1971 CJ5 Codename "Soup Sandwich"....

it is a march of 71 according to the sticker... I've been wondering about that... Its yellow originally so I was thinking maybe a renegade II?

 

Ok, A little update... We got the tub off the frame and got a bunch of sheet metal for patching purposes and then a wind storm took out my fence DOH!!!! the fence is now repaired and the project photos should be coming more regularly..



right after this the storm hit btw

 

Looks like it's going to be a fun project..Lots to work with there.

 

I was able to clear a temporary spot just big enough to fit the tub in so I can get the welding started. My next set of days off will have to be dedicated to getting rid of all the junk in the shop that wasn't directly in my way until now.

 

I did a pretty thorough survey of the tub and I determined that replacing the drivers side rocker first would give me a good foundation to start welding everything else to. unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of cutting out the bad rocker but just use your imagination... step 1 draw line, step 2 cut metal at line, step 3 find the tiny fragments of rust lace that are still holding the piece in, cut and remove. THEN i forgot to take pictures of fabricating the patch panel so... clamp in place, use sharpie to outline where metal needs to be removed, remove metal, repeat until piece fits.

I did remember to take pictures of my progress...



it was at this time I welded past my backing plate, Lost my argon for a second, incinerated my tungsten and then realized I had to be up in 3 hours so I immediately went to bed. I'm hoping to finish stitching this puppy in sometime this week. As a disclaimer: I work 40+, doing grad school at night, and family is WAYYY more important... so this project is going to be in turtle mode.

 

Progress! I took a few minutes, sharpened my tungsten and knocked it out.... except for the big rusty hole, that will be taken care of with the next panel.

 

Thx Focker!!!!! Does anyone have some good dimensions for the drop between the front and rear floor? even just top of the tunnel and sides would be great... getting some structural rigidity there is gonna be key to keeping this pile square..ish...

 

wellllll its been a while BUT baby #2 is here safe and sound school work and family are back on an even keel so its time to get back out in the shop!!!!

 

courtesy of akrazgpr I was able to score a new to me heart for the soup for a VERY FAIR price

 

Santa brought me a sandblaster, so I'm currently turning the pile of old rusty parts in my garage to swanky freshly painted and ready to install parts... more pics to follow

 

The weather has been way too cold to paint anything outside or in my unheated garage... so I got my welding table to a usable condition and I'm gradually knocking the 45 years of crud off of drive-train components with the hopes of having soupy moving under its own multicolored and heavily rusted power by spring....

 

wellll..... It looks like spring was a little ambitious BUT things are finally coming together!!! I'm hoping to have the drive train ready to bolt back in in about six weeks (money is tight and time is tighter)... the biggest hurdle right now is the tranny that had a little water in in when I got the jeep last year. I did my best to get it all out and then filled the case up with oil in the hopes to keep things from getting any worse while I finished school...






It hasn't gotten any worse but I was hoping to pull the gears out in a couple big pieces so I can get all the scabby rust and schmoo out of the case. As per the usual this has proved to be more difficult than the internet led me to believe. SO before I break something expensive whats the best way to tackle this beast????

The thought of buttoning it back up and doing frequent oil changes doesn't really appeal to me........

 

The military taught me to love soup sandwiches! hahaha

 

well it finally happened... even though I've managed to get every snap-ring off I've ever encountered without the right tool for the job tonight was the night. No matter how I held my mouth that puppy wasn't budging. Not a big deal since the front bearing was way too far gone to reuse anyway. on the upside all those gears that looked scabby were pretty much just coated in all the rust that was floating around in the case. By the time that front bearing gets here everything should be sandblasted, painted and ready for reassembly. I'm pretty sure that the t-case is going to need the exact same treatment but I'm fresh out of workbench and there are already an alarming number of loose needle bearings.... pictures tomorrow.

 

Interesting readthru.

 

Boys, we're back at it... lemme see if I can get everyone caught up.

 

and again...

 

Fair enough...