Repro 3B tubs?

I'm looking to replace the tub on my 3B. The PO had it listed as "Solid". I guess his idea of solid differs wildly from mine. After a 7hr drive I was shown a mechanically solid 3B with a BEAT tub. It was full of filler, spray foam insulation, and patch panels (even used a cut down RR Xing sign to patch the driver's floor). None of this (except the RR sign) was visible in the pics I was provided.

Regardless I put it on the trailer and drove home slightly dissappointed.

My question is...which is the better buy when it comes to repro tubs? I have a dealer acct with 4wd Hardware and can get an Omix tub on the cheap. I've heard these are not the best quality though.

Then there's the reworked tub available through W/O. I thought I read a buildup thread on this BB about a W/O repro horror story though.

Finally there is dlbensinger.com. His kit would be the furthest away from me as the other two are w/in 2hrs driving time. As it stands now though this is the way I would like to go.

Does anyone have any opinions on any of these?

 

If the tub is generally good overall, but has some bad places, you might be able to just replace some panels. Give these folks a call and see if they can help you out. The website's got problems, so get the phone number and call them. http://www.jeepanelsplus.com/ All made in the USA.

 

It's way beyond that. I was hoping I could just weld in a few new panels, but I think once it's blasted it will be too far gone

 

Might be surprised. Put up some photos here so da boyz can check 'em out. Where are you located?

 

How thick is the stop sign/floor board panel?
I need new ones both driver and passenger sides, and there are a couple of handy signs at each end of the block that most people ignore anyway, unless the motorcycle cop is sitting under them. In a school zone, yet!:twisted:

and do you measure from the lip behind the gastank, or in front of the tank?

 

For what it's worth, my buddy just had a body from Bensinger delivered. He claims to have a couple of guys living near the Juan factory to assure best fitup in the industry.
Goods- all there, including removable plates. Stamped Willys, primed, and even came with OD green paint.
Bads - no pedal cutouts (odd, given the claim), and he's got to cut off the old tool mount brackets and weld it onto the new tub.
Looks nice, I'll shoot photo's and report progress, if anyones interested.

 

imo, get an aluminum 3a tub an add some pieces in just like they did back at willys. the two aluminum tubs i have seen are far and away better quality than the repro steel.

they both have common drawbacks, like petal holes, body mount holes, yahda, yahda, yahda

 

Sent pm.....

 

all the tubs are made by the same company so go with the place you can get the best price

 

The aluminum ones might be different, but correct about the steel tubs.

They all come from MD Juan in the PI: http://www.mdjuan.com/index.php

 

Yes send some pictures, we like pictures. I will be replacing the tub on my 3b this summer as well. As for getting an aluminum 3a tub and adding peices, that would be nice but the hood hight still wont match.

 

Just looked at dlbensinger.com and the stuff they have looks good. Its also in Pa which is a lot closer than most other places. I may even be able to drive up there and pick the body up myself.

 

I'd be willing to bet they just drop ship from the distributor.

 

I was told by my rep @ 4wd that they ship Omix tubs to W/O. Seems kind of odd, but I don't know why she would lie about it.

 

the hood hight was what i was refering to as to add pieces in. only diff. in frank's 3a and my 3b tubwise is were metal was added between were the tub side meets the cowl to match the hood to clear the f-head. though it does have a different firewall and dash but that shouldn't be a problem a little welding can't fix. shouldn't be hard to do, but maybe i'm wrong but thats what i'm doing. if they could do it with 1959 tech then i'm sure i can do it with today's tech.

 

Yes. I am saying that my commercial sales rep says 4wd sells Omix tubs to W/O which I thought was odd.

 

When I did my homework for my 3A tub, I found out that all of the steel ones were M D Juan, as stated above. I also found out that WO gets the same tubs and goes over them and corrects the problems that they have like missing parts, hat channel, steering column & brake holes and so on. Basically, WO saves the buyer a lot of work, but they have to pay for it!

If the M D Juan 3B tubs are anything like the 3A tubs, you can absolutely plan on things being missing or a little bit off. But, knowing they are all the same factory, just shop for price and plan to spend some time correcting the problems! Shipping may be your biggest price factor. Mine was shipped from Georgia and Krage Motorsports had the best price at the time. You'll just have to do your homework!

Some things to look out for: Transmission hole out of alignment. Gauge holes out of round. Tailgate hinges missing. Gas tank brackets missing. Top bow brackets missing. Hat channel out of place.

There is a good thread going over on the CJ3A page about the tubs. Hope this helps a bit!