then back to Adelaide via the old Innamincka road, covering 3500 tough kilometres in 15 days.

"It is not an easy trip .... but the immense sense of satisfaction as you sit on top of Big Red, is indescribable," she says.

Mrs Scanlon is conscious of keeping the car as original as possible - although it seems unlikely to go on the market.

"I still have the original wheels and the storage system installed in the rear of the wagon has only used existing holes, no holes have been drilled into the vehicle - I still have all the rear seats," she says.

Toyota's recent re-introduction of the FJ Cruiser has renewed interest in the original - the FJ40 LandCruiser was seen as a genuine off-roader - more than 1.1 million were produced between 1960 and 1984.

This year the company is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the LandCruiser, which began production in Japan in 1951 and has sold more than 6.4 million globally, including wagon, military versions and the smaller Prado - more than 765,000 have been sold here since it first arrived in 1958.

About the Toyota FJ LandCruiser

MANUFACTURED 1960 to 1984
PRICE NOW $7600
PRICE NEW $13,991
ENGINE 3.4-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder 73kW/226Nm BODY Two-door 4WD wagon
TRANSMISSION Five-speed manual, four-wheel drive

DID YOU KNOW?

The FJ/BJ LandCruiser was known as the Toyota Bandeirante in Brazil, where it was made from 1959 until 2001.