Picking It Up Sunday - My First 'Cruiser ('70) (2 Viewers)

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roadstr6

roadstr6

Joined
Apr 10, 2013
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Location
Weddington, NC
I just found this one with a lot of help from you guys and the Olde North State Club. I will be bringing it home next week. It's a '70. Was originally 3-on-tree but converted to floor. Regular F engine, 3 speed. Still has drums. It was restored in '00 -'01 and it looks like they did a surprisingly good job. Non-factory dark green (original was desert sand):crybaby:. I'm not a fender flare fan but oh well...I've seen worse. No real rust on this one which is the reason I bought it (the price was right too). F engine runs great. No smoke. Interior looks decent. It has been converted to buckets and the jump seats are missing. New tank. All new weatherstripping. Cab lined with Rhino Liner. Looks like they welded up the rear doors and made them into a tailgate. That was done well enough too but they omitted the tire carrier as a result:frown:. I've got the carrier but I'm not sure how I will mount it. Truck had been sitting for several months outside so it it covered with dust/pollen. I apologize for the crappy cell phone pics. I'll take more once I get it home and clean it up.









I'll be going through the electrical system soon to get things working again (looks like corrosion on the fuse box from leaky MC). I'd like to find a set of original steelies and caps (any ideas other than CCOT$ ?) Anything you guys see that I am missing? Let me know your thoughts. Critique my ride. Go ahead. I can take it!
 
Looks really nice.
Original steel wheels and hubcaps are available from Toyota and are not outrageous.
Ask the guys at your local club if discounts are available at any dealers.
Sam at Lowe's Toyota has good deals for MUD members:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/vendor-mar...ts-great-prices-free-shipping-most-items.html
A lot of people like 33x10.5's BFG MT KM2 on those wheels.

Ok, one criticism...not crazy about the front bumper.

Enjoy.
 
Looks like a great start. Clean dashboard, and maybe if you're lucky, the fenders are not cut under the flares.

You can take your time and slowly reverse the 'bad mods' and keep the good ones. The floor shifter hole will come in handy if you ever swap to a 4 speed transmission. If the welded custom-fab tailgate basically works and doesn't look too redneck, maybe you can just leave it.
 
edwjmcgrath said:
Ok, one criticism...not crazy about the front bumper..
Click to expand...

I agree 100% about the bumper. Yuck! The winch is non-functional. Owner says it is ancient and may even be for a reverse polarity setup. he didn't know much about it other than to say that he got it working once on the bench and installed it but it didn't work on the truck so he gave up. If any of you can identify the winch let me know. I'll check into that later.

Dave
 
Looks good so far, and the price doesn't sound to bad.
Can anyone tell if it is fact a welded tailgate or factory? Did factory barns come with the loops?
Thanks for sharing the price with all. It's good to know what the price is for these and the condition.
 
Looks like a great starting point. Hopefully not too much rust under that new paint; looks straight and clean.

For factory rims try Cruiser Dan at American Toyota on Albuquerque. Good mud discounts and strong cruiser knowledge.
 
That looks like it is a factory soft top tailgate - maybe even a factory soft top truck. Perhaps the hard top was added later. They are worth $$$ these days.

If you look at the SOR website, you can see some slight differences on the passenger side of the dash there will be a light that hard top trucks did not come with. Did the truck come with some odd looking straps by any chance? Old looking cotton webbing with clips on the ends. Are there loops near the door for them to clip onto?

You need to do a dual circuit master conversion - much safer.

I usually don't like swapped in buckets but those look cool. Familiar looking, what did they come out of?
 
Last edited:
Congratulations and welcome. Not sure what your plans are for it, but my biggest recommendation is to drive it and enjoy it for a bit first before starting on the work (and expense) of a restoration. Particularly with the nice weather ahead.


coinoperated40 said:
Can anyone tell if it is fact a welded tailgate or factory? Did factory barns come with the loops?
Click to expand...

Barn doors came with footmen loops. Can't tell from the fuzzy pics what this one is though.
 
Factory soft top tailgate? Maybe even a FST truck? Hmmm...........Now you've got me thinking...Man, I wish it wasn't two hours away! I'll definitely look into it further when I get it home. Do the FST models have anything special in the VIN?
 
roadstr6 said:
Factory soft top tailgate? Maybe even a FST truck? Hmmm...........Now you've got me thinking...Man, I wish it wasn't two hours away! I'll definitely look into it further when I get it home. Do the FST models have anything special in the VIN?
Click to expand...

I don't know about the VIN, maybe check with SOR.com about that.

My friend Adam's Factory Soft Top did not have holes in the WS frame for the hard top and there were holes in the back corners of the tub for the long since missing top bows. He also had the drop down tail gate, light at the passenger corner of the dash and some other FST features.

Now you have to get a factory soft top and bows!
 
kulangot said:
Now you have to get a factory soft top and bows!
Click to expand...

Don't I wish! Hehe. I think I will focus on just getting the truck driving down the road safely first. After looking at the info on here and comparing it to my pics I do believe this may actually be a FST model. Here's why I am thinking this way: 1. The tailgate is done too well to be a weld-together job. 2. The passenger side dash has the funky little light beside the glove box (see pic). 3. There are threaded holes on either side of the dash for the safety rings (although the rings are gone). I don't have the VIN number handy and none of my pictures show the hinges in enough detail to be able to tell if they are split. I have no pics of the cargo area. I don't remember seeing any brackets back there. Who knows? Maybe it is a FST.

Question:Does being a FST model make it any more valuable...or is it just a neat bit of trivia?


 
New Pics!!

I got the 'Cruiser home on Sunday with no drama and work has begun. I've been cleaning it up the last few days and making some changes...nothing major, just little stuff for now.

Hacked off the hideous bumper and removed non-functional winch:

Before:

During:

After:


Cleanup pics:

Before:



After:






I love the instant gratification stuff like cleaning and painting. I enjoy turning wrenches too. The thing I don't like is chasing electrical gremlins and this Forty has it's share. I can't get the lights or signals to work. Brake lights do work but nothing else. Any ideas? I haven't spent more than a few minutes looking into it. Any particular place I should start?
 
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