1963 FJ40....restoration but maybe modification build....

[c2dfj45]

Stumbled upon this cool little 1963 FJ40 with the factory hardtop in one of my late night searches somewhere near the end of the internet......she arrived yesterday from Montana....safe to say Florida is probably the furthest it has been in its life.

Neat truck....very complete. This truck was DEFINITELY used.....has a little more damage than most of the cruisers I have bought but it is complete and very rust free. It was in Butte....originally registered in Anaconda MT. I have the actual title for the truck....which is kind of cool. Looks like it was registered on 5/29/63.

Based on the color in the glove box, it was Judson Green and it has the 25 front seats. Best part...it has the cool stamped bezel....my first FJ with one. And the slick little roof vent. This is also the high post body...never even knew that was a thing. My FJ experience is primarily in the 65/66 FJ45 range and 70s FJ40s. Never had one this early.

I'm going to post up pics of this old girl as we probably all like seeing these old trucks as they come back to life....not sure which direction I will go on this one. I generally make my trucks very daily driver useable...3FE conversion, 4 speed, disc brakes, power steering. Not sure what to do on this one...hence the title to this thread.....

So here w go...

On the transporter. Windshield popped out somewhere around GA. No real loss there...

 

[c2dfj45]

Not a bad truck....the pics of the truck that I saw in the online listing were dated 2007....I asked the seller if he had any current ones...he told me: "it's in the high desert in Montana...things don't change that much in 10 years. Maybe it has a little more patina". He wasn't lying. Money was sent and 4 weeks later it arrived.

Here are the pics from the listing:

 

[c2dfj45]

Out of it's hole and waiting for its ride down to sunny FL.

 

[nuclearlemon]

nice. looking forward to updates

 

[c2dfj45]

Lots and lots of miles later....it's at its new home.

 

[c2dfj45]

It's a really complete truck which is what made me want it. It's missing it's tools....I was hoping I'd find them in the tool box but no dice. Unfortunately it's pretty beat up in certain areas. Strange areas too. Like the sides of the windshield frame. Can't quite figure that one out. It might need a new windshield frame but I'll worry about that later. If the glass will stay in it, I'll run it.

 

[c2dfj45]

The crunched areas. The hard top is in really rough shape. Cracked, crunched, etc. I doubt I'll want to restore it but I'll keep it I think....just in case. It would take a ton of work to make right.

 

[c2dfj45]

Some of the cool stuff inside.....a huge animal bone was in the back. An insurance registration in the glove box. Switches are all there....some kind of interesting interior light setup. Has a double pull light switch to light the under dash and then some weird over head light(above rear view mirror). The hardtops vent is really really cool. Probably the only reason I would keep the hardtop.

 

[c2dfj45]

My favorite part on the truck.....

 

[Old Red]

Thank you for posting all these photos. Sounds like you are excited about your new project. And rightfully so.

I agree with you. Compared to many 1962s, this one is relatively complete. Even though the original "coral" color upholstery on the front seats is trashed, it is remarkable that it's still there. Not a huge surprise that the original upholstery on the jump seats would still be there---they were likely not occupied much. But you just don't see the original upholstery on the front seats very often---if ever.

Have you checked to see if this one has the original transfer case with the four-bolt as opposed to six-bolt rear shaft cover, as seen in the upper left hand corner in this photo? The pto cover will also have symmetrical as opposed to offset bolt holes if original.

 

[c2dfj45]

It's my pleasure to put these pics up. This is a really cool old truck. Hopefully it helps somebody else out or at least lets all of us check out a piece of history. I was told the truck had been sitting since 1982-ish. One owner truck that sold at an estate sale...never titled though. Who knows if that is accurate.

We looked at it briefly yesterday on the transporter when it was being unloaded...we know the transfer is different and from a quick glance it looked like the one in the pic you posted. It was very very different than the normal 3 speed transfers we deal with.

Any idea if that transfer can be mounted to a 4 speed transmission?

 

[Old Red]

Not sure. Hopefully someone else can answer that question. Member @pardion would certainly know. Perhaps it's just a matter of transmission output shaft interchangeability?

In the meantime here is a small collection of 1962-specific threads should you need them.

Looking for parts for my 62 Soft top frame off Restoration

little orphan annie

1962 FJ40 Resto

'62 FJ40 in the Netherlands

1962 FJ40 / Picture / fjfjfj

From Rust-Free to Rust Belt (1962 FST Restoration)

 

[c2dfj45]

Looks like the rest of my day will be a lot less productive. Ha. Thanks for the links.

So I have a few more pics that I thought were cool....I'm not sure what the white knob on the left side of the dash went to. My 45LV was for a PTO winch. But this one has a cable that goes down thru the engine compartment and all the way back to the rear bumper....it stops right there. I can see the end of the cable. Maybe some kind of quick disconnect for something.

The original Judson Green can be seen on the tops of the doors, inner fenders and of course glove box. As we start pulling things apart we'll find more I'm sure.

The seats are really neat in this truck.

 

[c2dfj45]

Forgot the pic of the knob on the left side of dash. The other white knob is really cool....aftermarket heater control.

 

[mmcinnis]

Awesome truck!

 

[hdjtachtig]

Very Nice truck! It is built in 1962. That's is the 2 in the vin.

 

[c2dfj45]

Not sure what was going on here.....I can see where the leaf spring was welded.....somebody got creative and installed a coil spring as a helper. Maybe a universal kit or something from back in the day. I think both sides had it too.......passenger side doesn't have it now but there are some u-bolt clams hanging around that area.....

 

[JackA]

Sweet find

 

[c2dfj45]

Definitely the early transfer case....

 

[nuclearlemon]

looks like you'll get off easier than me with the scrubbing needed underneath