cj3A progress (picture heavy!! 27 pics)

Time for an update.

Thanks to BKD for making my body work so much easier.
The inline sander worked wonders, so much so that I went back and re did a bunch of places I thought I was finished with. I even used it so much I wore it out and had to order another one. I just sent the first one off for warranty today. Can't hurt to have two.

I'm finally getting near the end of the body work. All parts are sand blasted that needed to be and there are only a few spots on the grill and windshield that need a bit of putty.

I laid on the epoxy primer last night and the night before. I've never used epoxy primer before but heard that it is 20 times better than rattle can primer. After all the body work I'd like it to last a while. Then again... bondo doesn't rust does it?

Well, the first night I laid primer on the fenders, hood, and one side of the tailgate.... then I tool a break to have some dinner. When I came back my gun was a paperweight.... and apparently mineral spirits is useless for cleaning out epoxy primer.

The next day I went to Menards and bought a new spray gun and lacquer thinner which my good freind Google tells me will work with epoxy primer. It went a bit smoother this time and I laid a couple coats of primer on everything but the windshield and grill. Hopefully I can get those ready for the weekend and spray them as well. A little sanding and missed spots touch up and I'll be ready for the paint










I didn't worry too much about the overspray much since everything inside the tub and underneath as far as I can reach will get another coat of POR-15 once it's painted.

 

Oh there's still plenty of wiggle... just not the same wiggle that came from the factory

 

I gotta say, your patience is a lesson to us all!

 

Lookin' great!

I've found that it's best to shoot a coat of epoxy, then shoot a coat of 2k sandable primer/sealer, hit it lightly with the strait line and some 400ish grit just to knock it down, then wet sand just before color. I didn't even have to color sand using that same combination.

 

Yay! It has colour! Well, the hood, fenders, windshield and tailgate do. I need to go get more paint.
Rustoleum gloss hunters green if anyone is interested. I found that mixing 4:1 with spirits has worked the best so far. Less spirits seems to make more orange peel.

I found out that like I suspected, I kinda suck at painting
Although I am getting better as I go so it's not a wasted effort. I'll have some buffing to do in a month or so when the paint is fully dry and I have a day off. In particular I managed to get a run at the leading edge of the hood.



So close I can taste it now.

 

You're a lot better painter than me! Nice job!

 

looks good from here !

 

Your doing an awesome job on this rig!!

 

Thanks for the word of warning BKD. I'll be carefull at the pump.

Latest pics,
She be green..

All painted but the grill and windshield vent. Doh! forgot to paint the vent at the same time as the windshield. I'll have to break out the black again.

Mechanical gauges in, working on the wired gauges.
Tail light and reflector. Started to put the sending unit in the tank but tested it with the ohm meter and I'm pretty sure it's no good. I'll grab a new one this week.



I'm not sure how to put the boot for the transfer case on. I can't seem to remove the knobs from the shifters. I'm afraid to mar them up with a pipe wrench or something. Not keen on disconnecting from underneath. Anyone have this dilemma?

Tires will be ordered this week. I'm going to try to get the 16" rims cleaned up sandblasted and painted before next weekend. That should make a difference.

Filled the Ross box with 80w90 and filled bled the brakes before the fenders went on. Brakes seem great and I haven't even done the final bleed yet.

Not sure what I'm going to do about the rear drive shaft yet. I've been putting this one off for a while.With the 2.5" superlift the drive shaft no longer reaches the dif. Angle too great and distance too far. I was going to put a 1/2 inch spacer under the diff and drop the tranny support 3/4" and see how that goes. If it still doesn't reach it's either a double cardan shaft and rotate the diff or pull the springs and order 1" lift springs....

 

:iagree:
But really.....You have done a great job and I can't wait to see it done. I would keep the 2.5 superlift but that is just me. :stout:

 

Good thought. Thanks, I'll give that a go.

Well, a longer drive shaft will solve the length but not he angle issue. It binds at the joint up near the transfer case. I could grind out the joints a bit to make it work I'm sure.

I really don't want to go to a double cardon. I'm surprised I haven't head anyone else on the boards with this issue. Makes me wonder if I've put something together wrong... I don't think there is a back front to the rear springs??

I'm hoping 7.50x16 will fill it out enough.
I believe that is the equivalent of a 31" tire.

 

You've really inspired me with this tub rebuild. I picked up a 3B tub I'm going to rework for a trail rig yesterday. If my work comes out half as good as yours I will be happy! You are doing an AWESOME job on this Jeep!!!

 

Thanks for the posts guys!

Things progressed quite a bit in the last two weeks. I settled on the 2.5 inch lift and ordered the 7.50x16 tires. Blasted and painted the rims. Painted the Grill. Installed windshield, grill, hood and many other nick-knacks.

Still no luck with the 4 wheel shifter knobs. I did get a strap wrench but it just slips on the smooth surface. I think I'm going to have to get some grips on them and file out the marks after. I haven't figured out the rear drive shaft yet either. I think I'm going to raise the motor a 1/2" and drop the trans skid a 1/2" and get a 3 degree shim to turn up the rear axle a smidgen. Hopefully this will be enough to get the shaft connected. If I have to I'll grind out the companion flange a bit to get the clearance, or as a last resort buy a Tom Woods offset U-joint that would give me the articulation and the extra length.

On with the pictures...

First off, my bulbs for the front park lights were long gone and I didn't know where to get any new ones. The sockets were toast as well.I decided to drill the hole to a 1/2" and install an LED light.


Seems to work fine with 6 volts... Can't be any dimmer than a 1950 6 volt bulb


Just to get a little more light out of it I decided to grind the light down until I could pop out the refractor section

I'll let you know how bright it is once the wiring is on


Glamor shots R)
I think the 7.50x16s filled out the lift quite nicely while still keeping the stock look.

Eyes not quite in yet



My son Thomas has decided that this is his new favorite Jeep. Apparently his is going to be Orange


With the front drive shaft hooked up and a gas can feeding the carb, I started it up and drove it down the street a couple of times. It feels good to have it under it's own power again!

I did have issues with starting though. Maybe someone here has had the same experience. When cold the engine would start fine. Once warmed up it did not want to start. It would crank but no fire. I leventually looked down the carb and saw gas sitting in the intake. So I assumed it was flooded. I pulled the plugs but they were dry.... At this point I'm scratching head. Carb is newer solex and it runs great when you can get it running. I eventually killed my battery and had been charging it a lot. I think I fried it because the charger started acting weird and I put a volt meter on the battery. 0.04 volts!.

So I got to Auto Zone and get a new battery. Starts right up. Let it warm up, shut it off wait 15 and starts right up. No issues anymore. For my post mortum I'm thinking that with a 6 volt system, if the battery is weak it may not give enough spark to fire when warm?? Is this why people upgrade to a petronix?

At any rate the battery seems to have resolved th no start issue for now.

 

That looks sharper than a 2 headed thumb tack!

 

Very cool, nice job !