Woodstock

Thank you, as you know. it's a lot of work. I am driven now to finish the tub and move on to the frame, which will be more fun.

 

Take your time with the sheetmetal. Seriously my passenger side is a half inch shorter than the driver side on mine. They also have different distances from the door opening to the bottom of the rocker panel.

 

Ok, last mention of the unistrut. 2 channels facing down, one for front half, one for rear half. One channel facing up on the saw horses. Then just slide apart and clamp. It worked well. Now I will shut up about it.

Starting to align everything for welding. I got this little gem from Stronghand Tools. A spring-loaded copper backup plate with strong magnets. Where have you been all my life?

After a few tacks on the overlap section, I bent up the 16 gauge side panel. I'm using these little HF weld gap clamps, they work well to align everything.

You cannot own enough clamps. Here aligning the body side. It can run wild on you in a hurry.

Tack, tack, tack, repeat. I'm just spotting this on slowly to keep from getting too hot. It already wants to warp, so I started using air to cool it down. And I can just move on to the next patch, then come back after it cools.

 

At this rate you will be done by Rubicon trip.

 

Sometimes it seems painfully slow to me. Work really cuts into my jeep time.

 

Next panel bent and clamped in.

Right side mostly done.

Moving to the floor, I have 6" wide 16 GA, so it fits right in.

Bent up the hump offset, this will work.

Left side done, floor almost done. lt felt good to be going in the right direction, for a little while.

 

That's looking really good!

 

Thanks man, I appreciate it.

 

Now. Go easy on the grinding heat and don't ever measure it for squareness.

 

I'll get a shot of the tape measure. From dash to each rear fenderwell is dead nuts. And I always think 2 things: They probably weren't square to begin with. It definitely has had a long and rough life. And we're not racing Nascar here. Ok, that's 3 things. And never, ever, put a laser on it. That's 4.

 

I can’t agree more!

 

With the 6" door stretch mostly done, (just need to weld the bottom side), I thought I would check out one of the benefits of the stretch- fitting the Corbeau low backs in without notching the rear wheel wells. Plus, I just want to see them in there.

This is a rough approximation of location, based on some measurements from my CJ5, and sitting in it. The cool thing is, look at all the room from the seat to the wheel well. This also increases cargo space.

These might be the nicest thing on this jeep. After all the years with board-stiff military seats, I can't wait. I also checked out the space under the seat, that I plan for parts storage.

Alright, back to work. Part of the concept for this build is not just capability, but aesthetics. I am trying for a proportional look, so at a glance, it just looks like a 3B. And to get to 94" wheelbase, I need a little more. So here we go again.

 

I resisted the idea of a second cut for a while, mostly because of the amount of work required. But it is the solution to cargo space, wheel base, and proportion. So I cut at the top- middle of the rear wheel opening, then took out the spot welds in the wheel well to the rear corner, then cut across the top of the wheel well, down the side, across the bed, and back up. I will add 3" here.

I still have the strut frame under the tub, so it was easy to extend. Now the work begins.

This opens up the wheel arch, and allows me to move the rear axle back 4". I'll get a tire in there soon to see what it looks like.

I can already see this is the right thing to do, I just need to keep my head down and get 'er done. It's going to be a lot of welding.


First thing I want to get the side patches done, to get the back end square with the tub. I did several measurments from the dash to the rear corner, and we are very close to perfect, probably better than it was out of Toledo. I bent up the patches, and got ready to weld, then ran out of time for the afternoon. My plan is to stay on this, to get the tub done, so I can get to the frame.

 

Looking good Tim.
This is a lot of work but it’s gonna pay off in the end

 

Seriously excellent concept and execution. Hoping I don't have to try to do this to Buford's tub but I won't know for a while I guess. I really like your stretch of the bed area. You're killin' it man.

 

It's coming along pretty nicely. I can't wait to see the finished product.

What are you using to make the two bends in the door sill and top of the tub?

 

I'm using the HF press brake attachment to the press. I showed it in post 453. Works pretty good once you get the hang of it.

 

Thank you for the encouragement. This part of the project is a little bit of a grind (so to speak), so I can use all the encouragement I can get!

 

That's what I'm hoping. No, I like the look already, and I've always wanted a 7 for the wheelbase, now I'll have a 3B with the same wheelbase.

 

I got a pair of these CJ5 repop inner fenders at the Camp Plymouth swap meet for $30. I wasn't sure if I could use them, but for the price, why not?

I pulled the back end off briefly to clean up some welds and trim the old spare tire brace. This might be the low point, where I am questioning my decisions a little.

I didn't want to look at it like this for very long, so I fixed things and started the plan for the patch.

Of course, the new fenderwells are wrong in all 3 directions, compared to a flatty, and it's a shame because they are exactly 3 inches longer, which is my stretch, but the width and height are also off, so I am just going to cut and patch it, rather than replace the whole thing.

These are really thin, thinner than the floor or sides. So I am trying to make the butt joints tight. I am questioning my plan here. But I'm in it now.