I Just Bought A FJ45

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rickschoppers

rickschoppers

10 Year
Joined
Jun 10, 2014
Threads
1
Messages
32
I just bought this FJ45 about a month ago and am deep into trying to clean it up and get it on the road.

I will post a few pictures first, if I can, and then start going through what I have done and what I need to do. This is what it looked like when I bought it.
land cruiser.webp
landcruiser 2.webp
 
Here is the truck after a few days in my garage. My plan is to clean up the sheetmetal and paint it with Rustoleum Satin Red. I purchased new front turn signals, new apron emblems, a new grille emblem along with some bolt kits and stainless latches. I will post a few more pics of what it is starting to look like.

2014-05-25 02.41.52.webp
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I thought I had taken some recent pics, but can't find them, so I will go out to the garage and take more. It is starting to shape up and my original intention was to clean it up and then sell it, but now I am getting attached. I have worked on and restored many vehicles in my day, but this one has got my attention due to the history and rarity.

Here is one of the aprons once I painted it and added the new emblem.

2014-05-25 02.41.20.webp
 
OK, just got back from the garage after taking a few pics of where the truck stands right now. It had some cancer on the front fenders, so I replaced them with some used fenders along with replacing the driver's side door. The only other major cancer is in the truck bed, which I may, or may not, replace. They are not the easiest pieces to find and I may just buy a large piece of scrap steel and place it in the bed for now. I don't like the replacement aluminum beds, so that is not really an option in my opinion. I have seen some members here post that they have a bed for sale, but we will see what happens. The truck is a LWB model and the bed is not a high priority right now.

I have been waiting for a brake line to show up and should be here tomorrow. Once I have that, I will see how the brakes are. When I drove the truck around to put it in the garage, the brakes were spongy and needed pumping to stop.
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As you can see from the pictures, I am starting at the front with the cleaning up process and moving back toward the rear of the truck. I mounted two jerry cans on the back of the bed and one may be replaced with a tool box that looks the same as one of the old cans.
 
It's funny that you say your intention was to clean it up and sell it. I had the same intention with my FJ40 in the summer of '91. I realized pretty quick that I was never going to sell it.


...via IH8MUD app
 
^
Yes, you are right. I also have a 1985 GMC Step Side 4x4 and have no problem parting with it. It may be a different story with the FJ45.
 
lots to work with there ... the sides of the bed/box look really good based on your pics ... can you weld pieces into the bed ... I can understand why you'd want to keep it ... looking forward to seeing what you do next ... nice colour, by the way ...
 
Yes, you can definitely patch most any sheet metal including the bed. The ribbing on the bottom of the bed can also be done by a good metal worker. The easier way is to find a bed to scalp, but that is pretty difficult here in the US. In Australia, it would be much easier since there are many F45 around in all shapes and conditions. They are very rare here in the US which makes them worth the bigger money with collectors.

I have read where others have taken bits and pieces off other truck beds, not necessarily Toyotas to complete their beds. Either way it is something I do not want to tackle right now and will just retard any further rusting. Like I said, I may or may not sell the truck and the extent of my clean-up will depend on the budget.

The box is not too bad and can be repaired or replaced which is a good thing.
 
Nice rig, they fetch LOTS of cash when brought back to original, but I would not sell that one
 
Just a quick comment on the color. The original color of the truck was red, but not satin red. The reasons I chose this color was that I had already painted my GMC satin black and it turned out great at a faction of the cost of having it painted professionally. The satin red gives the truck a more "vintage" look and allows any subsequent owners the choice of keeping it or having it professionally painted. The cost is very minimal and coverage of the paint is great.

If I wind up keeping the truck, I will probably just leave it as is. Doing this way makes it easy to grab the spray can if there are any small scratches or discoloring.
 
^^
Thanks tls, only time will tell if I sell it or not. I am currently retired and have a house in Thailand, but it is impossible to import any cars over there. I came back to sell off more of my possessions and wound up trading my customized Harley for it. A good trade IMO.
 
:cool:
 
With old trucks belong old restoration tricks

Nice to see how to flip a 45, good idea !



:cheers:
 
I saw this for sale on CL. Glad to see it on MUD and you cleaning it up. Depending on what you traded I think this was a good deal. Keep it, don't flip it. The truck deserves a good home.
 
^
I traded my customized 2002 Heritage soft tail. I used to build and customize bikes in Phoenix until the economy tanked. The bike was advertised a few times, but the market is still soft. It made sense to me to trade for the FJ45 and the more I read, the more I think it was a good move. Here is the bike I traded.

2013-02-16 06.09.56.webp
 
^
Thanks. At first, I had some remorse, but now that I have researched things a little more, I feel much better about the trade. Once the truck is cleaned up and on the road, its value can only increase. I am thinking about going to the Petaluma Swap Meet in July to show the truck and possibly pick up some parts.
 
Beautiful truck! Which engine is in this one? A friend of mine recently bought an FJ45 and was fortunate enough to have found out afterwards it was mated with the diesel.

Good luck on the rebuild. Looking forward to more pics!
 
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