Builds FJ45SWB R/T from the Land of Enchantment (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

ClemsonCruiser

Supporting Vendor
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Threads
379
Messages
9,413
Location
North Augusta, South Carolina
I've been an avid fan of the 40 series going on 20 years now, ever since I first laid eyes on a FJ40 during my freshman year at Clemson. Since then I've been obsessed with them and blessed to have own every iteration of 40/45 sold stateside except for one - the FJ45swb removable top, the unicorn of the 40 series. For the better part of a decade I was determined to buy one, but unfortunately they were few and far between with their run only lasting from mid 1964 to the end of 1965 when they were phased out in favor of the new FJ45lp-b. It seemed every couple of years one would pop up for sale, but they were usually bastardy modified by a PO or rusted and mangled by the hard life these trucks lived back in the day. Finally, in May of 2017, one popped up on ebay that was very complete and original, albeit rustier than I normally like to deal with and sporting a hideous PO paint job. However I couldn't let the chance to own my unicorn pass. I bid early and often, likely paying more than she was really worth, but that didn't matter to me. I was finally able to purchase my dream.

And this was her.

IMG_0060.JPG
IMG_0061.JPG
IMG_0062.JPG
IMG_0067.JPG
IMG_0070.JPG


Beautiful isn't she :D
 
The plan for this old girl is to revive her back to the original showroom glory with a nut and bolt frame off restoration. This past year I completed the restoration of my 1965 FJ45LP-B which you can see here, WY-REE-KA, I plan on bringing this old girl up to the same level of factory goodness. I am actually about mid-way through the restoration process currently having started in February of this year so I will be posting quite a bit in the coming days to bring things up to speed

For now though, my inspiration from the 1965 sales brochure.
F4360A15-323F-4227-8FFB-9F2A856B2C78.jpeg
2C021359-56FF-4181-87A3-5AB3A6CDD626.jpeg
F4356C57-9179-4EDA-B0D0-2EF8FB62C819.jpeg

480F750F-FBE1-4403-9CDA-AB51B8E1CB15.jpeg



1965 Has to be hands down my favorite year of Cruisers in the US, just look at that line up!
5D334A16-4135-452E-A2F7-D26B047B41E5.jpeg
 
Last edited:
JP, can’t wait to see another beauty, always loved that ad for the shorty. If you want to watch some cool 45 Swb rt action, there are 2 in the movie, Bless the beasts and the children. Weird movie but some good footage of the trucks( circa 1971) always thought Dom’s truck is one of them!!
 
Fantastic. I look forward to the build.

You're new website looks great too. If you ever need anything in AZ, lemme know.
 
The origins of this 45 are a bit hazy, but after talking with the previous owner who bought her out of west Texas it seems she was originally sold in the Albuquerque area of New Mexico. During the cleaning out process of the cab and glove box I found some business cards, automotive shop bills, and a dealer sticker from Silver City, NM backing up this narrative. It also appear from the contents found inside the 45 was likely a farm or ranch truck in it's life. As there were the ubiquitous bullets, farm equipment service items, fishing tackle, etc in the glove box and scattered underneath the seats. From what I gather she was last on the road during the 90s.

Well first things first, time to remove the body and disassemble this old girl down to the bare frame.

IMG_0088.JPG
IMG_0090.JPG


We just happened to have a lull on site for some construction we had going on.... what a handy tool!

IMG_0119.JPG
IMG_0122.JPG


With the body liberated from the frame I set my recently retired father, read free labor, about doing some initial cleaning and scraping of the drive-train. It's amazing how much dirt and dust gets caked onto these things :doh:
IMG_0130.JPG
 
JP, can’t wait to see another beauty, always loved that ad for the shorty. If you want to watch some cool 45 Swb rt action, there are 2 in the movie, Bless the beasts and the children. Weird movie but some good footage of the trucks( circa 1971) always thought Dom’s truck is one of them!!


Thanks for the heads up Whitey I'm going have to dig that movie up, nothing better than some vintage Cruiser footage!
 
Fantastic. I look forward to the build.

You're new website looks great too. If you ever need anything in AZ, lemme know.
Thanks Jack! I always need rust free Cruisers got any of those out that way :D
 
Class is in session. :popcorn:
 
Sweet truck! I have two kids finishing Clemson in December, and they have told me about a couple 40's they have seen around town. Cant wait to see how this one turns out!

Very cool emac! Knowing what Clemson costs these days you should have plenty of funds to add to your Cruiser collection come next year ;) Clemson changed my life in a lot of ways but behind meeting my wife discovering Cruisers and the Cruiser community has to be the most lasting :D
 
Okay where did we leave off... Dad had spent the better part of an afternoon scraping, chiseling, beating the cement like paste that results from years of oil leaks and fine New Mexico dusting getting together. He actually did an admirable job cleaning things up.
IMG_0138.JPG



The PO had mentioned that he had tried to turn the engine over but hadn't had any luck. I had hoped there wouldn't be any major issues but once we popped the valve cover off things started to look bleak.

IMG_0145.JPG


If you're a bit squeamish you may want to skip the next few pictures :nailbiting: It quickly became obvious we were now looking at a boat anchor. Fortunately I had another early F135 engine in storage and it is currently being machined in preparation for a full rebuild.

IMG_0146.JPG
IMG_0151.JPG
 
With the body fully disassembled it was time for media blasting to see what was under that hideous green paint. In the past I have loaded up all the body parts and hauled them to my local media blasting company but this time around I decided to try one of these mobile dustless blasting companies. I really liked the idea of not having to haul everything to town and leave it in the care of someone else for a couple weeks plus the price was about half of what I had been paying. So win, win.

IMG_0240.JPG
IMG_0242.JPG
IMG_0244.JPG
IMG_0245.JPG


Overall they did a pretty good job. Biggest negatives were the massive mound of sand left behind and the fact that the water sand mixture had a knack for getting into any nook, cranny, and inaccessible space of the cab. Forming a paste that I spent a full day trying to get removed before I could lay down some epoxy primer. Though that minor inconvenience seemed trivial to the horrors revealed by the blasting on the SWB's bed. :eek:

IMG_0254.JPG
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom