Tornado takes the top off 1964 SWB FJ-45 (1 Viewer)

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tornadoalleycruiser

Erik TLCA #5303
SILVER Star
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Threads
73
Messages
5,702
Location
KC Mo
Website
www.tornadoalleycruisers.com
Well. thought it was about time to start a thread. Since i'm now in a position to actually begin working on the 45 again. Small things like multiple jobs, buying a new to us house, moving, building the garage back up into functional space and just plain ol life have gotten in the way long enough..
I acquired this shorty a # of years ago via ebay.. Bad pictures, it was located in Wyoming and it was the middle of winter all played into getting this thing for a good price. Trainrech and Sherpa decided it was worth a roadtrip so we headed to Moorecroft Wyoming one Friday after work. Got there by about 6am the next morning, loaded up a bone stock 45 and headed back.
Let the pictures begin.
First is when we arrived at the sellers house. It was the middle of winter in wyoming.. We were freezing.. This guy was tough.. he's got a torpedo heater warming up a can of starting fluid (which wouldn't atomize due to it being too cold) and trying to set the tire on the rim so we could roll it onto the trailer.
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the story according to the guy selling it was it had sat on a ranch for a significant # of years. Story was some poachers parked their 45, went hunting, the ranch owner found the truck, took off the dist cap and apparently claimed the truck. many years later the sellers son found the truck, got it running (somehow) decided it was too much of a project and left it with dad while he went to work on the boats in Alaska. So dad put it on ebay.
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tried to catch the moment of setting the tire on the rim.. I had on every article of clothing I had with me. notice apparently it was warm that day according to the locals..
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Somehow the thing started, i let Sherpa have first crack at her, getting her on the trailer for the long haul home. I'll be honest, we don't have signs like this back home so we got back on the road asap!
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Pretty much an uneventful drive back to Kansas/Missouri. Chris actually took the 45 back with him to Emporia Kansas and Sherpa and i went back to Missouri. The one minor thing we ran into on the way home was almost lost the bed. Apparently the kid had removed all the body mounts off the rear bed and just set it back on the frame. Quick ratchet strap around the frame and we saved ourselves.. Chris aka trainrech delivered it to KC a month or so later.
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"to not be modified"
I'll be honest. it's not going to be stock, Will appear stockish from the outside, BUT.. I will tell you that by watching the thread all the pieces will be recycled to good homes when they come off.. Stay tuned.
 
Curious what the handles are for on the defrost vents? Looks like to operate manual wipers but no holes thru the windshield. How long ago did you pick it up? It's not that cold in Wyoming yet is it? As for ratchet straps here is a thread on one of my FJ25s before I joined Mud. https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/27164-fj25-az.html They made fun of my straps. But I got to the other end and the top was still there unlike in another thread I remember reading. I strap everything down and still carry more just in case.

So does your VIN start with 3 or 4? Looks to be one of the last non-removeable top FJ45s. Has the later SWB bed with the tail light bed instead of the frame crossmember. I do like the look of the spare tire carrier sticking out the back. To be honest it doesn't look like it would hold up to well off road. I would like some feedback as to how easy it is to use. My back hurts just thinking about trying to get the spare back up. It's cool looking but not sure it was one of Toyota's better ideas.

Looks like a good old SWB 45. I remember one floating around here in the Phoenix area years ago for only $1,100. But going thru a divorce at the time I wasn't able to make it happen:frown: Looking forward to your restore thread.

:cheers:
 
did you buy this years ago? I remember seeing that one on ebay 6-7 years ago?? I was going to bid on it then, but finding the fixed hard top, I thought would be difficult so I bailed on it.
 
Paul, i was just looking for the title, it very well might have been that long ago, yes that is the same one, apparently he had to relist it, the original buyer bailed on him and i got it on the relist. Sad it's sat that long but apparently it has.
living in the past, i have no idea what the heck those things are, they just go thru the deflector and will be removed..
 
vin # for those curious..
Fast foward a year or 2 and we did another cruiser rescue. this time in LA, first stop SOR, Marv had a great set of slider rear windows.. so had to grab them and a couple of old school hubcaps he had.. These windows went to a good home, you'll see why later...
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while in LA, we went to Mark's off road.. he had other goodies and Gene and Mark were to be our escorts to the 45 run.. We picked up an FJ55 for sherpa and were going to drive it back to missouri..
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fast forward again a year or 2.. was wheeling the FJ40, while building it decided it needed wider axles so slung a spare set of FJ62 axles under it and wheeled the heck out of it for a long time with the 4.7 toybox and woody's old swampers on beadlocks.. all the while the 45 sat.. But when you have 2 trucks sitting side by side, one with 4wheel drum and one with 4wheel disks it's easy to move em side to side and install a lift kit..

Chef was the TLCA president at the time and we got the first set of parabolics in the country.. bit different and needed some help and math to figure out shackles and bushings etc but we got em on and had to test em out..
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sadly it sat for years in just this state in the barn at deercamp while i contemplated it's rebirth..
sitting on my old big tires, 33 9.5's on FJ60 rims off my FJ40 and my old FJ40 axles underneath it. replumbed the brakes with a spacer on the firewall to run a dual piston master with the 4wheel disks.
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fast forward another # of years. I was in the process of consolidating my life a bit, Sold the FJ40 (which i'd had since college) to a buddy. YEs i still get to wheel it if I ask..
Sold the Ford Powerstroke but before i sold the powerstroke had to pick up one more thing..
I'm about 6 foot, had just sold my convertible (fj40) and decided why cramp myself in the cab of this thing when really what i had always wanted was a shorty removable top rig..
3 puppies to the rescue.. he had a cab assembly he was selling.. quick negotiations and a delivery destination of the Rising sun swap meet and we're in business..
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yeah i'm a dork, Chef went with me on the topless cab acquisition mission, we stripped it the day we got home and i took it to the media blasters the following day..
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stuff looks rough when it's all rusty but when it comes back from the blasters it's all nice and pretty..
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she has some issues to deal with.. like a rotting corner in the floor and a pretty rotten quarter panel.. i'm no buckroseau and i know my limitations so luckily SOR had a NOS FJ45 quarter panel in stock.. pricy but what's my time worth..

So I proceed to put all the blasted bits in Epoxy primer and dig out the plastic and call SOR..
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