CJ6B - Family Sizing a CJ3B

O.K., copy that. Thanks for the input guys.
Me and my cut off wheel will get back to work. I'm anxious to set the tub on the frame, but I guess I'm just not there yet.

 

I know we just talked about ending the boxing plate with a 45 degree slant, but does that still apply if I cover this whole section from the rear to the cross member like the paper template shows?

 

That's how they did mine (like your paper template). So far, so good. Backing up a few days.......next time you come to PA, bring that body and title with you. I'd set that right on my '71 and be a happy camper. BTW, looks like a good time to invest in a plasma cutter, with those curves you'll be cutting. Here's what mine looks like.

 

were you planing on welding the vert to the xmember ?

 

wheelie, your pictures don't show up for me. Yeah, a plasma would be nice, but it's not gonna happen for me right now.
Steve, As I look at some of the existing boxing on my MB it has a fish mouth shape at a similar terminus. I don't know what's best in this case. I yield to the ECJ5 gallery.

 

Try this Mike. Should be the first 4 pics in the album. http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm315/wheelie1054/1971 cj5/

 

Mike, that looks good. That's how I did mine as well. Cut some metal and weld it up

 

Should the boxing plates be stitch welded or continuous?
Weld it to the cross member or shape it like a fish mouth at the end and only weld to the frame rails?
Thanks.

 

Either way. Both techniques will be structurally sound. Continuous will help keep the water out, but don't weld it all at once. Stitch weld and move around to avoid warping.

I say weld it to the cross member.

 

I was told stitch welding only. Allows for minor flexibility in the frame. Too ridgid could lead to other issues??? Water is gonna find it's way somewhere or another. May as well allow it drain easily. My front plate is welded at the top and bottom of the x member. Tried to capture that in the pics.

 

Thanks for the input and ideas. I got the two plates cut and welded in place this weekend. It went faster than I expected.


I welded nuts to the inside of the frame where the bolts will go for the rear cross member. The rear cross member is a 3/16", 2" x3" angle iron. I'll weld it to the frame later, but for now, just the bolts.

Now I can finish the rear gas tank mounts. I'm trying to build in some adjustability for the height. If I decide to go with a bit of a body lift I want to be able to raise the tank and keep it as high as possible. I added a few pictures of the tank mounts to my album:
http://coastaldimensions.com/Album/tank1.html

 

Looking good. Nice work.

 

I got the rear leaf springs and axle attached to the frame. All of the poly bushings for the leaf springs were wasted and had to be replaced. I hoisted the tub over the frame to have a look at my jig saw puzzle. I'm somewhat discouraged by what looks like very limited clearance between the gas tank and the differential. I already have the tank mounted high to where I'll need about a 1" body lift to clear the top of the tank.
The beat up, sagging rear floor isn't helping; looks like I'm losing about 3/4" there.

It's on 4" Superlift spings and it flexes pretty good. Maybe you guys that have rear gas tanks can tell me what kind of clearance you have and if you've had issues with hitting the tank.

 

I have very limited clearance, the front edge of my gas tank rubs the diff cover at full flex. I am only running a 2.5 inch lift, no body lift and the gas tank is at stock height.

 

Any updates? eager to see this project evolve!

 

Not much. Most of my limited garage time lately is being spent building a "Wipeout" course for my son's upcoming birthday.

I decided to raise the gas tank up into the rear floor area by a couple of inches, so I need to build the floor/enclosure for it and re-do the gas tank mount. I'm not that happy about how that's going to look when the tailgate is down, to have that extra step, but I just don't think the tank clearance is acceptable as is. I don't want to spend the money on a custom tank.

The only real progress was figuring out that the existing CJ6 mounts at the front portion of the frame will line up with the existing tub mount holes. This is the logical place for the tub to sit, but leaves it a coulpe of inches short for the frame at the rear. I haven't decided how I'm going to handle that yet. Maybe the tub needs to grow some more. None of this is going smoothly.

 

would it be easier to wack the few extra inches off the frame?

 

Yes. That's probably what I'll do.

 

Thanks for the heads up. Yeah, I do want a little extra so my bumper/swing out tire carrier clears the tailgate. Even accounting for that I need to lose a couple of inches or I think it will be noticeably too long.