UPDATE: Paul shared some additional pics.
Paul bought this FJ-3 back in 2014. He’s restored it beautiful. He wrote: “Her new home is in Orange County, California. This FJ3 is now a daily driver and is used both in my business, and as a fun vehicle to take to shows and cruises. It is looking a little different now. It is still running the original engine and transmission. The rear end is now a freshly rebuilt Dana 44 with taller gears so it can do a decent highway. On the exterior, all the rusty metal has been replaced and the rear side windows have been removed. The rear door is still a wood roll-up, but it is now clad with aluminum sheet to make it maintenance free.”
He began with this. It was running and drivable at the time.
I have just acquired this one and will be fixing it up to use in promoting my auto repair business. It is now in Southern California. Photos will be posted after it is running and painted. I will be looking for hubcaps from a FJ3A. Any help locating those would be greatly appreciated.
Paul
Acme Garage – Orange County, CA
Thanks for the update Paul. You might see if anyone at the FC Forum has hubcaps http://mohave.craigslist.org/cto/5112107709.html. They are definitely hard to find. Good luck with the build. email me pics when you finish and I’ll be happy to share them with readers d@ewillys.com.
– Dave
I finally have this FJ3 on the road. It is now a daily driver and is used both in my business, and as a fun vehicle for shows and cruises. I am emailing you a couple pics.
Congrats Paul! I’d like to get some pics and share with readers. You can email them to d@ewillys.com. Also, it would be interesting to know what challenges or obstacles you overcame while rebuilding it.
Thanks for the update,
– Dave
Wow. That is beautiful Paul. I like the understated advertising too. No doubt you get lots of looks and thumbs up as you drive around. Can you send some more pics so we know what the rest looks like? Rear door up and down, interior, etc.
Excellent! And yes, more pics please.
That’s beautiful! Does it have the Borg Warner automatic in it still??
Thank you gentlemen for the compliments. I have just recently finished the exterior of the van and I am just getting ready to start the interior so there are no pics of the inside to show yet. The dash and column are going to get redone to look just like the left hand drive FJ3A but mirrored to the right side to make it safer and more comfortable to drive as this van is my work truck and a daily driver. I will also be looking at options to get about 20 to 30 more horsepower out of the little F-Head so it is better able to handle the highway and so I have enough HP to add air conditioning.
Yes Colin, the stock Borg Warner trans is still in it.
I emailed a few more pics to David today for him to post.
If any of you guys are working on your own FJ and have questions or would like detail pics of something in particular, send me an email at: Paul@AcmeGarageOC.com. I don’t mind sharing what I learned or details of my build.
Getting more power out of the F-head is not easy as you can’t add extra carbs to the integral head/ manifold. You might look at a slightly different carb. Old timers used to use a Ford/Holley carb from the early 200 cubic inch Falcon/Mustang six cylinder engines. Low profile carb if there are clearance issues.
Milling the head a few thousandths will add a little extra. Clifford used to make a header setup for the 134 engine that would work on both L and F head engines. Just cleaning up the exhaust ports on the head and exhaust manifold(port matching) for a better flow will help a little.
Somebody a while back put a small turbo on a L-head 134 that might be adaptable to your engine.
You really need to keep the RPMs low on the highway, 3,000 or less, so a higher rear end ratio would help. Due to the narrow tread and short wheelbase, coupled with the tall body, these FJs weren’t designed for today’ s highway speeds . If you had a manual trans you could put an overdrive trans from s 2Wd Willys wagon that would accomplish the higher gears.
Let us know what you wind up doing.
Wow. That is awesome. Thanks for sharing. Nice work!
When I posted my one thread, it didn’t look like it posted, so I did a second one. OOPS! That is one neat Fj3!
Colin. I forgot to delete the duplicate. It’s gone now.
Paul, thanks for following up with the restoration photos. This is one of the nicest FJ’s I’ve seen. And you got it done in less than one year, impressive!
Have you taken it to the Donut Derelicts show and shine at Adams Avenue Donuts in Huntington Beach? There’s a huge early morning show and shine every Saturday, starting before dawn. A buddy of mine took me there back in February when I was in town. There was the biggest variety of cars I’ve ever seen in one place, with over two hundred cars of all shapes and sizes in one strip mall parking lot. There was a ’54 Corvette Nomad Station Wagon, only one of three custom built, two left. And my other favorite was a most awesome ’49 Power Wagon 4X4 Woody Station Wagon custom built into a fire truck with front bumper mounted pump. (By chance, I just saw it on Ebay for $125K, no bidders.) I’m sure everyone would like to check out your fleetvan, if you haven’t already been there.
Nice FJ-3 !
**Steve E.**
Paul,
Your FJ looks damn good! Let us know how it drives on the highway after you juice up the motor.
Guy
Saw this out in Tustin, CA at the Million $ Breakfast monthly car show. Looks awesome! Super job! Had never seen on first hand and impressed for sure…love to find one for myself…..