Hi to everyone,
I am new to this forum and as an ex race truck driver (retired)I knew this was the best place to ask for help.
I am desperately searching for any information leading to locating and purchasing any BMC (that is Morris or Austin) FJ series truck from the 1960’s.
I am happy to consider anything from a complete truck to a chassis and/or a cab, even a front of a cab, or even the possibility to make a GRP mould from the front of a cab. Well anything really
It is for a special project that needs to be completed in 2018…seems a long way off but I only work at West Country pace now and need plenty of time for this one !!
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope that someone out there may be able to give me a lead to work on.
Cash Reward by negotiation depending on the information, but I am a fair person and realise it takes time and effort so happy to pay for appropriate results.
Hi Nick
Thanks for the reply…
Bit of an institution down here ‘No Cider = No work’
I will keep everyone informed, it’s a bit of a special anniversary and I need to keep it slightly ‘under cover’ for a while.
I don’t hold out much hope of a result though FJ’s were not liked, so I guess they went the way of all unpopular trucks.
“Ambition: the first step on the road to disappointment” Homer. J. Simpson
“Disappointment: the first step on the road to enlightenment” Buddha
“Enlightenment: the first step on the road to ambition” Dalai Lama
trevorhp:
“Ambition: the first step on the road to disappointment” Homer. J. Simpson
“Disappointment: the first step on the road to enlightenment” Buddha
“Enlightenment: the first step on the road to ambition” Dalai Lama
Hi Trevor don’t know if this is any good for your project but I know for a 420 FG of 1976 vintage GVW 4270kgs , its done 82000 miles and is nearly restored, just needs finishing. It can be purchased for £3600. and I don’t want your reward as I once owned one and would like to see this saved, regards John Davies.
PS. you can PM me and I go under the name Buzzer on the Davies International thread on TNUK.
Hi John
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my plea.
However, it’s not quite right for the project.
It has to be an FJ to complete a long term dream and also fulfill the requirements of the build.
Keep your ears and eyes peeled though… I need all the help I can get.
Kind regards
Trevor
trevorhp:
Well I found a couple of cabs from Terriers but not FJ’s… so still looking as they are a little different.
Does anyone know if the FJ cab was used on any later models of BMC badged trucks
Thanks in advance.
I did my apprenticeship on FJ’s among other BMC models and the only slightly similar cab would be the Laird. However they only had the single headlamp set-up so slightly different externally, internally they were much the same though apart from the column controls… The later Boxer models had an upright engine with a different engine cover etc so the FJ was really a one off cab wise I’m afraid. Most will have been scrapped by now, the engine cooling problems are very well documented and I reckon most folk simply gave up with them. The Laird was no better really, it wasn’t until they put the engine the proper way up in the Boxer and Terrier ranges that things improved. Bathgate had a lot to answer for back then, the Longbridge built engines were slightly different in both design and length but still suffered similar problems but not quite on the same scale as the Scottish ones!
Hi “Trevorhp” ,
I think you will be very lucky to find a FJ , as there are so few still in existence. Their engine reliability was shocking , with overheating
problems being the main grudge. This is the same engine design carried forward from the non-tilt cab of the FH range.
The FJ had 2 pairs of off-set headlamps , and a slightly smaller front grille from the FH it replaced.
In 1968 , or 1969 , the FJ was relaunched as the Laird , and with improvements to the engines` cooling system.
The cab front grille design was altered and made larger , - hopefully to allow more air circulation for better engine cooling .
As a result of the cab front alterations , a slightly-larger single pair if headlamps were used.
Problems with engine failures continued , so , in the Spring of 1971 , the Laird production was stopped , being replaced by the Boxer . This range was fitted with the returned-to-vertical B.M.C. engine design.
My father took delivery of one of the first Boxers , in July 1971. It proved itself quite reasonable , better than the 1964 FH it replaced.
Good luck with your searching . I know of only 3 still in existence , - which probably confirms my belief of their unreliability
and unpopularity amongst hauliers , - and mechanics too.
A friend of mine knows where there’s a FJ complete ,a 1967 recovery ,his number is 07834 687 791,it’s £2500 to £3000 ish I believe .edit no reward required by me .
Try this lad on his flickr site Reiver RE229 (John Murphy) he had this at one time dont know if he still has but worth a try
the photo is on page 5 of his site just go into it and you can ask the question.
Well
Thank you for all the replies
I have sent a message to John Murphy but no reply as yet.
I will try the recovery truck route and anything else suggested
THANK you to all who took the time to respond.
The truth is I only need the cab and doors etc, as the project I am working on will be a coach-built body on a modern chassis for reliability (not the FJ 's strong point from what everyone says and remembers). The later cab may be suitable as it only has to look like the FJ or very similar.
I will post details of the project but not just at the moment.
If it only has to look similar to an FJ then any Bathgate cab will do surely? My tuppence worth would be that since they are so rare, to leave the genuine FJ cab for someone who wants to restore the complete vehicle. It’s a bit like cutting the roof off a bus to turn it into an open air double deck cafe or bar - one restorable vehicle trashed.
cav551:
If it only has to look similar to an FJ then any Bathgate cab will do surely? My tuppence worth would be that since they are so rare, to leave the genuine FJ cab for someone who wants to restore the complete vehicle. It’s a bit like cutting the roof off a bus to turn it into an open air double deck cafe or bar - one restorable vehicle trashed.
I concur 100%. There are loads of similar cabs around. Externally, there is only the front panel which is different. Put the effort into fabricating an FJ-alike grille etc. If the cab is going on another chassis, the lower engine hump of the original FJ may have to be cut anyway, so the later cabs may require less work.
Thanks for the heads up on the FJ… cav551 and (zb) anorak
I agree it would be tragic to cut up what I now know to be such a rare vehicle.
If I could buy a complete FJ I would consider using it in it’s entirety, as it will only be covering limited mileage and for authenticity it would be spot on.
OK… so now the search is on for just a Bathgate cab of some type, the grille is relatively easy !!(I think I know where there may be one anyway).
So I still need some help guys…
THANKS so far it’s remarkable that anyone is interested in my project
Kind regards
Trevor
trevorhp:
Well
Thank you for all the replies
I have sent a message to John Murphy but no reply as yet.
I will try the recovery truck route and anything else suggested
THANK you to all who took the time to respond.
The truth is I only need the cab and doors etc, as the project I am working on will be a coach-built body on a modern chassis for reliability (not the FJ 's strong point from what everyone says and remembers). The later cab may be suitable as it only has to look like the FJ or very similar.
I will post details of the project but not just at the moment.
Still searching but much more hopeful now.
Trevor
I think john murphy has sold it Bob Garlick from Buxton .
I am afraid that most FJ’s had ‘limited mileage’ Trevor!! I fitted three different engines in one prime mover and it never left the workshop, Gold Seal engines straight from Bathgate and each one boiled its headgasket just standing in our garage. The same engine in the older FHK was far less trouble, it used a vertical radiator so had a good head of water whereas in the FJ they used a horizontal low mounted radiator that caused major airlocks. BMC did most of the testing of the FJ series in Finland so overheating would probably not have been an issue…
trevorhp:
Thanks Dan I will try to contact John Murphy anyway.
Limited mileage seems to be NO mileage from all accounts
Why didn’t anyone fit a header tank to overcome the airlocks or even an auxiliary radiator
Fit a header tank eh? Haha! How many do you want? The original header tank was fitted by the drivers seat, in 1966 the BMC modification was to cut the neck off the tank, bend the filler tube through 180 degrees to return the water back into the pipework and then cut a hole in the engine cover and weld a collar in to access a new brass header tank that was fitted straight onto the water rail. That didn’t work so the next modification was to do away with that and fit different bore water pipes, that failed so a header tank was then fitted up behind the cab which also didn’t cure the problem either. Modified head gaskets were tried, including one which you ran the engine with no water briefly to ‘bake it’ to the block, no better alas. Then some bright spark discovered that if the engine was fitted vertically again with a modified engine cover you could still have a three man cab so ‘EUREKA’ the basically similar 98 series engine was created (98 mm bore size) and fitted into the new Boxer and Terrier models. The old 5.1 and 5.7 engines were then discontinued and things improved, though some of those 98 series engines suffered from porous cylinder blocks with water getting into the sump via blowholes where the liner seals fitted as well as cylinder liners dropping which the original 5.7 's suffered with as well. New liners were supplied overheight, they were fitted to size using grinding paste and rotating them by hand until the required standproud was achieved which was between 2 to 5 thou, but also ensuring that there was no ‘step down’ between corresponding liners or the gasket would never seal properly.
to the engines` cooling system.
I fitted three different engines in one prime mover and it never left the workshop, Gold Seal engines straight from Bathgate and each one boiled its headgasket just standing in our garage. The same engine in the older FHK was far less trouble, it used a vertical radiator so had a good head of water whereas in the FJ they used a horizontal low mounted radiator that caused major airlocks. BMC did most of the testing of the FJ series in Finland so overheating would probably not have been an issue…