Back at it Again -- '72 CJ5

I got the floorboard back in shape with heating and quenching and hammer and dolly work. I also finally got around to going to the steel supply and picking up the last bit of steel I needed for my hat channels.


I primed the floorboards and underside of the hat channels with weld-thru primer.


This is as far as I got tonight before running out of wire


I'm concerned with the welding, it's quite a leap going from 18 ga. to 1/8" steel. I'm just trigger welding them. Thats the only way I can seem to get enough penetration without burning through. Some of them will have to be ground done and re-done though.
Here's a not-so-bad example


I'm going to do spot welds along the top side too when I flip the tub over.

I also painted my air cleaner... for the 3rd time. It keeps not turning out correctly.






...then it fell off the hangar.

So paint job #4 in a couple days.

I got the 304 decal in the mail this week too


And finally, I think I have decided on the color. 1979 Cumberland Green


I still keep thinking that I'm going to put down a solid 2k primer on it and start with a desert tan, so if I ever want a more permanent paint job all I have to do is sand down some Krylon and already have a good base to work off of.

 

I forgot to mention that for the two body mounts that attach to the riser, I am going to make two extensions off the hat channels and attach a couple pieces of angle iron bent at the proper angle. This will allow the entire front of the body to ride on what is essentially a second frame for the tub. It should also keep the frame from flexing so much.

 

Nice work. I Love the color choice.

 

Which color?


I coated the bottom of the tub with ospho, we'll see how well it works tomorrow morning.

 

Is that the same green as your last pic of the '79? I really liked the green on the '79 but in your last pic I'm liking the tan! Keep up the good work!

 

Its the same shade, just not metallic. The tan is really sticking out to me too. I'd use a matte clear for the tan instead of the gloss like the picture.

 

looking good

 

I got a couple more panels finished up today

 

I like the green. Don't know why?

I thought there were some issues with paint sticking to the metal after ospho prep. Its been a while, I can't remember.

 

It's all in how you prep it

 

New seats came in



Other than that, I've just been finishing up the last of the patch work. Then filler, primer, paint.

 

Nice. Look comfy .

 

looks good

 

Big day for me today, I finally finished all the underside work that I needed to do, so I got to flip the tub back over again. Now I get to do everything I just did to the unserside all over again Only a few patches left to do and some holes to fill. And wheel well notches. Tomorrow I'm going to test fit my new seats to see how little I can get away with. The current plan is to trim the corners back just enough to clear the back of the seats.
I also got the grill in primer after sandblasting it last week. There is a rust hole right under the turn signal light in the usual area, but I got all the rust out, and it will be covered, so it doesn't concern me.

 

Don't Krylon it after all that work. Especially on top of a good 2K primer. A decent quality automotive paint doesn't cost much and the results are 1000 times better than using rattle cans. I used Kirker, but there are several others in a pretty wide selection of premixed colors. Sherwin Williams also offers a pretty decent produce line and has a number of premixed colors. For about $100 you can get a good quality urethane topcoat, and a clear coat isnt' much more.

 

I'm only spray painting the grill and windshield frame satin black. Reason behind it is those areas are the most prone to getting scratched in the woods, so I figure it would be easier to touch up spray paint in those areas. The rest of the jeep is getting Transtar epoxy primer. I have seen your jeep on the kirker site, that's what spawned a serious debate on if I should go with Fairway Green or desert tan, which is to say your jeep is righteous.

I'm currently in the garage cutting my wheel house notch, so I'll have more pictures tonight.

 

Looking good man, but more pictures please. I know its a pain to stop and click pics but they are greatly helpful to those of us who are challenged here. Have a Merry Christmas, don't work too hard!

 

I usually leave out the pictures of my process and instead just post the results, but if you're interested in my process, here are some pictures of where I'm at on the wheelhouse notch.

First off, I gotta say, it has been indispensable having my neighbor's '73 CJ5 for reference on this project. For example, figuring out the measurements of a 31x10.50 tire at full stuff for the notch.


Before I made the initial cut, the new seats were sitting 7 1/2" from the dash. So I didn't get as lucky as I was hoping with just broadening the corner.


I saw this as a good opportunity to remove the vestigial soft top supports. Also pictured are my initial measurements.


And the first cut is made.


After taking the measurements off the center of the tire on the red '5 at full stuff, I made a mockup of the tire to see how much room I had to play with. I moved all the measurements in a half inch to err on the safe side.


After the first cut was made, I had a few inches more space between the dash, but still not enough for me (6'2") to be comfortable. On top of that, the inside panel of the wheelhouse is still interfering with the back of the seat, so I'm going to have to cut yet another angle.


Here is a mockup of my first attempt


I still don't have it quite right, so I'll resume work after Christmas.

In other news, my corner guards came in. I bought them off ebay for $37 (marked down from the original $150 price tag) because they were "blemished."


Here's the blemish.


And I also found out that my transmission tunnel is horridly off-camber. It is level in the back where it meets the riser, but it's pretty bad up front.


This messes with my toolbox positioning and the seat bracket mounting. I'm probably going to have to relocate the seat mount, and I have to repair the toolbox anyways so I'm not too concerned as long as it fits over the transfer case properly. It isn't perceivable looking top-down. But lesson definitely learned. For anybody replacing floor pans, it is imperative to constantly check the rest of the body for levelness.

 

Awesome. I love the pics. Gives much better perspective, at least for me. Just a pain to stop and snap them all the time I know. I'll be interested to see how the seats look. My originals are pretty much shot so I gotta figure this out in the future.

 

Driver seat is complete and wheel house notch is mocked up for completion tomorrow.

I modified the original seat frame and made it so it can tilt forward.


I had these 5/8" bolts from my warrior u-bolt skid plates that I couldn't use because they canted my shocks outboard, so I drilled a hole through them and put a cotter pin through them for a quick release on the back.


I used a couple pieces of scrap angle iron I had to make the adapter for the seat frame. The seat mounts go through the slits and get pinned through the bracket.


I had a couple long engine studs that got replaced with SS bolts, so I threaded them the rest of the way and cut them down to fit.



The studs are what I used to mount the rear mounts of the seat frames, so now I can adjust the seat lean up or down for street or trail visibility.

I made a couple backer plates and welded them to the body where the studs mount.




Final product. Ugly but functional. And it's hidden anyways.


seat tilt




For the wheel house notch, I'm going to use the original corner and just move it back a little, then build the rest of the notch around it.