FJ45 rollover protection, fuel tank relocation?

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FJ40Jim

FJ40Jim

The Cruiser Whisperer
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FJ45 LP buildup: fuel tank, 2F, 4spd, PDB,PS...

Hello all,
There's a FJ45 here for resto-modernization. The owner wants a 1965 FJ45 that can be comfortably DD. He is also concerned about safety. He's wanting an in-cab rollcage, which I think is quite impractical w/ an overstuffed leather bench seat, and he wants to get the fuel tank out of the cab.

So, anybody have any suggestions about rollover protection on a stock appearing 1965 FJ45LP SWB?

How about an under-bed gas tank?

TIA for your indulgence.:cheers:
 
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Owyhee Jackass was working on one. Don't know if he got it finalized???
 
Yeah. Looked like this:

IMG_1916.JPG


Discussion here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=94375&highlight=roll+cage

some of the pix are gone. :frown:
 
Jim, You talking SWB fixed top or removable?
If it's fixed i've been thinking about 2 possible options.. One is a hoop behind the driver, take the roof cap off and drop it in.. You could also incorporate the seatbelts into the hoop.
If removable top build a small cage like Gary Cobberlys or others.
Other options is build a hoop on the back bed similar to Mudracks that's higher than the roofline.

What drivetrain? You gotta keep us informed.. Sounds like it's gonna be a cool project. You building it for a customer?
 
For fuel tank you can easily use a confer rear tank for an FJ40 in the back. Mark Algazy sells them
 
65 SWB would be removable, si?
 
Somehow I thought that the fixed tops went away when the removable tops came in, in the 65 model year.
 
Jim, You talking SWB fixed top or removable?
Click to expand...
I think its removable.... Now i'm not sure. I'll check in the AM.

If it's fixed i've been thinking about 2 possible options.. One is a hoop behind the driver, take the roof cap off and drop it in..
Click to expand...
Good idea. I've seen many race car cages built that way: chop off the roof, build cage, weld roof back on.

You could also incorporate the seatbelts into the hoop.
Click to expand...
Already planning to install front split bench from ~02 Buick lesabre w/ integrated lap & sholder belts.

If removable top build a small cage like Gary Cobberlys or others.
Other options is build a hoop on the back bed similar to Mudracks that's higher than the roofline.
Click to expand...
I'm angling more toward that, but it's hard to make it work/look right w/ the SWB bed. Easy to build a stout headache bar for the LWB bed, that looks stockish, but is much stronger material.

What drivetrain? You gotta keep us informed.. Sounds like it's gonna be a cool project. You building it for a customer?
Click to expand...
Yes, for a customer. I wish I owned an FJ45...:rolleyes:

We're starting w/ a 65 FJ45 w/ stock drivetrain except for 1971 F engine.

Front axle:1974 housing, 1986 FJ60 knuckles & 3.70 diff
rear axle: stock housing, chevy discs, 3.70 diff
engine: rebuilt 4.4L 2F w/ 1986 alternator, PS pump, AC compressor, headers. Intake/carb/aircleaner TBD.
trans: 1977-1980 H41
t-case: TBD, either stock remote shift or direct shift '79.
Steering: stock column & wheel, minitruck PS box, FJ60 pump.
Brakes: 4WDB, dual circuit, 10mm fittings, small power booster on adapter mount.
interior: leather split bench seat w/ integrated belts, cage TBD, fuel tank relocated under bed, Vintage Air (truck is moving to south Texas).
rolling stock:New custom built 16x7 steel wheels w/ Toyota centers for the new OEM 1978 hubcaps, tires TBD.

Overall, nothing radical, just a nice update of a classic truck. By making it civilized, his wife can drive it. If she can drive it, then he can keep it.:D
 
on a fixed top the roof just unbolts. It's just a cap like an FJ40 cap
ON a removable top it's even easier! :)
have you looked at a minitruck AC unit or the custom car type? they're much smaller than vintage. I wasn't a fan of the vintage all integrated thing myself.
Sounds like a good build. You might need to make sure the booster will fit with the carb on the 60 motor. The adapters push the booster out and have interfered with the 60 carb/motor thing that I"ve seen. Other option to get around this is to swap that section of the firewall out.

Very similar to what i'm planning tho. I like it!
 
Jim, I just finished a 45 and was also thinking I should do something for better rollover protection.

No way there was any room in the cab.

The headache rack would give negliable protection. But I started thinking maybe a good metal shop could make a substantial headache rack that would give some protection and look close to factory from afar.

Then I had an idea maybe the hollow rack could be filled with fiberglass to offer additional strength.

As far as in cab gas tanks, I agree that it seems a little spooky, but has anyone ever heard of one catching fire. I think chevy used them behind the seat in the 60s....
 
It's a removable hardtop, FWIW.

The truck already has the Vintage Air inside it, w/ a cobbled up compressor mount on the F engine. We'll be upgrading to the FJ60 compressor & factory mount.

I've heard of the booster interference problem, so am waiting to see how it works out. I have the long booster from a discbrake truck, and the small booster from a 1972 truck. Have the wide 2F manifold and the narrow F manifold. Have a 2F or an F carb. Just hafta see what fits once the longblock is dropped in the truck and the booster adapter is on the firewall.

Yeah, I'm with you on the in-cab fuel tank. Never heard of one exploding. Had several ford PU trucks from the 1970's w/ tank behind the seat, no problems. Seems spooky, but if it's sealed up properly it's not been a problem.

Thanks for the useful input.:cheers:

I'll keep posting as this project goes together.
 
Jim, you might want to give Jim Sickles at Downey Off Road a call too. He had one made up for his 65swb45 that is still in progress. If you look on the lower left side of his homepage:

http://www.downeyoff-road.com/

there's a pic of his creme-colored 45 without the top on. He also moved the tank out of the cab and put one in the front of the bed instead.

Best

Mark A.
 
Need a rear housing

BTT.

Rats, foiled again. Thought this truck would have 10mm diff mounting studs, but no.

Change from 8mm to 10mm happened 4/65 and this truck is a month earlier than that. :mad:

Looking for a rear axle housing w/ the larger 10mm diff studs and the sway bar links.
I think this would be any FJ55, and 5/65-later FJ45.
If anybody has just a bare housing, please LMK.

Will trade a complete 1965 rear axle for it.
 
FJ40Jim said:
BTT.

Rats, foiled again. Thought this truck would have 10mm diff mounting studs, but no.

Change from 8mm to 10mm happened 4/65 and this truck is a month earlier than that. :mad:

Looking for a rear axle housing w/ the larger 10mm diff studs and the sway bar links.
I think this would be any FJ55, and 5/65-later FJ45.
If anybody has just a bare housing, please LMK.

Will trade a complete 1965 rear axle for it.
Click to expand...


I have at least two complete rears, but they're in Idaho.

Back to the cage, are you just wanting a rear hoop or are you wanting a complete cage? I still have the stock tank and my cage clears the filler pipe, I just had to rotate the filler 90 degrees so as to miss the vent/anti-gurgle tube.

One thing I'd do different is make the lower section of the cage seperate from the upper and have a bolted coupling somewhere above the tub/cab flange. with the way my cage flares out at the base (in order to maximize legroom) there is no way to lift it in and out in one piece, I had to build it in the cab and can't remove it without cutting it apart.
 
I have been looking at mine and want to move it as well. It is currently in the rear between the rails but was shrunk when the rear was bobbed. Also has a hokey filler setup and the 3" exhaust is routed down the center of the truck.

Will likely go to a larger fuel cell in the bed behind the cab for more capacity, better weight distribution and ease of filling. I would like it between the frame rails behind the cab but for working out a filler and having to redo the already nice exhaust setup.
 
fuel fill neck

I wasn't sure where to put the fuel filler. Inside the rear wheelwell is one possibility. Somebody had a pic of an FJ45LV w/ a setup like that recently. I've seen old fullsize american trucks that were setup like that w/ an aftermarket long range tank. W/ the OME suspension and 32x10.50 tires there is space.

The customer has suggested cutting a hole through the fenderwell and mounting the fill neck through the rear face of the wheelwell. So it would be filled inside the bed. I don't have a problem w/ this except it might require a 90 deg bend in the filler right behind the fill cap, making it impossible to get the filler nozzle fully into the fill opening. It might burp and choke when filling.

The truck has a nice paint job now, so we are trying not to hack into the bedside.

Constructive criticism and/or snide comments welcomed. :)
 
I hacked into the bedside....no big whoop. looks like it was meant to be there so it works for me. ( course, my painjobs tend to come out of a spraybomb...:grinpimp: )


having the fuel filler in the bed would be a major pain in the ass I think. not to mention if you wanted to camp or something in the back of the truck, it would stink like gas in there....

presently my batteries are under the bed up forward, and it's a pain in the ass, as there's always some stuff in the back of the truck, and considering that batteries are something you need to get to once every few months , not every other day....

some pics of it in here... http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j171/seapotato1/bj45/

hack hack hack....:D
 
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