Intermediate Frankenjeep Build

More body work - driver side floor now.

Hmmm… Having trouble uploading pics. Bummer.

Anyway, I have the Classic Enterprises floor and hat channel welded in on the driver’s side, added the triangular firewall support, and cut a piece of 16ga. Plate for under the pedals and got it welded in.

A couple of patches are needed for the left side panel , under and in front of the ‘door opening’. I have both side pieces that member @C-dubb sold to me last (?) year along with the frame for this rig. I’m not going to bother making it look like new. I think it should wear its scars proudly! At least, that’s my story, to cover my shoddy body work.

Let’s see if any pics work…

Still a big “nope”. Drat.

Jon B.

 

Your pics can't be too large or they will not embed. 800x600 or 640x400 is a good size. Drag and drop works in a new post or in an existing post that you edit from 'more options.'

 

Since I don't have a computer to resize my pics, I text them to myself, which resizes them, and then I can post fine.

 

For a couple of my quick-posts, I just take a picture far-away then crop it down with my phone to what I actually want to show. This drops the image quality enough to where I can upload them right from the phone.

 

But, but, but…

I’ve been inserting pics for a long time. Today, though, no joy. I’ll try again; maybe something was broken at the time.

Jon B.

 

Hey! Now it works!




Jon B.

 

Still more cutting and welding…

The outboard seatbelt anchors were plenty rusted between the two layers of steel, so, with a bit of help from a 3-inch hole saw, out they came. New, oversized patches went in, with the anchor plates welded to those.




The right rear corner was rusted and bent, as are both taillight panels, so they’re getting new pieces.





Better perspective…



I think that’s it for now.
Next Wednesday, August 14, I’m trailering the frame and its drivetrain to town (all 6miles) to weld up an exhaust system. That’s kind of a big deal for me, though your mileage may vary.

Jon B.

 

I am thinking of doing the same. Will you be using stainless tubing? I here it is more difficult to bend and some shops don't like using it. But the regular galvanized will likely last a long time too.
A couple photos of the exhaust system build if you can.

 

Nice job on those floors and hat channels Jon. That should last for another 50 years......Pete

 

Since I’ll be working 10-12 hours on Monday and Tuesday, and the project goes to the shop in town on Wednesday, I thought I’d put it on the trailer.

Pulled it onto the lift with a come-a-long, raised it to trailer height, and rolled it onto the trailer. Now it’s chained down and ready for the trip.





Jon B.

 

I don’t know what material this shop uses. I suspect that it’s not stainless steel, though I’d be OK with that. Once I find out, I’ll let you - and the rest - know. And yes, there will be photos.

Jon B.

 

Thank you. The guys at Classic Enterprises make good stuff. It wasn’t inexpensive, but neither is it ‘cheap’, if you know what I mean.

My new Hobo Freight welder works well on the thin stuff. I tried to weld up several holes in the tool box cover, though, and just made bigger holes. That lid must be thin! Could be 20 gauge, as the 18 welds fine.

Jon B.

 

Exhaust is done, the project is back in my shop. I spent 7 hours yesterday and about 4 this morning on it. That’s including hauling it in and unloading it. We brought it home after lunch today.

I don’t know if this is typical of dual exhaust, V8 CJs, but it’s a an asymmetrical setup, and looks a bit odd. Once the body is on, you won’t know that unless I roll it upside down.

The mufflers are stainless steel Magna Flow and the pipe is ‘aluminized’, I guess. It’s both bendable and weldable with MIG. I went with 2-1/4” pipe and ‘sorta’ quiet straight-through mufflers. It will likely rumble but it shouldn’t crackle- which is a sound I dislike.

I may have to adjust (pronounced cut and re-weld) the tailpipes as the springs may need the space the pipes occupy if the suspension gets really compressed.






Jon B.

 

my pipes went out the same way and found a way to self clearance rather well

 

Back to working on the tub…

The passenger side rear corner is done. The taillight panel was rusted out and the corner itself was rotten - those spare tire mounts catch and hold salt and moisture. Both had to go. The panel came from Classic Enterprises (good stuff) and I bought two side pieces from @C-dubb last (?) year.





Jon B.

 

Oh. One more pic…



Jon B.

 

You are really doing a great job!

 

As in: “It looks good from here”?
;-)

Jon B.

 

A friend retired from the auto body business, having owned and run his shop for 50 years. He gave me some air tools last week. We talked about the body work I’m doing on the Jeep - he hasn’t seen it. I told him that I wasn’t too concerned about how it looks, since it’s gonna get rubbed on trees and dragged over rocks.

Some of the patches are merely welded over the bad spots, rather than fitted carefully and welded flush. The upper “rim” behind the passenger ‘door’ was cracked, so I cut a piece of square tubing in half and welded it on top. I did grind down the weld a bit but it’s still an obvious patch.

Jon B.

 

And now, the driver side rear is done!




Yes, the curved corner piece is dented. That’s OK, since it’s likely to get worse once this thing goes into the rocks & trees. It’s not rusted, so it’s staying on.

I welded on the patches for the driver side rust spots, also, but didn’t get any pics. Tomorrow, maybe.

Jon B.