The preservation of "Hoover" - my '51 CJ3A

[athawk11]

Well, ya gotta feel good about that. It's starting to look like a solid tub again.

Tim 

[Tumbleweed]

JeepFever,

I am enjoying your progress and look forward to more updates.

 [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[JeepFever]

Thanks guys!

I am hoping to make some real progress this week.� I am taking some vacation time to work on projects around the house.� Hopefully that includes some Jeep time.

In past couple weeks, I moved Hoover into the garage and started filling and priming the areas almost read to paint.

Sharp eyes probably noticed that those are not original top bows.    . .  but rather some homemade CPVC bows to hold up tarp.�

[JeepFever]

Until now I have nothing but praise for the Classic Enterprises pieces I bought,� but am a little disappointed with the "hold-down" strap recesses, on the rear floor.

The flats at bottom are not wide enough to bolt down the "straps".

Has anyone else experienced this?� �I am guessing that my only option at this point is to try to hammer/dolly the shape?

Both my '2A and '3A have steeper angles from the rib to bottom of recess.� I wonder why Classic Enterprises did not duplicate that steep angle?

[Kirkski]

Until now I have nothing but praise for the Classic Enterprises pieces I bought,� but am a little disappointed with the "hold-down" strap recesses, on the rear floor.

The flats at bottom are not wide enough to bolt down the "straps".

Has anyone else experienced this?� �I am guessing that my only option at this point is to try to hammer/dolly the shape?

Both my '2A and '3A have steeper angles from the rib to bottom of recess.� I wonder why Classic Enterprises did not duplicate that steep angle?

 I checked my new floor pan I received a few days ago, and same issue. Seems like this item received a few downgrades from classic. The hat channels are not as aggressive either...

 I don't plan on ever putting footman loops there, but just the idea is painful.

 Good luck with your build

 Kirk

[JeepFever]

I am not sure how much off-roading I will be doing with Hoover,  but I use those loops very often in my '2A for securing things to the floor, while on bumpy trails.

Plus I think they look cool. :-)    . .  it will be a minor pain though,  to get them to fit and look original.

[JeepFever]

Totally unexpected . . but I hit a major milestone today!!!

The tub is off the frame!  I was hoping this week to get this done,  but thought I would have to wait until my son could help this weekend.   I decided to try it myself.  When I built the garage,  I reinforced 4 of the trusses, and put in a 8" I-beam so that I could lift things. 

I could not believe how easy this worked out.   I wish I had done a time-lapse video,  haha . . might have been cool.

My plan was to hook in front of "center of gravity" so the nose would be high,  and clear the steering wheel better.

[JeepFever]

I LOVE the big hole that results from using the M38 floor-cover.

The tub lifted over the steering wheel,  and all I had to do was spin the tub,  to push the rolling chassis out of garage.

[JeepFever]

The chassis outside of garage.

[JeepFever]

I made this "cart" for moving the tub around in garage from a "grate" they were throwing away at work.  . .  I am going to start to work on tub with it standing on its tail.   

I forgot how much work was still left to be done on the bottom side.   Some grinding and welding.

Oh well . .  a long ways to go  . . but finally feel like I am making some progress.

[Kirkski]

Nice, the. Lifting worked out swell wish I had something similar

Nice work !!!

[JeepFever]

I have made some decent progress the past couple weeks,� but have not been taking many photos.�

Today, I wanted the tub out of garage to do some sandblasting,� (plus I needed the garage to work on our other Jeep).

Using the chain-hoist,� I lifted the tub high enough to roll my Bantam trailer under it.� Then rolled the combo outside.� (you have to be creative sometimes when working by yourself).� �;D

This photo is after doing some light sandblasting of the firewall.

[JeepFever]

Today's progress -> gauges removed from dash.   

Working under the dash is normally one of my least favorite tasks,  but it was relatively easy with the tub turned upside-down,  and the huge hole in floor as result of the M-38 floor cover.

Of course, Murphys Law, it was not as easy as I was expecting -> the wingnuts on the speedometer were a real pain.   The studs were rusted badly,  and applying sufficient torque was difficult.  I ended up making a custom tool to grip them.

Even with the tool,  one of the nuts was so stubborn,  I was afraid the stud would break,  so I used a grinder to cut out the side of the nut.

The photo is hard to decipher,  but shows
1) the view thru the "big hole", 
2) removed items on cardboard,  and
3) the speedo wingnut, and "custom tool" circled in red.

[athawk11]

It's fun to watch how other 3A folks solve problems! 8-)  You've reached a milestone.  Tub Removal.  This is where the fun starts. 

Looking forward to your progress!

Tim

[JeepFever]

I have been tinkering some with the tub past few weeks.  Here is photo of bottom view.     I will stray from "original" by painting the underside of tub in black.  Good ol' Rustoleum.  A couple coats of primer, and then couple of black.  Probably not as good as something more exotic,  but has lasted 20+ years on my '2A,  so should do fine here.