CJ3B Beastie

Love those fenders, err um I mean, "guards"! Look so great.

 

yeah, love it, looks awesome!!!

 

X2

 

Yeah, guards as in mud guards, fenders are used on boats.
Just wait till I start working on the bonnet, then the language difference will be real noticeable.


Nothing really major to report.
Just a few brackets to mount the power steer reservoir.
Cut off the original arms that were on the reservoir and welded a new bracket assembly to the base.



Under side view.

Also routed the hoses so it was neater and replaced a few hoses that were a little short for the relocated reservoir.

Then the fuel filter bracket made and fitted.


I know that being mounted on an angle means it will spill fuel whenever I change the filter but I spill fuel anyway so


Tomorrow the battery bracket is attacked and then on to the bonnet / hood.

 

I see the isolators on the reservoir, well done. Didn’t see a picture of the backside of the fuel filter bracket. It will lever on the aluminum fender and crack it over time if there is no backing plate of considerable size. This build is coming along great and will use your ideas if and when I find a 3B. Been searching for a diesel for that project.

 

I reckon with the low weight of the filter assembly it will be Ok, the angle bracket is 1/4" thick and is 2 inches x 4 inches held on with 2 bolts through the guard with oversize washers under the bolt heads.

Not to much vibration there at idle speed revs so I don't think it will crack the guard panel.

Anyways, moved on to attacking the battery tray and under seat fuel tank over the last few days.

Battery bracket, folded up from 1/8 thick plate.




Now its made I think I will cut the top centre out and make it so I can access the inside of the sloped plate to mount the light relays.
It would keep them very safe and protected.



Has 1/4" thick soft rubber under the battery for some cushioning.

 

While in the area I set up a dedicated earth for the electric system.
Simple 8mm bolt, with the nut welded inside the firewall.


Side view.
Not easy to get an overview up close in the work area.

 

Fuel tank fun and games.

Made from 2.5mm thick aluminium same as the guards are.

Spent a long time chasing pin holes during leak testing.

My welds today were ****e.


Lined up the fuel inlet with the body.


Rear held in with 2 bolts, 1/4" thick rubber under the tank and the front will be held down by the seat bar when it gets bolted back in.
Rear bracket is an angle piece stitch welded at the top and the bottom to spread the load on the tank wall.

 

Fuel tank switching system.

Did look at buying an electric switching valve but in the spirit of old school I went with the cheaper option of ball valves and some creative plumbing.



1 lever for each tank, facing forward is on, straight up is off.
Front valve is the main tank and the under seat tank feeds to the rear valve.

Outlet is a simple T that goes to the fuel filter.



Fitted a nice big grommet to protect the hose from the under seat tank where it goes into the tunnel.

 

I am impressed with how much you've thought about each little detail.

 

So glad you said that, for a while I thought it was just me and I was lame. It seriously took me foreves to solve all those little pin holes. Just when I thought I had it holding liquid, I added some pressure... ACK!!!! Leaks. Soooo glad that's behind me now.

 

Yeah, it's a little bit too easy to come across as infallible when you are only showing selective pics.

I am not afraid to put my hand up when I have made a mistake or done something stupid.

Case in point, the under seat tank ended up with a slight twist in it whien the baffle got welded in.
Not worth the hassle to fix it and it doesn't affect the function, so I'm like, whatever.


I had some gaps in the joints of the tank so I was getting atmosphere contamination coming from behind the joint and creating dirty welds in a few places.
That's also where the leaking pinholes and poor finishing of welds happened, something that I should have known better.
Plus my eyesight isn't the best any more, a life time of eye injuries and welding flash damage is hard on the eyes after 32 years doing this sort of thing.

Same situation with the deep thoughts going into every part 75 DJ, I start off with a plan of sorts but usually need to modify it as issues need to be solved.
I'm not any sort of strategic planning guru.

 

You make it look like you did it all on purpose....

 

It's all an illusion Bowbender.

Mowed the yard today but got a little done on the bonnet.
Installed some backing plates under the dash to accept threaded holes for the hinges.


Hardware store gate hinges, pre powder coated, should work all right.


Then set up the tube bender to do some framing.


Formed the slight curve over the top by gentle bending in the vice to get the "set" correct then bent the ends.
Got lucky and the rear bend radius is nearly perfect for the Jeep cowl curve.

 

Front bow frame is a lighter gauge material and will need a plate added to get the front curve right.



Front bow propped where it will be positioned.
Needs to be back from the grille due to the pivot point. Any closer to the grille and the bottom of the bow would clash with the grille.


The bows will be held apart with 4 lateral members and the hinge point will be beefed up as well.

 

Finished the bonnet framework today.

Here's the added on piece on the front bow so it matches the grille profile.

These plates needed a small notch out to clear the light buckets.

Then fitted and welded the lateral bars between the front and back bows.


Here's why the front bow needed to be set back away from the grille.
As the bonnet lifts the lower front point gets closer to the grille.

 

Added on some 1/4" thick plates where the hinges will bolt through the skin and frame.


Also added a reinforcement plate where the bonnet latch will bolt on the sides.


I set the grille up to be around 3/8" below the bonnet skin because I will be using a stick on rubber seal between the skin and the grille.

 

Then I finished off the under seat filler assembly.
I didn't have a rubber ring to surround the end pipe, plus the pipes are not exactly centered to the body opening either, so I made a cover plate, welded to the end pipe, that has a thick gasket behind it.



Held on by 2 off 6mm bolts.

The inside, the transition from steel end pipe to aluminium tank is just a piece of hose clamped across the joint.

 

I like that. Mine is aluminum all the way out with an aluminum cap that doesn't leak. I need to make an aluminum surround for mine. Mine looks ghetto right now with the big hole.