Well, I did it again. I found a rusty, derelict 40 on the internet, looked at it, and said "I can save her!"
As if the '75 sitting in my wife's late grandmother's garage in West Virginia for a decade while we've been in Oregon wasn't enough.
As if the perfectly good, mostly original '67 FJ45 LPB wasn't enough...
No, in my infinite, 3 cocktails deep browsing FB Marketplace wisdom, I found a guy parting out a 1974 FST the ad said was rusty beyond repair, looked at it and thought.... "Hmm really doesn't look that bad, wonder if what he wants for it?", and instantly fired off a string of messages, mostly to the effect of, "our definitions of 'too far gone' may be vastly different" after all, it is a one owner California truck...
He got back to me pretty quickly, explained he had already been selling some parts from it (FST doors and tailgate already gone...*sobs* some other odds and ends, but those are the big ones), and a guy was coming for the transmission and transfer case tomorrow. Said, "fine give me a number for the rest". That number was $1500. Sold.
The thought process was, we're moving back to WV later this year, already need an entire car hauler for the fleet so it's not a big deal to toss this on the transport as well, and between this and the '75 I can have one good 40.
A couple days later I loaded up my original wheels from the 45, with good tires, picked up a uhaul dolly with the Cayenne and set off.
Once I got it home, I immediately began tearing into it. I'm actually not disappointed with what I found.
Yes, the floor is pretty bad.
the rear sill is too.
The mid bed/wings/channel are salvageable with some patching IMO, and the rear bed/fenders are almost perfect. Most importantly, the frame is crusty, but damn near immaculate otherwise. There is still a lot of good metal on this truck.
The engine (f1.5 desmogged with a Holley carb and headers) turns by hand, and I think I can get it to fire once I figure out the current no spark situation. It is a CA Emissions model, and does still have all the smog parts (except the air pump), but it's all been bypassed.
Wiring harness looks good, hooked up to battery a few things even work! (Wipers and starter, but hey that's not nothing!)
As an acolyte of the @wngrog School for Kids Who Want to Preserve Patina (I went this route with my early CJ5 Tux Park), the gears started turning. I should eventually patch the floor properly, but I can definitely patch it up well enough that the holes are covered and I wont fall through, and if I can get it running and find a trans/tc to toss in it I'll have a good little runner for a while! And the patina on the exterior looks great IMO, and who am I to erase the legacy of a one owner truck?
So that's the plan, get the engine running, patch the floor enough to support seats safely, and preserve what originality I can.
As if the '75 sitting in my wife's late grandmother's garage in West Virginia for a decade while we've been in Oregon wasn't enough.
As if the perfectly good, mostly original '67 FJ45 LPB wasn't enough...
No, in my infinite, 3 cocktails deep browsing FB Marketplace wisdom, I found a guy parting out a 1974 FST the ad said was rusty beyond repair, looked at it and thought.... "Hmm really doesn't look that bad, wonder if what he wants for it?", and instantly fired off a string of messages, mostly to the effect of, "our definitions of 'too far gone' may be vastly different" after all, it is a one owner California truck...
He got back to me pretty quickly, explained he had already been selling some parts from it (FST doors and tailgate already gone...*sobs* some other odds and ends, but those are the big ones), and a guy was coming for the transmission and transfer case tomorrow. Said, "fine give me a number for the rest". That number was $1500. Sold.
The thought process was, we're moving back to WV later this year, already need an entire car hauler for the fleet so it's not a big deal to toss this on the transport as well, and between this and the '75 I can have one good 40.
A couple days later I loaded up my original wheels from the 45, with good tires, picked up a uhaul dolly with the Cayenne and set off.
Once I got it home, I immediately began tearing into it. I'm actually not disappointed with what I found.
Yes, the floor is pretty bad.
the rear sill is too.
The mid bed/wings/channel are salvageable with some patching IMO, and the rear bed/fenders are almost perfect. Most importantly, the frame is crusty, but damn near immaculate otherwise. There is still a lot of good metal on this truck.
The engine (f1.5 desmogged with a Holley carb and headers) turns by hand, and I think I can get it to fire once I figure out the current no spark situation. It is a CA Emissions model, and does still have all the smog parts (except the air pump), but it's all been bypassed.
Wiring harness looks good, hooked up to battery a few things even work! (Wipers and starter, but hey that's not nothing!)
As an acolyte of the @wngrog School for Kids Who Want to Preserve Patina (I went this route with my early CJ5 Tux Park), the gears started turning. I should eventually patch the floor properly, but I can definitely patch it up well enough that the holes are covered and I wont fall through, and if I can get it running and find a trans/tc to toss in it I'll have a good little runner for a while! And the patina on the exterior looks great IMO, and who am I to erase the legacy of a one owner truck?
So that's the plan, get the engine running, patch the floor enough to support seats safely, and preserve what originality I can.
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