Project Silver Bullet 1963 FJ45 (Australia) (1 Viewer)

[west aussie]

well punters the landcruiser gods have been smiling on me this year. positively grinning in fact. a big thanks to mudder andybudge who got the lead on this old gem and handballed it onto me. was far enough from home but as fate would have it had a 40th birthday to attend down that way so set off with car trailer, swags, some slim dusty cd's, plenty of beer and 6 of us in an 80 series. just back from a very full 3 days. with this:

 

[west aussie]

theres lots to like, and lots not to like, but theres lots of it there... and as we all know they look so much better once you get them home!

 

[west aussie]

its a 63 column shift. the po sourced this from a local farm about 7-10 years ago because it was going for scrap! he fired it up, plumbed some clutch hydraulics and drove it around the paddock a couple times. he swapped in (mocked up) later doors and windscreen surround (because they had glass) pulled a couple other things apart and eventually lost interest. no discredit to the po here; he a mechanic who restores old trucks for a hobby. he does some delightful work. this wasnt really his thing; he just knew the scrappys didnt deserve it. good on him

 

[ozcrusier]

Another nice score mate how's the chassis and body look for rust on this old tojo. Great to see you're collecting these old girls as we all know the scrap iron crusher will find them sooner or later.

 

[catskinner]

Nice save henry, i see she has all the bits on the back. ribbed roof is it? Does it have the 23mm wheel spanner in the box?

 

[cult45]

You gotta be sh!ttin me! Again??

 

[FJ404345]

Seems to be again

but lots of fun and a good catch, what else does one want ?

 

[catskinner]

You look like a wild bunch of buggers. is that sun up on the side of the road, carnt eat breakfast on a empty stomach as the old timers say

 

[cult45]

You just had to go and post a pic of the stamped bezel, didn't ya. The only saving grace here is the lack of hubcap-ready rims

All jokes aside, it's a cracker of a truck. Looks to be all there. I see a nice pair of RTM's too haha. I think I see a white 45/47 troopy way in the background. An early Landrover too. Telly you what, if that Rover runs and it's a ute, my old man might be keen.

 

[Aussie 25]

You must have a better nose than a bloodhound to be able to sniff them out. It looks good.

 

[west aussie]

thanks again to andybudge and thanks for the comments!

its a 63. comes with a 67 build f motor with all the fruit; carby' aircleaner, genny, regulator, hand primer pump. one tin cap master cyl. the gearbox and column lingage are the later generation; so much for all my spruiking and surmising that australia never got the 2nd generation of the 3 speed in column shift formation. apologies for the misinformation! has the offset rear diff but retains the skinny fj25 type driveshafts.

cab is a mishmatch of everything. it has been painted silver with a housebrush (hence the name) and a lovely orange? on the inside (more on this later). its a bit rusty about the floor but salvageable enough. has an ashtray but no provision for rear locks yet.

roof is ribbed and not too bad at all far as they go. no tools at all! most of the 23mm nuts are there though.

came with these period lock hubs (work) and a funky steering wheel!

 

[west aussie]

try again!

 

[west aussie]

we set off the journey on an understanding of 500 negotiable. the haggling was fun to say the least! in the end we settled on 2 ctns of beer and 800 for the silver bullet, a recon front diff for a hzj79 (i need), and some old workshop manuals. we drank the beer while we were haggling, loading and driving around the district to visit a couple other likeminded chaps who like old junk. and camped the night care of the vendors hospitality.

for the record this came from the locality of hyden west aust. famous on the tourist trail for its 'wave rock' formation. go there; interesting rock and nice people. we stopped past. but a ways from my town. we left sat morn and got home mon midnight via party and sightseeing....

 

[west aussie]

tuesday was melbourne cup so we tinkered. cleaned cab, pulled fueltank and washed the crap out of it; plenty years under a tree with no roof have not done her any favours. got the motor to fire up easily enough after normal precautions. sounds good and got oil to the rocker shaft very quickly; rocker shaft still needs work though. wiring was a mess (more on this too later). after a celebratory beer, and with increased enthuseism, mate made up some rad hoses out of junk and i plumbed the clutch. was a fun day.

 

[west aussie]

backed her off the trailer. west aussies first ever drive of a column shift! we did a few mile; esky and fire extinguisher; only the former needed. too good for the scrappies!

 

[cult45]

west I'm pumped for you mate. Did the ol' column-shifter bring a grin to the ol' dial?

 

[Bumstein]

An early Landrover too. Telly you what, if that Rover runs and it's a ute, my old man might be keen.

Something that might tittilate your old boy cult45..

Has a 138 Holden red motor in it I'm told

 

[Bumstein]

I'll try and upload some vids.. Be patient with me, I'm a technospaz

 

[Bumstein]

Goodness!! It seemed to work I'm all over this vid thing like stink on a monkey!! I will try another..



It might be ambitious, but I try again on the same post

 

[murf]

Very cool she's back to life! Great story and adventure