I only recently joined, my Grandfather died and left my son his beloved '65 FJ40- It is a soft top model, but his wife made him go and have a hard top custom made for it as she was tired of sewing up the canvas top every time he came out of the bush in eastern Oregon. My son is only eleven, so we have plenty of time before he is old enough to drive, we would like to restore it, it's in pretty good condition, a few dents, some surface rust. I would like to get a new top for it and the half doors that it think its supposed to have. My wife insists that if it has a soft top, it must have a roll bar too, is there a place that sells roll bars that don't require modification of the original truck? Also, there is a spare tire carrier mounted on hinges on the back, is this original, or might it have been made along with the top? Anything I should look out for while restoring this truck? I'd appreciate any input I can get, Thanks in advance...Randy

WOW that was a gift!! Keep it orginal, make SURE he understands to repect such and nice gift from his Grandpa!!! A short wheel base 4X4 might not be the best thing for a young driver to find out a Physics leson on Oragon twisty roads!! You only have to be in a hurry one time to go over the side in a 4X4!!! Roll bars can be obtained from reputable accesory shops that work on FJ40's. there is a restoration place in Texas called TLC and one in Vermont. They have lots or resources and parts.

Places to check out for restoration parts; coolcruisers.com, sor.com, man-a-fre.com, tpi.com and other links from those places. Keep it as original as possible, though with a Cruiser that old it'll be one heck of a job. Specter (sor.com) has lots of parts and a great catalog. coolcruisers has a great message board and helpful members galore. I would seriously recomend getting a full cage from either a local welding shop, or from a reputable dealer. Good luck on the restoration. Fred