66 CJ5 Rebuild

The factory floor mounted switch. The head lights are hardly ever used mind you, lol!

 

Floor. It confuses younger people.

 

Long overdue, but I finally started on rock sliders. I originally wanted to build the sliders from scratch, but I don't have the tooling to bend a wide piece of 3/16" plate. After lurking around here I came across a post that mentioned a company that produces a DIY kit. I contacted CCFabs and purchased their "short nose" CJ5 kit. And as a bonus, CCFabs is a local company. After I placed my order, the kit was ready 2 weeks later.

DIY Rock Sliders for Stock Fenders

First step was to place the 3/16" plate against the tub and drill the 3/8" holes.


I used 3/8" button head bolts 1" long with steel lock nuts and a washer.




The driver side needed some trimming due to the gas tank filler.



Tomorrow I will start on the tube steps.

 

Just about wrapped up on this little project. Overall I'm happy with the kit and the process was straight forward. This was a no frills kit unencumbered with instructions, youtube videos or pre-marked parts. Just a few pieces of steel and good ole' fashion know how.

Grinding off the mill scale


Prepping tubes to be cut.


Glued together


Just need to fire up the TIG and weld the little plate on top.

 

Finally got around to installing a new windshield glass. The old glass was pitted from welding/grinding sparks and the seal was in bad condition. I actually tried to get a glass company to do all of the work, but I ran in to numerous problems trying to get it done. The companies either didn't return my call or they couldn't find the correct glass. One company told me to purchase the seal before they would cut a custom piece of glass. I would caution anyone buying glass from a vendor as there are two sizes of windshield glass for our era Jeeps. Somewhere around 1969 the windshield changes to the bottom mount wipers and the glass is a little bigger. There are vendors trying to sell glass that are unaware of this change and they are selling glass that "fits" all the early CJ's.
With that being said, Summit Racing does have all the correct parts. $244 shipped to my door as of this writing.
Windshield glass...PQP-DL01004CLN
Weatherstrip Seal...PQP-WKT-1105
Windshield lock strip tool...LIL-47000
Body molding tool...WMR-W80647

The lock strip tool is relatively inexpensive and I would recommend it. The body molding tool kit was very helpful and you could use something else if you have similar tools available.

This is definitely not an easy task and I almost gave up and took everything to a glass shop to finish. However, being the stubborn human that I am, I kept at it and was able to get it accomplished. Patience is very important for this project (and Dawn dish soap).

So what tools do you need for this endeavor? The locking strip tool, some type of plastic molding tool for manipulating the seal, a small container of water and Dawn dish soap, and a table to place the windshield on (and patience).

Some things to note...I removed the windshield frame from the Jeep. I can't imagine doing this replacement with it still on the Jeep. I removed everything that is attached to the windshield frame with the exception of the Bosch wiper motors and the windshield frame hold down clamps. Once on the table, I removed the old seal/locking strip and the old glass. I then cleaned the entire frame with emphasis on the portion of the frame where the seal attaches.

The seal has two different size grooves. The small groove goes on the frame and the larger groove goes on the glass. I oriented the seal with the locking strip to the outside of the Jeep and I will explain why later in this post.


The glass arrived in a very well packaged cardboard box surrounded by wood and foam.



There are arguably two methods to tackle this beast...One is to fit the seal on the glass and then mount both to the frame using a piece of string in the groove of the seal to help install. The other option is to mount the seal to the frame and sneak in the glass. I tried the first method and was not successful.
The problem with mounting the seal to the glass is that the seal won't stay in place. It will go onto the glass relatively easy, however, the corners of the glass prevent the seal from staying in place, even just sitting on the table. And when you try to manipulate the glass/seal onto the frame, the seal pops off.

Another note...in this picture you can see that the seal is too long and you need to cut it to size. Do yourself a favor and fit the seal to the windshield frame and then cut it. I cut my seal after I took this pic and ultimately the seal was an inch too short. More on that later...



Once the seal is mounted to the frame with the locking strip facing the outside, I placed the frame face down on the table with a blanket to protect the glass. I then worked the glass into the seal starting on one corner and slowly working it around the frame. You cannot use enough soapy water during this process. With soap and the plastic molding tools, I was able to work the glass and seal together. The hard part is getting it started, but once you have two corners installed, the rest is easier (not easy, but easier).
Note...I tried this install method with the locking strip facing the inside of the Jeep, but that did not work. I was only successful with the strip on the outside of the Jeep. Not to say you couldn't do it and have better results.

Once the glass is completely installed, I flipped the frame over and made sure the seal was sitting correct on the glass and the frame. I then used the locking strip and the tool to install the strip. Fairly straight forward process once you get a rhythm (use lots of soap). I decided to place the joint of the locking strip at the top of the glass in the center since my joint for the glass seal was at the bottom. I didn't want both joints in the same spot.

Profile view of the locking strip and the plastic tools I used.


Here is the finished product. I don't look forward to doing this project any time soon, but I'm armed with a little bit of knowledge if I have to do it again. Hopefully my install will help you guys out. Remember how I cut the seal too short...you can see it in the last pic at the bottom. I will use a small amount of black silicone to help seal up that area.

 

Installing the windshield is really a pain. Liking your welds. Had not seen this build before.