FJ45 question. (1 Viewer)

[Angelo]

Hello.
I am under the impression that most body panels are interchangeable from year to year, between 66 and 84.
Is there any reason to think this would not hold true for the upper cab panel for the FJ45?

 

[Voodoocruisers]

I’ve got a 65 and had a 77. They are certainly not identical but not sure if they are interchangeable. I know that’s not much help but that’s all I got? There is a 45 section near the bottom of the forums, someone there will know.. good luck.

 

[Bear]

The rear panel on the 45 pickups used clamps to attach it to the lower cab until July 1974. Starting in August 1974 the panel was attached with bolts. Additionally not all the roofs and windshield frames are easily interchangeable. But as always, with enough time, money, and skill anything can be made to work.

 

[Angelo]

Thank you for your help.
I didn't know about the clip on years.
I have a bolt on upper cap panel that has rot around the bottom but I don't know what year it is. Now I know it's not from the 66 it was sold as.
I have an opportunity to purchase one for an 80-84. The fact that it's bolt on has me thinking it should line up.
The schematic looks the same.
Decisions, decisions....

 

[Bear]

Angelo,

You should be good if replacing a bolt-on upper cab with another of the same vintage. Be certain that your project isn't a mishmash of different years and models. Note: the pickup roof with the front clamps ended in January 1975; there are various front windshield frames and wiper motor configurations. You would probably like it all to match up.

As mentioned in another post, Toyota's engineers were and are always designing what they consider to be improvements to their offerings, and nothing stays static for very long. That's why there are very thick parts catalogs or their electronic equivalent to notate all the different variations.

Your safest bet is to check the various online parts catalogs or download one offered free on Mud, know the manufacture date of your specific truck, and only buy parts within your year framework as the catalogs list. Going outside that can get you into trouble unless you have reputable information otherwise. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Angelo]

Thank you for all this good information.
I wish I had the luxury of sticking within a specific model year but I made the mistake of purchasing a Frankenstein.
My frame dates back to 64 the cowl 66, windshield 76, doors 84. And I'm still finding out things I didn't know like the cab.
Current goal is to get rid of all the rot that started popping up last year with new or 'not bondo'd' parts and document what year each part is. I was going to try and replace all the newer parts with that of a 66 but now that I know the cab is of a later model year there's no point to that. And I can still have a great truck.

 

[Bear]

Well sorry I misunderstood what you're dealing with. I hope I didn't ask any of the following questions if you have another thread about this. So..... later windshield frame would have a bottom wiper motor and utilize a later roof, which would bolt on either early or late upper cab; As mentioned above the later upper cab bolts to the later lower cab, which would prefer your later doors. Interesting you mention a 1966 cowl--do you mean it has a top vent or a bolt-on RH side vent with louvers or both?

My seat-of-the-pants guess is that you don't have a 1966 lower cab. Yours is somewhere between 1968 and l986. So, for the lower cab.............Is this LHD or RHD? Is the gas tank under the passenger seat or under the floor of the cab, with the raised floor for the seats? To check for grafting, do you have an early ribbed dash, or is the dash "smooth."? Are both your transmission and transfer shift sticks on the tunnel floor? Are the captive nuts located in the upper wall of the lower cab still functioning, as you say your upper cab was bolted to this? Is there a raised floor behind the seats with large holes on top and in the sides?

Actually, a few photos-- of the cab floor, the area behind the seats, and a shot of the dash could answer most of this. What say you?

A good possibility is that someone with a mid or later truck had a rotten frame, found an earlier frame, and plopped your truck body onto that frame. The situation gets more complex if that someone had a welder and an assortment of many years' parts, and went to town to create something from nothing. I'm guessing this was not a direct US import from the '60s and that you probably got it thru Florida or Texas, having originated somewhere in Central or South America?

Answers/photos certainly can help point the way.

 

[Angelo]

Well, I did order the part on MagaZip which listed it for $1840. Today I received a notification that it wasn't available to begin with and my money is being returned.