I'll add a few more cents to this thread as I'm getting to the assembly portion of this project. I am running 100% jeep original body parts on this other than the windshield frame and the tub, which is MD Juan. The windshield frame is fine other than they left out the slots for the defrost. I'll have to cut those in. But the tub...oh the tub. There was a lot of issues with the tub and I'm still dealing with it.
1. The body only mounts correctly to the front mounts on the frame. The last two mounts are misaligned and I'll have to mess around back there to get them to work.
2. All the curves, at the back by the tail lights and the cowl were not up to snuff. They needed a lot of work, sanding, bondo, to get them to look ok. And even after all of that, still don't look as good as the original without all the work.
3. Fender and hood alignment. We did the best we could but the drivers side alignment of fender to hood has like a 1/2" gap running the length. I cannot sort it because all other panels and alignment gaps are correct.
4. The hood cannot align left to right correctly. If you move it to align, it sticks over the drivers side cowl too far. This might be something a jeep expert can handle to get everything aligned better than I can, but i've had it with trying.
5. Holes missing...it is a real PIA to get things mounted because it's missing a lot of holes in the body. Holes to mount up the door strikers, holes for the vents. Holes for gas pedal mounts. Tail light holes, etc etc etc. all holes you need are missing except for ones that are mislocated.
6. Holes that are there are mislocated. The big one was the heater core holes being about a full inch off.
7. Firewall stamp different from stock. THis means that the heater box was a massive project to get in (still not in, but hopefully soon) and the battery box doesn't mount the same way. By the way, the battery box holes were not there.
8. The Fender stabalizer mounts that go to the firewall were a PIA. I had to drill holes and use bolts because the bolts sticking out of the firewall were misplaced.
Honestly, if I were to do this again, I would have searched high and low and found a good used tub from a dry state and paid the money to get it here. By the time we did all the bodywork, bondo, and all the challenges to assemble, the choice of using the MD Juan as a new tub is negated.
I will say a few positives about the tub.
1. It is NOT flimsy. I actually think it is made with 16 gauge steel all around. After it was linex'd top and bottom, you won't know it is aftermarket until you see the jeep logo emboss missing.
2. It was cheap. I got the whole thing shipped for $2400 new. That included tub, fenders, hood, grill, tailgate, and windshield along with a set of windshield hinges. And it arrived without any damage.
3. It was NEW. It looks like it was dipped, actually, in some autophoretic type dip. If you're not familiar with that process, it is the process that people use for industrial purpose with harsh environments. Generally autophoretic dips can be subjected to 365 day salt water tide simulations and do not rust. If that's what's on here, which seems so, it will never ever rust out. The fact that I linexed it top and bottom should help. Any additional holes I drilled I blotted with POR15.