'Nuther FJ45LV resto thread, '67 Central American model!

cruiser_guy · 04-21-08, 07:06 PM

I got a later model BJ40 firewall at the wreckers in Honduras this past weekend. I hacked out the old pedal bucket (it's spot welded in where the signal lights are in the dash). I got the new pedal bucket out of the old BJ40 firewall. When I try to get it into place in my truck the pedal bucket hits the drivers side window defrost vent. I'll cut the firewall once I know where the pedal bucket lines up. I'm retaining the old steering column for looks so I'm just doing the booster/clutch section and the crooked support to clear the booster.

Have any other folks doing FJ45LV resto's with the newer pedal bucket/booster setup run into this? I don't want to loose the vent as it's handy if it's humid and the windows fog over. I imagine that the pipe can be cut and moved. Post photos of what you have done.

cruiser_guy · 04-24-08, 05:01 PM

As mentioned earlier, I'm getting ready to do the firewall swap as per Toyota Trails in Jan/Feb. 2008. I am only doing a partial swap as I want to retain my old steering column for the authentic look. Here's a few photos of the uncut firewall, the firewall with only the old clutch and brake mounts cut out and finally a photo of the BJ40 firewall section held in place with a welding clamp. I think the brake master must have leaked at the wreckers before I got this firewall section. All the bolts in it came out just fine.

I'll be sandblasting the new section tomorrow in preparation for welding so it will be rust free.

Can anyone see any problems with this before I commit to welding it up in the next day or two? Is it normal for the old strengthening piece and the new one to be so far apart? You can see the location where the old strengthener was and where the new one is. They are a good inch or more different!

Kief · 04-24-08, 07:11 PM

Looks good, I don't see a problem. Especially considering the ga. of the lv sheet metal vs. the donor vehicle. I think the original stiffener was smack dab in the middle of the old school brake and clutch masters because that just made sense.. Lookin' good. Sent you a PM too.

cruiser_guy · 04-29-08, 07:07 PM

I sandblasted the BJ40 firewall section and most all the rust disappeared! I saved the old steering mount area and cut out the old brake and clutch areas as well as the accelerator location in favor of the BJ40 accelerator. I welded the BJ40 section in on both sides. Tomorrow I'll be cleaning off the smoke stains and slag from the welding with the flap disc and giving the sheet metal a coat of primer for protection till we're ready for paint. I'll still need to patch the dimmer switch location and move it slightly as the new stiffener runs over the edge of the dimmer location.

This was not the big job that I was afraid it would be so I am glad I went this way.

mel lowe · 04-29-08, 07:54 PM

Results look great.

bj40man · 04-29-08, 11:00 PM

I like it!! Looks very professional.

Those guys in Honduras must be real good at getting you the stuff you need!

Cheers!

cruiser_guy · 04-30-08, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bj40man

Those guys in Honduras must be real good at getting you the stuff you need!

I'll need to be sure to tell them how much I appreciate it

cruiser_guy · 05-05-08, 08:00 PM

I had to get the body and chassis back together for the summer holidays here at school (rainy season), so I took the opportunity to make up the turbo down pipe. I modelled it after an MR2 pipe that I had hoped would work. Like all 3B turbo's, the down pipe passes quite close to the firewall after it exits the turbo.

merbesfield · 05-05-08, 08:11 PM

Looks great. It looks like you were able to keep the entire stiffener from the donor? I wish I had thought of that. Did you do anything special to check the alignment with the steering setup before welding it back together or did it all line up pretty easily? I was wondering if the body needs to be on the frame before sectioning in the new panel?

missipboy · 05-05-08, 08:13 PM

looking good. i decided against the firewall swap just to keep the old steering wheel. never dawned on me to just swap out the brake and clutch area. my firewall already has por15 on it, so no going back now. oh well. keep it up.

cruiser_guy · 05-06-08, 07:19 AM

I bolted in the pedal bucket temporarily and separate from the firewall section. Then I aligned the firewall section to where the pedal bucket was. The steering and all that aligned very easily so far (though I have not installed everything yet.

I did the firewall swap with the body off the frame and laying on it's side (I don't have a rotisserie like some of you).

The old stiffener had broken from metal fatigue so I decided a new one would be best. It ended up about an inch or two offset from the old stiffener.

cruiser_guy · 09-07-08, 07:03 PM

Well I'm back in Guatemala after the summer break. I picked up a few parts on the trip north but unfortunately no LV sheet metal. I guess I'll need to fab up whatever I need as I get to it.

Right now there is no auto shop, there were more kids for wood shop than auto shop so we're doing wood shop. That means work on the LV is up to me alone. I'm working on the battery trays right now. They have been sandblasted and will be mounted to the frame sometime this week. I got them off of a wrecked BJ40 in the wreckers so I have the dual battery setup as stock! After that we'll be getting the throttle linkage all worked out and the turbo piping completed. Then it will be back to body work.

cruiser_guy · 09-30-08, 06:40 PM

Some progress pics. I got the two battery trays and supports installed, the radiator is installed and braced as well as the hoses installed. I got the rotary 3B throttle linkage installed though the intake manifold doesn't have all the factory bosses on it. I'll be getting the winch head bolted on as well as the turbo crossover pipe and then it'll be back to bodywork. I can't separate the body and the chassis yet because we're still in rainy season and I have no covered area if they are both separated (only one can be in the shop at a time unless they are together).

cruiser_guy · 11-11-08, 04:26 PM

I've been mucking about on the LV in between getting a few things done on the FJ55. I decided to get the bumper somewhat straight and bolt it on to see how things line up. As you can see the fog light ends up behind the licence plate!

I don't want to turn the mount around and have the factory fog lights be the first thing to get hit out in front of the bumper. If I move them to the next hole over they are still obscured somewhat by the licence plate as well as they start to obscure the bib light and interfere with the tow hook and winch handle.

Ideas?

As I see it I either loose the fog lights or the winch. I may try mounting on the FJ55 but I expect I'll have the same issues there with the winch and licence plate.

I could no doubt make back what the lights cost on either E-Bay or the forum.

merbesfield · 11-11-08, 06:18 PM

I take it you have to have front license plates where you are? That is too bad, but if you are going to use the cruiser vs. have it as a show truck, you def. need the winch and the tow hook.

missipboy · 11-11-08, 06:44 PM

if i had to choose to lose one of the three, it would be the plate bracket. winch and lights are too cool and functional. make one of those removable plate brackets that clamps to the roller fairlead.

cruiser_guy · 11-11-08, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by merbesfield

I take it you have to have front license plates where you are? That is too bad, but if you are going to use the cruiser vs. have it as a show truck, you def. need the winch and the tow hook.

Yes, I need both front and rear plates here in Guatemala as well as back in British Columbia. I can't afford to have a "show truck". It will be used, maybe not as a rock crawler but it will be driven much like the FJ55 is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by missipboy

if i had to choose to lose one of the three, it would be the plate bracket. winch and lights are too cool and functional. make one of those removable plate brackets that clamps to the roller fairlead.

I'll give it some thought but I like the stock look. Do you have a link for the plate mount to the roller fairlead?

Awl_TEQ · 11-11-08, 07:29 PM

Put the plate on the other end of the bumper

But seriously, are you stuck on the stock type plate bracket? You could mount the plate any number of places. How about a mount across the vertical fairlead top bolts, maybe with a hinge. On road it hangs in front of the fairlead and off road flip it over to access the winch line. My first thought was to rotate the plate bracket and put the plate behind the light but it looks like it would not move it back far enough. Drill two holes and put the plate on the bumper face just about anywhere. Then send me the bracket.

oldfj40 · 11-11-08, 08:01 PM

On my '67 the front bumper has a licence plate mount in the center,right where your winch is,so you would still have a stock look as far as plate location goes.Of course,no plates were mounted to winches from the factory.I like the fairlead plate mount idea and figure you could make something up for easy access if you need to use the winch.
Did any LVs come equipt with everything you're putting on the front? If so,how did they have the plate mounted with the winch and fog lights on there?
The rig is looking good.

cruiser_guy · 11-12-08, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldfj40

On my '67 the front bumper has a licence plate mount in the center,right where your winch is,so you would still have a stock look as far as plate location goes.Of course,no plates were mounted to winches from the factory.I like the fairlead plate mount idea and figure you could make something up for easy access if you need to use the winch.
Did any LVs come equipt with everything you're putting on the front? If so,how did they have the plate mounted with the winch and fog lights on there?
The rig is looking good.

Steve, I believe that it was all available from the factory. The parts show up on my FJ45LV parts list but I imagine it was one of those things that if you have option "A" you can't have option "B" too. You can see on all '55 and '40/45 front bumpers that there are two stock locations for the licence plate, centered without the winch and off to the side with the winch.

fjwagon · 11-12-08, 04:48 PM

I like the stock look as well but if had to choose where to install the fog lamps, I would take in concideration where you are at and where you will be going after you get it running. With that being said, I would put a "cow catcher" or something that will protect the front end. And you can also slide the licence plate bracket a coulple of inches if you really have to. I know that is is not stock either but may be a more practical solution. If you go that route you will be a better able to protect the fog lamps. Just saying. Looks Good so far.

.

BC40 · 11-13-08, 02:36 PM

I would lower the licence plate so the the light shines over it. Basically make it so the bottom of the plate is flush with the bottom edge of the bumper. Use a simple peice of angle as the bracket. Wont look stock but it will be functional and out of the way of the light, tow hook and from getting snagged by branches.

cruiser_guy · 12-20-08, 09:45 PM

A little more work on the LV. Patching up the floor at the front seat brackets. These brackets were FULL of dirt and crap when I pulled them to fix the floor underneath.

I'll be rebuilding the crossbracing and repairing the seat mount in the next while.

Then it will be fixing the quarter panels and rear sill before I can remount the body to the chassis.

cruiser_guy · 01-07-09, 07:07 PM

Chopping out the rear sill in preparation for a replacement. I'm discovering that if the sill is bad you need to pull the rear quarters if you want to pull the entire sill out. It's a good thing that rear quarters are coming in soon! I'll need to get the sill replaced before putting in the new quarters though.

They sure like their bondo here in Central America! The rear quarters have been worked on before. One side had two layers of sheet metal and the other had three. Bondo was up to 1/2" thick on one side and 1/4" thick on the other!

By the time I've got the truck repaired it'll weigh about 1/2 what it does now due to a lack of bondo in 1/2" thick layers.

cruiser_guy · 08-19-09, 07:22 PM

I had a few questions on the engine and tranny mounting in this FJ45LV so here's some pictures. The mounts are taken from a BJ40. I've tried to make is as OEM looking as possible.

merbesfield · 08-20-09, 08:47 AM

Looks great.

Kief · 08-20-09, 06:28 PM

Muy bonita!

I just exhaust my spanish vocablulary..

cruiser_guy · 08-20-09, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kief

Muy bonita!

I just exhaust my spanish vocablulary..

My vocabulary is Un pocito mas mejor, pero no mucho!

mderrick · 08-28-09, 07:28 PM

charles do you know where i can find a 40 trans crossmember like yours ?

cruiser_guy · 08-28-09, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mderrick

charles do you know where i can find a 40 trans crossmember like yours ?

You can find them down here in Central America but they are for the BJ40 series (remember, my FJ45LV is now a BJ45LV

). The tranny crossmember (it's actually under the bellhousing) takes a different bellhousing than the FJ60/BJ60 does as the FJ60/BJ60 have the mount under the tranny. If you take a look at my FJ55 thread http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...guatemala.html you can see where I used a BJ/FJ60 tranny mount there (at least I think there's a picture in there somewhere).

Thanks to Mark, from Marks Off Road, I now have the correct steering box mount so I just finished rebuilding the OEM steering box. The later FJ40 box pushed the steering shaft up into the dash too hard for my liking, besides, other than the engine swap and disc brakes I'm looking for the 100% original look.

Next up, I'm going to replace the existing front axle that I had machined for the later seals with a later axle that already has the proper seal rebates and whatever.