My '62 Rest-Mod

Thanks!

Things are getting close, and with any luck I'll be towing it down Saturday night and a local mechanic will take a look at it Monday. Having a pro look at it will put my mind at ease, especially knowing this is my first time doing something like this

The to-do list before I can bring it down:
* Install the last oil line
* Install oil pressure sending unit and attach sending unit to the harness
* Fill oil and coolant
* Fill brake fluid, attempt to bleed brakes
* Install gas-tank strap
* Install seats
* Install electric wipers and wire them up
* Install bumpers for folding down windshield
* Wire up horn button
* Run final wire to alt for idiot light in speedo
* Ground flasher plug
* Install battery
* Install cross-member skid plate
* Install parking brake handle & attach cable
* Install tow bar

It looks like a longer list than expected, but it should be doable if I get up there early enough. My parents live about 10 minutes north of Weirs Beach, so if anyone's ever been up here for Motorcycle Weekend, you know this is a bad weekend to be travelling through. But if traffic from Motorcycle Weekend isn't too bad, I'll give flat-towing it back a shot. If traffic looks too bad, I'll just drive it down Monday morning.

I'm starting to get very excited! The only thing I wish I had been able to do is to get original seat brackets and seats. The previous owner made some brackets that will be fine, and the low-back Bestop seats are OK. That's definitely on the short list of mods for next year!

 

looks awsome, makes me think of when i did my resto. I like the speedo, very classic.

 

Excellent job Ian!

 

Thanks everyone.

In all fairness I did say I'd have it ready with any luck. Clearly I should have specified with any good luck, because the damn thing fought me every step of the way yesterday. It was a loooooooong day, and I didn't get much done. I wasn't able to get it out (again) due to a fuel leak @ the pump and a big leak in the radiator, which must've gotten damaged over the winter. A few spots had to be touched up due to some overspray and the usual assembly accidents. And I wasn't happy with the hood, so that was redone as well. But to make matters worse, despite the same prep steps being taken, all the places that were touched up, including the entire hood, crinkled and lifted after the last coat of clear. So I got about 1/3 of the list done, pulled the radiator and did a lot of wet sanding. Maybe I'll get it wrapped up next weekend....:?

 

Well, I had a long list to wrap up, but after a great day we managed to get everything done, fire the JEEP up for the first time in 10 months, and it left the garage under its own power. Unfortunately I'm having a few issues with my clutch linkage, but other than that, it's just days away from getting inspected and back on the road. I'm kind of in shock that it's almost done, or done-ish.

Anyway, it towed great behind the WJ, and while it was after 8 PM, which made it a little late for the shots to really be considered in the sunlight, at least it is natural light...

 

Nice job. I'm curious to see how well the paint holds up. After seeing your paint job I'm considering painting my 3B by myself instead of taking it to a shop. I've also had some recent success with my kid's tool box thanks to your tips

 

As it turns out, I'm a bit more of an idiot than I thought. I never put the throwout bearing return spring back on, so the clutch fork dropped down the the bottom of the bellhousing, just out of reach. So I need to get a new spring, pull the drive shafts, pull the transmission tunnel, drop the transmission and transfer case and get the spring in and the clutch fork back on. Then I'll button things up and it should be good to go. Hopefully that will allow me to get the thing inspected by the end of the week and on the road for the weekend.

 

Beautiful Job.

 

Thanks everyone.
I ordered a new spring, clutch fork and cable and they should be here tomorrow. I figured I'd take care of it all at once so I don't have to do this again!
I feel like such an idiot for forgetting the spring, but if that's the only thing I forgot, I did OK for my first build. I guess the time between the tear-down and reassembly is what hurt me with that. In hindsight, I can remember taking the spring off, but it never occurred to me as I was putting the drivetrain back in.

 

Thats one beutiful jeep
And we all make the odd mistake
I just burnt my starter soliniod out because I put it in the wrong way

 

Well, I pulled the drive shafts, pulled the tunnel, dropped the transmission and transfer case, removed the clutch fork, installed the new spring, put it back together, got the clutch fork back on, buttoned everything up, took it out for a quick spin and the clutch fork popped off again. At least this time it's still in place, just not lined up or pivoting. At that point we'd been working for 4 1/2 hours and it was too late to dig back into it. The only thing I can think of is that I didn't get the fork behind the bottom ear on the throwout bearing, but it seemed to be working before closing everything up. Anyway, I'll try pulling the inspection cover tomorrow night and see if I can get it squared away.

Ugh.

 

Man, you really have a nice rig. It's worthy of a calendar spot or even a page in a magazine. I think your project will become a goal for many of us to aim for. It's a clean and well done resto. Congratulations!!!!

 

Yeah, that really looks great! Only things I would change would be to put the Hall taillights from Walck's on it, and I'd paint the lugnuts and hub centers black. I'd paint the lettering too, but it's a tossup between white (same as wheels) and black....either would look good and match well.

 

Yeah, that really looks great! Only things I would change would be to put the Hall taillights from Walck's on it, and I'd paint the lugnuts and hub centers black. I'd paint the lettering too, but it's a tossup between white (same as wheels) and black....either would look good and match well. I'm doing my letters in white to match the wheels and top.

 

Nice job to bad a few of us NE guys couldnt get together some weekend..

 

We'll have to get a list of everybody here in NE that is interested and then somehow find a middle spot to meet. I'm up for it although I still need to get Blue back together.....

 

A Meet and Greet would be a lot of fun.

As for cleaning up loose ends, there are definitely a few. I need to replace the wheels at some point. They're bent to hell, and have a ton of weights on them. So I didn't worry about painting the hubs, studs or lug nuts... I just hit it all with white. I also need to ditch the Warn locking hubs up front because their OD is bigger than the ID of the center of the rim, so I need to remove them to remove the wheel. I'm leaning towards the slightly off white for the JEEP, WILLYS and 4WD stencil. And whatever happened with the final coat of clear needs to get addressed, probably re-painting everything, but that will probably get attention this winter. I just want to get the damn thing on the road before I worry about the details too much!

The clutch is still fighting me, and in order to get things squared away, it looks like I'll be towing it back up to my folks' place this weekend, pulling the drivetrain again. This time I'll pull the bellhousing as well so I can make sure the clutch fork is on correctly and everything is squared away. It was very frustrating to get everything together, drive 100 yards, and have everything you just did get undone in 5 seconds.