HJ47 welcome here?

[Henry James the 47th]

Finally getting through the rest of the floor pan nastiness - feels good!!

 

[Henry James the 47th]

next set of three

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Three more. After some progress with the passenger side floor, I turned my attention to some minor stuff needing doing on the pedal box. I welded a wiring loom tie back on, and put in a couple of holes for the brake pedal spring to grab onto.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Next I repaired the hole-filled section of the metal flap that supports the upper dash pad - another piece chopped off the FJ40 firewall

 

[Henry James the 47th]

After putting the flap (I wonder what the correct name for it is?) into primer, I worked on the dash where the raised steering column cut out needed to be faired in to the lower lip of the dash. This was kinda tricky, and at one point I thought I'd butchered it completely. The patch piece comes again from the red FJ cab section.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

it came out alright i think. Then I cut the section out of the dash next to the ashtray hole which had a mounting hole for a warning light, and went to work on putting the heater cable hole piece form the FJ cab section into position. This gives me the tidy three-in-a-row set up of heater-related cables and switches on my dash I was looking for.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

At the end of the day, I couldn't resist filling in that last hole on the dash. i'll leave a hole for the cigarette lighter, and put a plastic blanking plug in the hole to the right of the lighter, just in case I decide to add something extra.

The dash is getting pretty close to finalized - just that left side transition to do on the lower dash lip -tomorrow I'll get that in for sure.

I'm taking up MoCoNative's idea and using the lighted 'Lights" dash switch, for fog lamps, or other accessory lights. The two position setting will be nice to have for running a bunch of lights. I'd like to have a spot light over the flat-deck on the rear of the cab -so maybe it could be tied in to that switch too.

Conveniently, the correct-sized hole is already there to the left of the instrument cluster for the light switch, so it will pop right in.

I'm thinking that the filter warning light could mount in the little 'nose' piece under the instrument cluster, but I'll wait until it is in my hands and how much space is required.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Didn't get so much accomplished on the welding/cutting/grinding/repeat program tonight, but spent a fair a bit of time thinking about how I want to set up this truck. That includes such things as wiring, dash layout, assessing the best way to repair the upper cowl, deciding about routing coolant lines to a second tank to heat straight veggie oil, and other stuff too.

Wiring: I'm thinking of putting the early 60 series fuse box and a section of the 60 main loom in to the 47. The 1980~'82 BJ60's had a simplified electrical system using regular old glass tube filament fuses, and the same slow glow system using the key in the column as a momentary switch. Incidentally, I found out that this early 60 ignition works in such a way as a "Wilson Switch" (search for this discussion on the diesel forum); that is, after holding on 'G' (glow), then starting, the key returns to the 'on' position. Then, if the exhaust shows that things aren't quite hot enough yet (unburnt fuel coming out as white smoke), you can jiggle the key back to the 'G' position to give a little bit more glow while the engine still runs. On the 47 series stock ignition, on the other hand, the 'G' position is reached by turning the key backwards, and then to start you have to turn all the way around forwards, past 'acc', 'off', and 'on'. Not the best design, and not usable as a wilson switch is, which would mean, if I had stuck with the stock steering and ignition, that I would have to drill another hole in the dash for a second glow push button switch. In fact, some stock BJ40's and 42's came with momentary 'glow' switch on the dash. The dash on my truck originally had one - I removed it when I fitted the tachometer in place, though I did save the mounting piece of sheet metal.

I'm pretty strongly thinking of putting a 60 series fuse panel in the truck instead of the 47 series unit. For the trouble of moving the fuse panel lower mounting tab down an inch or so, maybe 15 minute's work, I would increase the number of fuses from 7 to 15. The connection from the fuse panel to the steering column switches would be seamless ,and I could incorporate the 60 relay pod, which would give me relays for headlights, fog lamps, trailer wiring, and possibly a diesel fuel preheater like Webasto or Eberspacher (sp?) make. I'm just floating some ideas out at the moment - I don't know all the electrical requirements my truck will eventually have, but I'd rather install surplus capacity than have a system that has everything maxed out. The dimming headlights that can result from electrical draws elsewhere, is remedied by using a relay, and why not use a Toyota system?

So, in short, my electrical system is going the be like some sort of hybrid between a 47 and a 60, circa 1980~'82.

The dash consideration include the mounting of an hours meter for the 2H engine, along with a real oil pressure guage and possibly a pyrometer too. I am considering whether to mount the digiclock or not. I have a 24v. one that has some fancy features, and I'll have to study the wiring to see if it can be operated on 12v. or not.

I've decided to order in some Toyota Euro-spec. door mount mirrors, which are a rather unpalatable $230/ea. They are so much nicer than the regular ones (one of mine is busted anyway) - after seeing them on a mint German BJ42 I knew they were the ones to get.

I'm thinking Toyo M55 tires in either 32 or 33" size.

I'm debating about keeping the split rims or not.

So many decisions to make!

The new ignition barrel is pictured below, sourced from Australia as they are obsolete in the Canadian Toyota database

 

[Henry James the 47th]

I did mange to do some slice and dice on the floor, along with the FJ firewall, but ran out of zip wheels. There are a few spot welds to deal with, and the rust pitting makes the spots hard to, well, spot.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

looking for this!

If there are any 45 owners out there who have a rear section of cab that has the gas filler port and through hole for the floor ('79 and later I suppose for the floor piece), I would be interested in acquiring these bits of sheet metal, as pictured. This would facilitate the smooth install of an aux. fuel tank for veggie oil. Please pm me if so. surely there are some dead Canadian or Australian 45/47 series trucks out there with these bits of sheet still good?

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Got a solid three hours done on the truck tonight. Just one more work session left before I go on vacation for a spell, so I'm trying to get as much welding done as possible.

One of the tricky repair areas to deal with was the upper cowling where it joins the valance under the windscreen. Looking at the way Toyota assembled this part of the cab, they practically designed it to rust out. The upper cowl piece folds downward and then is intermittently spot welded to the front of the valance. The only thing keeping the elements out of this seam is the seam sealer, and they stuff eventually fails from repeated sun/rain/hot/cold cycles, and then the water wicks in and the rust out commences. This could have been much improved, it seems to me, by having the the cowl turn upwards at the rear edge, and then having the valance sheet sit down over top and in front of it. Then, even when the seam sealer failed, the configuration of the seam would keep water out for the most part. Given that the upper colw-valance connection is the most exposed on the vehicle, in terms of sun and pounding/driven rain, it seems like they might have done a little better at the factory.

f course, the way they designed it is perfect when planned obsolescence is in mind, and it has given me ample opportunity to practice my sheet metal technique.

I was having a hard time figuring out how to repair the rotten metal along parts of this seam, until the FJ40 firewall cam along. It was in rust-free condition in this area, and I was able to scavenge three patch panels to repair my cowl. If I could have had the FJ firewall from the get-go, it would have been a better candidate for swapping, no doubt, and i am still thankful hugely to SeaPotato for donating the BJ40 firewall to my cause. It was leagues better than the original that come to me from Australia, that's for sure.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

I got some new zip wheels in the afternoon after work, and was able to cut out the remaining needed pieces form the donor FJ firewall. Then i pried out the vestiges of seam sealer, glass blasted the sheet pieces, and used a rust converting liquid to soak the seams.

Then it was the fit and adjust routine..

 

[Henry James the 47th]

If you were ever curious to see down the top of the door pillar, and the glove box from another perspective, here you go:

 

[Henry James the 47th]

next set

 

[Henry James the 47th]

another three

 

[Henry James the 47th]

and another set of three. I had to be observant around the more complicated patch at the passenger side valance corner, as the patch had to be in plane with the rest of the windshield support channel. A month or two ago, i wouldn't have had the experience to do this properly, and probably would have welded it in with a little upward kink, which would have caused problems.

The last picture shows where I left off tonight, with most of the welding done - another 40 minutes tomorrow and it should be tidied up.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Last set.

In other news:

-picked up fan belt and power steering belt from Toyota dealership today
-pulled the trigger on the Euro spec. mirrors, and have decided to get a new rear view mirror as well.

Hoping to get the cab popped back on the chassis tomorrow and get that steering column length finalized.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Personally, on the grill, I'd keep your stock one. I'm a purist, so, I like to keep things in the proper time period. The metal thickness is not a big issue to me. If you prime and prep it well enough, the rust will not be there. Having thicker metal or thinner metal will mean it could rust through faster, but good paint will be the key for either one. As far as strength and rigidity, I bet the new one has more bracing in it, and less metal for cost savings and weight reasons as the manufacturing was improved on Cruisers to save money on the line. I've noticed that a lot as Cruisers got newer, things appear to be assembled more quickly and probably with more robots than the early ones.

Part of what makes your rig unique is that it is an HJ47, not a FJ45 from the late 60's. I'd keep the stock grill and appearance, you already have the newer cab and such, might as well keep it in the same vintage.

But either way, it would look good, the early grill is not a bad thing either, but all the lighting you will have up front with the 70 series signals may look odd too.

Just my opinion on this stuff, hope it helps you out. I really like your project though, looking good no matter what you do.

I've been thinking about these comments a fair bit, and I am not sure i share some of your conclusions entirely. The early bib not only has thicker metal, but i suspect the compostion of the metal was a bit better too. As for Toyota modernizing pressing, I suspect the prime mover in that was cost savings. The new bib is constructed pretty much the same as the early one - there is nothing notably more sophisticated about the way it is put together. Thinner metal is just not as god as the thicker stuff in the case of the 40, from what i have seen so far.

That being said, there is something to be said by keeping to the correct period bib style with the square bezel, and yeah, this is an HJ47 and not a FJ45, similar as they may be. But, I'm no purist -i want the truck to come out of this rebuild looking basically stock, and being basically stock, but I'm not adverse at all to making 'improvements' where i can, if I can use Toyota stuff to do it. It is obvious in later vehicles that some things did improve - electrical systems, beefiness of steering gear, the improved steering system in a 60 compared to a 40, etc etc. It comes down to deciding where to draw the line in terms of modifications, and that's different for most everyone. Some would never dream of cutting into the sacred dash metal, while others are looking to create the ultimate crawler and down care if the only stock item left when they're done is the bezel. I fall somewhere in between.

Do you really think, getting back to the comments about the different bibs, that the early bib with its marker lights would look bad when paired with the 70 series signal lamps?

 

[MoCoNative]

On the bib construction, I was just speculating the differnence in construction, I've noticed variances in several other areas of a 40 through the years, and assumed it was different possibly. What I have heard, yet never seen, is bibs will rust out between the areas where they are double thickness, which is pretty much the whole bib. I would look at that closely, the first guy to ever mention that to me was an Australian, so???? The thicker metal may be the way to go if that is the case.

As far as funny looking, hard to tell, you could always mock it up I guess, pretty quick and easy to do, just set the bib in place with a bolt or two, try each of them. I'm thinking the 70 series lights, sitting closer to the bib than the old markers, and then a second set of much older looking lights below could clash and be too many lights in one spot. Of course this is a totally aesthetics type response. Functionally, the little lights down below are usually blocked by modded bumpers and winches.

But it is a nice blending of new and old too. Just my opinions here, your project is looking great, really is, and either way you are going to have a very reliable and solid truck, just like you want.

Mock it up, see what it looks like, post some pics, won't hurt.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Hey MoCoNative,

thanks for your post. I will get some pics of the mock up when it happens, which won't be until at least September.

Last pictures before the break, no time right now for comments, though I might add them in later.