1965 FJ 40 Rebuild

[Snatchman]

I thought I would post here, if that is o.k. I have been following this forum for a while and thought this the place to be for this model year. I am in the process of taking the complete rig apart. I have the tub and enginge off the frame. it has the typical rust on the sill plate otherwise its in great shape. The prior owner had put a painless wireharness in with a 50 amp alternator and the carb has been changed to the 67 model. He also put a floor shifter in as well. otherwise it is all stock. Its interesting that alot of parts have fj25 stamped on them. The hard top is ripped in half(corrugated sides). Will a 67 hard top work on the 65? I am trying to decide wether to take it back to stock or live with what has been changed. I will post pictures as over the next few days. Keep in mind I am a rookie wth this kind of thing.

 

[JohnnyC]

IMO I would keep it as is for now...get it to be a runner...then...enjoy it...then over time do some things here and there ...or...it will get over you head in no time.

the top is ripped or do you meen ribbed? ...it is getting rarer and rarer to find them with the right top on.

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Hey Snatchman, just noticed that you edited your original post...reads much better now

Lets start at the beginning...you have any pics of your project at hand?

 

[destin]

Hi

Would love to see some photos

 

[Snatchman]

Thank you for the responses. I will get some pictures loaded on late tonight or tomorrow. Everything is off the frame except the axles. I have checked the engine # and frame # and they appear to be close in date. It looks like it was made in May of 1965. The large grommets, engine mounts and a handful of other items have FJ25 stamped on them. The hardtop ripped in half as I was driving. It had a couple of stress fractures in it and apparently a big gust of wind got inside the vehicle and it cracked in the middle just beyond the door. I have a top from a 67 in excellent condition but I am unsure if it will work on mine as I have the ribbed(corrugaged) sides.

 

[destin]

Thank you for the responses. I will get some pictures loaded on late tonight or tomorrow. Everything is off the frame except the axles. I have checked the engine # and frame # and they appear to be close in date. It looks like it was made in May of 1965. The large grommets, engine mounts and a handful of other items have FJ25 stamped on them. The hardtop ripped in half as I was driving. It had a couple of stress fractures in it and apparently a big gust of wind got inside the vehicle and it cracked in the middle just beyond the door. I have a top from a 67 in excellent condition but I am unsure if it will work on mine as I have the ribbed(corrugaged) sides.

My 64 has a lot of fj25 stamped parts as well

I could be wrong, but i have a feeling this is pretty common

 

[ocdbeetle]

I'm pretty sure the top would fit....The PO had a newer top on my 65.....Heres an old pic from his resto attempt...

 

[Snatchman]

It looks like yours has the newer sides with the corner glass. I will give it a shot. Here are some before teardown shots.

 

[ocdbeetle]

Yeah it was a newer top....so your original top is too far gone to repair?

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

If you want to keep the corrugated sides, (which I would) then you need to find a fiberglass roof panel from mid '65 and older...it is a little bit longer than that of the '66 and newer fiberglass roof panel. I would try and fix what you have first.

Not a bad looking truck...what are your plans for it...to keep it as stock as possible, or to mod it all up? I would start by making sure you get round tail lights, paint the top and bezel white, and keep it as stock as you can.

Again, nice rig

 

[Snatchman]

I bought the rig a few years back and it has sat in the garage. I have been trying to locate parts, which has not been easy. About four months ago I sourced some taillights and brackets that are correct. The brackets were in really good shape. If anyone here needs them for a template let me know and I can trace them on paper and scan in. I had originally bought some tail lights from CCOT, but they for they later years. I tried using them but they would not fit the factory holes in the bumper. Anyways i got lucky on the tail lights. I was so excited to find them. Its amazing how the little things can get you going. My goal is to get it as original as possible. There are a couple of modifications I am thinking of doing like power steering. It has a roll bar in it and I debating weather to get rid of it or not. The dash board has a million holes in it from PO's with extra guages ect.

 

[ironpig4x4]

I agree that you should get it in driving condition using what you already have and work on it a little at a time from there. Have my '64 down to the frame right now and I can see that project going on forever. Got a '66 recently that I plan to use as a driver (I miss driving my '64) and, in the future, a parts donor for the project.

I'm not doing a true restoration on the '64. Going to try to keep all the aesthetics of the early models while incorporating some updates/improvements (Mini-truck power steering, cruiser power brakes with a firewall swap, late model disc brake front end, 4 speed (maybe a 5 someday), etc. )

I'm anxious to see some progress on your project. Maybe you could inspire me to get moving faster on mine and post my own build thread!