1980 FJ45 arkana pop top (1 Viewer)

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May 5, 2010
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g'day punters, i have recently aquired this. its a feb 1980 fj45 build arkana with pop top camper. very nice thing. super original, rust free and i believe original paint.

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but theres a catch

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will get back to that ugly front in more detail later.

a little of the history of the aussie arkanas was written in another thread i just bumped; but in short they were made new in perth western australia on an fj45 chassis. the entire 45 tub was retained and the sturdy arkana body attached behind. mostly they were painted mustard yellow. the same company also made duel cad 45s, ambulances, police paddy wagons; that sort of thing.

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this is a really interesting landcruiser, and if we can ignore the front a while longer, is as straight as they come.

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its straight as, rust free, and desirable. except for this bit. this thing has run up a stump. hard.

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i spent a lot of time under this thing and am convinced the damage does not extend further back than the front crossmember. at some point (still studying this) has had power steer fitted and this removed the old steering idler arm that normally nestles into this corner. it made it a weak point; and you can see where the stump hit!

right guard, bib, bonnet and bonnet hinge are all a bit bent. spring shot of course and some the steer gear needs replace. steer wheel and windscreen have taken a shirtfront and headbut respectively. and the right front chassis horn is what you see. everything else is pure original niceness.

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i think this chassis horn is repairable for someone with the right skills. otherwise a body swap onto another fj45 chassis (or even better a hj45 or hj47 and make it a period correct diesel. im sure this motor will run fine. havent tried this yet but wont be able to help myself for much longer. fan is currently touching the fan shroud. even the radiator and engine mounts seem to have survived this hit.

anyway mudders WHAT DO WE THINK THIS IS WORTH??

i do seem to have plenty on at the minute and doubt my ability to find the time to give this gem the new life it deserves. its a very nice thing but in any case the 'oldies' are more my line of interest instead of this 'late model' stuff. so i am considering moving this on to perhaps create a bit of cash flow for my other projects. needless to say i am certainly not giving this away; i am more than happy to wash, preserve and stash it away untouched in a shed. time warp storage for a later date; the price of old cruisers is not going down. but whatever pleases the cruiser gods i suppose :)

but i would appreciate any mudders thoughts or opinions. or else lets just talk about this nice old thing! if anyone would like to see any more pics, or wish me to check anything out, would be more than happy to oblige. i am still finding my own way around it; and liking it more and more.
 
Henry old boy, be very very careful not to trap a tree branch when closeing up roof (post #5 pic2) as when you drive away you may rip the pop top right off
Why am i so worried you may wonder, was once eyewitness to such an event with some german packpackers at a hippie festival
 
That must have been a solid tree to do that damage to the old girl. Mate you know you want this 45 for touring around OZ I would go with the HJ47 running gear and do her up for travel.
 
That must have been a solid tree to do that damage to the old girl. Mate you know you want this 45 for touring around OZ I would go with the HJ47 running gear and do her up for travel.

x2 very lucky to find this. how many kms has she done?
 
A couple of years ago there was an original early 70's arkana bodied troopy down the road from my house, it had the original rectangular indicators and everything, very clean! Saw it for sale on the supermarket board a couple weeks later for $6500
 
thanks for the heads up catskinner haha. discovered my mistake hen i climbed on some 'scaffolding' to get an overall roof pic.

i gather it climbed a bloody great stump right on the chassis horn. all the damage is very low; the bent tinware caused by the roobar folding up and in. yea it is a very nice thing and would make a super clean base for a great project. really deserves another life. putting this on a hj47 chassis is prob the best option (12ht and a 5spd?).

i have never played 70s cruisers (this is feb 80). i tend to play early 60s then pick up again with a couple hj47 work utes. just trying to do a little research on what if anything is different between a 4j45 and hj47 chassis. (need to look at a hj45 to compare things.) this seems right on the crossover between the 2 models. so far discovered;
- has the fueltank under the cab floor not under the seat.
- has the earlier 4spd without the gearbox crossmember
- has the earlier dash without the pad (these arrived much later in aust than usa i think i recall).

i just dont have much time for this project; and like i said the oldies are more my interest. in the meantime i am keeping an eye out for a few bits and pieces for this so need something of a tentative plan. and doing a bit of cleaning and preservation.

i was thinking its worth at least 3k as it sits now. i reckon its too straight and rust free to be worth any less; plus has the ultra cool pop top camper.
 
West I can only imagine what your "scaffolding" looks like ( work place safty man would be crying about now) :)
She does look like a nice old rig plenty of red dust, do you have a red dog?
I would be replacing engine mount to block bolts if you was going to keep that chassis

A hj47 chassis with 12ht and overdrive box would be better i would reckon but its not original so it all depends on whether your a enthusiast "one who likes landcruisers for what they are" or a restorer "pickey fellow with big check book"
 
WA what happend with the old girl mate has she been stashed in a shed on the station or sold off for early parts. :)
 
He's been away earning a crust or tending to rusty trucks. Or both :D
 
or both haha. rusty is the word this year!

anyway still pondering this. shes stashed away but had a couple of wins. tripped over these pair guards in a coastal scapyard. these are mint; straight as, rust free and original yellow paint. a little fatigue crack on the right guard.

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which begs to ask who would scrap these? he either has no idea or no cruiser mates. i presume both. anyway haggled with the scrap dealer and we settled on $5 each. i couldnt gat my money out quick enough! (rare for me!). bloody win! theyre even the right colour.

i also have this 47 bib and sidepiece to hand. bib has a top dent from a rollover (my fathers) but will straighten up and is rust free. need a bonnet now. heck i might even get excited and get a knowledgable mate to spray a bit of mustard yellow around (not the guard just the other bits)

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damage on the arkana

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my mate also recently collected this at the right price. hj45; rustier tub than it looks in this pic.

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we swap cruiser parts in good humour but dont know why he didnt unload this at my scrapyard. explained him the error in his thinking and will prob go collect this. has a good steer wheel, nice enough door skins (tho the arkana are pretty good) and best of all - a really nice floor mat. also hard to see in this pic. could be a donor chassis?

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so anyways; a real backburner project. but slowly collecting a few bits and pieces where i can
 

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