- Year
- 1970
- Vehicle Model
- 45 Series
- Location
- Columbus, Ohio United States
- Mileage
- 5000
- Color
- rgb(72, 255, 0)
UPDATE on page 2.
I moved, and now looks like I'm moving again. I have an offer at $30k but looking for more like $50. It's a 4-door now, will remove these pictures when I get to a computer. Need to sell by October 23rd or I will be gone and it will sit inside a barn for 6 months.
Recent additions are new GM 4.8 motor, 4.56 gears, front SOA, LSD front traction device and rear ARB locker with compressor. It's not a restoration truck and not perfect, but it has a modern drivetrain and one of a kind body. The ride with the long wheelbase and SOA is awesome!
The green set of wheels is gone, just the black wheels and 37" tires will come with the truck. Both sets of doors will come with the truck.
Mud build thread: Extended cab 45 SWB from a 40
The details:
FJ45 Extended Cab Soft Top, 6-speed automatic transmission, two transfer cases, 6.0L fuel injected V8, heat, FM/Bluetooth sound. I recently spent ~$5000 to replace the motor, convert to Hydroboost, upgrade shocks and improve the electrical system. This thing is a blast to drive. The V8 and auto with the low first gear moves it along and turns very low highway RPM. It’s smooth and the ride is great for leaf springs. Half the time I drive it someone is taking a picture of it or waiting to ask me about it when I get back.
The body was constructed from a 1970 FJ40 that was cut in half. The original VIN was kept and the truck is titled in California as a 1970 FJ40 “Pickup”. The frame was stretched 28” between the wheels and 12” after the rear wheels. New steel frame sections were slotted inside the original frame and then capped over and strengthened with inside plating. The cab floor was flattened and the extended cab was built from scratch from the B-pillar back. The roll cage is integrated into the sides of the cab extension and forms the frame for the soft top, there is no secondary soft top frame. The front part of the cage is welded to the firewall and bolted to the windshield frame. The bed is custom flat bed with removeable wood sides. The windshield hinges are solid, not folding but could be replaced with hinges. The hard top had to be widened to fit over the cage and all the side and rear panels are removeable. The truck will come with 2 sets of FRONT doors. The full doors with roll down windows and a set of custom made steel half doors with the same hinges and door latch mechanisms built from a second set of early FJ40 doors. The rear doors are Aqualu aluminum with a steel frame and poly carbonate bolt on upper window. All of the seats are from modern Volkswagen vehicles, the fronts are from a Jetta and the rears from a Tiguan. The fronts have heaters but I haven't figured out how to wire them up. The rear seats fold and slide forward and back depending on what you need to carry. With the cab stretch its useable for 4 adults now.
The drivetrain consists of a 2020 GM LY2 4.8L new from GM with a Lunatti RV cam, a 2009 6L90E 6-speed transmission completely rebuilt, a Northwest Fab Blackbox Doubler and finally a Toyota split case. The split case has 10% underdrive gears installed to account for the 38" tires, you will hear more gear noise from the transfer case because of this. The front axle is an FJ60 axle with IFS hubs (+3” WMS), a RedLine Cruiser big brake kit and chromoly birfields, Marlin 25mm pin kit and a Toyota LSD with 4.56 gears. The rear axle is an FZJ80 axle with Nitro chromoly axles and an ARB locker with 4.56 gears. There are 4 matching Method 17x9 wheels with 38" Patagonia Mud Tires and 1 new 37” Geolander MT spare tire. The shifter for the automatic transmission is from an FJ62 with custom linkage to let it actuate the 6L80E shifter. There are 3 levers for the transfer cases, high low for the BB, high low for the split case and 2WD-4WD for the split case. The drive shafts are FJ40 in the front and FJ60 in the back that have been rebuilt and extended.
The front suspension is a spring over on a 60 axle, with the springs out-boarded. Front springs are OME lift springs for an FJ60. The rear springs are 63” Chevy 2500HD springs mounted over the axle with a RuffStuff track bar. Front and rear Fox 2.5" body adjustable remote reservoir shocks. It’s roughly a 6” lift over a stock FJ40.
The steering system consists of a 1976 FJ40 steering column connected to a Borgeson U-joint, Borgeson collapsible column, double U-joint and a FZJ80 steering box. The steering column is supported with a 1” rod end to eliminate wobble. The axle has Marlin Crawler 25mm trunion pins and high steer arms and 1.25” DOM tie rods and drag links with FZJ80 tie rod ends. The steering wheel is from a 1994 Land Cruiser.
The fuel system consists of a 35gal steel Ford tank with an in tank fuel pump and external regulator. There is an EVAP canister mounted under the body and plumbed to the stock LY2 EVAP purge solenoid which is still functional. There is also an air manifold that collects breather tubes from both axles, both transfer cases and the transmission and connects to the snorkel.
The brake system starts with a reman 2009 Tahoe hydroboost booster and new Chevrolet 1-ton master cylinder. The brake lines are new from the master cylinder to the calipers in the front and from the master cylinder to the axle in the rear. The front calipers, rotors and pads are all from the RedLine big brake kit and the rear is stock Toyota FJ62 drum. It stops very well for a 5800lb FJ40!
The electrical system consists of a completely new wiring harness and a custom fuse block that incorporates both the body fuses and the motor/transmission fuses in one block. All lights are LED, interior and exterior. The gauges are by Speedhut and have the “FRANKN 45” text on the gauge face. The light and wiper switches are FJ40 switches. The heater blend air, fan and AC switches are part of the Old-Air heat and AC kit. There are two battery boxes mounted externally under the rear seats. The second battery runs the winch and the radio and is not connected right now. There is a Blue Sea dual battery controller and breakers already installed for a dual battery system.
I’d like to say this truck is perfect, but it’s not. I’m not a professional shop and this thing is half Roadkill and half real engineering, think of it as a big rat rod. The front end metal isn’t completely square and the hood doesn’t sit completely square. There are some rust spots starting to show where my painting wasn’t the greatest, I'm working on them. The seals between the doors and body aren’t water or wind tight. There are some rattles but as I get time I’m chasing them down and working on making the interior quieter. It has a HUGE turning radius! The hoses for the AC need to be crimped by a shop and the system filled.
I moved, and now looks like I'm moving again. I have an offer at $30k but looking for more like $50. It's a 4-door now, will remove these pictures when I get to a computer. Need to sell by October 23rd or I will be gone and it will sit inside a barn for 6 months.
Recent additions are new GM 4.8 motor, 4.56 gears, front SOA, LSD front traction device and rear ARB locker with compressor. It's not a restoration truck and not perfect, but it has a modern drivetrain and one of a kind body. The ride with the long wheelbase and SOA is awesome!
Mud build thread: Extended cab 45 SWB from a 40
The details:
FJ45 Extended Cab Soft Top, 6-speed automatic transmission, two transfer cases, 6.0L fuel injected V8, heat, FM/Bluetooth sound. I recently spent ~$5000 to replace the motor, convert to Hydroboost, upgrade shocks and improve the electrical system. This thing is a blast to drive. The V8 and auto with the low first gear moves it along and turns very low highway RPM. It’s smooth and the ride is great for leaf springs. Half the time I drive it someone is taking a picture of it or waiting to ask me about it when I get back.
The body was constructed from a 1970 FJ40 that was cut in half. The original VIN was kept and the truck is titled in California as a 1970 FJ40 “Pickup”. The frame was stretched 28” between the wheels and 12” after the rear wheels. New steel frame sections were slotted inside the original frame and then capped over and strengthened with inside plating. The cab floor was flattened and the extended cab was built from scratch from the B-pillar back. The roll cage is integrated into the sides of the cab extension and forms the frame for the soft top, there is no secondary soft top frame. The front part of the cage is welded to the firewall and bolted to the windshield frame. The bed is custom flat bed with removeable wood sides. The windshield hinges are solid, not folding but could be replaced with hinges. The hard top had to be widened to fit over the cage and all the side and rear panels are removeable. The truck will come with 2 sets of FRONT doors. The full doors with roll down windows and a set of custom made steel half doors with the same hinges and door latch mechanisms built from a second set of early FJ40 doors. The rear doors are Aqualu aluminum with a steel frame and poly carbonate bolt on upper window. All of the seats are from modern Volkswagen vehicles, the fronts are from a Jetta and the rears from a Tiguan. The fronts have heaters but I haven't figured out how to wire them up. The rear seats fold and slide forward and back depending on what you need to carry. With the cab stretch its useable for 4 adults now.
The drivetrain consists of a 2020 GM LY2 4.8L new from GM with a Lunatti RV cam, a 2009 6L90E 6-speed transmission completely rebuilt, a Northwest Fab Blackbox Doubler and finally a Toyota split case. The split case has 10% underdrive gears installed to account for the 38" tires, you will hear more gear noise from the transfer case because of this. The front axle is an FJ60 axle with IFS hubs (+3” WMS), a RedLine Cruiser big brake kit and chromoly birfields, Marlin 25mm pin kit and a Toyota LSD with 4.56 gears. The rear axle is an FZJ80 axle with Nitro chromoly axles and an ARB locker with 4.56 gears. There are 4 matching Method 17x9 wheels with 38" Patagonia Mud Tires and 1 new 37” Geolander MT spare tire. The shifter for the automatic transmission is from an FJ62 with custom linkage to let it actuate the 6L80E shifter. There are 3 levers for the transfer cases, high low for the BB, high low for the split case and 2WD-4WD for the split case. The drive shafts are FJ40 in the front and FJ60 in the back that have been rebuilt and extended.
The front suspension is a spring over on a 60 axle, with the springs out-boarded. Front springs are OME lift springs for an FJ60. The rear springs are 63” Chevy 2500HD springs mounted over the axle with a RuffStuff track bar. Front and rear Fox 2.5" body adjustable remote reservoir shocks. It’s roughly a 6” lift over a stock FJ40.
The steering system consists of a 1976 FJ40 steering column connected to a Borgeson U-joint, Borgeson collapsible column, double U-joint and a FZJ80 steering box. The steering column is supported with a 1” rod end to eliminate wobble. The axle has Marlin Crawler 25mm trunion pins and high steer arms and 1.25” DOM tie rods and drag links with FZJ80 tie rod ends. The steering wheel is from a 1994 Land Cruiser.
The fuel system consists of a 35gal steel Ford tank with an in tank fuel pump and external regulator. There is an EVAP canister mounted under the body and plumbed to the stock LY2 EVAP purge solenoid which is still functional. There is also an air manifold that collects breather tubes from both axles, both transfer cases and the transmission and connects to the snorkel.
The brake system starts with a reman 2009 Tahoe hydroboost booster and new Chevrolet 1-ton master cylinder. The brake lines are new from the master cylinder to the calipers in the front and from the master cylinder to the axle in the rear. The front calipers, rotors and pads are all from the RedLine big brake kit and the rear is stock Toyota FJ62 drum. It stops very well for a 5800lb FJ40!
The electrical system consists of a completely new wiring harness and a custom fuse block that incorporates both the body fuses and the motor/transmission fuses in one block. All lights are LED, interior and exterior. The gauges are by Speedhut and have the “FRANKN 45” text on the gauge face. The light and wiper switches are FJ40 switches. The heater blend air, fan and AC switches are part of the Old-Air heat and AC kit. There are two battery boxes mounted externally under the rear seats. The second battery runs the winch and the radio and is not connected right now. There is a Blue Sea dual battery controller and breakers already installed for a dual battery system.
I’d like to say this truck is perfect, but it’s not. I’m not a professional shop and this thing is half Roadkill and half real engineering, think of it as a big rat rod. The front end metal isn’t completely square and the hood doesn’t sit completely square. There are some rust spots starting to show where my painting wasn’t the greatest, I'm working on them. The seals between the doors and body aren’t water or wind tight. There are some rattles but as I get time I’m chasing them down and working on making the interior quieter. It has a HUGE turning radius! The hoses for the AC need to be crimped by a shop and the system filled.
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