whitey45
SILVER Star
Nice,fun m3,alot more fun to drive than a 45!Been a bmw tech for 20 years,let me know if you need anything!
1965 fj 45 lwb (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Ironmanfj45
- Start date
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Hi all,
I want to finally post on this thread that my experience with purchasing the truck from Jim was a great opportunity to start a new project, and also a chance to meet a terrific person in Jim. He is one of those people who set an example I hope to be like. The Dude Abides.....One day maybe they'll allow old 45s on the track at Willow Springs, like in my past racing days...who knows? We coordinated many things to make it a smooth transition...Heck, even our dogs got along well! I made a committment to finish this truck by Labor Day weekend, this year and hope to share another few cold ones with the Ironman. When I get more opportunities, I will figure out how to post pictures of the build.
Double Cheers,
I want to finally post on this thread that my experience with purchasing the truck from Jim was a great opportunity to start a new project, and also a chance to meet a terrific person in Jim. He is one of those people who set an example I hope to be like. The Dude Abides.....One day maybe they'll allow old 45s on the track at Willow Springs, like in my past racing days...who knows? We coordinated many things to make it a smooth transition...Heck, even our dogs got along well! I made a committment to finish this truck by Labor Day weekend, this year and hope to share another few cold ones with the Ironman. When I get more opportunities, I will figure out how to post pictures of the build.
Double Cheers,
- Thread starter
- #23
No worries Rob, anytime my friend.
Nice,fun m3,alot more fun to drive than a 45!Been a bmw tech for 20 years,let me know if you need anything!
That's sweet, my son just got a job as a Tech at Murrieta BMW after working for quite a while for Beverly Hills BMW. What a small world.
This was not only a smooth transaction but we had a lot of fun doing it together.
On another note, the buyer did not want the drive train, so if anyone is interested please let me know. I would like to sell it as one package which includes the 350-4 bolt main, rebuilt Turbo 400 trans and the new Orion transfer case. Price $2000.
Cheers,
Jim
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #25
I replied to your PM.
Cheers,
Jim
Cheers,
Jim
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Dredging up an old thread here. I don't know why it didn't sink in when Joseph first told me he'd bought this truck, but it didn't. Fast forward four years, and I guess it's been thru a lot. Joseph showed up here yesterday to have a rebuilt carb installed and tuned with his engine. He can fill you in on the details, but from what I gathered, its made the rounds, from JIm Dickey's to George and Mudrak. Looks pretty cool, and has some cool spec'd stuff on it. Maybe he'll come out of lurk mode and tell you more
Some of the adventures in rebuilding the truck were bead blasting and re-plating small parts like the tailgate hinges and chains; disassembling the doors (getting a locksmith to repair my driver door cylinder and keying it!) Really there have been about 9 people that either helped me in the rebuild, or made things worse, but in all I enjoyed the buildup of the 45, just as much as the green 74 FJ40.....
2Fmotor, 4 speed and Tcase came out of FJ60 that rolled on black ice in Mammoth (no one injured) Jim Dickey helped me get it all to his shop in LA....and after much cussing, grinding, more cussiing and also learning that twin sticks on a Tcase are not needed to get 2Low.....Many meals together with Jim and his wife, she has since passed on....
Discovered the frame was bent and that meant wrangling the rolling chassis to another shop on a Saturday morning and, $250 and a case of beer later, the frame was back in spec. Later that week, the frame and axles were blasted clean and painted with POR15....phone that had pictures of the chassis hoisted vertical with a forklift while being painted in a completely unsafe manner is somewhere in the Pacific.....
Bringing the project back to Orange I was getting the seats reupholstered and rebuilding the window cranks, I accidentally grounded a loose headlight wire on the block and cooked a portion of the harness......a good friend of mine Mike Beck has rewired a few vintage racecars including a 1955 Testarossa. He was kind enough to emerge from his Silverado Canyon bunker to my rescue and TOLD ME he would not do it for me, but instruct me how to effen rescue my roasted harness, & re-wrap my effen wiring.... Thanks Mike!
Late September 2012, the truck was road worthy and I had an opportunity to move to a beautiful rural property in Sheldon, east of Sacramento on 5 acres.....that following winter I pulled many eucalyptus trunks and honed my chain saw skills, and also got the truck stuck in greasy Sacramento mud up to the doors..... Finally met Georg at Valley hybrids and got a set of steelies and a 3 inch Alcan lift done.....to stay out of the deep mud of course!
2 cracked aluminum Champion radiators encouraged me to order a beefy brass radiator from Mark's Offroad, back in LA, which I promptly installed while my truck was stuck in a BART parking structure over a weekend
Summer of 2015, Gary's shop in Sonoma fabricated full length rock sliders, and Mudrak himself rebuilt the front axle, got the ancient ARB to function again, installed a compressor and rear ARB and upgraded rear axles to fine splines....I asked him to design and install front seat belts and a mounting bracket inside the cab......Their tube-bending and attention to detail is flawless work! also had the steelies and tall skinny tires, 're-adjusted'... The wheel centers were cut and shipped to Stockton Wheel, where they were made into 16x10 with the correct offset; it took some time, but the results are what is shown in Mark's photo above...
Next adjustment will be a 6 inch Alcan springs lift and potentially re-doing the power steering mounting and welding at Mudrak's just in time for wheeling season! To date, I have put close to 11,500 miles on the truck and I ain't done yet!
2Fmotor, 4 speed and Tcase came out of FJ60 that rolled on black ice in Mammoth (no one injured) Jim Dickey helped me get it all to his shop in LA....and after much cussing, grinding, more cussiing and also learning that twin sticks on a Tcase are not needed to get 2Low.....Many meals together with Jim and his wife, she has since passed on....
Discovered the frame was bent and that meant wrangling the rolling chassis to another shop on a Saturday morning and, $250 and a case of beer later, the frame was back in spec. Later that week, the frame and axles were blasted clean and painted with POR15....phone that had pictures of the chassis hoisted vertical with a forklift while being painted in a completely unsafe manner is somewhere in the Pacific.....
Bringing the project back to Orange I was getting the seats reupholstered and rebuilding the window cranks, I accidentally grounded a loose headlight wire on the block and cooked a portion of the harness......a good friend of mine Mike Beck has rewired a few vintage racecars including a 1955 Testarossa. He was kind enough to emerge from his Silverado Canyon bunker to my rescue and TOLD ME he would not do it for me, but instruct me how to effen rescue my roasted harness, & re-wrap my effen wiring.... Thanks Mike!
Late September 2012, the truck was road worthy and I had an opportunity to move to a beautiful rural property in Sheldon, east of Sacramento on 5 acres.....that following winter I pulled many eucalyptus trunks and honed my chain saw skills, and also got the truck stuck in greasy Sacramento mud up to the doors..... Finally met Georg at Valley hybrids and got a set of steelies and a 3 inch Alcan lift done.....to stay out of the deep mud of course!
2 cracked aluminum Champion radiators encouraged me to order a beefy brass radiator from Mark's Offroad, back in LA, which I promptly installed while my truck was stuck in a BART parking structure over a weekend
Summer of 2015, Gary's shop in Sonoma fabricated full length rock sliders, and Mudrak himself rebuilt the front axle, got the ancient ARB to function again, installed a compressor and rear ARB and upgraded rear axles to fine splines....I asked him to design and install front seat belts and a mounting bracket inside the cab......Their tube-bending and attention to detail is flawless work! also had the steelies and tall skinny tires, 're-adjusted'... The wheel centers were cut and shipped to Stockton Wheel, where they were made into 16x10 with the correct offset; it took some time, but the results are what is shown in Mark's photo above...
Next adjustment will be a 6 inch Alcan springs lift and potentially re-doing the power steering mounting and welding at Mudrak's just in time for wheeling season! To date, I have put close to 11,500 miles on the truck and I ain't done yet!
Living in the Past
SILVER Star
Have a few questions. How is the later windshield (75-77?) attached to top? Appears to have a later cowl with the stamped outside air louver the heater. Is that correct? Any fitment problems with the floor? With the split transfer case how did you address the hand brake? On the T case or axle. These are things I did to address on my own 45.
That Ho sure has a nice rack , great looking truck .
The later windshield (yes I miss overhead wipers) is attached the standard way with the four cam pressure clamps from the roofcap. I got tired of waiting for a reproduction windshield top gasket so I made one from Garage door lower weather stripping (the thin part was carefully cut and I used a few drops of gorilla glue here and there - works excellent and no whistling from the wind...
The whole front cowl is a 76 front end that was mated to get the power brake booster; all done in the mid eighties by a PO who owned a body shop in LA. Since I went with a 4 speed, I already had plenty of practice in fabricating a airtight tranny hump from my work on the FJ40 with Mark Algazy. I spent all me dough on new double cardan driveshafts and in order to get on the road for my deadline to go North, I ended up using a front axle Line-Lock for my parking brake.
Living in the Past
SILVER Star
Did you install fixed nuts for the four catches along the top of the windshield? Have a idea of how to fish four plates with threaded holes in without doing anymore then drilling the eight holes.
Morning, Can you post some photos of the interior of the windshield frame? I'm at that point of altering a late model or cleaning up a rusty original windshield frame for my '66 45. Thanks in advance!
Your idea is interesting, and I believe the PO with the body shop may have done that
I do me best to post pictures in a couple days. PM me if youre available to meetup
Rood cap clamps were disassembled and powder coated along with the roof
My improvised windshield gasket is that thin strip above the wiring loom. Does the job well
My improvised windshield gasket is that thin strip above the wiring loom. Does the job well
- Thread starter
- #35
Hi Joseph,
It's been a few years so I thought that I would check in. It looks like you have done great things with the old truck. I am so happy that you ended up with it. This is one of those keepers that I let get away but it is obvious that it went to the right guy!
Cheers,
Jim
It's been a few years so I thought that I would check in. It looks like you have done great things with the old truck. I am so happy that you ended up with it. This is one of those keepers that I let get away but it is obvious that it went to the right guy!
Cheers,
Jim
