Mounted the spare tire, does this look right?

Someone did that to me one day, a Barbie Doll couldn't have gotten in my drivers door. I'm not saying anything happened to the other vehicle, but I'm sure that in retrospect, the other guy probably wished he hadn't parked that close to me.

 

Yep, you're like me, one nicely restored jeep and another to play in the woods with.

 

The windshield frame is just in primer right now, it will be black (I think it is technically supposed to be a semi-gloss black but I am making it gloss.) I'm trying to get it back to stock so everything is either original, NOS, or repop. The engine and drivetrain are all original to the JEEP as far as I know. This JEEP looks like it sat most of its life and nobody ever hacked it so it was as close to original as I could find -- paid waaay too much for it originally but that's a sore subject (if I knew then what I know now...) I started it a year ago January, took it down to bare frame and started over.

I like the spare on the side just because it is original. I realize they can be a hazard but I'll take my chances. Keep in mind that this thing is a garage queen so it will only get driven on sunny days. I don't plan on putting a top on it at all so I should be able to keep an eye on the spare.

Matt, I'll post some pictures of my wheel house baffle and hat channel but no laughing at my welding.

 

Nice JEEP I like the wheel colors. My tires are 215/85/16 which was as close as I could get to the original size in a radial. I agonized over the choice for weeks on whether to go with original style bias or radials. I've regretted my decision ever since I made it but I have too much money in those tires to change my mind now

My JEEP only had the driver's seat in it when I bought it and I believe it was the original one. The fabric was shot but there was enough left to show the upholsterer what they used to look like. We tried matching the colors as best we could. The red is from a mid '80s Ford truck and was an almost perfect match. The gray was just some gray vinyl he had in his shop. He did an excellent job matching the original stitching and style and I think they came out very nice. The only problem is the vinyl is much softer than what the original would have been (it almost feels like soft leather.) But looks-wise, it was good.

 

Actually, here's what the JEEP looked like when I bought it. You can see the driver's seat. The fabric had faded so much it looked pink but when we disassembled it, we found a few parts that had not been touched by light and that's how we matched the color.

 

Here are some pics of my wheelhouse baffle and hat channel. It doesn't seem like anybody makes the hat channel for the '5, I found several for the '3B but it was the wrong curve so I cut it. It is supposed to wrap all the way around to the rear above the tail light but mine stops short of that. I figure it is not a daily driver so it should be OK...I hope.

 

Thanks.

Those bias plys wore out. Now I'm running 215-85-16's too, on white wagon wheels. It is a great tire size. The 235-85-16 & 225-85-16 are also nice sizes.

cell post

 

you might want to consider a large thick washer on the two bolts going through the hat channel. Something that will distribute the load out to the edges of the hat. Vibration may cause the hat channel to crush more and the bolts to become loose.

 

It's hard to tell with the angle of this shot. Do you think the baffle is a little to far forward? I know M38a1's didn't come with a baffle. I was able to find a NOS baffle and installed it. Here's a better picture.

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"I know M38a1's didn't come with a baffle."

M38A1 mounted the spare on the rear, since there was not an opening tailgate. M38A1-C mounted it on the passenger side of the cowl.

There was a lightweight baffle, I believe to protect the wiring of the rear lights and military trailer wiring receptacle. This was on the driver's side rear.

 

Crap. That means my spare is mounted too far forward. You think anybody will notice?

 

Advice heeded. Thanks.

 

Looks great stout, your original tub is coming along nicely too btw. I will post some pics of it soon. Your progress keeps me motivated, keep up the great work!