Rusty To Risqué: Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 Gets EV Swap And Restoration

There’s a growing trend of converting classic vehicles into EVs, including retro Land Rovers, Porsches, and Mercedes-Benz models. Now, the Japanese firms Tonox and Flex are bringing a restored Land Cruiser FJ60 with an electric motor under the hood to the Japan Mobility Show.

As you can see in the gallery, the companies started with a nasty-looking FJ60. The bodywork has rust holes, bad paint, and missing parts. The team stripped off all of the panels, and the frame came away from the body. The SUV had with a decal on the back with the message, “Art is long, life is short.”

With the engine out, the crew created a new cradle for holding the electric motor. The powerplant is now much smaller and sits lower in the engine bay than in the original FJ60. A support for the battery is in the rear section.

Unfortunately, no technical specs are available. We contacted Tonox for more details but haven’t heard back yet.

The Flex YouTube page covered the work on the restoration and powertrain conversion. The clip is in Japanese, but it’s worth clicking through to understand the project’s development better. At 12 minutes and 21 seconds, you can see the motor turning all four wheels while the SUV is on jackstands. 

Toyota doesn’t have an electric Land Cruiser in its lineup, but other folks are making conversions. For example, a builder in Australia created just such an EV and drove it underwater for over four miles (seven kilometers). Power came from a 118-horsepower (88-kilowatt) electric motor. The guy called the creation the “mud crab” because “it’s orange and crawls along the bottom of the Darwin Harbor.” Inflatable buoys kept the SUV from bogging down in the mud underwater.

Toyota Australia created a one-off electric Land Cruiser 70 Series for the mining company BHP to use underground in a mine. No tech specs about the vehicle are available.

Motor1.com will be in attendance at the Japan Mobility Show. Maybe, we’ll get a chance to take a closer look at the restored and electrified FJ60. For a rundown of the automotive concepts debuting there, check out this episode of Rambling About Cars: