Seth's Flat Fender Project

Ever since I was a little boy I've played with Jeeps. Micromachines, hot wheels, or play mobile, anything that was jeep drew my attention. My dad always told me stories of his growing up and of times spent working with his own dad on a cj5 they had back in the day. His dad was the president of the local jeep club here in Northern California, and they would go up to the Rubicon for weekend wheeling. When my dad was old enough to drive, he of course bought an m38a1. He tells me he could pull wheelies in it back in the day. We all as men think deep down that the ladies love a cool car. No matter how much we've heard it denied that a woman could be attracted to a man over a car..We still believe it. The theory pulled through for my dad one afternoon as he was working on the jeep in a friends driveway. Two attractive girls who happened to be stopping by the house he was working on the jeep at saw both an attractive man and an attractive jeep and a bet was made that afternoon. Who could get a shot at dating him first? It ended up working out that my dad would later marry one of those two girls and after over 30 years of marriage they are still together. Sadly however my dad and the jeep are not. After a suspended license for not paying parking tickets given to him at the local community college for parking in areas only a 4wheel drive jeep could, he eventually sold the jeep and went off to the army. Jeeping is in my blood as the above story shows, and as soon as I was able, I recently bought my own jeep! The jeep I purchased was actually owned by my great aunt who lives up in Georgetown near the Rubicon trail. She had purchased it back in 1995 after it was rebuilt by a man named Ace McCoy in 1994 somewhere in Rancho Cordova. Ace rebuilt a total of 40 jeeps during his retirement my jeep being number 37. My uncle actually owns number 38. My great aunt bought the jeep that would one day be mine for $6,500. Later while wheeling on the Rubicon she would be offered $8,000 for the jeep by a man who noticed Ace's stamp that he put on all of his jeeps on the passenger side of the vehicle. Apparently Ace built some quality jeeps back in the day. All of this back story leading up to my buying of the jeep. In early April of 2014 I purchased what is titled as a 43 ford GPW. As one member of the forum already pointed out, the tub appears to be off an m38. I bought the jeep for what I consider a fair price considering the work that needs to be done on it. Bargaining on price was soothed by the fact that the jeep would be staying within our family. Never the less a Price was settled on and before I knew it I was trailering the old girl home (the jeep had been parked back in 2005 and placed on non-op...It wasn't running when I purchased it.)

Specs on the Jeep:
-Buick 231 engine from 1985 (not sure what it was pulled from)
-TH350 tranny
-Dana 44 rear
-Dana 27 front
-Original Dana 20 tcase
-York style onboard air
-Warn winch model 8274
-33x12.5 tires
-Disc brakes on all 4's
-2 gas tanks
-Tall windshield (info I've gathered indicates it's from the Fresno area)
-12V electrical system

 

Pulling the Jeep out of the garage it sat in since 2005


The winch on the Jeep was the method we were planning on using to get the jeep up and onto the trailer but it isn't working for some reason. (We thought the cause was a jimmy rigged winch remote, but upon testing this is not the case. The winch can audibly be heard to make a "click" but nothing else happens.)


Instead we used the ratchet tie down straps and began inching the jeep onto the trailer...literally inching it..in fact probably a little less than inching actually hah. Pictured is my mom helping with this process. She was hesitant on the jeep purchase at first, but as you can tell from that smile she's genuinely excited.


All loaded up and ready to start it's journey


Both of the parents showing their excitement after unloading off of the trailer

 

My great aunt saying goodbye to the jeep. She will see it often though I assured


Ace McCoy's mark on the jeep

 

Below are a few pictures of my uncles jeep ( number 38 ) built by Ace..He has since modified it.

 

The first thing I did when I got the jeep home was stick it in the garage with a couple of bug bombs..Lucky I did too, Mud Dauber nests were in every little crevice.


Day two of owning the jeep consisted of giving it a little bath, and ripping out the disgusting carpet interior and seats that were in the jeep. To my surprise the drivers seat was actually electric! Sadly though the carpet was hiding a rust problem. Diamond plating was welded in as a patch panel near the drivers feet next to the roll bar..I hate the look of it.


A spark plug change was in order as you can tell in this photo..One week after bringing the jeep home and she was up and running. I still need to go through the brakes though. The passenger side rear disc brake appears to be leaking fluid onto my tire and this is causing it to erode. I'm thinking while I'm at it I'll replace the brake booster and master cylinder.


Little bit of love and some steel wool on the indicator

 

Every build needs a little inspiration.. this is mine


What do you all recommend as far as replacement seats go? I'm having trouble deciding between these two..The smittybilt contour sport seat (left), and the bestop trailmax Pro II (right).


Also what do those with experience recommend as far as mounting method of whatever new seats I choose? Built into the roll cage? Simple homemade bracket? something that can be purchased?

 

Super cool, you are a lucky dude. I like those seats but an old classic like that needs the old fashion low back seats, just my opinion. Good luck with the project, it's a neat little rig.

 

Awesome Jeep! I'm not a fan of high back seats either, so I couldn't offer a suggestion on which seat to get. As far as mounting the seats, I like to incorporate the seats in to the roll cage. Don't know of any brackets that can be purchased for a custom application like this. Looks like the fender wells have already been cut already to allow more leg room.
This page shows how I did mine. http://www.earlycj5.net/forums/showthread.php?79103-66-CJ5-Rebuild/page22&highlight=pielut

 

I can definitely understand the preference most people seem to hold for the low back seats in the older jeeps. However, having seen my dad struggle these past few months with a bulged disk in his back, it makes me think of the mess one might have to live with if an accident was to ever occur with low back seats. Thus I have decided that the longevity of my back is worth a small compromise in the looks department with high back seats. I love the way you incorporated the seats into your cage PieLut! The access to the tool trunk is a nice feature to be sure. I'm definitely leaning towards that as my method of mounting now. Hopefully someone will chime in with a little experience or expertise on high back seat options. I've flirted with the idea of Corbeau Moab seats..They are a little easier on the wallet than the smittybilt and bestop high backs, but I think I prefer an adjustable headrest, as I'm 6'2" and if my head sticks over the headrest I might as well just compromise the rest of my back and go with low back seats hah.

 

Just my 2 cents, but if you still have the stock length springs under it as it appears in the photos, get suspension seats. Your body will thank you. I installed Corbeau Baja RS's in my 3B and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I'm not a fan of low-back seats in anything used on a regular basis on public roads, and especially so in a modified Jeep that going to also see a lot of trail miles. Something else to keep in mind when purchasing seats is what you are going to use for harness. A lot of 4/5 point harness feed through the seat back.

 

Alright so I've been trying to work on the jeep today but need a little help from the good people of this forum. I can't seem to get my rotor off. I'm starting to feel frustrated, confused, and stupid. What is keeping this bugger from coming off?!

 

Post it in the earlycj5 tech portion you will get more views for the problem.

I don't have disk on my rear axle, but I think it could be one of two things. One that keyway is stuck, use a hub puller to get it off. Normally you have to use a hub puller to get the brakes of if it is in the stock configuration. Number two, potentially the wheel studs are pressed into the hub. So the rotor isn't going to come off unless you press the studs out.

The first option, would separate the hub from your axle shaft. Then you could look closer at whats going on without the caliper bracket and axle shaft in the way.

Careful with those flip flops, as you probably know it hurts if a piece of metal is dropped on the toes.

 

Thank you for the helpful words! Very much appreciated. Half the battle today has been figuring out what the disk brakes came off of..Best guess currently is a 77-78 Seville. It does seem like the keyway is stuck though. Looks like I'll be picking up a hub puller tomorrow More tools to add to the garage! Thanks again.

 

Word of caution, not all of the hub pullers you buy will fit that hub.


disk brakes could of come off of the front of some chevy truck too. Many different possibilities, if you figure it out post it up for us. Not too many of us have rear disk brakes.

 

We replaced the seats in my fiance's TJ with the Besttop Trailmax II seats, and found them to be very comfortable. They were stiffer than I expected, but not uncomfortably so.