- A Toyota FJ Cruiser SUV has been transformed into a truck.
- Besides cutting off the rear end of the bodywork, the builder extended the wheelbase by 11.8 inches, making room for a properly sized bed.
- The owner says it will be used as a daily driver.
The world may be clamoring for a new Land Cruiser FJ, but one Aussie fan wasn’t waiting around taking matters into their own hands with a pretty sweet conversion. With the help of a local workshop, they transformed the discontinued FJ Cruiser into a two-seater pickup truck, complete with a chassis cab design and a sizeable rear bed reminiscent of the Hilux.
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The project began with cutting and stripping off the bodywork of the FJ Cruiser donor car. While most would probably stop there, the chassis had to be extended by 300 mm (11.8 inches), as the original SUV’s wheelbase of 2,690 mm (105.9 inches) was considered too short to accommodate a sufficiently large bed.
More: New Toyota Land Cruiser Converted In Dual-Cab Pickup By Aussies
The rear wall is sourced from a Nissan Patrol GU pickup truck, which proved to be a great fit for this project. At the back, there’s an aluminum ute tray, complete with dropsides, a tailgate, matching fenders, mesh protection for the rear glass, and aftermarket LED taillights. As a final touch, the special FJ Cruiser received a new set of beadlock wheels wrapped in all-terrain tires.
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This head-turning project comes courtesy of Tinman Fabrications, a vehicle customization shop in Victoria known for their stellar ute conversions from popular SUVs. T According to the shop owner, this is a personal project two years in the making. The FJ Cruiser ute will be the first of its kind in Australia and is destined to become his daily driver.
Tinman Fabrications / Facebook
While details on any mechanical upgrades are scarce, the stock Toyota 4.0-liter V6 under the hood should provide ample muscle. This engine, depending on the model year used for the conversion, could deliver anywhere from 239 horsepower (178 kW) to 260 horsepower (194 kW), sending power to all four wheels through a choice of a five-speed automatic or a six-speed manual transmission.
The builder didn’t just stop at the truck conversion. Those eagle eyes might have noticed a familiar shape hanging on the wall – the chopped-off FJ Cruiser’s rear end. You see, instead of a scrapyard fate, this ingenious shop recycled it into a massive toolbox. When not in use, the tools remain hidden behind the side-hinged tailgate of the FJ Cruiser, while the installation doubles as a decorative piece.
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