PO stories

well my project is on the ground.. and i mean that! I finally found the time to pull everything off the frame and now she sits there waiting for me to bring her down to the sandblaster.. (sandblast frame. box frame)

after power washing the frame i noticed two 2 ' wide and about 15 inch long metal strips welded right above the spot where the crossmember bolts to the frame. Is this from the PO? I am thinking so looking at the crapy weld job.
Plus he welded my front rear spring hangers and lucky for me it was getting dark so i didnt have to look at all my frames blemishes.

I would just like to hear some other stories about peoples jeeps and how they discovered some things the previous owner did.

 

Thats funny because my CJ has a piece of steel c section welded to the frame in the crossmember area on the pass side. On the inside one can see where the frame is cracked on half!! I knew the second owner and he did not abuse it, but he didn't do any preventive maint either. His story is the 1st owner practically destroyed the thing and him and his Dad got it for cheap as his first car.
How's this: When I got it I thought it had the wrong radiator in it because the lower hose came out the pass side and the F4 water neck pointed to driver side, and he had two hoses clamped together running UP OVER THE FAN AND TWISTING AROUND TO THE WATER NECK! Then with some research, a few clues (4.88 gears=v6)(holes in tub for missing v6 emblems)(radiator hose all crazy) I checked the VIN and WOW! It had a Dauntless from the factory!! Now who is the loser who swapped out a v6 for the F4! No offense to you F4 guys, I have to admit I enjoyed working on that motor while it was in there. Fix anything with a flat tip screwdriver and a crescent wrench! He also had replaced the oil bath air cleaner with a lawnmower air cleaner that didn't quite fit under the hood, so why not make some 3/8" spacers for where the hood hinges bolt to the cowl to raise it? Then we'll put some rubber blocks under the front so at least it is level never mind you can see the engine from the driver seat thru the crack. Then lets use a 5 wire turn signal switch that does not support brake lights so we can add a second set of taillights. How about a fabbed up steering stabilizer that hangs below the tie rods on brackets reducing ground clearance to 3" (not a typo!!) Throw in some blueish greenish shag house carpet and a rear sway bar (Previous owner: it had a hard top at one time so I put that on because it swayed a lot), guess that explains some of the holes drilled in the tub, but not those, oh those are for the SPEAKERS mounted below the missing v6 emblems with the bolts just mounted right thru the tub!! Don't forget the little strap to hold up the rear of the radio that we hacked up the dash for, drill a hole in the cowl to secure that to!! Whats with the wiring, nothing some solid strand house wire and some wire nuts can't fix. If it could be adjusted on the motor it wasn't: valves to tight or loose, timing off, mixture wrong, choke disconnected, idle speed wrong, exhuast leaks, gap at the air cleaner mounting to the carb, valve cover leak....whew, I could go on...removng rear wheel bearing for inspection, came out in 32 pieces, intermediate gear in transfer had at least 1/4 inch slop from bad bearings or should I say chewed up metal....when I got it, it had been sitting for a week because the clutch cable broke and the fork fell into the bellhousing, locking up the motor!! Guess that shoulda been my first clue...(pause to catch breath) So there I was...

 

Probably crack repair. Some people will run strap the full length of the frame to help strengthen the frame, but not take away the flexibility that fully boxing the frame would. Sandblasting is a good idea to see where your at with the frame and then make the needed repairs easier. My frame was pretty unmolested, but the frame horns forward of the engine mounts were bent inward a bit (3/4"). Probably from someone using the tow hooks that were mounted on the front (on each side of the frame) to pull someone out.

 

mine. 5 alternading layers of mud/sand/mud/sand/mud in the frame and on what was left of the floor not much. also had the standard bend in the front bumper( never seen an early 5 without it) slightly offset to one side or the other and looks like someone ran into a tree

 

When I got my jeep I didn't know what to make of it, it had some wacky powersteering setup that he just hacked through the dash and tub to put in some cracked (probably to bypass the wheel lock) steering column, with a custom mount on the front end for the power steering box. As a result if I make a full left turn the front tire rubs against the leaf springs. Also,there are no turn signals, no flashers, nothing that would have been on the old steering column. Just some wires dangling about. It also seems he raised just the body about 2 inches with some rubber pads which make all the pedals drop down a couple inches cutting a nice groove in the floor panels. The dash was hacked for some radio which wasn't in there when I got it, the battery isn't held in with anything. On top of that there was a bus bar put in with a line directly to the battery so some things you can't turn off. It also had 10in brakes on it, so originally I thought he had changed them, but then I found out this was a tuxedo park model which had 10in earlier than 68. But I digress.......... Other than the man made holes the body was flawless and it did have an odd fire 231 with electronic ignition, and although the powersteering is silly it still works. That's just in case you're wondering why I bought it