Family Owned Toyota Land Cruiser Restoration Shop Serving All of California
Looking for a Toyota Land Cruiser restoration shop near you in California? You found us. We’re Land Cruiser Restorations, a family owned shop based in Belle Plaine, Kansas, and California is the single biggest market we serve. Has been for over 20 years. From San Diego to San Francisco, Los Angeles to Sacramento, the Bay Area to the Inland Empire, we’ve built, restored, and delivered Toyota Land Cruisers to clients in every corner of the state. Distance has never been a barrier between a California buyer and a great build, and we’ve spent two decades proving it.
Why California Land Cruiser Owners Choose Us
California and Toyota Land Cruisers go together like nothing else. The Sierra Nevada, the Pacific Coast Highway, Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Big Sur, the Lost Coast, the Mojave, the Sequoias, the redwoods up north, the canyons down south. Every kind of terrain a Land Cruiser was built for is somewhere within a day’s drive of where you live. California Cruiser owners know this, and they know exactly what they want in a build.
That’s why so many of them come to us. We don’t dabble in Land Cruisers, we specialize in them. Every single build that leaves our shop is a Toyota Land Cruiser, every single time. Two decades of doing nothing but FJ40, FJ55, FJ60, FJ62, FJ70, FJ80, 100 Series, and 200 Series restorations means we’ve seen every problem these trucks can have and solved every one of them. There’s no learning curve in our shop. Just experience.
Hassle-Free Transport to and from Anywhere in California
Here’s where we separate ourselves from every California shop competing for your business. We handle every bit of the transport for you, at no cost, both directions. San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Riverside, San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Fresno, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, anywhere in California, we come to you. Your truck gets picked up at your door and delivered back to your door when the build is complete. You don’t drive your Land Cruiser anywhere, you don’t coordinate carriers, you don’t pay a transport bill.
We use licensed and insured carriers and arrange both open and enclosed transport depending on the truck and your preference. Running or non-running is no problem. Our carriers can handle a Cruiser that’s fully operational or one that hasn’t moved in years. The geography of where you live has zero impact on what we can do for you. Learn more on our Nationwide Service page.
California Cruisers Are Some of the Best Starting Points in the Country
California is more than just our biggest market. It’s also one of our most important sourcing regions in the entire country. California doesn’t use road salt the way states in the Northeast and Midwest do, and that makes a massive difference on a truck that’s been sitting for decades. California cruisers are typically rust-free where it matters most, the frame, the floors, the rockers. When you start with a clean California foundation, more of your budget goes into the build itself and less into structural repair.
There is one area we do see rust on California cruisers fairly regularly, around the top of the truck and the rain gutters, typically from sun exposure and coastal moisture over the years. We’ve repaired that area more times than we can count. It’s a known fix, we do it well, and it’s never a dealbreaker. A little surface rust at the top of an otherwise solid California truck is a small price to pay for everything clean underneath.
Cities We Serve in California
We serve clients across the entire state. Here are the California cities we work with most:
Los Angeles, our most requested California market. LA Land Cruiser buyers know exactly what they want and we know how to build it. From Malibu and Pacific Palisades to Pasadena and the San Fernando Valley, we’ve built for them all.
San Diego, coastal climate, great trucks, and access to Baja adventures that demand a properly built Cruiser. From La Jolla to Carlsbad to Coronado, San Diego is one of our top markets.
San Francisco, Bay Area buyers with access to the Sierra Nevada, the coastal ranges, and some of the best driving in Northern California.
San Jose, Silicon Valley Land Cruiser enthusiasts who want the best build money can buy and the access to the Santa Cruz Mountains to use it.
Sacramento, gateway to the Sierra Nevada and the gold country back roads of Northern California.
Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Riverside, San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Oakland, Berkeley, Santa Rosa, Napa, Sonoma, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe, anywhere in California, we serve you. Call or text us at 316-633-9902 and we’ll get the conversation started.
What We Build
We specialize in full Toyota Land Cruiser restorations and custom builds across the entire lineup. Factory correct restorations, LS V8 conversions, custom builds, overland rigs ready for the Sierra Nevada and the Mojave, we’ve done it all and we do it right.
One of our most popular builds for California clients is the full restomod with a Chevy 6.2 V8 paired with the 6L80E six speed transmission. We retain the factory transfer case, update the suspension for roughly 2.5 inches of lift, and handle everything from a custom exhaust and wiring harness to new fuel lines, cooling system, and professional tuning. The result is a Toyota Land Cruiser with modern power, modern reliability, and the classic looks California owners love. For clients who want to keep the original engine, we install the Howell EFI fuel injection system, which transforms a carbureted FJ into a far more reliable everyday driver.
Every build is handled in house from start to finish, drivetrain, suspension, brakes, electrical, interior, and paint, and road tested before it ever leaves our shop. Browse our current available Land Cruisers or check out the recently sold gallery to see the caliber of work that goes out our doors.
Don't Have a Land Cruiser Yet? We'll Find One.
Not every California client comes to us with a truck already in hand. That’s where being one of the largest Toyota Land Cruiser restoration shops in the country pays off. We actively source rust-free Toyota Land Cruisers worthy of restoration, and California is one of the best places in the country to find them. We know what to look for, we know how to evaluate a candidate, and we know how to spot the trucks that look great in the listing photos but won’t hold up to a proper inspection. Tell us what series you want, what specs you’re after, and what budget you’re working with, and we’ll track one down.
Why We're Different From Other California Land Cruiser Shops
There are a few Toyota Land Cruiser shops scattered around California, and most of them do good work. We’re not here to knock anyone. But there are some real differences worth knowing about before you decide where to send your truck.
The shop is family owned and family operated. When you call or email, you’re talking to Jim, Jesse, or Amber, real people who answer their own phones. The people on the other end of the line are the same people building your Cruiser.
Build to Suit is something we mean literally. There’s no preset package and no pricing tier you have to fit yourself into. Every Toyota Land Cruiser that comes through our shop is built around your exact vision, your color, your interior, your performance specs, your timeline, and your budget. You tell us what you want and we build it.
Free nationwide transport is the other piece that sets us apart. Most California shops either don’t ship or charge you for it, and California transport bills add up fast. We pick up your truck at your California address and bring it back when the build is complete, both directions, at no cost. That alone can save California clients thousands of dollars before the first wrench is turned.
A Family Business That Treats You Like One
Land Cruiser Restorations is owned and operated by James Sheppard and his family. When you call or email us you’re talking to Jim, Jesse, or Amber, real people who know these trucks inside and out and genuinely care about getting your build right. No answering machines, no automated systems, no sales tricks. You’ll get photos of your build along the way, straight answers to your questions, and a finished Toyota Land Cruiser we’re proud to put our name on.
California clients have trusted us with their Land Cruisers for over two decades. We’d love to earn yours.
Call or text us at 316-633-9902 or 316-992-5986 or email info@landcruiserrestorations.com to talk about your California Toyota Land Cruiser restoration.
