Bear
SILVER Star
Perhaps like some others I have wondered about a number of details of the 45 series. The first concerns the records of the 45 series production.
Like many, I have referred to the FJ45 frame record on the Specter Off Road website. It is a good basic starting point, but omits the years before 1964 and after 1969. I have also looked at the different 45 break-out registries here on Mud of the reported survivors. I realize that corporations restrict information about their products and keep most records internally safeguarded, but I am hoping that some of the "experts" here might share some of their knowledge.
Here's the question: if all of the 45 series variants (FJ45P and LP, FJ45P-B and LP-B, FJ45V and LV, etc.) are intertwined on a single FJ45 Frame List, how was the assembly line operated? Were there short runs of just short bed trucks, short runs of wagons with the longer frames? Were LHD trucks produced for a few days, and then a fun of RHD trucks? Since Toyota has/had many different models at any one time, was there more than one assembly line devoted just to 45s? And with their Just-In-Time assembly method, where were the other parts specific to a particular model stored until needed?
Part of the reasons for asking is seeing several members with adjacent serial frame numbers and most with large gaps between numbers, has anyone observed a pattern that would indicate specific models within a range of numbers?
Surely moving the assembly workers to different locations from a specific job attaching one part, and then moving to the opposite side to attach to the next car in the assembly line would not be efficient. Or "here comes a wagon body, followed by a cab, is it for a short-bed or a long-bed?"
So, to summarize, hopefully some experts will chime-in and explain just how the 45 series were assembled and bring some clarity to the FJ45 frame list.
Like many, I have referred to the FJ45 frame record on the Specter Off Road website. It is a good basic starting point, but omits the years before 1964 and after 1969. I have also looked at the different 45 break-out registries here on Mud of the reported survivors. I realize that corporations restrict information about their products and keep most records internally safeguarded, but I am hoping that some of the "experts" here might share some of their knowledge.
Here's the question: if all of the 45 series variants (FJ45P and LP, FJ45P-B and LP-B, FJ45V and LV, etc.) are intertwined on a single FJ45 Frame List, how was the assembly line operated? Were there short runs of just short bed trucks, short runs of wagons with the longer frames? Were LHD trucks produced for a few days, and then a fun of RHD trucks? Since Toyota has/had many different models at any one time, was there more than one assembly line devoted just to 45s? And with their Just-In-Time assembly method, where were the other parts specific to a particular model stored until needed?
Part of the reasons for asking is seeing several members with adjacent serial frame numbers and most with large gaps between numbers, has anyone observed a pattern that would indicate specific models within a range of numbers?
Surely moving the assembly workers to different locations from a specific job attaching one part, and then moving to the opposite side to attach to the next car in the assembly line would not be efficient. Or "here comes a wagon body, followed by a cab, is it for a short-bed or a long-bed?"
So, to summarize, hopefully some experts will chime-in and explain just how the 45 series were assembled and bring some clarity to the FJ45 frame list.
