Standing up for the Old Trucks

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Gumby said:
Sounds like you need to take your own advice and deal with it. People have been replacing the engines on 40 and 45 since the 60s. You could even buy a brand new one like that. Still can if you consider an icon to be a brand new vehicle.

I have all Toyota drivetrain parts in my LV and it's no more original than my csb swb. Neither is any less cool than a 3 speed 1F. Land cruisers are about function over form. What works best is what is the best. Otherwise you could just buy an Alfa.

As for the op

The linked post guy wants to make a 45 replica from an old 40. That's not bad in the least. Better than cutting up a 45. He's not diminishing the value of anything and even so who cares? There are thousands of 40s out there. Lots of them not ever going to be restored to original. If he can't turn one into a pick up, who are we to trash one of the trail or modify it until is barely looks like what it was?. The op's rig is cool and nowhere near stock. He is no one to throw stones.

I would much rather see someone cut down a 40 than stretch a 45 as the OP has done. OTOH, I don't care what you do, especially if the truck has already been modified. It's sad to see the guy who cut up a good LV to put it on a Tundra frame, but not so much to see Rod Millin cut up two good LVs to put on a 100 frame.

These were work trucks made in large numbers. They are not 340MM Ferraris.
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i was expecting that reply and i really dont give two s***s what anyone does to their cruisers for that matter but for someone to come on and say that building a 45 out of a beat up, rusty 40 is some sort of lie or some dumb s*** like that?? keep your stupid talk to yourself. no one needs to hear it and my favorite part of the hard core corner are the modified 40s and what people have done to them..
i will build whatever the hell i want.. half of the nicer 45 replicas were built from 40's.. i would have a hard time ever cutting up an original 45 (being that i have one of those as well..) but 40's are more than fair game.. most of what makes a 40 series rusts off anyways so you may as well save what you can and build something cool with it whether its a half cut buggy or a replica 45 or whatever the hell you choose..
i built mine only because i didnt have any money 10 years ago to buy a 45 but my 40 was screwed and aqualu 45 cabs were cheap back then..(1268 bucks to my door!!!)

as well, what toyota dealership offered to put in a domestic engine into a new cruiser?? i did some quick research but didnt really find anything.. that must be a USA thing because up here we at least got a diesel option.. i dont know of any canadian dealerships offering to change your engine out with something less dependable..
 
zornff said:
I just finished the hard top for mine. Everyone calls it a xtra cab 45, i call it an 45.5 :D:D At least i have leg room, doh.
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Nice job man that thing is awesome
 
zornff said:
I just finished the hard top for mine. Everyone calls it a xtra cab 45, i call it an 45.5 :D:D At least i have leg room, doh.
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beautiful truck... how much extra did you extend that cab?? i see it has to be at least the vent window width but much more???

i have a rusty bj42 that needs a 45 conversion if it doesnt get turned into a buggy first but would love to make an "extra cab"as well.. mine is a little tight on long trips..

here is a few pics of my "fake 45" from my wifes and my honeymoon at the Marlin crawler roundup on the Rubicon... (i dont want to end up lying here and telling you its a real 45 or anything..)



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17" from back of door pillar. Vent window is 1" narrower than stock.
 
Fj-rankenstein, now that is indeed a short-bed, and I like it!

While most of us would love to have an original 45, sometimes the path takes us down the road of morphing a 40 into a 45. How about the 45 cab on the 80 chassis which was chasing Slee around at SNT last year, waiting for the Sleemousine to get stuck. Nothing wrong with such innovation at all IMHO, as long as the owner does not pawn a rig off as an original (tough to do with the VIN/data plate). Some of my favorite rigs on the site are converted 40's with the short bed setups. Something about a two-seater with room for a bit of junk in the back appeals to me. Personally I may go down this route if I can't find a decent 45 in the right price range in the next year.

:cheers: and keep sharing the photos.

Steve
 
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fj-rankenstein said:
as well, what toyota dealership offered to put in a domestic engine into a new cruiser?? i did some quick research but didnt really find anything.. that must be a USA thing because up here we at least got a diesel option.. i dont know of any canadian dealerships offering to change your engine out with something less dependable..
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It wasn't dealer. I want to say it was Confer. It was one of the bigger aftermarket suppliers. They would sell you a brand new LC with the conversion already done much like a Lingenfelter or Saleen today.

I have yet to blow up a CSB. I have tossed rods in two 2Fs. They are a straight six and therefore perfectly balanced, but the engineering was 20 years old when the CSB was introduced. You could argue all day that a 1F is more dependable than a 350, but it's very tough to say it was better.

However, if you believe that is so, then, by all means put a 1F in your truck. I don't care.
 
There is a real rarity and ''rust in piece'' to finding original Cruisers let alone try and find a 45.
If one can't find a 45 then Koodos to him if he can build one. They are rare , apprciated and turn heads and lets face it if they were available we would all have one.
Mine was an original 45 when purchased , frame rustred and needed a frame off so that provided the interest to make it into a 45 extacab.
Everyone has there version and that is what makes this site great !
There is alot of tallent out there and is a great place for us to turn to to get motivated and also learn.

Cheers
Alberta Mac
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I think that part of the beauty of the LandCruiser is that it is so modifiable...
They are like a blank canvas, and adapt so well to the end user's personal needs.
People do some really stupid things to them, and people do some pretty amazing things to them. Plenty of threads here on 'Mud about both.
You can put just about any engine in one, from a Jag V-12 to an Isuzu 4 banger and everything in between. I bet somewhere, somebody is transplanting a rolled Prius' running gear into a 40...
You can stretch them, shorten them, widen them and skinny them. Take the top off or put a top on, graft on a motorhome or a firetruck body. Make it a towtruck, ambulance or mobile gun platform. Use it to catch sharks or shoot down MIGs. Plow snow or drill wells.
Try to think of a mod that has not been done, I bet somebody here can prove you wrong.
If one objects to another's modifications, and what one calls said modification, perhaps one should own a Porsche.
 
In Warsaw, yes...
 
Pighead said:
I think that part of the beauty of the LandCruiser is that it is so modifiable...
I bet somewhere, somebody is transplanting a rolled Prius' running gear into a 40...
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You better believe anyone who has wheeled a RC buggy has thought about an electric rock crawler. It just makes a ton of sense.

I would need two Prii for a MOA on rockwells
 
I'm with Slowerthanu, it was my hard earner $ that put a 6bt in my '77 45. I haven't regretted it for the past 7 years since the work was done (especially now with the price of fuel). I saved my truck from eminent death to rust, and made it completely functional and enjoyable. While many think I spent too much on the restoration and/or destroyed an original vehicle, I love every second that I drive her, and my two boys are counting the days until they can drive. Even if I had put Toyota diesel in it, I would have turboed it, making it 2x non-original.
'77 fj45 (6bt)
'06 sequoia ltd
 
Interesting how you guys go on about cutting up 40's to make 45's because 45's are so scarce. Here over in South Africa we cut up 45's to try and make 40's because 40's are really really scarce. If you want a 40 , you have to import from Aus, and it's real expensive.. I reckon beauty is in the eye of the beholder and one should build what one's budget and taste allows..
 
millas said:
Interesting how you guys go on about cutting up 40's to make 45's because 45's are so scarce. Here over in South Africa we cut up 45's to try and make 40's because 40's are really really scarce. If you want a 40 , you have to import from Aus, and it's real expensive.. I reckon beauty is in the eye of the beholder and one should build what one's budget and taste allows..
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Yeah, stop stealing all the 40's!! Damn Saffa's.. :)
 
Medusa said:
I finally got completely fed up with those folks who cut up an FJ40 body and claim by such butchery to convert the 40 into an FJ45 :mad:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/585996-fj40-converted-fj45.html

Probably did not make myself too popular, but felt like someone needs to stop this dishonesty. If you all value your true FJ45's, your support will be appreciated
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I agree. As I posted over there...

A 40 is a 40... Don't call it something it is not.

Have a :beer: Medusa.

Phil
 
Ok, ok. I have a true scenario for you.
Have a rig at the shop that is a 1966 fj45. Owner likes the idea of an extra cab, so wants to cut it up and make one out of his rig. I have a friend that really wanted a 45. So, instead of cutting up a rust free, and I mean rust free 45 cab, I suggested we find an early 40 tub to cut and make the extra cab out of that and save the original 45 cab. I then told my buddy that I could get the cab and bed of an fj45, but nothing else. No frame, drive train, axles, nothing. He jumped on it, and the owner of the original rig decided not to build an extra cab p/u, but a shortened troopy instead.
So I called John with Proffitts and he did not have, or know where to find a 45 frame for my friend, but had a 1994 hzj75 pu frame, axles, and suspension. My buddy bought it, and built his rig using these parts, along with a ram jet 350, nv4500, Orion t/c, and other cool bits.
Soooooo...., now there is a shortened troopy using an fj40 tub with ram jet, nv4500, Orion, on a fj45 frame and axles, and many really cool parts.
And then a 1966 fj45 cab and bed on a hzj75 frame and axles with the same drive train as the troopy.
The fj45 looks like, and is an fj45.
The troopy looks like an fj45 troopy but shorter, and will be registered as a 1966 fj45, but looks modified to a trained eye.
What does everyone think as to which, or either should be ALLOWED to be called an fj45 according to this thread ?
 
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