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OT: Retro Wrangler/Willys Pickup (long)

jscherb said:
Ding ding ding ding! We have a winnner :)
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See! My plethora of worthless knowledge is not all that worthless after all!

So...what did I win?;)
 
Randyzzz said:
See! My plethora of worthless knowledge is not all that worthless after all!

So...what did I win?;)
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How about the opportunity to come here and help me cut the LJ in half?
 
jscherb said:
Where many projects go wrong is by following the "cut first, then figure out the design" method. :) Jeff
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Wait!!.... you mean that isn't the right way? No wonder my projects go like they do..........

I know that several factory pickup beds used the tapered rubber blck to keep the links for rattlig so those whold be available and should work with some modification
 
trust said:
Wait!!.... you mean that isn't the right way? No wonder my projects go like they do..........

I know that several factory pickup beds used the tapered rubber blck to keep the links for rattlig so those whold be available and should work with some modification
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:)

I'm going to pay a visit to the Pick n Pull yard in the next few days and see if I can find something like that. Hey, I'll take any excuse to go wandering around in there to see what's new, right? If I find something then I can go to the dealer for that make and get some fresh new ones.
 
OK, this is cool... (well I think so anyway :) )

Finished up the tailgate today. Got the custom Jeep logo skin welded on and finalized the work on the paddle handle and latches. It works really well, just like the factory could have done it :).

Top photo below is the tailgate closed, you can see the TJ paddle handle installed. (This is a junkbox handle, when this goes on the truck I'll take the nice one out of the LJ's tailgate).

Middle photos show the tailgate open, and the access cover inside the tailgate for servicing the latch mechanism. The access cover from a Nissan pickup at the junkyard IIRC.

Bottom photo gives you a better view of the modifications to the side of the tailgate to fit the Mazda latches in, and the access cover installed. The rails the latches attach to are a new ones I added, had to cut out the old ones and mount new ones about 1.25" in from the end of the tailgate to allow room for the latches.

Now I've got to go to a Mazda dealer and get nice shiny new latches, and a Toyota dealer and get nice shiny new tailgate support links. Nearest Mazda dealer is 50 miles away from here, damn. Living in the middle of nowhere is mostly good but sometimes inconvenient.

Next up: I think I'll be doing some "woodworking" getting the bed "wood" cut and fit (after I get tired of sitting in the workshop opening and closing the tailgate, that is...)

Jeff

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Awe inspiring work...

I love the work you are doing, it is truly an inspiration to we the less focused :) I think you're attention to detail is fantastic and feel like writing to the boneheads making decisions at Chrysler/Jeep to come hire you asap!
I saw this little doggy door on the Gladiator concept truck and thought you might like it as well....
 
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That looks great!

I'd be glad to come to help with the "Big Cut", as long as you pay for the gas!:D
 
jscherb said:
I'm sure people are getting tired of seeing all these components being built
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Are you freaking kidding????? This rocks, the real build will just be a bonus.

I think everyone here is jealous of you for being able to put this much planning and thought into a build.

Awesome to see this much happening after being away from the board for a while...

:cheers:
 
Tail lights

In the photo of the pickup bed below I've got the tail lights clamped where I think I'll mount them. They'll go another inch inboard, I made the mounts long so I could cut them to fit whatever spot on the curved stake pocket I chose.

The original stepsides mounted the tail lights way down low near the bumper, you can see a photo of that too. (Notice also the tailgate chains that my pickup doesn't have :) ).

Seems to me if I mount the lights down low like the original stepsides they will look strange on the road today, especially since people are used to seeing them higher on Wranglers.

Also the lights that are clamped to the bed now are not the ones I'll be using, I'll be using the export lights you can see in the photo of my LJ.

If you think I've got this wrong let me know.

Jeff
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I like the higher placement of the tailights.

Another thought. Tailight or turn signals for the bed rail end caps? I can almost picture it in my head but not sure if I have convinced myself yet that I like that idea
 
shawnboy said:
Another thought. Tailight or turn signals for the bed rail end caps? I can almost picture it in my head but not sure if I have convinced myself yet that I like that idea
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I looked at all kinds of things to cap the bed rails. I'm trying to keep a "coulda been factory" look about this project, and none of the ones I found fit that image, except maybe the flat plain ones - they all say "custom street rod" to me. But I do want to do something just a little unique that you could imagine coming from the factory, which is why I chose the fence post tops. I think once the fence post tops are smoothed and painted the bed color they'll have the image I'm looking for.

Differing viewpoints always welcome...

Jeff

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IN8LYJP said:
I love the work you are doing, it is truly an inspiration to we the less focused :) I think you're attention to detail is fantastic and feel like writing to the boneheads making decisions at Chrysler/Jeep to come hire you asap!
I saw this little doggy door on the Gladiator concept truck and thought you might like it as well....
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Thanks!

I saw that door on the Gladiator some years ago at the Chicago Auto Show. Actually the idea is decades old - back in the 20's high end cars had them so you could easily take your golf clubs to the course. The photo below (the best I could find) is of a 1929 Packard.

Unfortunately the shortened tub won't be long enough behind the driver's door to fit a little feature like this :)

Jeff

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Minor point....

Jeff, I like the higher placement of the tail lights, but I think they're upside down. Doesn't the reverse light/clear part need to be down so it can light the license plate too?
 
John N said:
Jeff, I like the higher placement of the tail lights, but I think they're upside down. Doesn't the reverse light/clear part need to be down so it can light the license plate too?
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Hey John,
Three answers to your question...

1. No, they are right side up. The stock CJ/YJ/TJ tail lamps have separate bulbs for the back up light and the license light. The back up light is on top and the license light is on the bottom. Think about it, if the back up light also lit the license plate, then the back up lights would be on whenever the headlights were on?

2. Ignore the tail lights in the drawing anyway, because I'm using the export-style tail lights that you can see on my LJ in the photo (which are mounted properly on my LJ, but interesting fact - different years of export tail lights mount opposite ways and none of them have license lights because export Jeeps have the license plates on the bumper with separate lights. I've modified my export tail lights to also illuminate the license plate by adding a separate bulb for that).

3. Ignore all the tail lights for the purpose of lighting the license plate, because on the pickup the license plate will be mounted in the center of the step bumper and has its own lights in the sides of the step of the bumper (and I'll be removing the license light I added :) ).

Jeff
 
Hey further to shawnboy's post about bed rail caps and my reply to him, I played around with the fence posts this afternoon. I made a small arbor so I could chuck them in the drill press and turn them with a file, sandpaper and buffer. Here's a before and after. Not a bad bed rail enhancement for 85 cents each :) They'll be painted red to match the body - too much shiny stuff wouldn't be in keeping with the retro theme.
Jeff

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You da man! Those post caps look great.

I also like the higher placement on the lamps.
 
I like your idea with the fence post caps, I think they look great. The original retro look is definately there.

if I attached the photo above right, something along these lines is what I was thinking of. (Without the fin) and also without the regular Jeep lights. So there would be the extra complication of turn signals and reverse lights needing to be added elsewhere.

the more I write about what I saw in my head the more I like the path your taking.
 
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Answer me one question, Jeff...

How do you find time for all of this? You have 3 kids, right? I'm looking for insight into building a machine that will slow time, and allow me to get all of my stuff done at the same pace as you're going. :D

Craig
 
1x1_Speed_Craig said:
Answer me one question, Jeff...

How do you find time for all of this? You have 3 kids, right? I'm looking for insight into building a machine that will slow time, and allow me to get all of my stuff done at the same pace as you're going. :D

Craig
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I've always been a very organized and productive person :)
 
I like the higher placement of the taillights.

I guess I'm alone in saying that I don't think that the caps match with a modern (even if retro) Jeep. All I can think of when I look at them in the bedrail is the end of a big ol' fin on a 50's sedan...

Definitely not a light, I completely agree with you there, but I'd like to see something in a cap that's more flat/angular. I like this one:

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FWIW.
 
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