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OT: Retro Wrangler/Willys Pickup (long)

Very Impresive

Keep up the pace. It's looking great!:bow:
 
Got the frame welded together today. Managed to get everything within 0.1 degree and 1/16" so I'm pretty happy. Also reinstalled the rear suspension, the Jeep is sitting on its own tires again.

I took the driveshaft to a local driveshaft shop to have it re-tubed at the new length, they say I'll have it back mid-day tomorrow.

If you've been following the build you'll definitely want to tune in tomorrow, I'll post pics of the entire thing assembled - bed, fenders, tailgate, side-mounted spare... I was going to post those pics today but I'm still tweaking a few things so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the fully assembled truck... I'll just tell you today that it looks exactly as I had envisioned it would :evil:

Jeff

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jscherb said:
If you've been following the build you'll definitely want to tune in tomorrow, I'll post pics of the entire thing assembled - bed, fenders, tailgate, side-mounted spare... I was going to post those pics today but I'm still tweaking a few things so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the fully assembled truck... I'll just tell you today that it looks exactly as I had envisioned it would :evil:
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I've been thinking about this post ALL DAY and then you have to go and tease me like that????!!!!! :banghead:

What you posted looks great, I was expecting maybe one side welded up today and pics of that or something and here you have the thing back on it's feet already!!! :huh:

I don't know how you put down the tools/welder/etc. you're a better man than me!! New house or not Kate would be trying to drag me out of there :bow:
 
Looking awesome bud. Great work. Hurry up and let meknow what your gonna do with all your spare parts:D
 
bigwalton said:
I've been thinking about this post ALL DAY and then you have to go and tease me like that????!!!!! :banghead:
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muwahhhaaahaaaahhh... I'll post a picture tonight for a MILLION dollars.... :)
 
Ok...I think you work faster than I read! Looks awesome- can't wait until tomorrow!
 
OK, here's the assembled truck. I almost rolled it out of the garage so I wouldn't have to use the distorting wide angle lens for the photos but I wasn't sure I could I could push it back in by myself so I took the photos in the garage as usual.

In today's detail photos you can see how I z'd the rear of the frame, it had to be 9" longer and 2.5" higher to support the end of the bed. I cut a section from the back of the frame I removed from the LJ and grafted it on to the new longer frame. I still have to put a gusset under the z so it may look a little strange yet - ran out of MIG wire.

Because I used the stock rear crossmember, all the stock TJ stuff works - the bumper and hitch bolted right up. Also I planned it so I could re-use the LJ's rear crossmember body mounts to mount the back of the bed, you can see that in one of the detail photos.

And the center detail photo shows the lengthened driveshaft, got that back today, it is a work orf art. Also the lengthened stock exhaust system can be seen.

This is the last time it will all be together for a week or so, tomorrow I'll take it apart to finish the chassis and driveline work and to finalize the cab sheet metal, so there might not be any exciting photos for a little while.

The only task left that has even a small amount of difficulty is finalizing the cab sheet metal - getting that to fit perfectly, welding it in place and blending the bodywork at the bottom of the doors. Other than that, the rest is pretty simple stuff. I'd guess I could get it to the paint shop and the upholstery shop (for the soft top) within two weeks and be driving it before the end of August, depending on their schedules. :)

Jeff

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Jeff, the proportions look great...very well done.

Truck
 
Truck said:
Jeff, the proportions look great...very well done.

Truck
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Truck,

Thanks! I stressed a lot about this during the design phase - I was really worried that the WB would be too long. When I built the model I was convinced the longer WB would be correct. I was also worried a lot when I saw that YJ conversion on eBay, that thing was all wrong. Now that I see the finished product, it would have been a big mistake to stick with the short 118 WB of the Brute. I ended up with 126", which I think is perfect.

I'm extremely pleased with how the proportions worked out, and it looks even better in person than it does in these wide-angle photos.

I hope I get to show it to you guys in person some day :)
Jeff
 
Beautiful. That is a work of art! I think that the proportions came out perfectly.

Are you going to taper in the bottom of the Z cut like you did the top?
 
Randyzzz said:
Beautiful. That is a work of art! I think that the proportions came out perfectly.

Are you going to taper in the bottom of the Z cut like you did the top?
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Thank you thank you :bow:

Yes, I ran out of MIG wire so I couldn't put the bottom taper gussets on. Will get to that Sunday probably. Today I'm working on random little things like extending the e-brake bracket because I enjoy looking at the truck too much to take it apart to work on it :) Tomorrow it comes apart again.

Jeff
 
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Awesome Jeff, just great stuff man.

Somehow I missed that you were going to need to do that on the back of the frame. Gives the trailer hitch a moment arm on the frame, but you're not pulling anything that heavy with this anyway, right?

I, for one, am very interested to see the tub closeout actually put in and all, I wouldn't say that there's not going to be any exciting photos for a while! It's in the eye of the beholder... ;)
 
bigwalton said:
Awesome Jeff, just great stuff man.

Somehow I missed that you were going to need to do that on the back of the frame. Gives the trailer hitch a moment arm on the frame, but you're not pulling anything that heavy with this anyway, right?

I, for one, am very interested to see the tub closeout actually put in and all, I wouldn't say that there's not going to be any exciting photos for a while! It's in the eye of the beholder... ;)
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Eric,
If you're worried about the strength of the z-section at the rear of the frame, don't be. Even without the lower gussets I'll be putting in tomorrow I'm very confident it is much stronger than the LJ's rated towing capacity (3500lb). There are fish plates on both sides of the z-section also, it is plenty strong.

Since you're so interested in seeing the tub closeout go in, here's your big chance... come on over and help me!! I'm not looking forward to that job, not because the metalwork will be terribly difficult, but because it's tough to monkey that big thing on and off lots of times for test fitting. It only goes on one way, kind of up high, tilt forward, slide between the door jamb braces and then down. A real pain when you're working solo. Just tell me what day you'll be here and what kind of refreshment you like :)

Plan for the next few days:

Sunday - add z-section lower gussets and a mid-frame crossmember (I decided to add one for rigidity). Also prime and paint the welded sections of the frame.

Monday - final reassembly of the running gear, exhaust, e-brake (got a nice solution for that), brake lines, a new adjustable rear track bar.

Tuesday - start on the tub closeout final fitting.

Also Monday I'm going to check with the upholstery shop to see when they can get me in for the soft top sewing. After the tub work I'll be modifying the LJ soft top frame to pickup length then I'll be ready for the upholstery shop, hopefully by the end of next week.

Jeff
 
Wow!!!

Just amazing Jeff, it's coming out really well. I'm not surprised, with all of the planning that you did, but seeing it together is great.
 
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NICE BUILT JEEP!

I love to see something like this......this is radical and cool. I want to say congrats on the progress. I am a huge scrambler fan and i love your newly built rig. I think you should send the finished product to Chrysler. Those guys need a little inspiration. A lot of the old look with new touches ! too cool. :D :cheers: Cant wait to see some more pics! :bow:

Brad
 
Got the frame finished up today. Here's a few pictures in primer so it is easier to see the changes. I'll paint it later this afternoon in between mowing the lawn. I added a mid-frame crossmember made from a piece of 2" x 4" x 3/16" steel channel (guessing game: what was this before I made it into a crossmember?). Also added the gussets to the rear z-section.

I modified a few parts to adapt the e-brake to the longer frame. Funny, the stock e-brake cables make an "s" bend back to the axle, by simply rerouting them I was able to get within 5" of the original e-brake bracket (which is now 22.5" further away). I cut the bracket in half and lengthened it by welding some steel angle on the sides, and lengthened the pull rod with a threaded coupler and some stainless threaded rod. Finally, to make it look factory, I modified the brake cable brackets from the upper control arm to attach at 90 degrees to their old orientation, now they will hold the cables properly in their new routing.

Jeff


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jscherb said:
I added a mid-frame crossmember made from a piece of 2" x 4" x 3/16" steel channel (guessing game: what was this before I made it into a crossmember?).
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It sure looks like a CJ front bumper.
 
John N said:
It sure looks like a CJ front bumper.
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That is correct, sir. It came off my CJ-8 when I put TJ bumpers on it. Makes a great crossmember. Never let any good piece of metal go to waste.

Here's the completed, painted frame. All done.

Tomorrow I'll finish up all the running gear - driveshaft, track bar, brake connections, e-brake, etc., and Tuesday I'll begin work on the cab sheet metal.

Jeff

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Here's today's progress, got all the running gear and exhaust back together. Didn't quite get to reinstalling the gas tank and the NVLD system, spent too much time taking the boys to the orthodontist. Oh well, will get that done tomorrow morning.

In this shot you can see the new driveshaft, longer exhaust system and the extended e-brake system (I'm particularly pleased with how that worked out :) )

Jeff

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