Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
UPDATE! I got the rollbar finished and the bed sprayed with bed liner! Pics to follow!
CJ-75 Budget Build
- Thread starter Deweyxj
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Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Update time!!
I started mounting the seat belts into the freshly coated interior! The fronts are 3 point shoulder straps from a late 90's Chevy which, with some minor mods, are a good fit!
The rears are posing a bit of a problem though, the belt retractor from the later models sets the rollers front & rear, which fit nicely between the seat & rollbar, but the male end doesn't fit the 80's era seat from the Suburban!
The 80's era retractor has the rollers stacked & the base is designed to fit the raised & curved floor of the cab!
I don't want to mod the roll cage, soooooo off to the junk yard for me!!
I started mounting the seat belts into the freshly coated interior! The fronts are 3 point shoulder straps from a late 90's Chevy which, with some minor mods, are a good fit!
The rears are posing a bit of a problem though, the belt retractor from the later models sets the rollers front & rear, which fit nicely between the seat & rollbar, but the male end doesn't fit the 80's era seat from the Suburban!
The 80's era retractor has the rollers stacked & the base is designed to fit the raised & curved floor of the cab!
I don't want to mod the roll cage, soooooo off to the junk yard for me!!
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
On a lighter note, I have taken on the fine art of body work as a new form of torture to my otherwise unfulfilled life!!
I did figure out about volume of mixed product, after a couple of tries & 3 or 7 more tries with the right amount of hardener, now I have to figure out how to spread it out so I don't have to sand for ever to get it back to flat!!
I did figure out about volume of mixed product, after a couple of tries & 3 or 7 more tries with the right amount of hardener, now I have to figure out how to spread it out so I don't have to sand for ever to get it back to flat!!
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
I've also been working on the fender extentions!
I started by bending the outer radius out of 1/2 emt for all 4 corners.Then I took 3/4 light angle & cut slots every 1" on one side& then bowed it to fit the fender opening. :-\The first go wasn't a tight enough radius so I used a cutoff wheel to open every other slot which was just right!
Next I clamped them in place, drilled them & the fenders. & bolted them in place. Then I welded the ends of the slots to keep the shape & stiffen the whole thing!
I started by bending the outer radius out of 1/2 emt for all 4 corners.
Then I took 3/4 light angle & cut slots every 1" on one side& then bowed it to fit the fender opening. :-\The first go wasn't a tight enough radius so I used a cutoff wheel to open every other slot which was just right!Next I clamped them in place, drilled them & the fenders. & bolted them in place. Then I welded the ends of the slots to keep the shape & stiffen the whole thing!
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Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Didn't want anyone to think that I had given up on this project!
In fact it is progressing, slowly, but steadily toward a finished & functioning vehicle!
I got the drive lines in so we took it out for a little test drive around my buddy's property, ran it over a couple of rock piles
& turned a couple of doughnuts in the pasture!! There is no exaust to speak of so it sounds like a dragster!! I'm sure the neighbors were impressed!
The funnest part was heading back into the garage & realizing I had never bled the brakes! A quick moment of panic & a couple of O'Shatz later we back inside & safe!:thumbs:
I'm working on body & paint right now, so it doesn't look like alot, but if I come home dirty every Sun. I must be doing something right??:tara:
In fact it is progressing, slowly, but steadily toward a finished & functioning vehicle!
I got the drive lines in so we took it out for a little test drive around my buddy's property, ran it over a couple of rock piles
& turned a couple of doughnuts in the pasture!!
There is no exaust to speak of so it sounds like a dragster!! I'm sure the neighbors were impressed!The funnest part was heading back into the garage & realizing I had never bled the brakes!
A quick moment of panic & a couple of O'Shatz later we back inside & safe!:thumbs:I'm working on body & paint right now, so it doesn't look like alot, but if I come home dirty every Sun. I must be doing something right??:tara:
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Another update!! FWIW!
I couldn't stand looking at the three different color scheme plus filler (it made it look like it was still in pieces) so I concentrated on getting the body pretty straight & a coat of primer on it!:-\ Big difference! It almost looks like it was designed to be a 4 door from the beginning, (at least in my mind!)
Seeing the CJ75 in the flesh as I had it pictured it in my mind gave me a new excitement for the project!
I couldn't stand looking at the three different color scheme plus filler (it made it look like it was still in pieces) so I concentrated on getting the body pretty straight & a coat of primer on it!:-\ Big difference!
It almost looks like it was designed to be a 4 door from the beginning, (at least in my mind!)Seeing the CJ75 in the flesh as I had it pictured it in my mind gave me a new excitement for the project!
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Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
As you can see I have started fitting the doors & CJ5 top! It is amazing how much time I've spent on fab of little brackets & spacers & holders & backing plates ect...
I'll have to have a custom made front section to make it all work, but I already have a CJ7 top that can be cut & sewn in to complete the top!:thumbs:
There some rods & bars that hold the top to the doors on top & back that I'll have to custom make, but that part is kinda fun! Right?
It is amazing how much time I've spent on fab of little brackets & spacers & holders & backing plates ect... I'll have to have a custom made front section to make it all work, but I already have a CJ7 top that can be cut & sewn in to complete the top!:thumbs:
There some rods & bars that hold the top to the doors on top & back that I'll have to custom make, but that part is kinda fun!
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- Bountiful, land of rocks
This
It's funny how if it's all one color it makes it look SO much more complete (even if it's primer
)
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Thanks for the encouragement guys! When I started this project I knew it wouldn't be a fast build, because the shop is in Tooele & i'm in SLC I only get a hall pass once a week, I have to keep up with home chores & can't justify the expense of travel, I end up getting out to work on it about 3 Sundays a month, barring any family crisis or work obligation that may come up!!
I planned on 1 1/2 - 2 yrs to finish & have it on the road, but life happens, I had to promise the wifey that I wouldn't let this become an obsession before I started it, but then she asks "Are you going to Tooele again?....When are you going to be done with that thing?.....When are you going to do.....fix.....make.....this....that....!!!
So far I'm at 2 1/2 yrs & still keep making time to see this through!
Updates will still be slow but every now & then I'll post up, because I need the encouragement!! Thanks!!:greg:
I planned on 1 1/2 - 2 yrs to finish & have it on the road, but life happens, I had to promise the wifey that I wouldn't let this become an obsession before I started it, but then she asks "Are you going to Tooele again?....When are you going to be done with that thing?.....When are you going to do.....fix.....make.....this....that....!!!
So far I'm at 2 1/2 yrs & still keep making time to see this through!
Updates will still be slow but every now & then I'll post up, because I need the encouragement!! Thanks!!:greg:
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Update!
I've been working on the front of the rig the last couple of Sundays. I acquired some Cadillac wheels & tires in 17"x 8 for the right price (nada)!!
The thing I liked was the backspacing & 17" dia. Only prob. is that the center hole is about 3/4" too small!
I took 1 rim & made a plate that bolted to 2 holes opposite each each other & then drilled a center hole as close to center as I could, missed it by that much=:-\
Next I drilled it out with a 4" hole saw!
After some additional work with a Carbide sanding disk I got it on the hub, only to find that the rim hits the tie rod end!!:-\
I don't know if I'm willing to spend the money to redo the tie rod with smaller ends, plus there is the problem of the hubs sticking out about 1.5"!! :-\
I may stick to the full width & make add on flairs to get through insp.!
I've been working on the front of the rig the last couple of Sundays. I acquired some Cadillac wheels & tires in 17"x 8 for the right price (nada)!!
The thing I liked was the backspacing & 17" dia.
Only prob. is that the center hole is about 3/4" too small!I took 1 rim & made a plate that bolted to 2 holes opposite each each other & then drilled a center hole as close to center as I could, missed it by that much=:-\
Next I drilled it out with a 4" hole saw!
After some additional work with a Carbide sanding disk I got it on the hub, only to find that the rim hits the tie rod end!!:-\
I don't know if I'm willing to spend the money to redo the tie rod with smaller ends, plus there is the problem of the hubs sticking out about 1.5"!! :-\
I may stick to the full width & make add on flairs to get through insp.!
Deweyxj
Invisible, on purpose!
- Location
- In my own private Idaho
Update time!
I've been working on a lot of little stuff for the most part. I had to re shim the body mounts to gain about 1" of height in the front because the fiberglass front had a 3/4" gap at the bottom where the fender meets the firewall. :-\
Then I built a couple of bracket/guides to hold the bottom corners out to the same width as the body (they were in about 1/2" on either side).
It seems that every time I crack a cold one & step back to admire my handywork something else appears & starts bugging me! The body shimming gave it a nose up attitude, so I tore the rear spring packs apart & added a couple of leaves per side!
That solved the height issue, but I hadn't built full shackles yet ( I just had pieces of flat bar bolted on to hold things together), so I measured everything up & made a set of really solid shackles & tried to bolt them on #&$%*! No way!! With just bars on the sides there was enough slop to get the bolts through but with everything square & solid there was no way to force them into the right position! The spring eye is 1 1/4" outside the frame rail on either side!
After a bunch of head scratching & measuring I figured out that the frame tapers in 2" from the forward spring mount to the rear mounting point! WTF??!!
Don't know what to do about this one just yet, guess I'll pop another cold one stare at it for a while!
I've been working on a lot of little stuff for the most part. I had to re shim the body mounts to gain about 1" of height in the front because the fiberglass front had a 3/4" gap at the bottom where the fender meets the firewall. :-\
Then I built a couple of bracket/guides to hold the bottom corners out to the same width as the body (they were in about 1/2" on either side).
It seems that every time I crack a cold one & step back to admire my handywork something else appears & starts bugging me!
The body shimming gave it a nose up attitude, so I tore the rear spring packs apart & added a couple of leaves per side! That solved the height issue, but I hadn't built full shackles yet ( I just had pieces of flat bar bolted on to hold things together), so I measured everything up & made a set of really solid shackles & tried to bolt them on #&$%*!
No way!! With just bars on the sides there was enough slop to get the bolts through but with everything square & solid there was no way to force them into the right position! The spring eye is 1 1/4" outside the frame rail on either side! After a bunch of head scratching & measuring I figured out that the frame tapers in 2" from the forward spring mount to the rear mounting point! WTF??!!
Don't know what to do about this one just yet, guess I'll pop another cold one stare at it for a while!
