Soon to be new owner of a '74 FJ40

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I was thinking that those holes looked more like it would be for a round sidemarker, but yeah- you are right about them looking a lot like mounting locations for an antenna which would explain them on just one side.

Also thought about one side being filled in but why would anyone just fill in one side. I could fill in the holes, but then I would have an "incorrect" tub. It helps that it was removed and redone about 11 years ago. Wouldn't mind doing the work and putting in the time if someone had another tub cuz I think I would feel funny altering a tub that is in good shape. Will leave it the way it is for now. At this point, I should probably be thinking about what tools to bring and what I should do to get it ready for the trip.

Will be receiving the title soon and intend to register it as an antique vehicle which means a one time permanent registration fee and no inspection. Once I get it registered I will probably start a new thread documenting the trip.
 
Antique Registration in Pennsylvania

Hey Corey,
I have my FJ40 registered in PA as an Antique Vehicle (no inspection - no registration FOREVER) and it was not easy to do. I will give you some of the details that I found when I was trying to do it.

you have to have:
stock wheels
hubcaps
original color
4 detailed pics of the sides and front and back
all windows need to be rolled up and visible (ask me how I know this)
hardtop on
no extras/bolt ons/factory look
there are a few more - I will have to think of them.

If you stop by to check my 40 out, I will show you the pics that I sent. The PA DMV is very tough on registering Antique Vehicles as I have learned. I was told that the antique vehicle registration system was abused by car and motorcycle owners and now they are real sticklers.

Talk to you soon,
Sno Dawg - Jeff
Philadelphia
 
Sno Dawg said:
Hey Corey,
I have my FJ40 registered in PA as an Antique Vehicle (no inspection - no registration FOREVER) and it was not easy to do. I will give you some of the details that I found when I was trying to do it.

you have to have:
stock wheels
hubcaps
original color
4 detailed pics of the sides and front and back
all windows need to be rolled up and visible (ask me how I know this)
hardtop on
no extras/bolt ons/factory look
there are a few more - I will have to think of them.

If you stop by to check my 40 out, I will show you the pics that I sent. The PA DMV is very tough on registering Antique Vehicles as I have learned. I was told that the antique vehicle registration system was abused by car and motorcycle owners and now they are real sticklers.

Talk to you soon,
Sno Dawg - Jeff
Philadelphia
Click to expand...

This blew my mind when I talked to Jeff about it - I got my Land Cruiser registered as antique just over the border in DE with a V8 engine that was 10+ year older than the truck, and has CHEVROLET written on both valve covers - aftermarket wagon wheels, a GM bench seat, zip-tied on bumper, aux fuel tank, etc...
 
RWBeringer4x4 said:
This blew my mind when I talked to Jeff about it - I got my Land Cruiser registered as antique just over the border in DE with a V8 engine that was 10+ year older than the truck, and has CHEVROLET written on both valve covers - aftermarket wagon wheels, a GM bench seat, zip-tied on bumper, aux fuel tank, etc...
Click to expand...

To register as "historic" in NJ, you have to bring two pictures - front and side, but that's about it. The clerks at the DMW window have no idea what an FJ40 is, let alone what "stock" should look like. :doh:
 
My '91 Pickup is registered as a classic and it was a piece of cake. Would somehow need to get the wheels replaced and the doors/top cleaned up for pics while it is still in Indiana in order for that to happen...
 
Photoshop!
 
I've actually seen guys take all the "stock" parts off a buddy's rig one day, snap some photos or run through inspection as necessary, get the antique tags, then go home and put all their non-stock gear on. Kind of a pain but with antique tags, you only have to do it once!
 
If anyone wants to offer doing a wheel swap for pictures, please let me know. I would at least buy lunch or dinner when I am in town for whoever is up for it. When I tried to get the Mustang registered as an antique, they told me to put on correct wheels and tires. They obviously had no clue that the wheels were factory Magnum 500's although you couldn't get BFG raised white lettering tires then.
 
Korey said:
If anyone wants to offer doing a wheel swap for pictures, please let me know. I would at least buy lunch or dinner when I am in town for whoever is up for it. When I tried to get the Mustang registered as an antique, they told me to put on correct wheels and tires. They obviously had no clue that the wheels were factory Magnum 500's although you couldn't get BFG raised white lettering tires then.
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I'd offer to help, but my wheels are not stuck either.
 
While I await the rest of the pics from the seller (server in ebay link where main pics are is down) I decided to see what I could do with photoshop. Only took a couple min and the results are not half bad. If i put in a couple hours worth of work, I could probably pull it off:
fj40 original.webp
FJ40.webp
 
This is where I'm at now. I'm a little rusty with photoshop as you can tell. Other than needing to match the door a little better, I'm trying to figure out how to edit the hinge and trim so that it matches the paint. I'm thinking maybe under image adjustments where I can fool with it to get the levels right.
fj-40 copy.webp
fj40 pass copy.webp
 
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Went to the local tag place and all they needed was a pic of the VIN and insurance info in order for them to complete the application for the antique tag. Thanks everybody for your contributions. I will start a new thread soon documenting the trip.
 
Wow - that is an amazing development. I had to jump through a couple of huge hoops to get my truck to stock and take perfect pics of it - which the DMV rejected the first time because they thought my windows were open/did not have glass. I tried to show how there was a small glare and the glass was very clean. Also - I never run my hardtop so I had to get all of the pieces - take my soft top off and put my hardtop on for the pics.

Finally they passed it as an Antique!

I am now putting putting my OEM bows and soft top on which hopefully will stay on for quite some time.

Korey - if you need any parts at any time to make your truck look stock, I am happy to switch over wheels, doors etc.

BTW - I just sold a ton of parts over the past 3 weeks - if you find you need anything, give me a shout.

You 40 looks really nice.

Sno Dawg - Jeff

Korey said:
Interesting. Checked around and apparently they did change the requirements recently. Pics are no longer required. This is awesome news! Thank you!
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