1977 TOYOTA FJ40 LAND CRUISER

The Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser is one of those iconic 4x4s that holds a place alongside the Willys Jeep and the Land Rover Series I in the hallowed, slightly muddy halls of the off-road vehicle hall of fame.

Toyota first started making 4x4s in 1941 when the Imperial Japanese Army found an old Bantam Mk II, they quickly realised the strategic value that such a vehicle could afford them and so they sent it off to Japan to be copied. Later in the war the Japanese came across an American Bantam GP and sent that back to Japan to be reverse engineered as well, this would become the Toyota AK10 and would set the stage for Japan’s foray into the world of 4×4 production.

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In 1960 Toyota would release the J40, often referred to as the FJ40 due to the engine being an F-series unit. This new 4×4 was designed to take on the Land Rover and the Jeeps that were dominating the market from Africa to Australia.

By the time the FJ40 was retired in 1984 Toyota had earned itself a significant chunk of market share and cemented the brand into the minds of consumers as a reliable, tough and desert-ready 4×4.

The pristine FJ40 you see here has been fully restored to almost concours condition – in fact it’s probably in better shape now that it was when it left the factory in 1977. If you’d like to take it out for spin you’ll need to make your way to the Arizona Sale held by RM Auctions on the 16th of January 2014 – click here for further details.

via SILODROME

BIMOTA DB3 BY ANALOG MOTORCYCLES

Amidst the beauty parade of BMWs, Hondas and Triumphs, it’s good to see a more obscure marque getting a custom makeover. And before you recoil in horror at the thought of a Bimota going under the knife, rest assured that the donor bike was probably the ugliest machine to come out of Bimota’s Rimini factory—the mid-90s DB3 Mantra.

‘DB3.5’ is the work of Tony Prust of Analog Motorcycles, with help from co-conspirator Mike Ardito. And mighty fine it is too. The oddball bodywork is gone, and the mechanicals have been upgraded with high-spec components to make it even more exhilarating to ride.

The Ducati M900 motor has been rebuilt by Ducati Milwaukee, and fitted with a later-model oil cooler to keep temperatures down. It’s now fed by Keihin FCR carbs with velocity stacks to boost power, with gases exiting via a very discreet custom exhaust—complete with a classy ceramic coating from Hytek Coatings.

Swedish brake specialists ISR were called in to help haul this projectile to a stop, with custom-made 320mm rotors up front and adjustable radial master cylinders. The wheels are 17” Alpinas front and back, with custom spacers, and shod with Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tires. The finishing touches include custom HEL brake lines, newly-fabricated Analog belt guards, and an EVR slipper clutch and slave cylinder.

To ensure the Show matches the Go, Tony and Mark created all-new bodywork, with a new rear subframe to keep things tidy. The new aluminum tank is the highlight, and everything is finished in a subtle shade of gray applied by Crown Autobody.

It’s the bike that Bimota themselves should have built 17 years ago: a high-performance naked with a stripped-back style and timeless appeal. It’s also just been showcased in the latest episode of Cafe Racer TV; if you didn’t catch it, head over to the Analog Motorcycles website for more details and the lowdown on Tony Prust’s other wonderful builds.

from BIKEEXIF

LE CALENDRIER PIRELLI 2014 SE DÉVOILE, UN INÉDIT SIGNÉ HELMUT NEWTON

Pour marquer son 50ème anniversaire, le calendrier de la marque de pneumatiques italienne Pirelli dévoile dans son édition 2014 une série de 12 clichés inédits shootés par le photographe de mode Helmut Newton, en 1986. 

1933 MORGAN THREE-WHEELER

This 1933 Morgan Three-Wheeler is one of the nicer surviving examples of the early Morgans, it’s powered by a water-cooled Matchless engine with a capacity of 998cc and a horsepower rating of 32. This modest power is fed to the single rear wheel via a 3-speed transmission and although it might not sound like much, the car actually gets up a decent pace on twisty British B-roads due to its relatively light weight of just 470kgs.

It isn’t widely known that the Morgan Motor Company started life producing three-wheelers – it all started when H.F.S. Morgan designed a simple three-wheeled car for his own use, his little car won him so much attention that he decided that there might be a market to sell them so he set about starting a company and producing two introductory models – a single-seater and a two-seater.

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Morgan first showed his new prototypes to the public at the 1911 Olympia Motor Exhibition to much public acclaim, he was convinced by those he spoke to to forget about the single-seat variant and focus his attention on the two-seater – which he did with much success from 1911 until the outbreak of WWII in 1939.

Although the three-wheeled layout may look a little odd, it was actually designed to get around British tax law, as a three-wheeled vehicle it was classed as a “cyclecar” and as a result it wasn’t affected by tax laws aimed at cars. Interestingly, over 102 years later the Morgan Three-Wheeler is still classed as a motorcycle and Morgan recently started making them again, albeit a much newer, updated version.

If you’d like to take the Matchless-powered Morgan Three-Wheeler you see here out for a drive, you’ll need to make your way to the Auktion 100 Klassische Automobile & Motorräder on the 30th of November and take your wallet – these cyclecars are going up in value at a startling rate.

via SILODROME