NOTAGEEP
SILVER Star
Hey folks:
I recently bought a 1962 FJ40 FHT project, and I'm trying to learn about the EARLY stuff I've never had to think about with my 1970s rigs (it's a welcome diversion, although kinda expensive and daunting for parts I don't have!). Anyway, I have a question about exterior handles on bifold hardtop doors (see attached photo). I've noticed that really nice 1962 restorations that seem pretty accurate (e.g., the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum 1962 on their website, among others) and some unmodified 1961 and 1962 rigs I've found online do not have any kind of handle over the buttons used to open the bifold hatch from the outside. My hatch doesn't have any exterior latches or even a mounting hole for exterior latches. I was missing a few parts for my bifold hatch and ended up buying one that was more complete that did include exterior latches and I've seen pictures of these latches online. Based on the schematic for the bifold hatch on SOR, it looks like the exterior latches were only available in 1963 and 1964. Is that correct? Were the exterior latches an option on pre-1963 bifold hatches, or were they truly only available from 1963-1964? I ultimately want to keep my 1962 as period-correct as possible (within reason ... I can't see EVER finding double-lensed front turn signals!). It would be kinda nice to include the bifold door with the exterior handles, but I don't want to do that if they weren't available in 1962. Thanks for any info you can provide!
I recently bought a 1962 FJ40 FHT project, and I'm trying to learn about the EARLY stuff I've never had to think about with my 1970s rigs (it's a welcome diversion, although kinda expensive and daunting for parts I don't have!). Anyway, I have a question about exterior handles on bifold hardtop doors (see attached photo). I've noticed that really nice 1962 restorations that seem pretty accurate (e.g., the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum 1962 on their website, among others) and some unmodified 1961 and 1962 rigs I've found online do not have any kind of handle over the buttons used to open the bifold hatch from the outside. My hatch doesn't have any exterior latches or even a mounting hole for exterior latches. I was missing a few parts for my bifold hatch and ended up buying one that was more complete that did include exterior latches and I've seen pictures of these latches online. Based on the schematic for the bifold hatch on SOR, it looks like the exterior latches were only available in 1963 and 1964. Is that correct? Were the exterior latches an option on pre-1963 bifold hatches, or were they truly only available from 1963-1964? I ultimately want to keep my 1962 as period-correct as possible (within reason ... I can't see EVER finding double-lensed front turn signals!). It would be kinda nice to include the bifold door with the exterior handles, but I don't want to do that if they weren't available in 1962. Thanks for any info you can provide!
