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Previously, I have shared with everyone many restoration cases of Land Cruiser series old cars in foreign countries. However, I never thought that there would be a factory in China supplying parts for FJ40s all over the world and even making complete replicas of the FJ40.
So, we went to explore the factory on behalf of everyone~
This is a factory located in Baoying, Yangzhou that produces and sells car body shells and sheet metal parts. Originally, this factory mainly produced OEM parts for various car brands, and its main market was overseas.
However, by chance, the boss was fascinated by FJ40.
Therefore, out of respect for classic cars, nostalgia for second-hand cars, and love for classic cars, the factory owner decided to start developing FJ40 body accessories, and eventually developed into a replica of the FJ40.
The FJ40 is a work of art brought by Toyota to off-road enthusiasts all over the world, and it is also one of the most classic off-road vehicles in the history of the automotive industry. The model that truly made Toyota Land Cruiser famous and reached the pinnacle of the world was the FJ40, which was born in 1960.
Starting from the FJ40 series, Toyota's off-road vehicles have been sold all over the world. In 1965, the global sales exceeded 50,000 units, and by 1973, the global sales had reached 300,000 units. In North America, despite the continuous launch of new models, the FJ40 series remained popular until 1983, nearly challenging the well-established off-road brand Jeep. During its 25-year production cycle, the total sales of the FJ40 exceeded 1.1 million units. It was also from the FJ40 that Toyota's off-road vehicles began to appear in pickup truck models.
Thanks to its good stability and durability, even today, in some corners of the world, one can still find some FJ40s that have clocked a high mileage but are still roaring through the off-road terrain.
Although no one knows exactly how many FJ40s are still running on the roads around the world, what is known is that it is still a Dream Car for many people, and many are willing to spend a lot of money to restore and renovate it. FJ40 parts still have a high demand in the foreign market. That's why the owner of this factory in Baoying invested a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources to develop FJ40 parts after deciding to do so. As a result, the FJ40 parts from China began to serve the world's FJ40s, providing a continuation of life for this classic off-road vehicle, even after the original factory parts have been discontinued for many years.
"We focus on doing one thing, and we must do it well. FJ40 is such a classic, and we must make sure it can hit the road smoothly." Of course, "playing with emotions cannot be done at the expense of running out of money. Only with money can we realize our dreams." The FJ40 parts developed and produced by the factory are very popular in overseas markets, with good sales. Therefore, shortly after developing FJ40 parts, the factory did not limit itself to only producing its body shells, and they started developing FJ40 vehicles as well.
Unfortunately, due to China's policy, these vintage cars can only be a collection in China, so the main market for the complete vehicle business is overseas. "We have a curve plan to first let it hit the road abroad."
On the day we visited the factory, we also saw the chassis of the FJ45, which was one of the stages in their plan to replicate the entire FJ45 vehicle.
According to the factory's engineer in charge of the old cars, Lao Ying, if the project goes smoothly, the cost of replicating an old car can start at tens of millions of dollars, which includes designing, scanning, and modeling during the mold development process, and everything is done without errors or mistakes.
And in addition to the FJ40 series, the factory also plans to replicate the entire vehicles of about 10 other old cars, including the classic Ford Bronco and the very iconic and lovely Volkswagen T1.
So here's the question, if you could bring back/restore one of these classic car, which one would you choose? Also, can you recognize all the cars in the last picture? Leave your answers in the comments section of our FB post!
Source : https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/2yaUQobyQOiIj8LM3m0waQ
Translated by ChatGPT and it was awesome!