When I bought my 1977 FJ40 about 5 years ago, I had never seen or heard of an FJ45 LV. When I did, I was mildly obsessed and looked for LVs off and on for months. At one point, I reached out to ClemsonCruiser who put me in touch with Hendog who knew a guy that was selling one. The timing wasn't right as I couldn't pull together the cash to do a deal before Michael at ACC scooped it up. Months later, I made a roadtrip and ClemsonCruiser's dad was kind enough to let me drive the LV they'd bought in Wyoming and made roadworthy. The obsession only grew worse.
Over a year passed, several LVs came out of the woodwork but none of them had asking prices or sold in my price-range (darn you eBay!) and just when I'd finally given up all hope of finding one I could afford that was worth the money, ClemsonCruiser pointed me to a 1966 FJ45 LV that was listed for sale on Craigslist in Chico, CA. Fortunately for me, I had a friend who'd grown up in the area and he put me in touch with one of his childhood friends who ultimately helped me buy it. I'd like to think it was meant to be.
Here are a couple photos from the Craigslist ad. Yes, that is a snow plow mounted to the bumper and yes, the tailgate was being held in place by a rusty chain. Oh, and it didn't run and hasn't in a long time, so I was told. You should have been there when I told that to my dad who knows just how little mechanical knowledge he passed on to me. Being part of the Olde North State Cruisers (ONSC) and with ClemsonCruiser within a reasonable drive, I didn't let any of that stop me.
Now that you've seen the photos above, some of you are likely scratching your heads and saying "I could swear I've seen this LV before." Well, ClemsonCruiser thought the same thing and after some searching, he came across THIS old thread from June '11. It seems the owner finally did part with it as the guy I bought it from had only owned it for a few months.
Well, the PTO winch had to be removed to get the snow plow off. As far as upgrades, it has a newer brake booster, front disc brakes and a Saganaw power steering conversion, which led to the PTO being shifted to the left as you might be able to make out in the pic below.
Aaron with Summit Auto Transport took care of getting the LV (and all the spiders I could ever want) delivered to Charlotte and a fellow ONSC member towed the rest of the way to my house (Thanks again Roxx!).
At this point, I'm just trying to make it roadworthy as my plans are to mainly drive it around town for the next several years. At some later date, I might decide it needs more power and a more comfortable ride, but for now I don't anticipate any major changes.
Over the last several weeks, I managed to clean out the interior where I found the original hood spear and apron emblems, several tail light lenses and another complete tailgate. I've also put Marvel Mystery Oil in each of the cylinders, have gotten the motor to turn over by hand, dropped the gas tank in preparation for having it boiled, sourced some small round FJ55 mirrors, and have ordered and received a lot of parts from Beno and a clutch master and slave conversion kit from JT Outfitters.
I hope that with the help of my friends in ONSC, it will be roadworthy before our Meet and Greet even in the spring.
Over a year passed, several LVs came out of the woodwork but none of them had asking prices or sold in my price-range (darn you eBay!) and just when I'd finally given up all hope of finding one I could afford that was worth the money, ClemsonCruiser pointed me to a 1966 FJ45 LV that was listed for sale on Craigslist in Chico, CA. Fortunately for me, I had a friend who'd grown up in the area and he put me in touch with one of his childhood friends who ultimately helped me buy it. I'd like to think it was meant to be.
Here are a couple photos from the Craigslist ad. Yes, that is a snow plow mounted to the bumper and yes, the tailgate was being held in place by a rusty chain. Oh, and it didn't run and hasn't in a long time, so I was told. You should have been there when I told that to my dad who knows just how little mechanical knowledge he passed on to me. Being part of the Olde North State Cruisers (ONSC) and with ClemsonCruiser within a reasonable drive, I didn't let any of that stop me.
Now that you've seen the photos above, some of you are likely scratching your heads and saying "I could swear I've seen this LV before." Well, ClemsonCruiser thought the same thing and after some searching, he came across THIS old thread from June '11. It seems the owner finally did part with it as the guy I bought it from had only owned it for a few months.
Well, the PTO winch had to be removed to get the snow plow off. As far as upgrades, it has a newer brake booster, front disc brakes and a Saganaw power steering conversion, which led to the PTO being shifted to the left as you might be able to make out in the pic below.
Aaron with Summit Auto Transport took care of getting the LV (and all the spiders I could ever want) delivered to Charlotte and a fellow ONSC member towed the rest of the way to my house (Thanks again Roxx!).
At this point, I'm just trying to make it roadworthy as my plans are to mainly drive it around town for the next several years. At some later date, I might decide it needs more power and a more comfortable ride, but for now I don't anticipate any major changes.
Over the last several weeks, I managed to clean out the interior where I found the original hood spear and apron emblems, several tail light lenses and another complete tailgate. I've also put Marvel Mystery Oil in each of the cylinders, have gotten the motor to turn over by hand, dropped the gas tank in preparation for having it boiled, sourced some small round FJ55 mirrors, and have ordered and received a lot of parts from Beno and a clutch master and slave conversion kit from JT Outfitters.
I hope that with the help of my friends in ONSC, it will be roadworthy before our Meet and Greet even in the spring.