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It's coming home.

Just my opinion but DO NOT put Herculiner in that beautiful Scrambler! There are ways to take that old paint off without taking the original paint underneath off. Research it. If all else fails have the bed and bulkhead repainted the original color. Spray/roll-in bedliner ruins more original Paint Jeeps then I care to think about.
 
I think I'm gonna order BFG KO2's today. Though the ol' Mickey Thompsons look great, I'm not sure I want to trust old bias ply tires that have to be around 25 years old, especially out in the backcountry. The size on there now is 30X9.50/15. I can't decide if I should go with the same size or switch to 31x10.50R/15. There should be plenty of room since there are add-a-leaf kits in both the front and rear. There's a 5 lb. per tire difference between the 2 sizes. Suggestions?

By the way, if I haven't mentioned this already, the May issue of Petersen's 4Wheel & Off-Road has a full 4-page reprint of its 1981 Scrambler test. Pretty interesting.

I'm also ordering some Rancho shocks. I wouldn't be surprised if the current shocks are the originals. I have a query into Rancho because all I see on their website are the rears.

Four of the holes in the windshield frame have nutserts...so if I remove them, I have fairly large holes. For now, I put the bolts back in with a rubber washer under a steel washer...but it looks like crap. I had a selection of rubber plugs up here, and one fit pretty well into the hole where the wire was, but I'd like a better seal than could be provided with just a plug...though I may be over-thinking it.

The 2nd owner painted the bed with flat white paint, and did a horrible job. Some of it was done with a brush and some with a spray can. He only did the bulkhead and the floor, but there is overspray at the base of the sides. I just ordered some Herculiner and will use it on the bulkhead, floor, sides and tailgate.

Let me know what shocks you get and how they ride. Mine has RS5000's and they are like a brick, it doesn't help that the 4" lift springs are just as ridged. I have the adjustable 9000's on my Excursion and I love them.
 
Just my opinion but DO NOT put Herculiner in that beautiful Scrambler! There are ways to take that old paint off without taking the original paint underneath off. Research it. If all else fails have the bed and bulkhead repainted the original color. Spray/roll-in bedliner ruins more original Paint Jeeps then I care to think about.

Absolutely times ONE THOUSAND!! You can get towerpaint.com or similar to make you two matched spray cans and spray the bed that way, if you cant get the white paint off. I had them make two cans for a scrambler I needed to do just the bed area on and it turned out great and since its just the bed area its not like you care about a perfect match on a say a hood that in that spot is easy to catch your eye. And then cut a tractor supply universal bed mat down to fit it and it will protect it better than anything. It will breath and not trap moisture like any other bed coating can do.
 
And just a side note on bed linner. It can not be sandblasted off . Its just a pain to work with when you do a repaint or repair.

Sent from my SM-N910P
 
Thanks for the bedliner warnings. I've never used the stuff. I always put Bedrugs in my trucks...but they also have shells. Amazon just shipped it but I'll return it. I plan to visit my local body and paint guy today, so I'll see what he can do for me. I REALLY want that ugly white paint out of there.
 
The Scrambler got new tires yesterday. It made a rather sizeable difference in ride and handling...much better now. Twenty-five-year-old bias ply tires ride a bit rough. I went with 31X10.50R/15.

I stopped by the body/paint shop and the powder coater yesterday. I'm definitely going to have the rear bumper powder coated white. I was tempted to have the roll bar powder coated (not white), but have decided against that. There is white paint overspray on the bar below the bed rail. I will try to carefully remove that...or...I've made an appointment to have a spray-in bedliner done at the body shop next Thursday. I may have them coat the roll bar up to the bedrail...or not.

I think it looks a lot better without the light bar. After I put tires on, I also had them leave the center cap off the spare. The caps look great on the wheels that touch the ground, but I think it looked weird on the spare. The guy I got it back from was very proud of the fact that he found another center cap.

Photos from yesterday's ride to town:





 
That's a very nice original Scrambler :thumbsup::cheers:

Please don't use bed liner :twocents:

100_4273-1.jpg
 
Do not put bedliner any where on that jeep...PLEASE!! Pretty Please!!!!! With an end cap on top!

(try various polishing compounds to remove the white) you will find that the white paint most likely is superficial to the tough original paint underneath and it will polish off. it will take some time and if you cant stand it, pay a 16 yr old kid to do it but only give him the fine grit polish and some hand towels so he/she doesn't burn through the blue paint... :bacon:
 
I agree...please don't put bedliner in your incredible Scrambler. At the very least drive it, wheel it, use it as you wish for a year and then decide. I believe that in the long run you will be glad you didn't put liner in it.
 
ok ok ok ok...I'll try stripping a section. Any suggestions as to what to use? Is there a wheel I could put on my grinder that would work? Maybe the body and paint shop could just repaint the bed. It wouldn't have to match exactly. I don't trust myself to paint it, though I know it would turn out looking better than it does now. Maybe I will try to strip and repaint myself, then have the pros do it if I screw it up. Here it is now:



 
Maybe repaint the inside of the tub in the original blue, and then put a white tonneau cover on it.
 
White tonneau would look great!! I wish i had your problems lol..

Sent from my SM-N910P
 
New plates yesterday. I'll probably order personalized vintage plates at some point in the near future.

 
I'm a little confused on the "anti-bedliner" opinions. Bed liner is no different than paint....yes, it's much more difficult to remove, however if the surface it bonds to is prepped correctly, there should be no issues with rust rearing it's ugly head. If you're actually going to use the bed, the bed liner (color matched) is ideal. Again, if it's not prepped correctly and superficial rust isn't removed, then painting over it will be no different, rust will appear under the paint. If that bed is sanded down, then POR-15 is applied , then bed lined at Line-x, there will be no problems. ICON sells 200k FJs, Broncos, etc.. and they are all encapsulated with Line-x. That being said, painting over rust with Herculiner / Lizard Skin/ Home depot version will not end well.
 
Eh, it's more permanant, and for an original old vehicle like this, it's lived this long staying more or less original. Keep it original! That being said, it's his vehicle, and bedliner, when properly applied, does do a good job of protecting the metal underneath.

If it were me I'd try some aircraft remover in a small area and see if that spraybomb will come off. It it won't, have the bed repainted and then, as JJ suggested, get a mat.

Mats can be taken out, the protect the bed, and can be trimmed to custom fit.
 
Hell of a photo, sir.

I was going to mention something here along the lines of "some of these could be 80s era advertisements for Scramblers, but better." You've done a bang up job of saying what I was thinking, Jambo :)
 
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