Build Thread Father/Son Project in Orlando

[FiNorman]

Test fit... I can't believe how well all those pieces, many of which are from different CJ's of different years, go together like peas and carrots.

 

[FiNorman]

Ok... it was time for the gauges.... We went with Speedhut, white on dark blue... at night they turn blue hue'd. The speedometer is GPS... This was not the cheapest option... Total about $800. If you are going to buy these, do an internet search as to when their sales are going to be. We caught ours at Christmas and I think we saved 10 or 20%, I can't remember which.

Now the dash and the dashed. Jim and I had problem here because while I had modified the yj tub for the gas tank on the right, I was still confused on the modification I needed to covert the air vents to the CJ. Our problem was solved by using Double D fab. Dan made a dash and metal dash pad for about $500. It took a couple of weeks but I think it was worth the wait.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

:rock: :ty:
Great pictures.
LG

 

[daddyusmaximus]

To make a long story short when I was in Iraq we had to hook up with the French Infantry unit at night. As we pooled into their camp we saw them doing this really strange thing. From a distance it looked like they were running around a tire playing tag or duck duck goose. As we got closer we realized they were changing a tire but since they didn't have pneumatic wrenches, they would put a tire iron into the lug, hook the other side into a tent pole, and then run around the tire with more leverage....

So we took a page out of the French manual, got the pipe that fits into my floor jack put it into the ratchet and my son is able to pull off even the most stubborn bolts.

Just started reading the thread, and already I love it. Great story. This is what us grunts call a "cheater pipe". The Army is full of them. Now retired, I use the Hi-lift handle. Bad thing is you can snap a lot of bolts this way...

 

[sponge]

Just started reading the thread, and already I love it. Great story. This is what us grunts call a "cheater pipe". The Army is full of them. Now retired, I use the Hi-lift handle. Bad thing is you can snap a lot of bolts this way...

Yup I still have a handle for a floor jack stuck on the end of a breaker bar from my 1st rebuild!

Now onto the 2nd rebuild of the CJ I went with SpeedHut too, please let me know if you run into any issues along the way with installing the.

Great project, I can't wait to do the same with my kids one day, I did my first CJ rebuild with my Grandpa and Dad...hence why I still have it and rebuilding it again.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

OK two hrs later and I have read the entire thread. Well done so far. Great inspiration for when I start in on mine this summer. I'm switching over to coilovers and 3 link front 4 link rear. Hoping my son will be home during the summer to help on it. He has always helped with other projects, and I gave him some tools to take with him when he left for college.

 

[FiNorman]

I will try to post some of the body work images..... Keep in mind that I thought I had a clean tub with out rust or bondo..... We basically but out the rusted areas, then made cardboard cut outs of the missing piece, flattened the cardboard out, drew the missing piece on a flat piece of sheet metal, cut the out line, then bent and welded the piece in place.

I'm sure you are all a ton more experienced with this than we were, but for the new guys just figuring it out, make sure you tack weld it in place first. Don't be a dumb *** like us and figure we could just weld all the way down the line. As we did this the sheet metal got too hot and warped the panel.

 

[FiNorman]

We also had to replace the grill body mount.... Cleaning and scrapping the paint off the grill was one major PIA.

 

[FiNorman]

This is the drivers side rear/quarter panel, and one of the front fenders.

 

[FiNorman]

So at this point we are in the Fall of 2015, I take the engine to Jim and he takes it apart, while we continue to work on the chassis and body. In Dec of 2015 we had a rolling chassis that we were ready to shop around to paint shops. I loaded it up onto a u-haul and in one day visited 6 different paint shops.

The estimates ranged from $3500 to $13000. I didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason for each, just a "promise that "you will love it."

At the suggestion of one of Jim's buddies from the Fire Department (thanks Frank) we settled on a dude named Carlos that owned a shop that was like a mile from Jim's house. Frank is getting his Scrambler done at the same shop.

While I would have like to have gone with an original color, I was again outvoted by my guy, who REALLY wanted a deep blue. We kicked around Daytona Blue, then Mustang Kona Blue, and Frank came through again and suggested a similar Mustang Deep Impact Blue. In the pic with the two Mustangs, Kona is in the Rear, Deep Impact in the Forefront.

 

[FiNorman]

So I just realized that I never posted pic of the jeep as it came in originally. I'm not sure If I can somehow move this post to the beginning of the thread, and I know it's a little late to the part.

The tub was so rusted that when my son was cleaning out the inside he actually fell through the floor board and got his leg stuck in the rusted hole.

 

[FiNorman]

We dropped the body off in March of 2016, and didn't get it finished until June of 2016.

 

[sponge]

please tell me you did a saddle tan color of some type with that exterior?!? Beautiful color.

 

[tarry99]

Good to see your still on the Project with your son.......and condolences for your loss...

 

[Belizean]

This thread was a great read. We can tell your son is really enjoying this build. It is obvious that he is chomping at the bit to drive the jeep. Sorry to hear about your F-I-L. Mine was a friend also and was AF for 6 years and LANG for 27 years as an A&P mechanic. Good luck with the finish of the build. Also your son is good at picking out colors and tire/wheel combos

 

[gert]

sure is a pretty color, amazing how much your kids are growing up

 

[FiNorman]

paint done... and making progress. My buddy Jimbo is taking the lead b/c this is a little over our head (tough with out my father in law....

 

[mtnwhlr]

Looks real good, I like the color it's close to the same color I painted my truck

 

[FiNorman]

gauges.....

 

[FiNorman]

can anyone tell me how to post a movie... I have a couple that might b of interest.