1950 CJ3A budget build

[Trenton]

hopefully no more work under here for a while. i put some rubber sheeting between the rad and mount to try and eliminate any chafing. i also got some 3/16 thick reinforced rubber from a buddy i'll be cutting into new body mount bushings as the current ones are either missing or just junk. i think the rad looks pretty good in there, it may not be totally original but this isn't a Barret Jackson build;-)�

[Trenton]

drivers side floor template


passenger floor template

kept going on the drivers floor...not looking good. i know its not the preferred method but my repair plan is to tac weld the existing floor steel i have cut back to the hat channel, reinstall the wood then sheet the whole under seat and floor area in 18 gauge steel. i will bead roll it and bend up a lip or flange all the edges of the new plate. should be solid and not flexible... remember i am building a driver/wheeler, not a restoration or Ferrari. i will also drill a bunch of holes in the new floor plate so it can be plug welded to the existing floor below it. I'm confident it will be strong and lasting.

[Trenton]

in the spirit of continuing to put off the floor repair, today i cleaned up and painted the t-case skid i had removed earlier and I also cleaned the fuel tank to bare metal, checked it for damage, went over all the seams with fuel safe seam sealer and then primed and rock guarded it. the PO had used some soft rubber lines in the fuel system so I also got new hard lines and bent and fitted it so when i re-instal the tank it will be much more reliable and safe.

i guess tomorrow i have to keep going on the floor fix.

[Trenton]

well i finally got to the floors today. cut the insert pieces out of 18 gauge, fit them and marked them for the beads and flanging. cleaned the existing floors up and prepped everything for welding. i need help with the bead roller because mine is a two person job and some how all my buddies made themselves busy today so tomorrow i have ensured one of them can come crank the handle on the roller for me.

passenger

driver, this side had to be two piece due to size of sheet metal i had

[Trenton]

well today was productive, got all the insert pieces bead rolled and flanged, installed drivers side pieces. still have a little welding to do on that side and then do the passenger side. i will clean up the welds a bit and then use some seam sealer to smooth it out and coat it with paint. that floor pan will be completely waterproof except the drain hole on the side of the tub and of course the two holes under the fuel tank for drain and fuel line.

the existing steel i ground to bare metal and then sprayed it with weld through primer. also ran some seam sealer around all edges before pressing in the new sheet metal. trying to keep it a bit waterproof.

passenger floor


driver floor

[Trenton]

rear section of drivers side, the holes are for plug welding it to the existing steel beneath. hopefully water won't get in between the two sheets and rust it out to quickly.


drivers almost complete

[Ryan_M]

Wow that is really nice! If you want to whip up 10 or 12 of those and send them to me for spares that'd be great 

[BMIC]

Your a sheet metal artist Trenton, beautiful work!
What is the reasoning for a double floor (if I'm reading it right), even though you have allowed for drainage, I would think it would be inviting a rust issue.
Like Ryan said your work could be in demand on this page....

[Trenton]

Your a sheet metal artist Trenton, beautiful work!
What is the reasoning for a double floor (if I'm reading it right), even though you have allowed for drainage, I would think it would be inviting a rust issue.
Like Ryan said your work could be in demand on this page....

well the existing floors are so thin that something had to be done. the drivers has several holes but the "hat channel" was not terrible. yeah the best way would be to remove the floor pan and weld in the new sheet metal but in my mind this started out as a patch, it kind of got out of control with the sealer between the two layers of floor and the spray coating thats in there I'm hoping it won't be a problem. this is really a fair weather wheeler for me as it will never have a roof, doors or heater so not a lot of snow wheeling is going to happen, i don't see it getting wet often and it parks inside the heated shop.

i've only ever done one floor before in a 1973 Camaro and it didn't turn out anywhere near this nice so i think the idea of removing the existing floor and ending up with a Flintstone Jeep was always in the back of my mind so laying this one on the old sheet metal was a security blanket. now that i got the basics of the bead roller and flanging down next time i'll just cut out and replace the floor... i hope thats not too soon.

[BMIC]

Your idea may work better than mine which was to repair the floor with 16 gauge galvanized. It was tough to cut, bend and welding it was miserable. Up here in the Northeast our roads are second only to the Bonniville Salt Flats. Trying to stay ahead of the rust takes requires a different approach.
Keep up the thread, I have enjoyed and learned from your work.

[Trenton]

well i finished up the driver and passenger sides today. completed welding, seam sealed all edges, primered...waiting on paint until a few more fixes are done. tomorrow ill reinstall new body mount rubber bushings, gotta repair the body mounts that are in front of each rear tire in the wheel openings.

when i pulled the trans and T-case cover plates off to prep for paint there was 65 years of dirt and grease stuck in there mixed with some grass and i think some hay. must have taken an hour with a scraper to tidy that up.

if your wondering about the floor inside the tool box lets just say its less than perfect. i have limited time right nw and so i felt that getting the foot wells in was most important so it can get back to being drivable. i will have plenty more repairs to do in the future on other areas.

drivers side


passenger side

[Kirkski]

Really nice job

[athawk11]

Nice work Trenton.

I was a little concerned with your choice to cover the floor with new sheet metal, but you did a really nice job.� And it's not the first time this approach has been used. (see photo below)

If you think about it, 65 years went by before the first floor needed some repairs.� This will work out fine.

Your bead roller work is top notch.� I wish I could do that.

[Trenton]

I was a little concerned with your choice to cover the floor with new sheet metal, but you did a really nice job.  And it's not the first time this approach has been used. (see photo below)

If you think about it, 65 years went by before the first floor needed some repairs.  This will work out fine.

Your bead roller work is top notch.  I wish I could do that.

i think with the preparation steps i took the floors should be fine. if i had pulled the tub off the chassis then i would have cut the existing steel out. this isn't a restoration but a fun, no pressure project to wrench on and do some mild wheeling. buddies are planning a Moab trip sept of next year so i gotta have her ready by then.

as for bead rolling if you measure and lay out your patten on the steel with a sharpie first then its really just time consuming and anyone can do it.  mine is a cheap one, it can only do 15" across a sheet so if you can work from both sides i can do a 30" wide sheet maximum. cost $199.00 canadian or like 50 bucks US so when i do the rear tub floor...which i will cut out... i will have to do it in two pieces.

[Trenton]

ok so while I'm trying to decide what color to paint the Jeep i moved on to repair the body mounts. the two right in front of the rear wheels were completely gone, luckily the frame side of the mounts are fine its the tub side that has deteriorated.

as they started


the 1.5" x 1.5" x 1/8" angle i used cut to fit, who knew there was a drain for the tool box lid lip that comes out right above the body mount bolt.


i pre-drilled the body mount hole and made a few other holes in the angle to plug weld and secure it to the remaining steel on the bottom and then stitch welded it to the vertical.