square bezelled tan fj45s from BC?

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semlin

semlin

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so I keep seeing these things, and they seem to have wonky wrong year titles which is very unusual up here. I have never seen a square bezeled bc fj45 that was not tan. in fact i thought that fj45s only came into Canada officially until 1978.

anyone know anything about them? maybe a forestry company got a fleet of them for offroad use like mine trucks? (I have heard rumours this happened in the kootenays).

i don't have a photo of the first one i saw but it was advertised as a 1976 and was square bezelled. these are two different trucks.

first one advertised on mud in the summer

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this one was on craigslist here a month or two back. it is titled as a 77 and had been used as a ranch truck and the owner believes it has never been insured to drive on the highways from new.
mystery.webp
 
what got me thinking about this again is this photo taken by monniepoo today in socal. anyone know who owns these three bad boys?

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semlin said:
what got me thinking about this again is this photo taken by monniepoo today in socal. anyone know who owns these three bad boys?
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All I keep saying is, "Wow"

thanks

bx
 
Perhaps in some cases the bib has been replaced and that's how they ended up with the square bezel. If a person wanted/needed to buy a new bib or bezel, all that's available are the '79~'84 type, AFAIK. Heck it's a theory anyhow.

You're right though about the '78 cutoff date for Canadian fj45's - aside from the ones brought in for the mining industry (which are still imported today by ENS Industrial in Saskatchewan).
 
that's a lot of bezel replacements.

the first one photographed above was being sold as a 1980.

i have an interior shot of the second one somewhere if that helps date it.
 
semlin said:
that's a lot of bezel replacements.

the first one photographed above was being sold as a 1980.

i have an interior shot of the second one somewhere if that helps date it.
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Bibs, except for the stout early ones with the marker lights built in, which were 14 g. metal, are one of the most rust-prone pieces of sheet metal on a 40, given the way they are made, their location at the front of the truck getting blasted by the wind and rain and the fact they are in front of the radiator. The lower 1/5 of the bib is very prone to rusting out.

Not saying this explains it all mind you :D

The one being sold as an 1980 should have the square bezel, but where it came from would be the question of course.

Most of the mining trucks that get released for sale are pretty much beat to s*** from what i have seen.
 
honestly, i don't think any of these trucks have rusted out a bezel. here is a close up of the 2nd one. no paint on the hinge bolts. looks like original paint to me.
closeupmystery.webp
 
I'm a fan of the square bezel. I think it adds a current look to a really neat design...which still hasn't gone out of style - The Cruiser.

I'm trying to source a FJ25 bezel for my 45LV wagon. (yeah I'm copying you.....you know who!)

Congrats to the owner of the 3 tan ones sitting in the snow!
 
i know there were alot of cruisers and ALOT of parts up in sask in the mines, my uncle works there but i doubt any of those are from his mine....after they were done with them they just put fill over the trucks and buried all the parts, everything! bastards! oh yea....and they were all diesel....
 
Buried all the trucks......what a DAMN fool thing to do!! ARUGH!
 
pretty sure there were post 78 45's sold in Canada, 75 was I think the 1st year, I wanna say 82 was the last of the 45 you guys got.
 
When I moved to Orcas Island in '78 therewere 2 fj 45 lpbs here. I knew exactly what they were, as I had worked with a guy hauling boats with a '66 in one of my first jobs as a kid. One of the two here was Bill Yarlott's '67 that landpimp has now, the other was fresh off the showroom floor from the dealer in Victoria BC. , an hour away by ferry. Can't remember the bezel, but it was tan, had 7.50 x 16's on split rims and a full floater. It was owned by Bill Munich, a well driller and resident mechanical genius. He had trouble bringing it across the border , but was finally allowed to drive it to L.A. to the only dot testing station on the west coast, where it failed miserably. What to do? He goes to the closest Toyota dealer and buys a brand new tan fj 40 and puts all the pollution gear on the 45 . Still no pass so he just swaps engines in a rented garage. Now it passed. His brother flew down and drove the 40 with the non usa engine in it back home. As far as I know, Bill's son Hans still owns the truck but has moved off island.
 
island45 said:
When I moved to Orcas Island in '78 therewere 2 fj 45 lpbs here. I knew exactly what they were, as I had worked with a guy hauling boats with a '66 in one of my first jobs as a kid. One of the two here was Bill Yarlott's '67 that landpimp has now, the other was fresh off the showroom floor from the dealer in Victoria BC. , an hour away by ferry. Can't remember the bezel, but it was tan, had 7.50 x 16's on split rims and a full floater. It was owned by Bill Munich, a well driller and resident mechanical genius. He had trouble bringing it across the border , but was finally allowed to drive it to L.A. to the only dot testing station on the west coast, where it failed miserably. What to do? He goes to the closest Toyota dealer and buys a brand new tan fj 40 and puts all the pollution gear on the 45 . Still no pass so he just swaps engines in a rented garage. Now it passed. His brother flew down and drove the 40 with the non usa engine in it back home. As far as I know, Bill's son Hans still owns the truck but has moved off island.
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Cruiser Head: It's not a thing, it's a sickness, and no one that has it wants a cure! :cheers:
 
how did you know my 45 came from Orcas Island? it did in fact, it was from Napa CA before that....pics of it being hualed from the orignal owne in Napa by a Fj55 to WA are in SOR catolog or were a few years ago. I got it from the fireman in Anacortes who got it from the guy on Orcas, he was the one that put the FF in the rear and some other stuff.

local here in town has a 78, he and his buddy bought a pair of them in 78, took the beds off(to make them a cab/chasis) in BC, drove them to WA, went back and got the beds...I forget the exact reason but it was to get them into the US legal-ishly

orignaly owner in Napa, he repaired chainsaws(still have the doors with the Stihl logo's on them) and have the warantee card from him.
79180178.jpg


18363456.jpg


this is what was in the SOR cataolog but in B/W, I suspect the pic was on Orcas IS not in NAPA
19373708.jpg


today
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island45 said:
When I moved to Orcas Island in '78 therewere 2 fj 45 lpbs here. I knew exactly what they were, as I had worked with a guy hauling boats with a '66 in one of my first jobs as a kid. One of the two here was Bill Yarlott's '67 that landpimp has now, the other was fresh off the showroom floor from the dealer in Victoria BC. , an hour away by ferry. Can't remember the bezel, but it was tan, had 7.50 x 16's on split rims and a full floater. It was owned by Bill Munich, a well driller and resident mechanical genius. He had trouble bringing it across the border , but was finally allowed to drive it to L.A. to the only dot testing station on the west coast, where it failed miserably. What to do? He goes to the closest Toyota dealer and buys a brand new tan fj 40 and puts all the pollution gear on the 45 . Still no pass so he just swaps engines in a rented garage. Now it passed. His brother flew down and drove the 40 with the non usa engine in it back home. As far as I know, Bill's son Hans still owns the truck but has moved off island.
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landpimp... please read the thread entitled 'late thursday or early friday'. I AM the Orcas guy and have known Bill Yarlott for 30 years. He brought it here from Napa in '67 and was on his way to Alaska when he stopped by Orcas Island and met Carolyn, a young lady who became his wife. No Alaska for him.... Thanks for taking such good care of my favorite truck ever. My plan was to paint this one the same blue(turns out it was originally), and Ive already asked D'animal , who just happens to be a Stihl dealer also, if he has any vintage still logo pics. But right now I'm kinda liking the white.....Man, I wish I'd pulled that FF:crybaby:
 
One more thing... I noticed you posted a pic of the original radio speaker. I pulled the radio out because it looked like such a goofy hillbilly retrofit, being sideways. Gonna look in my old boxes and see if I kept it. Looks like we'll have to arm wrestle or throw dice to see who gets the matched set...country music sounds sooo good on an am radio with static.
 
Pretty sure your right as I have seen a few 1979 and 1980s all from Alberta.

Landpimp said:
pretty sure there were post 78 45's sold in Canada, 75 was I think the 1st year, I wanna say 82 was the last of the 45 you guys got.
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Radd Cruisers said:
Pretty sure you're right as I have seen a few 1979 and 1980s all from Alberta.
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Hey I saw a 1980 square bezel 45 today, so they must have sold them at least as late as 1980 here in Canuckistan. They're around.

On the one I looked at today, there were these curious little vents installed on the upper cab section - anyone seen these before? Here's some pictures:
DSC09374-small.webp
DSC09375-small.webp
DSC09376-small.webp
 
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