Building my 66 CJ6 to look capable of things it will never do

Yes, my frame was boxed in the engine bay area. I drilled out the inside hole larger to fit sleeves I welded in to ensure the boxing did not collapse when I cranked down the bolts.

 

Quick question... What is the overall width of your axles with the tires mounted? They don't seem too awfully wide for full width axles... Thanks

 

I'm 73" outside to outside of the mounted 37" tires on stock H-1 hummer wheels in the rear. 1-3/4" wider per side for a stock chevy front over the rear I'm told. Those wheels have 7" or so of backspacing, so they really narrow you up, BUT, you have to pay attention to steering and other issues to make sure you have clearance. My steering / complete chassis is complete and I'm working on the body now. No pics yet.

 

Thanks, thats not bad at all. Most of the time guys running full width axles look kinda funny with the tires sticking way out. Keep up the good work.

 

I'm working on the body now. Least favorite part for me. I had 5 x 5 x 3/16 rocker / rock sliders formed and have them installed. Waiting on hat channels from Midwest military so I can get the underneath done. I'm also going with wide tube fenders up front to cover the tires. Pics soon.

 

Progress is a little slower now since its body work. I hate body work. I'm being patient, which is my weakness when it comes to doing this part of any build. I try to buy vehicles with as little rust as possible so I can avoid as much of this as possible. Unfortunately, the sandblaster often reveals things you didn't know about. I received the hat channels for the front and one new one for the rear from Midwest Military (Thanks John) and they are EXCELLENT and top shelf quality. Tonight I'll get started with the spot weld drill bit and grinder and see how much I can get removed. Putting them back is easy, and I'm also going to bolt through them to the new floor panels in a few spots. You can see the 5 x 5 rock sliders I had bent up. Same company will bend up my extended rear fenders, which will also be 3/16 and will tie into those sliders. Cage will likely bolt though the floor then through spacers and into those sliders as well. Oh yeah, I have the front of the cage all tacked together. Waiting for more tube to do the rear. Seats will mount solely to the cage. We put the hard top on to make sure the cage cleared everything, and my top is not in very good condition. Will probably be selling it for cheap. The doors appear to be excellent. I guess I'll plan on a soft top before next winter.

 

Got the rear most body mount hat channel replaced last night. It went really well, so if the rest go this well, I'll have the underneath done by Sunday! I painted the bottom side of the hat channel and the metal on the tub where the old one was with rustoleum before installing the new one.
Ordered a spice colored rear seat (Garage pro) this morning, a pair of Bestop Trailmax II front seats in spice this afternoon, and just got off the phone with CC Fabs out in Glendale Arizona ordering the tube front fenders with the 7" flare on them. I have the rear fenders being bent up at my local metal shop already. Both front and rear fenders will tie into those rock sliders. Rear seat will mount on 4" box tube in front and 3-1/2" box in the rear to give it a little height and pitch. Fuel tank mount is done-need to find some rubber strips for insulation under it and under the straps.

 

I've made a lot of progress, and I'm tired. All of the hat channels that had rust have been replaced. They were all bolted in place with grade 5 bolts to locate them and then they were welded. Underside of all of them was painted with rustoleum as was the area of the floorboard where they went. Body mount bolts all lined up, so I guess we did a good job of locating them. The bent up mount behind the driver where the pan drops off was replaced with a new formed 3/16" piece bolted and welded over the top of it. The new piece was also welded to the rub rails. The fenders and cage are still in the works, but will look good when I'm done. The body tub was completely primed on the bottom with self etching primer and then fully coated with 2 coats of Raptor Liner. I suspect it is stronger and will last longer than the original metal has, which will outlive me. Rear seat and fuel tank were located and then the rear section of cage was built around that. Rear seat is on 4" box in front and 3" in rear to give it some height and tilt. My 6-1 son says it is much more comfortable. The front seat mounts are in but no pics of that yet. They are on 1/4 x 2 flat setting on 2 DOM tubes running left to right just above the floor of the tub. Flat strap is on top of front tube and under rear tube to give seats the proper angle. Pics to come on that. You can see how much the rear axle was moved back by the amount the center of the rear fenders have changed. I've got a lot of metal to remove there in the fenderwell.

 

Lots of metal repair..............Nice Job!............How much did you move the axle back? And what springs did you end up using back there? The springs look almost short?

 

Thanks! I despise body work and have an appreciation of the work that some guys are capable of doing. It's going to be utilitarian and look good from 10' when I'm done. You don't want me working on anything "pretty"!

The axle relocation both front and rear was a result of spring shackle reversal and wanting my outboard spring hangers to tie in to both the front and rear bumpers / crossmembers. I haven't measured the wheelbase yet, but I'm guessing it's 5" or so longer than when it left Toledo. The springs are Wrangler 3.5" lift versions, but mounted spring under. I think they are actually longer than the originals.

 

Got a lot done Friday and Saturday. Had Mothers Day and Dads birthday at our house Sunday. New booster and master cylinder are fitted in place and reinforcement plate is cut to go behind them. Fuel tank mount now has rubber epoxied in place any where the tank touches anything and the straps are pulled into place for welding this evening. Cage is fully assembled but still needs finish welding and priming before the raptor liner goes on. Rear fenders are trimmed, welded, and ground, and then all that small stuff got a coat of self etching primer. Had a good friend over Friday evening and we worked on the only really bent up spot on the jeep-where a tree or something had fallen on it. He's got it looking pretty good already and he says it gets 2 more coats of putty and sanding yet.

 

dood...

your work is INSANE!... I wish I had those capabilities

very VERY cool

 

Aww, it aint nuthin. I'm just an insurance guy who grew up in a rock quarry and then on the farm. Learned to weld and operate heavy equipment at a very young age and then had to maintain it. It's all about the environment you were brought up in, and I get it that many folks were not exposed to the same things. I'm fortunate in that aspect, but hey, I can't shoot a basketball for nothing, and I absolutely suck at video games. I'm always willing to help those who have questions. This jeep is a keeper, but it is the 56th jeep I've owned.

 

Time for some more pics. I went ahead and bought a new windshield frame since mine did have some rust in it. Got the firewall all sealed up with a 1/4" plate for supporting the column. Front grille and radiator are back on. Steering box is mounted. My son had "jeep flu" Sunday and didn't want to work in the shop, which is understandable. We did sidetrack his truck to get this done, and we've worked on it 8 million hours over the last 6 months. My wife actually came out and helped hold wrenches underneath and mark things for me where 3 hands were required. I think my fenders turned out good-what do you think?
Windshield frame is raptor linered so it should outlast me easily. New dash panel is actually just overlaying the original, but I didn't want to start out with 60 holes. Ordered an electric fan for the radiator (16") and I've got the new belts ready to go on with the new 3 groove crank pulley. Once the cage and front seats are in I'll line up a hole for the column to go through the dash and order the appropriate length tilt column. Then...wiring...power steering hoses...brake lines...we're almost done.

 

I was able to get a few hours in over the long weekend. Finish welded the cage, welded on 2 supports to prevent the seat bars from ever sagging, welded 4 shock bushing sleeves through the cage for the shoulder belt bolts, welded on a mount for my hi-lift jack at the rear of the cage, and then got it all primed and raptor lined. Also finished all the brake lines and put fluid in the master cylinder. Will probably bleed them tonight. Seats are installed. Cut both the hole in the dash and the hole in the firewall for the steering column. Power steering hoses installed. Clutch pedal and new rubber cushion under floor installed. I have LED lights here for the rear, so about ready to start on the wiring. I also have new mirrors on the way. Steering column and both u-joints for the DD steering shaft are on their way.

Saturday we went to the Southern Rock Racing event at Flat Nasty Off Road Park near Salem, MO. Had a great time. Man was it dusty! Those guys in their buggies are fearless! As the name implies, my jeep may look like it belongs there, but I'm not willing to put it there. They define bulletproof engineering with what those drivelines are submitted to!

 

By the way, I have been asked several times what my final wheelbase ended up at. Looks like 106", or 5" longer than stock. Pretty evenly split between front and rear I'd say.

 

Had another productive weekend. Had to work cattle and ship a few, so that took some of my time. Seat belts are all now fully installed. Steering column is 90% completed. I still have to fabricate a bracket to secure it on the firewall side, but all of the u-joints and 1" DD steering shaft is in place. Steers with one finger-at least setting in the garage. Taillights have been mounted and then removed for final coating of the outer body. Electric fan is installed. Just received my -8 AN fittings for the fuel tank, so I'll get the fuel line run one evening this week. We've had it running for 20 minutes at a time in the shop to test out the power steering, alternator, and cooling system. The engine is smoking quite a bit, but I'm hoping because I had it nearly upside down that it is just oil on top of the cylinders. It didn't smoke when I fired it last winter before the build....

 

My wife says my seat belts look like we're using ratchet straps....

 

True True
Looks great though

 

looks great