1974 CJ5 Rookie Build

Finding time to throw into this project has been tough. Trips out of town and summer happenings are really slowing down the progress. Since last post, I got tired of just welding on the tailgate as it was teaching me but I wasn't getting any closer to completing a Jeep. So I figured I would just jump right in to the actual body work. Once again I took the tub off the frame, Wheeled it into the back yard, and set it up on some saw horses to get after it.


I started with just welding up some cracks. I switched over from the TIG setup and went with a flux core wire feed since that is what I could get a hold of. I started by cutting out the spot below the driver's side door that showed signs of cancer:

WOW! Good thing I looked in there! It was some pretty bad rust. I finished cutting out the body and then cleaned the rust away from the pillar with a wire wheel:


Next I cut the replacement sheet metal and tried out my first body welding. I Basically just tack welded around and around to avoid heat issues:

I just continued going around until the entire joint had been filled, and then a quick hit with a grinder and now I think it is good enough for some filler and paint!


I also addressed several other issues on the tub. Cracks at support joints, cracks in the tub itself, filling in some holes in the body, Oh and I finally got the front body mount repaired!



Once I finished all the welding under the tub, it was time to spray it with the protective undercoating. After way too much research on the subject I decided to go with a 2 part truck bed liner from Dominion Sure Seal. The kit seemed simple enough, add Part A to part B, Shake and Shoot! I started prep on the tub by first using a scuff pad over the entire underside (Grey area is the scuffed area so it made it easy to see what had been done.):


After Scuffing the tub, I rigged up a make shift spray area (man these tubs are not easy to move with just one person) and started to mask off anything I didn't want covered in bed liner:

I had to use my table in the back yard to reach the top...
Finally for the last part of prep, I used a compressor and blew all the dust and dirt off, followed by wiping down the entire thing with Mineral Spirits all just to try and get the best adhesion possible.

Finally it was time for the undercoat.
Mix Part A and B:

Spray, and repeat.

I used a Schutz gun to spray and a 30 gallon 6hp craftsman compressor. I made sure to put an extra thick coat on the firewall to help deaden the sound as much as possible. All in all it came out excellent with only one area where I messed up the texture (I had the Schutz gun put together incorrectly).


After a couple hours of dry time, the undercoat was set up enough to let me get the body back on the frame. I got out my new polyurethane body mounts and finally got to permanently set the body back where it goes! Hey that looks like a jeep growing there!

 

you are a bold man.

when i got mine i just wanted it to work.

and yes
i kept track of how much mine cost as well.

that's gonna be a sweet ride.

 

You are really doing a nice job on it. looks great. Total deja vu on the rust spots at the pillars.

 

dood...

thats INSANE!!!

i've been stuck in the same place on mine for months... but i DID get some more cleaning of the frame done saturday....

i read your whole thread... and i agree, you are a bold man...

congrats on some most kick a$$ WORK =)

TB

 

Thanks guys!
Ordered the EZ wiring harness today so hopefully that comes this week so I can get it in this weekend! until then I guess I will now have to learn about body filler.

 

Where is a good place to buy indicator lamps for the dash? I like the look of the rectangle style original ones but do they make them with LED now instead of the cruddy lamp?

 

Finally updates!
Last time I checked in I had just finished the undercoat. It came out really well but not as thick as I would have liked. Next was to try playing with some bondo and see how that went.

I only started to do some of the bondo when I realized that I probably needed a sanding block instead of the 4" orbital I was using... a sanding block and probably some sort of skill set for getting everything lined up and smooth. As you can see I gobbed the stuff on all over but quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing and decided to put that off for a while.
That meant that my next step was lining the inside of the tub. The lining on the bottom (Shake and Shoot) cost me ~$140 for the material and coated nicely but as I didnt come out quite as thick as I wanted. The tub still had that tin-ny sound when I tapped it so I wanted something much thicker on the inside. I figured I wanted it to be 3 times as thick meaning I would have to spend about $420 in material. I called all over getting quotes to spray the tub with different liners. Line-X was $715 Rhino was pretty much the same but after reading a bunch of threads about liners I decided to look into Vortex liner. Rockliner in Rocklin, CA was the first to pop up with a quick Google. Initially I was quoted $600 and up from them, then when I called back later I got $800 assuming that I had masked and sanded everything myself.
Now I have never had anything lined before but I just couldn't justify dropping that kind of cash on a liner. That is when I found Pope's Portables I called them up and Talked to Mike the owner. He was super friendly and accommodating on the phone. He arranged to come out to my house and spray the liner on a Sunday morning. The entire experience was very cool. He was on time, and best of all he didn't take the attitude that he was doing me some sort of favor by showing up to my house. Very cool guy and easy going. He didn't even mind that I poked around and watched/touched everything like a freaking kid while he was working. I was just so excited!
They did and excellent job prepping the tub:

The process is a low pressure (6lbs) process and the material is dry to the touch within seconds. It is 2 compound spray that is sprayed through a mixing tip and seemed very easy to manipulate the finish. We adjusted it more and less glossy of a finish until I was happy and then away they went spraying...
First the tailgate:

Then some tub shots:





All in all I was VERY happy with the process. The product turned out amazing and super thick just like I wanted. It averages 1/8 to 1/4 thick depending on the area. Edge lines turned out super clean. And the best part was the roll up. When these guys finished cleaning up it was like they were never there! And hey I got a super clean swept driveway out of the deal too!

I have more updates since this too, I just wanted to share a great product and service and a price barely more than the material alone would have cost me!

 

Makes me wish I had my tub down there! Looks great.

 

After The interior liner went in I got back to bolting up all the under dash stuff. I had a broken intake box so I used some bondo, reshaped it, and made it so it would work with the heater box duct. I even pulled apart the damper and replaced the old rubber seal with some neoprene I had Lying around:

Seals tight now and should keep out the cold!


Next step was the heater box. It had a few cracks but nothing that some JB Weld couldn't handle. Also, around the heater coil was some foam to hold it from bouncing around, but it pretty much turned to dust when I touched it. I replaced it with Strip rubber that ended up fitting perfectly! It holds the coil tight. and Im pretty sure it should hold up to the heat.


The old studs that went through the firewall to mount the box were pretty lame. One of them was rusted to the point where it twisted right off with a pair of pliers. So next I cut and drilled out the old studs, and welded in some grade 8 bolts that ended up making the mounts WAY more sturdy.



Next I took the heater motor and pulled apart as much as I could, I totally blew it here because I got so into keeping track of the parts that I forgot to take detailed pictures. I scrubbed the copper coils inside and now this thing blows like a... well insert your own adult comment... But it really blows!

Once the motor was back working I painted and bolted it all back up:


Next step is the wiring harness but first: My old battery was rusted completely through, so I started to fabricate a new (hopefully stronger) one. I have an optima battery and this thing is heavy!


Base complete, now I just bolt on the Battery hold-down from Ballistic Fabrication... SWEET!

 

Thanks Posi! I will be calling you to try and figure out this front business....

 

More work on the Wiring Harness:
Got this from EZ Wire:

Mounted it to the firewall via 2 through bolts here:

The wires in the kit were labeled so I just divided them first into these areas:
- Front Clip/Engine
- Dash
- Column
- Rear
Once I had the sections run I started in the engine bay routing the wires to the space I think they needed to go.

Made a cool new mounting point for my solenoid:

I Forgot to mention I put the fenders and hood back on when I started wiring!

Used heat shrink and liquid electrical tape to seal up the wires that go out to the front fender running lights, split wire loom on everything else in the engine bay.

After a few hours of trying different combinations, 4 wiring diagrams, and several blown fuses I was able to get the ignition wired up and working!
It felt great to start this thing with a key for the first time since I have owned it!
I also had a chance to wire up most of the dash, the headlights, the turn signals (front) and the running lights (front). Now I was only a throttle cable, exhaust and brakes away from driving this thing!

 

I like the mirror on the wall. Makes the place look much bigger. Actually, the way I work in my place, I'd break that in a heart beat. Good job on your project.

 

I ordered my stock throttle cable from Morris 4x4 and when it came I had to look back at how it was previously installed. And because this is a old CJ you can imagine that previously it was installed completely wrong. The PO had flipped the throttle bracket around, had it mounted with only one bolt and kinked the throttle cable to make it all work out:

Yikes!
A little investigating and I found that the reason this mess had been created was that the carb linkage is all wrong. Maybe the carb is off something else. Here is a picture of the cable the way it should be mounted, and why it wont work with this carb setup: The cable mounting point is above the pivot point so it cannot function.

So I came up with an easy fix, just fab a bracket to move the mounting point below the pivot point and I should be all good.
Here is the specialized tools to remove the old pressed in mount:

C Clamp, 1/2 a screw and a small socket
Lined up:

POP! The post comes right out! So high tech!


Next I had to draw up the bracket. A few measurements to get the holes right. The cool thing about this is that as I move the new post around the field, I can change: Resting Angle for my gas pedal. AND Throttle response (making the stroke longer or shorter between zero and full throttle). I messed around with this a bit until I had a setup I was happy with, then I drew up the shape on some sheet metal:

Rough cut it out, drilled the holes, lightly pressed the post in (didn't totally peen the back yet) and then test fit:

Started her up and sat on the floor in the tub while I pretended to drive. The throttle felt perfect, post position was perfect. Cleaned the piece, finished the peen on the back of the post, paint, and DONE.
Finished product:


Worked out great, and now the throttle cable is run correctly and not binding up from some stupid kink.

 

THANKS. Ha ha, the mirror is left over from when I had roommates, the garage was turned into a Gym. Now it hangs there so I can feel like I have a 2 car garage

 

Nice work. Fun ain't it?

 

It is really fun, and pretty much therapeutic, as I explained it to the GF. I am ready to start driving this thing, can't wait to join in the "jeep wave" club! Saturday I hit a HUGE milestone!
Update Coming...

 

So if you have been reading this whole thread then you know that when I bought this jeep it wouldn't even roll, let alone run and drive. Well Saturday for the first time since I have owned this jeep, I drove it under its own power!!!
Mind you I don't have breaks installed, a seat to sit on, or exhaust yet but WTH, I just couldn't wait!
Actually what happened was I wanted to tunr the jeep around in the garage so I could get to the front axle from outside. I called my neighbor over to help me push it out into the street, turn it around, and push it back in. He said "if it runs, why not just drive it?" Epiphany! Why didn't I think of that? I guess I am just too use to it being stationary.
Anyway I drove it out into the street, turned it around, and backed it into the garage...
It was the most exciting 3 point turn of my life!
Had to spend a few minutes high fiving my neighbor and grinning from ear to ear before I bust the wrenches back out and then...
Hoverjeep:

If you remember I had to cut the front Drum off the D30, so I am using this opportunity to upgrade to disc brakes in the front.

Drained it and the fluid looked pretty clear!

Inside:

Wire brushed, stripped and degreased the whole thing:

Etched and prepped for POR-15:

And finally POR-15'd:


So finally we are back up to speed. This weekend I have to figure out what part numbers I need to order to finish off the brake swap. Hopefully I can go pick up a 2.5" lift kit and get that axle back under there! I think I need to start a classified thread because I now have a bunch of parts I am not using and need money to get the next parts to get this thing back on the road!

Tonight I am going to put together a list of what I need to finish this thing and then try and figure out what order to buy the stuff. Funds are as expected getting tight... I have to get more creative!

 

Ordered these tonight:
http://www.quadratec.com/products/56215_00_07.htm

Going off the JP magazine article HERE
they should be just what I need, right?

 

Any good leads on where to buy the calipers? Part number etc... Too many options for a rookie to sort through... I just want the things to work!