Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry James the 47th
That grille is from an earlier 40 series, as is your bezel (and probably the bib). The '79 and later trucks came with a 3" or so strip of expanded metal lath with a little 14g. 'L'-section support across the top, attached directly to the rad support frame. These nearly always rust off. On my truck, that was the case, and I took an early model grill, sectioned the top 3" or so off it, and welded it to the radiator support frame. The early ones were much stouter and don't seem to rust out. If you're interested, check out my build thread (linked at the bottom) to see a couple of pictures of the grill fitting I did (page 28 or 29 of the thread)
Your truck originally came with factory fog lamps, a pretty rare option. The fog lamp switch and mounting bracket are fixed to the lower dash lip at the left of your steering wheel.
It also looks like you have the a/c condenser there, and the a/c in-cab unit. Is the rest of the a/c system in place? I didn't spot the compressor or the dryer receiver in your engine bay picture. Pretty rare and desirable if you have that set up. Let's see some more engine bay pics.
Any idea how many original km?
It's curious that the truck is a 1980 and has an early style dash, with the welded on windscreen securing brackets and no dash pad. Is the windshield washer nozzle on the hood or on the top of the windshield frame?
It's also odd that the valance below the windscreen has the air intake grill - this is not what you would normally see on a 1980 - in fact, I'm thinking early 1970's for the tub on this truck. Perhaps though it has something to do with the lack of a heater on Central American trucks???
It looks like someone has wired in a push button switch for your glow system activation. The little round device on your dash to the left of the steering wheel, which has a small mesh screen in front is the Glow Controller - it should glow a dull red when the glow plugs are being activated. Some of your other dash buttons (need a clearer picture) and lamps do not look stock.
The key places to check for rust, if you haven't already, are the foot wells, the rear lip of the tub at the rear door sill, and the underside of the upper valance at the bottom of the windscreen. your truck looks in decent shape body-wise, of course, you won't know until you strip it down how good it really is.
Looking forward to pictures of your progress with this build.
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Wow thanks for the info. Please keep it coming especially regarding my mystery dash switches. Now as to the items that you noted I was able to sand the paint soot etc off of the firewall plate. I tried to shoot a photo of it but the numbers are the same as the background just in relief . Here is the info:
TOYOTA MOTOR CO. LTD. JAPAN
MODEL: BJ40LV-KO
ENG: B
FRAME: BJ40-047640
COLOR TRIM (JAPANESE CHARACTERS)
681 LP11 C-18?
PLANT: H41-KO82
A11
36415 (JAPANESE CHARACTERS)
Per the Production code chart this means (assuming a tub/ frame match) that I have a B engine made on the J production line, 40 series hardtop with a left hand drive, 4 spd, ambulance doors and I think that the loose A11 means that it was meant for the North American market. Per the color and trim codes the rig was originally medium green offered on 40's from '81-83. Given the transmission engine combination, the H41 transmission with the B engine was offered on 40 series rigs in 1981 and not in the USA.
Given your observations I am now intensely interested in getting everything off the frame to see if the frame number matches the one listed on the factory body plate. I'm starting to think that the PO and DMV registration of this vehicle are off and that in fact this is an '81. A/C: The rest of the system seems to be in place and connected see pics below. Mileage: The odometer stopped at 198,298km. Windshield Washer nozzle: before I read your post I was cleaning out the rig and running basic safety checks when I noticed that the wipers worked but there is no washer system. Repeat no nozzle above or below the windshield and no washer fluid tank in the engine bay. As you correctly observed no heater either. This will have to go onto the to do list as I plan to take this rig back to the U.S. with me in 18 months when my tour is up and we do have winter. RUST: the lack of rust in these areas is what won me over to this truck vs. two others. Passenger front foot well three nickel sized rust holes. Drivers side: none but has bee repaired with sheet metal at some point ( all solid). No rust visible looking up from the underside at the drivers foot well. Air Vent/Washer Arm compartment under the windshield: no rust visible from the outside, minimal rust from the inside after I removed the covers. Rear door sill - no rust. On the exterior of the sill, facing out a quarter sized rust hole ( that is the largest one on the entire rig.) It would be great to find a regular owners manual for a 1980 BJ 40, that would help me decipher the dash at least.