Same thoughts about the seat belts and mount. I was able to get a set of those Canadian upper corner mounts and have been toying with the idea of cutting open the upper edge of the hardtop to weld-in a backingplate/captive nuts, and then welding and grinding the scars where the work was done. The concept is great, the execution another story. Some other markets had a captive nut/plate in the B pillar, but the truck I want to use does not. I think if the harness is not far enough back from the seat, then the restraint is less effective. I do believe that had the USA still been importing the pickup trucks in the eighties, then the USDOT and brethren would surely have come up with demands for improved safety. Just notice how they required the Land Rover Defenders to have exo-cages in the early nineties, when that vehicle to this day is still sold throughout the world without such a contraption.
Yea, I was fortunate enough to gain some stuff from the Middle East, and after having gone thru them with a fine-toothed comb, have some experience with them, their idiosyncracies, and the later model revisions. I've also experienced the shortcuts taken in that part of the world. Yet, I do believe that these were fine trucks, that would have been accepted by the public in the US, even with governmental mods, and that the hoopla about the Chicken tax and the "foreign invasion" and the destruction of our pickup truck monopoly altered the off-road segment of the market. I also am one of those that believe the FJ70 series would succeed here, as some of us appreciate the sturdiness and capability of the older design ethic.
I'm just joking with you about the modification jab--most everyone changes one thing or another, even if it's just the wattage of a light bulb or adding an air freshener. I appreciate that some of you guys have been lucky enough to grab some of the very earliest 40s and 25s, and the difficulties of trying to keep the flame burning, staying true to the marque and resisting the temptation to cut corners. I, too, have a possible original candidate, a '65 longbed I have toyed with keeping 100% stock, but like most trucks it has lived a hard life and wasn't maintained in pristine condition, and to do it right, will take a lot of time and money and searching. And in the end, I wonder if I would actually enjoy driving a 100% antique, frustrated at the traffic backed-up behind me on the mountain roads, me sweating and squirming when the temps are cooking in Summer in the valley, etc.. It's one thing to sit and admire a beautiful object, static, sitting in a museum or a climate-controlled garage, quite another to be enjoying the Spartan conditions while competing in modern-day traffic. I think driving it I would feel much like those Amish farmers in their buggies driving down the country lane with their wheels in the gutter and the high school kids flipping them off whizzing by in their Mustangs and Challengers.
I may yet do it, and yes, that will be me way ahead of you, with a big fluorescent-orange triangle slapped on the back of the tailgate--probably will have to stop shaving then and actually wear my Farmer John overalls out in public. So......... talk about coming out of the closet..............
You all being the experts, I have a few questions:
