nice 63 FJ40 score....

[landcruisnman]

Grabbed this 63 FJ40. It's VIN 2FJ4018104. Has a really clean tub with not much rust. Has an odd looking PTO. Interior not bad. Steering column chevy of some kind. Need to redo that. Has a sweet Denso Clamshell heater and some other goodies. Not missing much. Under the hood it's got a chevy 6cyl. I'd like to eventually put a Toyota motor in there. Did about 3 hours of power washing with my 8yr old son today. Pulled all the seats out. Got rid of the Hillbilly roll bar. Think I can salvage the seat frames and have them redone. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. Would like to update the brakes and motor. Keep the rest stockish. My 8yr old already wants it........I see a 7 year resto coming.

 

[landcruisnman]

Did some cleaning..

Looked a little better under the hood after some power washing..

 

[landcruisnman]

some goodies..

Need to take these off and see what kind of shape they're in...

 

[subzali]

You got a rare stamped bezel! Don't let anybody steal that!

Oh, and that steering box is probably scary...I'd take a closer look at that before trusting it too much. Can you post up more information about it?

Looks like a centered rear diff too - super old school! Nice find!

 

[psreno]

Centered rear diff, VIN starts with a 2...I think the title is wrong on the year by one. My '64 is the same way, (made in '63).

 

[Splangy]

That's a '62, my friend. The title isn't really wrong, they usually just sat on the lot for a year or two and were titled at the time of sale, in this case, 1963. Nice rare clam-shell heater! Looks like somebody chopped the high B-pillars to put a later top on at one point. You should sell it to me!

 

[psreno]

The (unconfirmed) story I heard was that in the early 60's, these trucks sat at the Port of Long Beach while they tried to figure out what a Toyota was

They didn't get titles until the dealers came to pick them up and knew what state they were going to.

Not to mention, Toyota's penchant for using all the parts of the previous year before swapping lines to the new year model certainly could be at work here.

Does it have the 12V generator? Or has someone already upgraded to an alternator?

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Clam Shell heater...stamped bezel...no Toyota emblem in the front grill...center diff...a 2 in front of the vin, and that is a rare, old 1962 Hardtop titled as a '63 for the exact reason Splangy and Psreno outlined...I've read that in the early years, some of these rigs sat on dealers lots for 1 to 2 years before being sold.

Do the doors have the slide up windows? Do you have no ashtray in the dash? Do you have the corrugated hardop for it with the rear bifold door? Too bad it doesn't have the original engine (the early models had the engine number stamped on the firewall vin tag...does the PO have it hidden somewhere? Are you sure it is a chevy 6?...the early F135 looked like a chevy engine...

This is obviously your truck to do as you please, but if I can voice an opinion, I would find another F135 to put back in under the hood if you do not have an F135 in it now, find a corrugated top, and properly restore it. These older rigs are getting pretty rare, and to modify it too much means making it more like every other rig, and losing it's originality. Just make sure to make it safe!

Either way, great save as that is a very cool rig, what ever you do, keep posting, and just enjoy the process with your son

PS...here is a pic of a 1962 hard top...very cool stock rigs

Edit:...you have more pics of the interior and engine bay?

 

[landcruisnman]

More pics

Here's some interior shots. Dash, knobs, Denso heater........

 

[landcruisnman]

MOre shots.

Heater...closeup

 

[landcruisnman]

PTO....anyone seen one of these..

Looks like a Ramsey winch. Mounts behind TC and the winch says "PERMITE" on it. Is there only 1 ID tag on the firewall in these years and the VIN on the frame? I can't find a build date..

 

[landcruisnman]

couple more shots..

Some random shots

 

[gisham]

awesome!

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Love the heater!!

Interesting to see the ashtray...so late '62 - '63 ???

 

[Splangy]

This is obviously your truck to do as you please, but if I can voice an opinion, I would find another F135 to put back in under the hood if you do not have an F135 in it now, find a corrugated top, and properly restore it. These older rigs are getting pretty rare, and to modify it too much means making it more like every other rig, and losing it's originality. Just make sure to make it safe!

X2. I hate seeing early cruisers chopped up and built to be like a 70's cruiser when a 70's cruiser could have been purchased for that reason! I love seeing these old rigs properly restored, as they're not really built (or safe) to be hardcore wheelers or daily drivers!

 

[Living in the Past]

Ashtray and defrost vents in the windshield started mid 62. Those turn signal started with the 63s. So looks like a 63 But I guessing late 63. windshield latch in stead of bolting were 64. Lower B pillars were also 64. But the angle tool box under the the driver's seat and stamped bezel were 63.

Curious which transmission you have. Shifter rods attached to a top plate (later) or two post off the side (early)? Picture of the rear sill and tail lights?

 

[pavieSD]

Pat, Congrats on the new FJ40. I'm still enjoying your tan '71 FJ40 that I bought from you a few years back. I'd love to head up sometime and check it out the new FJ40 person. Cheers!

-Mark

 

[landcruisnman]

I will not be chopping this up. I'll do my best to keep original. Whatever I upgrade will be reversible. I won't be doing any metal cutting....any experts on PTO's out there? It looks like the PO did that awkward PS setup to make room for the PTO driveshaft.

 

[landcruisnman]

I'd like to put original steering column/wheel/box, but not sure if it will fit with the current PTO...I'll get the front clip off and see what we got. Original color was red, but I like the light blue or tan...what were the 63 color schemes??

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

I noticed the lower B pillars that Living In The Past noted...along with missing the windshield latches...Hmmm...went back to look at the pics some more...what are the chances the tub was changed for a '63 or '64 tub?