1963 FJ45L FOUND! Restoration and Info Thread

[a.greenspan]

Great find. I vote for original patina. Clean it up and leave it or maybe even shoot it with clear coat to keep the patina.

That`s what I would do too
She has such a great history,
if he restore her, he will kill her history.
Only thing what I would do is, spray it with rust- prevention-grease.
Best product ( won all long term test since more than a decade) is
MMIKE SANDERs RUST PREVENTION GREASEIK
HomepageE

...not easy to work with ( must be heat), read first,
don`t know, if you can get it in the states )9
Cheers
PeterRust Prevention Greas

 

[Shawn Russell]

I think it needs to come back here to San Bernardino!

Shawn

 

[tornadoalleycruiser]

I might have a siamesed 2 barrel intake if you want to keep that engine in it. I'm moving right now and haven't gotten to the shop. For some reason girlfriend wanted kitchen, bathroom, living room, laundry, office stuff first..
And can you please take as many pictures before you touch anything of the interior. especially the material in the back top of the cab. I think it's a leather look stuff. Does yours have slider seat on driver or fixed? you can take that seat out and use it as a camp chair as well.

 

[dmaddox]

Ah, come on now.....How would restoring her "kill her history"????

I will likely keep her original with the exception of brakes and a few tid bits for safety, but in doing so, will likely restore it!

See ya,

Dallas

 

[a.greenspan]

Ah, come on now.....How would restoring her "kill her history"????

I will likely keep her original with the exception of brakes and a few tid bits for safety, but in doing so, will likely restore it!

See ya,

Dallas

Remember
"1. 2 1/2" OME
2. Later "F" Head and 2bbl Aisin
3. Front disc axle swap
4. 33x10.50 BFG MT
5. Paint
6. MAYBE 4 speed on the floor conversion."


...brakes and a few bits for saftey are ok
Cheers
Peter

 

[65-fj45]

very cool truck for sure.

that inside upper rear cab vinyl piece is pretty neat. have not seen that before. anybody know the story with that piece? was it standard, dealer added, looks to be the same material as the seats.

nick

The vinyl piece is stock, it only came on the non-removable top 45's. I have only seen 1 other with this piece totaly intact. Nice score. If you want to get rid of the 63 plates, P.M. me, they would look good on my 45.

 

[MDH33]

It would be a crime to modify that rig. Keep it stock.

 

[dmaddox]

Here is what I am going to "modify"

1. Upgrade the brake system.
*Master cylinder
*Likely knuckles/axles/brake lines/etc.. from a mini-truck or late cruiser

2. Suspension.
*2 1/2" OME is stellar and in my opinion does not go astray from stock.

3. Tires.
*I will likely use a 31-33" mud terrain tire no wider than 10.5". Tires changed through the years.

4. Paint.
*I went through a LOT of trouble and cost to outfit my shop with a commercial grade paint booth. 27" long interior, full down draft, temp and humidity controlled.
*I will re-paint this rig just as meticulous as ever. It will be factory colors, and fully documented.

That is all I have planned for this winter. In my opinion, the above mentioned upgrades do not distract from the original look and feel. I could be wrong. It is also my opinion that if I use Toyota parts that were OE on any Land Cruiser FJ of this era, is not a crime.

My friend restored an FJ45LWB, used a late 2F, Toyota P.S., but kept the vacuum shift 4x4, and the interior was OE. To me, it was a work of art. Was it all original? No. But the service he did to that truck was stellar. But, I think that is what's cool. There are so many opinions. I cringe when people plop a V8 into a cruiser, but hey if they love it, and it works - then I am proud of them.

Just a thought as I move forward.

See ya,

Dallas

 

[JohnnyC]

IMO

1) keep the 3 speed ...they are fun

2) 2 1/2" ome is a fine upgrade

3) Front disk is also fine in my book...keep the old axle for some cruiser freek that would put it back to original...and put in a dual master

4) keep oem rims and put 33" is fine

5) Change the intake manifold to a 2 barrel intake and keep the head intact

nice rig...and as much as everybody may be telling you do this and do that it's yours not theirs.

 

[dmaddox]

IMO

1) keep the 3 speed ...they are fun

2) 2 1/2" ome is a fine upgrade

3) Front disk is also fine in my book...keep the old axle for some cruiser freek that would put it back to original...and put in a dual master

4) keep oem rims and put 33" is fine

5) Change the intake manifold to a 2 barrel intake and keep the head intact

nice rig...and as much as everybody may be telling you do this and do that it's yours not theirs.

x2 - Thanks man. I am going to take some more pictures tonight. Keep checking back.

See ya,

Dallas

 

[MDH33]

It's your rig, so of course, do whatever you like. I'm just saying, there are rigs out there that would be vastly improved with the list of mods you've given; brakes, lift, body repair, paint. However, this rig will not be improved. They are only original once as the tired out saying goes, but that's the truth. No way a shiny paint job, bigger tires and disk brakes can make that rig better. The only thing that can make it better would be to make it roadworthy with what it already has. Just my opinion...

 

[wesintl]

5) Change the intake manifold to a 2 barrel intake and keep the head intact

problem is you try to shove 350 cfm down 250 cfm intake (or whatever the correct #'s are). Your better off leaving the one barrell intact if it runs well. Changing the head to a later F and adding a 2 barrell would IMHO give you a negligible performance jump.

 

[fjwagon]

Sweet find. Use the search function, there's lot of ref. material to help you decide which direction to go, see link below. Also after swapping to disc brakes, driving it for a while will help you decide what else you need to do. The brake system you have now is fine but it's sometimes hard finding replacement parts for and also this type of brake system needs constant adjustments to get them to work correctly which is something we are not used to compared to today's brake systems. S.O.S. your hubcabs before you take more pics

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/194207-all-land-cruisers-manuals-factory-lit-etc.html

 

[dmaddox]

A few more updates here.

First, there were several people messaging or asking about the rear interior paneling.

Here it is:

These screws look Toyota:

Now I have a few questions.

First, what is this on the hood ornament?

Why isn't there a date data tag on the door frame??

What are these hooks?

Are the tail lights the same as the bib lights (minus the color)?

Is this carb OEM?

Thanks guys!

I appreciate the feedback and help.

See ya,

Dallas

 

[dmaddox]

Thank you for all the comments.

 

[wesintl]

The thing on the hood ornament is probably where it contacts the roof when the hood is fully opened and tilted back.

There is no door tag. The only tag is on the firewall, passenger side.

The carb is not oem, it's a carter.

Sweet shop and nice rigs

 

[Texican]

Somebody added that hook on the bed side...
Nice find and very nice shop......what kind of music ya'll do?
Are the rubber on the rear windows good?
If so take care they are unobtanium......
Question for the x perts. I have basically the same truck, did all of these come with the tire carrier? mine has none and I have not looked for signs of filled holes and such....mine has larger tail lights which the tire carrier would block???.....

 

[dmaddox]

Wow, that carb is not OEM. Hrm.....the owner that I bought it from (whom bought it from Toyota) said he'd never replaced it. So he's either mistaken or it's been so long he cant recall, who knows.

That rear sill rubber is shot on mine. If it is that difficult to get a hold of I may have to fab up something out of door weather strip or something, who knows. But yeah, it's rotten.

I realized after I made my last post that it may appear as though I am bragging about the shop/gear I have.
I want you to all know this is not the case. Probably two or three local people even know it exists, and it took us a LOT of hard work and sacrifice to get that building put up. It is our pride and joy and we love it, and a few folks on here were asking questions about it, so sorry if it seems hawty for me to post that, I just wanted to share it with you because I know you guys would appreciate it too.
And to also entice folks in Colorado to come give me some company!

Music? Brother plays bluegrass and old time stuff from the 30's and 40's. My Dad is classic rock. I am a mixture of things, but my music that I actually record is kind of um.....lots of strings, symphonic stuff that resembles Coldplay, Enya, etc..etc...
I pretty much enjoy playing everything but Opera and Rap.

See ya,

Dallas

 

[wesintl]

Wow, that carb is not OEM. Hrm.....the owner that I bought it from (whom bought it from Toyota) said he'd never replaced it. So he's either mistaken or it's been so long he cant recall, who knows.

Definitely not. Carter- made in the usa. Aisan - made in japan. Not to mention you have what looks to be an inline fuel pump or maybe another filter right before the carb which isn't stock either.

What kind of air filter does it have. I didn't see one in the pics.

 

[Brog]

What a huge find.
Congrats.
My '67 came from the PO with a Carter YF carb as well.
Seems that anyone who had a tough time finding a rebuild kit or parts for the Aisin just popped in a easy to find Carter. (They even look 90% the same.)
Back before the internet I imagine it was a bit harder to track down these parts.

Cheers,
Brog