Fj45 65 or 67, Which cab to build?

[Tank5]

Hello,

I am new to the 45 section here on Mud but have previously lurked on the forum, building a bj40 and three 80 series cruisers. I have been without a landcruiser for a few years and just now have gotten back to a position to start a new build. I currently have both a 1965 and 1967 fj45 cab to use for my build. I cannot decide which one to use though. They are both in similar condition needing a little work. What is making the decision hard is which vent to choose.

The 65 has a clean cowl with a vent in the window frame. The 67 has the vent in the cowl and I am worried that this will be a place to collect debris and moisture. I could seal it off with a plate but loose the use of the vent. I have considered placing the 65 window frame with vent on the 67 and have the best of both but I am not sure that is necessary given my concerns with the 67 cowl vent.

My questions for you seasoned 45 owners are, which cab is better and is there more value in one cab over the other? I appreciate the help.

 

[DomSmith]

IMO The windshield vent is impossible to keep sealed. I live in SoCal and rarely drive it in the rain but when I do it seeps water even with new rubber. It's annoying.

Good luck with the project!

 

[Living in the Past]

US market a heater would have been a option while 67 it would be standard. If your 65 have a factory heater I would use it with the 67 windshield. Then use a 74+ heater with the vent on the top. This does away with both vents that has leak issues.

 

[Gumby]

The w/s frame vent is impossible to seal and will throw drops of water at your face in the rain, but it is immeasurably cooler than not having one.

It is pretty valuable, so if decide not to use it you can sell it for good money.

The cowl vent doesn't collect too much crap and is easy to clean out.

 

[Bear]

Since you asked for opinions: there are good and bad points for each. Weather and personal preference play a part. Availability of proper rubber sealing is important, as well as the various hardware parts for each.

The cowl vents can fill with sand, leaves, dirt, moisture, snow, and slowly rot without some maintenance; they use drain tubing which can be hard to find and expensive to replace. Blowing moist or dusty outside air all thru your dash instruments and switches can be a problem. Some owners have completely sealed off the cowl vents to avoid problems. Although cowl vents continued on the pickups thru 1986, they were deleted on later FJ40s used in the US.

The windshield vent has some old-time charm if kept in good condition. As Dom mentioned, its design doesn't seem to seal airtight. Parts are getting scarce for these, such as the tiny screens and opening hardware.

Your third option is not to deal with any front venting by using the later windshield frame on the earlier cab, as LITP pointed out.

The original concept of each was to provide some cooling effect for the truck. If you have or plan air conditioning, probably don't need outside air thru either option, same as the cooling value of the pop-open vents by your feet.

But in the end, you are likely drawn to these vehicles by their old-style features, and just what features personally annoy you and which ones please you, will be your deciding factor. Things like reliability, performance, cost, and maintenance--to name a few--are reasons for changing or modifying original vehicles. You have some work ahead of you. It's your truck--make it fit your style and intended use. Best of luck.

 

[whitey45]

They do leak, but come summer time, it's great for fresh air and it's just a cool feature!

 

[cppilot]

IMO, I just think that the window vent has a certain kind of coolness. As stated above, the cowl vent does pose a few issues but there is someone here on MUD that remade the drain tubes. (Can't remember who). Also the cowl vent only allows for indirect air flow, while the window vent is a " in your face " flow.

One other thing to consider is that the window in the 65 is shorter to accommodate the vent and the original rubber is NLA. This was a huge issue for me during our restoration. I had to cut a 66 rubber, it work fine except for the look of the cut rubber at the bottom of the window. My glass guy did a great Job! I Hope!

This is the Fun Part! It's your decision.

 

[Gumby]

I agree about the custom window rubber, and in my case the window since the SOR templates don't fit.

However, driving an old land cruiser, especially a 45 isn't about comfort or ease of maintenance or restoration. there are far better vehicles for those things.

 

[cult45]

@Racer65 remade the drain tubes for the vent-on-the-cowl type. Also, my cowl vent in my 1970 doesn't leak and I have the most poorly 'remob'd' 45 in all of Australia.

 

[Racer65]

We have remade the drain tubes and the cowl vent gasket. Neither should pose a challenge.

 

[west aussie]

show us some pics and tell us your build plans. if was me I would go 65 all the way cause the under screen vent is just cool. but that's me; im an oldschool geek and couldn't give a toss about a few drops of water in my face now and again. however as bear said hardware for these is hard to find if you do not have. be very patient and gentle while dismantling. recently fitted glass to a screen vent model using a generic 'off the shelf rubber' that looks good and works well but was annoying to fit for a sausage fingered novice. if both cabs are pretty intact I do not see the point in mix and matching these parts. but that's me too! have fun.

 

[Tank5]

I appreciate all your feed back, it has given me several thinks to consider. I do like the idea that 65 window vent actually allows a breeze to cool the cab some and I like the look of it but if it leaks it will drive me crazy trying to fix it.

I am building the rig to use as a daily driver and trail rig. I am planning to place the fj45 body on a fj80 chassis. I have not picked the drive train yet. I have a 305 matted to a 4 speed fj40 tranny and T-case. I just do not think I want to use this set up. I really wanted to install all toyota in it and was looking into a 4.7 with 100 series tranny and T-case. After speaking to Christo Slee I decided the wiring and computer work to make this happen was probably more than I could do without help and I cannot afford to pay Slee to do it, although I think they do great work. Now I am considering a 6bt. I have seen them installed in an 80 series and I have seen them in a fj45 so I think it should fit. I just need to find out what it will take to wire it up.

Pictures will have to come next week when I get home.

 

[Living in the Past]

One other thing to consider is that the window in the 65 is shorter to accommodate the vent and the original rubber is NLA. This was a huge issue for me during our restoration. I had to cut a 66 rubber, it work fine except for the look of the cut rubber at the bottom of the window. My glass guy did a great Job! I Hope!

The strange part is the earlier shorter glass is still available but the mid 65 thru 74 has long been discontinued.

Personally I prefer the in your face windshield vent. Had the other style for over forty years and not overly impressed with the cowl vent. The factory heater diverts the air and flow is much less the the scoop design of the windshield frame vent. On the earlier FJ25 and FJ40 with no defrost vents the flow is even more.

 

[cppilot]

LITP, I did not know that the short window was still available. Thanks.
Do you happen to have the part number ?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Gumby]

If you already have the scb, I would highly suggest a LQ4 6.0L GM Gen III motor. Very inexpensive. Easy fit. Lots of power. Lots of aftermarket support so you're not trying to figure everything out on your own.
I agree the Toyota motor is very difficult to do. It is cool, but not fun and arguably not better than the Gen III motor.
The 6BT is a great motor, but highly overrated in this application. Not as overrated as the 4BT, but a more difficult fit.

Honestly, it depends on what you want to do. If this is an engineering exercise and a project where the process is more important than the finished product, then go for the 6BT. if you want to have something that works really well in a reasonable amount of work and time and money, then I'd do a Gen III LS type motor. I've had a ton of fun building, using and improving my 6.0s in both my trucks.

 

[cult45]

I'd skip the 6BT too IMO. Either an LS or if you're intent on a diesel - a 1HD-T. Dear as poison but there'll be no fitment issues in that 80 frame.

 

[Living in the Past]

LITP, I did not know that the short window was still available. Thanks.
Do you happen to have the part number ?

Thanks,
Mark

This is out of the FJ25 parts book. It was reprinted in 1963 with the old part numbers and the new ten digit part Toyota switched to in 1963. 56111 60010

 

[cppilot]

Thanks, I'll see what I can find out. Of course I already had one cut.

Thank again.

 

[Tank5]

I am leaning towards the 65 cab I really think the window vent is kinda cool, I might just wait to see how well the body work comes out. It needs rear corners and outside rockers.

I have been thinking about the drive train and doing a lot of reading over the weekend. I am really stuck on wanting to put a 4.7 V8 in it. I keep thinking if I bought a early 100 series Landcruiser and pulled the harness and associated computers and drivetrain to install it all on the 80 series chassis and cover it with a 45 cab - why wouldn't it work? The harness and wiring should work, if I can find a way to tie it all into the gauges. I have reached out to a couple forum members who have done something similar but have not heard back from them. Tell me what I am missing.

 

[cult45]

No reason why it wouldn't work - anything is possible. I've thought about this over and over myself. Are your 100 series trucks IFS, same as in Au?