The legend:
A colorful history of a brazilian icon
Travel along the sun-drenched, pot-holed dirt & cobblestone roads of the Brazilian backcountry for any time at all and you’re bound to cross paths with the one of the most iconic—yet enigmatic—4x4’s the world has ever known.
Built by Toyota do Brazil LTDA from May 1962 to November 2001—a full 15 years longer than Land Cruisers produced elsewhere in the world, and longer than any other Toyota produced in the Americas)— the OJ40, OJ50, and BJ50 series, collectively known as Bandeirantes, are at once legendary and among the automotive world’s best-kept secrets.
The “Bandy” was, without exaggeration, the perfect vehicle for the perfect time and place; the fruit of an unprecedented partnership; and, for 5 decades, virtually confined to a single country.
This is their story.
The Bandeirante is shrouded in mystery. this is a fact.
It’s difficult to imagine a J40 series vehicle—and a prolific one at that—remaining anonymous worldwide for 50 years, but there appears to be a simple explanation. Prior to 2018, Bandeirantes didn’t receive fanfare outside of Brazil not because (as the myth goes) they were inferior, more poorly manufactured (due, the myth continues, to poor local labor standards), the bastard of Toyota and Mercedes, but because they were designed, engineered, and destined specifically for Brazil. While FJ’s and BJ’s were produced in Japan, regardless of final destination, the nationalization of Brazil’s auto industry led Toyota to create its first-ever overseas manufacturing facility, Toyota do Brasil.
It is mysterious because so many of the facts surrounding its production and existence have historically been confined to a single country, and because the facts themselves seem surreal.
The Bandeirante was, at once, the first mass-produced diesel variation of the J40 series (predating the celebrated BJ40 version by 12 years), the longest-lived variation of the series (42 years, compared to 24 for the FJ40), and unquestionably the rarest variation of the series outside of Brazil (dozens of units compared to 1,000,000 combined FJ’s and BJ’s).
It was also the first vehicle ever produced by Toyota outside of Japan.
In order to fully understand its place in the pantheon of Great Vehicles; its legend & legacy; it is important to understand its time & place: the complex nation with whom its legacy is intrinsically intertwined, the ambitious young company that fostered and grew with it, and the rapidly evolving industry around it.
And like many heroes of lore, it’s important to understand its family.
The series was—and continues to be, decades after its production ended—akin to a highly celebrated & competitive family. Think “the Kardashians”, “the Balls”, or “the Starks”, but with 235/85/16’s & torque.
The legendary sibling rivalry includes nearly 100 models produced in multiple countries over the course of 42 years, and proud owners continue to line up behind their preferred offspring in pronouncement of the best, rarest, and most reliable.
Historically, the debate has centered around the two siblings whose footprint famously traveled the furthest geographically—and rightfully so: the FJ40 and BJ40 lineages each changed the world in a literal sense, and (especially in the case of the FJ) were exceedingly well-documented in the process.
Even the most fanatical J40 enthusiasts, however, are vaguely aware at best of the existence of a middle child whose hazy origins bely the noble build, performance, and reputation of the family tradition.
Like that most famous of “Starks”, the Bandeirante may not bare the (Land Cruiser) family name or pure (Toyota) blood, but family is family. And in the prodigious J40 family, there are FJ’s; there are BJ’s; and there are Bandeirantes.
Toyota’s J40 series is as close a thing to nobility as the automotive industry has ever known.
A Star is born
The FJ40
The FJ40 (1960-84) requires little introduction.
An unprecedentedly rugged, reliable petrol-fueled truck used by militaries, far-flung research teams, and safari operators the world over, the “Land Cruiser” ranks among history’s definitive all-terrain vehicles by nearly any measurement, selling over one million units worldwide (one of only 5 Toyota vehicles ever to do so) over 24 years and establishing Toyota as a true force in the global automotive industry.
If you’re reading this, there’s an excellent chance you’re familiar with the merits—or at least the reputation—of the FJ40. Less known is that Toyota quite literally built its brand & business around it. In the mid-1960s, with the then-fledgling automaker struggling to push its standard passenger fare internationally, a decision was made to double-down on the company’s newly minted off-brand Jeep in order to establish rapport with foreign buyers. In what would later be dubbed “The Land Cruiser Strategy”, Toyota systematically targeted the underserved global 4x4 market, filling export orders for “the world’s most reliable, durable, and unstoppable” vehicle (the FJ), then piggy-backed its reputation as an exceptional build in order to sell the company’s (also reliable, but objectively less sexy) Crown & Corolla models.
The Strategy was a huge success, and in two short decades the Land Cruiser helped Toyota transform from a nascent, domestic automaker into the world’s 2nd largest automotive manufacturer (also helpful: in 1974, the Corolla outpaced the VW Beettle to become the world’s best-selling vehicle).
Today, we know Toyota as one of the world’s most trusted brands, the highest-grossing automotive manufacturer on the planet, and the 6th largest corporation on earth in terms of revenue. We also know the Corolla as the best-selling vehicle of all time.
The FJ40 may have helped Toyota build its global empire, but the vehicle’s legacy in popular culture is hardly that of an empire-builder.
While Toyota ended production of its most prolific jeep more than 3 decades ago in order to make room for the more modern J60 & J70 series, the FJ40 has endured in the public consciousness for reasons that have little to do with market share, and everything to do with the unique and unparalleled experience it offered drivers.
Confidence, pride, nostalgia, and joy are the prevailing factors that have attracted drivers from three generations & counting to the J40 series. Its purposeful & utilitarian design has redefined what timelessness in the automotive world means, and the past decade has seen its popularity soar to levels not witnessed since the production years.
As affirmation, the price tag of the truck has become nearly as famous, with high-quality restorations in the U.S., Europe, and other developed markets today regularly commanding $65k - $90k via auction and private sale, and “resto-manufactured” versions by companies like The FJ Co & Icon starting base model pricing at $140k - $200k.
the young upstart
The BJ40
For all of the FJ’s success, it wasn’t the only J40 sibling to leave its mark on the world.
In 1974, with FJ40 production approaching full bloom (from 3,761 units exported in 1961 to 49,502 in ‘74), Toyota introduced what would become the most famous diesel offspring of the family: the BJ.
Not to be confused with the earlier, gasoline-fueled series of the same name (produced from 1951-55 and thus pre-dating the Land Cruiser moniker), the BJ40 featured a series of Toyota-made “B” diesel engines, and was intended primarily for the domestic Japanese market, where the new 3.0L engine placed it in a lower tax category than the 3.9L petrol version; and for export markets where the price of gasoline was prohibitive.
The BJ40 was relatively short-lived (it was discontinued along with the FJ just 10 years later), but it was an unequivocal success during its decade of production, boosting Toyota’s global influence in some of the most remote locations on the planet to the tune of some 70,000 units. While less celebrated than the FJ today and less pursued by big name restoration shops in the U.S., high-quality BJ restorations still command a premium, often fetching upwards of $60k in developed markets.
The Prodigal son
The Bandeirante
The Bandy:
the prodigal son
The first thing you notice about the Bandeirante is how similar it looks to a Land Cruiser.
The tall & proud stance, iconic pill-shaped grille, tank-like all-steel body, austere controls, and trademark white “lid” are all as they should be; the deceivingly short wheel base and deceivingly high roof imparting the Land Cruiser’s famous kinetic presence. A closer inspection reveals a handful of subtle, curious differences: stamped body paneling (introduced in the 1970s as a defense against engine vibration), a full-swing rear door (as opposed to the hatchback and ambulance doors featured on early and later FJ40s, respectively), and, of course, the word “Bandeirante” occupying the front hood space usually reserved for “Land Cruiser”.
Still, the similarities far outweigh the differences—you might be looking at a rare or specialized Land Cruiser, but you’d swear it was a Land Cruiser nonetheless. Then you turn the key, and everything becomes a little less clear.
If the FJ is the venerable eldest brother of the j40 family, and the bj the young upstart who followed in his brother’s footsteps, the bandeirante is the prodigal son: a rumored middle child born in a far-off land who, unbeknownst to the outside world, became a legend to an entire nation & remained unheard of for 50 years. but prodigal sons find a way home.
The first Land Cruisers arrived in Brazil in May of 1959.
They were FJ25s, precursors of the J40 series, and they arrived at the port in boxes. Known as “complete knock-downs” (CKD’s), the FJs were assembled at Toyota of Brazil’s makeshift facility (on loan from Rover) in Ipiranga, Sao Paulo, becoming the first Toyota vehicles ever assembled outside of Japan in the process, and the first of an entire generation of Land Cruisers to be placed in direct competition with the Jeep Willys (Brazil’s only other 4x4 passenger vehicle at the time).
Featuring the 6-cylinder petrol “F” engine later made famous by the FJ40, the FJ25s were well-received in Brazil, but also victims of circumstance: in 1960, the Brazilian federal government successfully completed its decade-long efforts at sweeping reforms within the national automotive industry, requiring complete manufacturing with the country and halting assembly of the FJ25 just months after it had begun.
With the nationalization of the Brazilian automotive industry and a local competitor (Willys-Overland, which began local production in 1953) already producing at full speed, Toyota considered pulling out of Brazil altogether, leading to one of the great “what-if’s” of automotive history. Instead, it resolved to build a facility in Sao Bernardo.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Toyota was a relatively unknown company at the time,
churning out just 11,000 vehicles per month (including the CKD’s assembled in Brazil) at a single facility in Japan. In Brazil, they found an underserved market in need of a robust passenger vehicle. In Toyota, Brazil found an ambitious automaker willing to commit to the country for the long haul. And, in an unlikely and fortuitous twist of fate, in Mercedes-Benz, Toyota found a partner.
Legends are born from character & circumstance—the right person or thing, at the right place, at the right time—and so it was with the Bandeirante: a rugged vehicle built specifically for the daily grind of Brazilian miners & agricultural workers.
Promising “long years of profits” for its owners (imagine that!), Toyota went about constructing a vehicle to go places no other passenger vehicle could. Passengers called them tractors (the first Bandies featured tractor engines made by Mercedes-Benz). Owners called them godsends.
It’s difficult to imagine a J40 series vehicle—and a prolific one at that—remaining anonymous worldwide for 50 years, but there appears to be a simple explanation. Prior to 2018, Bandeirantes didn’t receive fanfare outside of Brazil not because (as the myth goes) they were inferior, more poorly manufactured (due, the myth continues, to poor local labor standards), the bastard of Toyota and Mercedes, but because they were designed, engineered, and destined specifically for Brazil. While FJ’s and BJ’s were produced in Japan, regardless of final destination, the nationalization of Brazil’s auto industry led Toyota to create its first-ever overseas manufacturing facility, Toyota do Brasil.
When it comes to the Bandeirante, few truths are known and myths are plenty. So we should start with facts.
There is a striking discrepancy in the a striking are myths persist neither should it be, as has been suggested (or inferred) time & again, anything less. In order to understand its place in the pantheon of Great Vehicles; its legend & legacy; it is important to understand the nation that with whom its legacy is intrinsically intertwined with, the young company that fostered & grew with it, and the vehicle, itself. The Bandeirante story is one about pioneers, a pair of partnerships for the ages, and the most enigmatic line of the J40 series.
It was also the first mass-produced diesel variation of the J40 series (predating the celebrated BJ40 version by 12 years), as well as the rarest (104,000 units produced vs 1,000,000 combined FJ’s and BJ’s).
It was also the first vehicle ever produced by Toyota outside of Japan.
Nomenclature is confusing.
As if the numbering & lettering of Toyota vehicles wasn’t confusing enough, Bandeirantes actually went by 2 initials during their 4-decade production: OJ & BJ.
Despite frequent miscategorization as “BJ’s” online in forums, blogs, long-form articles, and poetic Land Cruiser odes, from 1962-94 Toyota Bandeirantes were actually “OJs”—first, OJ40s, and later, OJ50s. They pre-dated BJ production by 12 years, outlasted it by 7, and (given the similarities between both series & the FJ) shared no unique likeness with the sibling outside of fuel preference.
In 1994, they received the 14B engine (as well as a 5spd transmission manufactured by Toyota Motor Company in Japan, among other things), becoming a new, unrelated strain of “BJ” in the process.
Prior to 2018 (when the first Bandeirante exports to the U.S. began in earnest), a handful of individuals online—none of whom purported to have even seen a Bandy in person, let alone owned or driven one—alluded to systemic quality control issues, a claim that appears baseless: not only were Bandies produced for 15 years longer than FJ’s, they accomplished this feat in a country with legendarily unforgiving roads, terrain, and climate, earning them a reputation for reliability & durability that has persisted for 20 years since their production ended. The market tells a similar story: taking into account the purchasing power parity (PPP) between Brazil and the developed world, national sales of original unrestored Bandeirantes continue to fetch prices on par with high-quality restorations in global markets.
Bandies are unique from their 40-series siblings in a number of ways, some trivial/stylistic and others significant. While over 1,000,000 Land Cruisers were produced worldwide over the course of 24 years, just 104,000 Bandeirantes were produced over the course of 42, making them the rarest version of the series. Consider how precious few of them have been exported (partially the product of ongoing demand for the vehicles in Brazil, where they continue to be serviced and used for a variety of applications) and the discrepancy grows exponentially.
Of all of the fascinating things about the Bandeirante, the most striking thing of all may be how little information about them is out there.
Digging into the research, one would be forgiven for thinking that the Brazilian government (known at times throughout history for near-masochistic levels of isolationism & market regulation) had placed some sort of gag order on Toyota do Brazil, the wholly-owned Toyota subsidiary that produced the full Bandeirante lineage from May 1962- November 2001. Whether searching in English or Portuguese, the questions are often the same: Were Bandies “real” J40 series vehicles or knock-offs? Were they BJs? How many models and vehicles were produced, and what were the specifications? Were they available outside of Brazil? What is an OM-314 engine? An OM-364? And what was the original engine it was equipped with? (Answers: they were real J40 series vehicles; they were BJs from 1994-2001 only; 40 models and 103,750 vehicles were produced; yes, they could be exported from Brazil; the OM-314 was a
revolutionary Mercedes-Benz 4-cylinder; the OM-364 was the most advanced 4-cylinder diesel engine in the world upon its release; the original engine was the OM-324.)
For a vehicle bearing the likeness, performance, and reputation of a Land Cruiser, it is a bit mind-boggling how little information is Googlable. In a particularly curious twist, even Toyota itself appears to be complicit at times in omitting the Bandy lineage, despite dedicating a significant amount of ink to the landmark vehicle in its company history.
The lack of information available at our fingertips confirms the obvious: the Bandeirante was not a world beater. But it doesn’t answer why.
The Bandy:
the prodigal son
The roads of the Brazilian backcountry are plagued by lombadas & potholes the size of craters. This is another fact.
A lombada, for those who have never traveled through the Brazilian backcountry (and we strongly recommend you do), is a speedbump typically made of concrete, typically between 3-8” tall, typically located where you least expect—or, at least, most dread—it. In a country where respect the law, lombadas are a logical choice. Cheaper than stop lights, more effective than stop signs, hands-free policing. In provincial cities, you might have more lombadas on a given avenue than vehicles.
You would never imagine finding them in the backcountry dirt roads. But this is Brazil, where somewhere between 5-12% of all roads are paved. So dirt road lombadas are a thing.
One can only imagine the conditions of the roads in 1958, when Toyota first began exporting its J15 and, later, J25 models to the South American giant for in-country assembly. The rugged … that later came to define the series… was the perfect solution for a country whose roads were wildly unpredictable and brutally unforgiving.
legendary continue to be highly sought out by Brazilian truckers and ranchers today, nearly 2 decades after the final model was produced.
Rugged, dependable, and ever-pleasing to the eye, “Bandies” of all years are coveted for their all-steel frames, no-nonsense mechanics, endless torque, and long-lasting and economic diesel engines.
A well-kept secret outside of Brazil throughout most of their production, the past decade has bore witness to their discovery by collectors, off-roaders, and overlanders in Brazil, Europe, Japan, and Australia. In the U.S., however, Bandeirantes remain strikingly absent, especially when compared with their popular gasoline-fueled sibling, the FJ40.
The history of the FJ is exceedingly well documented online, likely the product (or consequence) of the recent attention the vehicle has commanded in the U.S. and European markets. The lack of information about the Bandeirante—its engine types, transmissions, differences from other 40-series models, etc.—is almost as alarming as the amount of misinformation about it. Even the nomenclature (OJ50, OJ55) sets it apart from the FJ and BJ series, with O representing the unique partnership with Mercedes 300-series diesel engines (OM-324, -314, -364) and the 50 an apparent