OT: Retro Wrangler/Willys Pickup (long)
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
jscherb said:
C'mon Jeff, you should know to expect the unexpected from Toby by now
Matt tried to talk me into that thing when I was thinking on a new ride for Kate
I'll be looking forward to seeing it built. I can see it with some nice paddle tires shooting roostertails as you head up comp hill
If I remember correctly, it's very similar to how they do these: Linky
jscherb
CJ-8 Member
- City
- Elmira
- State
- NY
Nah... mostly it isn't about luck, it's just about some hard work and persistence designing, planning and building. But there were some lucky elements, at least to the Retro Wrangler project:Randyzzz said:
- I was lucky to have Eric offer to sell me the CJ-10 top, which started the whole thing.
- I was lucky to find the CJ-7 World Cab very cheaply in Wales when I lived over in England, and lucky I could get it shipped home with my furniture.
- I was lucky to find an Unlimited frame very inexpensively on eBay when I needed it. Also finding all the other bits and pieces I needed, mostly on eBay and all at nice prices.
- I was lucky to find a body shop to do the paint work that was really interested in the project and has a show-quality guy to do the work.
- and of course lucky to have a wife who doesn't like Jeeps herself but is very supportive of my Jeep hobby
there may be a few other small elements of luck involved, but the one other big one:
I'm lucky in having this group for all of the support, encouragement, ideas and yes, criticism when I might have been heading in the wrong direction.
Thank you all!
jscherb
CJ-8 Member
- City
- Elmira
- State
- NY
Finally after a long delay, I received the leather samples from Northwest Auto Leather (www.nwautoleather.com). The photos below are flash (left) and sunlight (right). I'll have to study the colors for a few days to decide, but most likely I'm going to just pick one color and do the seats completely in that color. Many people do a different color for the center panels, like a lighter color or the body color, but I think I'll go for the understated look 
I also discussed with them the idea of embroidering logos in the headrests, I thought I might do my "Jeep Truck" logo there, but it turns out there's a $150 setup charge for any embroidery, so I guess I'll skip that.
Once I get the color decided and these ordered and received, I'll do a "how to reupholster" post. It really isn't all that hard...
I also discussed with them the idea of embroidering logos in the headrests, I thought I might do my "Jeep Truck" logo there, but it turns out there's a $150 setup charge for any embroidery, so I guess I'll skip that.
Once I get the color decided and these ordered and received, I'll do a "how to reupholster" post. It really isn't all that hard...
jscherb
CJ-8 Member
- City
- Elmira
- State
- NY
Randyzzz said:
They've gone up quite a bit in the last few years... when I did the Scrambler, I got leather for both front buckets and the fold-and-tumble for just over $500. They custom-made the leather for the rear jump seats for a little less than $200 additional, if I recall correctly. Today's price is just over $500 for just the two front buckets (that's all I need this time!)
The Scrambler seats still look as nice as the day I did them, the leather really holds up nice. Especially compared to the dirt-magnet fabric that my Wrangler came with. Seems worth it to me for a vehicle I expect to drive for many years to come.
- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
I followed your link and got a quote from them. They do vinyl too, that might be the ticket for me. I just want something "dog friendly"...the leather is holding up OK, but I cringe every time they get in wet.
jscherb
CJ-8 Member
- City
- Elmira
- State
- NY
I plan on taking the truck off-road in early April, I'll only be doing some very easy trails, nothing that would risk damaging the truck! But going off-road with only the space-saver spares hanging on the sides of the bed isn't a good idea, I wouldn't count on them to get me off the trail, so I picked up a used matching tire (local tire dealer gave it to me, it's got 50% tread left), and a 99 Ford Explorer 16x7 steel wheel. The wheel has an appropriate offset to match the Rubicon alloys I've got, and it was very cheap. The only problem with the Ford wheels (including my alloy 16x4 space saver spare wheels) is that the center hole is about 0.030" too small to fit over the hub-centric centering rings on the LJ's axles, so I had to enlarge the hole slightly.
The bed tie-downs came in handy for securing (and locking) the spare (rainy day here today):
I haven't ordered the leather upholstery yet, I keep going back and forth about which color to get, it's between two. I'll force myself to make a decision soon...
The bed tie-downs came in handy for securing (and locking) the spare (rainy day here today):
I haven't ordered the leather upholstery yet, I keep going back and forth about which color to get, it's between two. I'll force myself to make a decision soon...
- City
- Manassas
- State
- Va
I got to see Jeff and his Retro Wrangler this week when he came down and picked up a scrambler frame donated to the Gaucho cause. I have to say his work is more amazing in person then via the internet. It is a way cool truck!!!
Congrats Jeff on a great vehicle and it was good to see you.
Truck
Congrats Jeff on a great vehicle and it was good to see you.
Truck
Thanks guys!
