1950 CJ3A budget build

[Trenton]

then i used my favourite stuff "seam sealer" to ensure water doesn't get between the new and old steel.


and finally the finished product painted. of course now i have two freshly painted spots on the chassis so it makes me want to keep going but theres a lot of other more important stuff to do first. both sides were equally deteriorated so i just did them both the same way.


i also cut up some reinforced rubber matting to make new body bushings. will install them all tomorrow once paint has cured. the new rubber is about 1/2" thick so i will actually have a slight body lift. new body mounts bolts of course will go in. the two rearmost  body mounts that go on the rear crossmember are in equally bad shape but i'll leave them until i build a rear bumper.

tomorrow is paint the inside of the tub and then reassemble as much as i can. maybe it will run tomorrow     

[Tumbleweed]

Trenton,

Did you really post at 03:32 this morning? You are certainly dedicated my friend.

Remember to send video of your test drive..........

[Trenton]

Trenton,

Did you really post at 03:32 this morning? You are certainly dedicated my friend.

Remember to send video of your test drive..........

i live on the west coast, it was 01:32 here I work in the oilfield and things are fairly slow at the moment so I'm on time off right now but i still wake up at like 06:00 every day so what else to do but work on the Jeep, most days I'm in the shop until 11 or 12 at night as well.

i got a deal on some paint and so started that process today since i needed to paint the new floors anyway. I'm sure its probably cliche to paint a non military jeep green but its what i got and if someone who knows jeeps sees it they will know its not the correct green.

a teaser...

[Trenton]

well today i knocked a bunch of small jobs off the list. installed antenna and power wires for VHF radio (it will go in an ammo can centre console i am planning), its great to be able to keep in touch with the rest of the group on the trail. drilled 4" holes in the rear of the tub and mounted LED brake/marker lights as well as the license plate light, finished the wiring by running whole new harness from the firewall to the rear for lights. installed the trans, T-case shifter covers in the tub that I had removed for painting, made new cork gaskets for those. found some rubber to use under the fuel tank to prevent chaffing the new steel and paint. bolted the body down on new rubber mounts that i doubled up to give the body about a 1/8" lift over stock.. this is just to ensure it stays off the chassis. i cleaned up and painted the rear crossmember and made the plan for a rear bumper.

[Trenton]

and just for kicks i thought i'd see what she'd look like on 4D's... i figure a little sawsall trimming is all thats needed...eh what do ya think?

[Trenton]

so today was one of those days where you work all day on the Jeep but then at the end of the day it feels like you have accomplished very little.� i drained and filled new fluids in T-case and trans, installed skid plate, installed fuel tank and new hard lines, worked on the hand throttle but need to grab a new cable and then i decided that with the new paint on the back half of the tub I couldn't deal with there being some holes and bad damage where the original spare tire mount was. i cut it out and made up a template so tomorrow i can weld in the new sheet metal.

im not happy with the black rock guard on the fuel tank. it hasn't really gotten as hard as i would like. I'm wondering if in the heat of summer it will even be softer, not good. might have to strip it and paint it with the green... thats a bummer. and speaking of the fuel tank if your wondering about that spot that looks like a giant patch you'd be right. previous owner must have done it, its silver soldered on and was sealing when i pulled the tank so hopefully its all still good.

[Trenton]

well i got the patch in and painted. thats it for today.

[Trenton]

[Trenton]

today i took the day off the jeep but then at about 8pm decided to knock a few items off the list, so i installed the side view mirror, finished the hand throttle, installed front marker lights, made up some hardwood windshield blocks for the hood and installed a new fuel gauge to match the other new gauges. got out of th shop art 04:00... :-?

blocks are but to dimensions i found on this forum but the holes are different to accommodate hardware i had


and with the holes drilled where specified in the dimension i found they actually fit the hood, win win.

mirror is not reproduction correct as its 6" round but its close and was cheap. it will remain the only shiny piece on the Jeep when its complete. i heard each piece of chrome adds horsepower and i think i need all the help i can get

[Trenton]

fuel gauge in, still need sender. also theres now a hole in the dash where i removed the "throttle lock" to use the carbeurator attachment location for a hand throttle thats located on the gear shift.


once i had installed the new LED markers they were connected to the original location on the headlight switch and came on at the first 'click' of the switch but when i pulled it out further to turn on headlights they went off... i didn't like that.


so i fixed it so they come on at first click and stay on when the switch is pulled out to headlights as well.

[BMIC]

I hate to admit it but I like those lit gauges... Nice work all around.

[Trenton]

the best of intentions as they say... i got started at full speed this morning after being up WAY to late in the shop last night but ran out of steam quickly. so i made a little progress on the bumper but not as much as i should have. the plate the winch will sit on is 1/4" and will be bolted to both frame rails as well as welded to the back lower edge of the actual 4x2 box steel that makes up the bumper. the frame tie ins are 1/2" flat bar and they will of course be welded right through the bumper and become tow points on the front side. the winch rope will run through a slot in the centre of the 4x2, also going to have 2 x 3" holes through the bumper outside the frame rails for driving/fog lights... not that i plan a lot of highway or even night wheeling but i had them for a different project and didn't use them. hope to get this finished up tomorrow.

i've only got 2 days left at home then go away to work for several months so this has to get done NOW!!!


in this pic the 4x2 that makes up the bumper is actually sitting on top of the frame tie ins, i will be slotting the 4x2 to slide it over those pieces of 1/2"

[Trenton]

today was a slow shop day. i made a little bumper progress, looking at the bumper i need to decide whether or not I'm going to put holes through it outside the frame rails so driving lights will go right through it or just bolt them to the top ends of the frame rails (much less work). I also made a new bracket for the windshield vent, its not perfect but it will do.

[Trenton]

well got the air conditioning fixed  worked on bumper a bit. still need to box in the ends and trim the tow points before fully welding it all together. i decided against mounting the driving lights in the bumper because i just don't want to do the work. today was last day working on the Willys for a while, I'm heading overseas for work. so progress comes to a screeching halt as of now.





 

[Trenton]