Body assembly questions

[Bob W]

On the exterior of my original tailgate, the open chanels on the ends have been closed off with metal and welded solid. �Also, the interior of the tailgate has had two pieces of angle iron welded vertically on to it spaced about a foot apart. �The addition of these two braces stiffened up the tailgate pretty good.

A silly question before I leave. �Was the factory tailgate heavy enough to sit on without bending it to pieces? �The reproduction I have doesn't seem heavy enough to sit a soda on without bending....

Sounds like you may have an M38 tailgate. Do you have any photos? My CJ-3A tailgate is strong enough to sit on without bending!!!

[macrisel]

Bob,
What is the best way to post pics?

[rocketeer]

Create a free Photobucket account (or some other image hoster) and upload your pictures to the site and then link to them in your post here.

Larry

[macrisel]

Another update:

The aftermarket fender fits much better than the OE fender.  The only catch on this one is the mounting hole to attatch it to the step is mislocated!  Foreign parts.....  Looks like a little more body work will be needed.  I also had to slot the holes in the front of the fender to line up with the grill a little better.  I'm probably being a little too picky.......So, I'll end up having an OE fender on the passenger side and an aftermarket fender on the drivers side.

After I mounted the fenders and tub and squared everything up I ran into another problem.  I sat my bumper on and immediately saw an issue.  The drivers side of the bumper sat 1/2" lower than the other side.  After measuring several other points on the frame, I came to the conslusion that the front frame horn was pulled down a little.  When I first bought the jeep, it had some nasty homemade brackets welded on the frame to mount a snowplow on.  I am guessing that someone caught the plow on something that didn't move and pulled the frame a little bit.  Not too big a deal.....I'll just tie the frame down at several points and push the frame rail back up a little.  Now that I have all the parts on I'll be able to make that 1/2" disappear..

Issue #2
My brake and gas pedals had a little bit of side to side play sitting in the old tub.  This was not an issue in it because all the holes in the firewall were either rusted out or worn out to around 14" each (slight exageration).  On my nice, new complete tub this "little" play turned into a LOT of play and my pedals were slapping off both sides of the holes and each other.  I immediatly started questioning foreign parts again and saying curse words for them putting the gas and brake pedal so close together.  Then, I pulled up the internet and looked up some pictures and found out that those pedal are indeed that close together.  Looks like when I pull the tub off I'll be rebuilding the brake/clutch shaft.  I recall someone posting a Willy's service bulliten regarding a "brake pedal wobble reducer" kit.  Does anyone know where I can find one?

To end on a good note, I did get the drivers seat mounted on the tub.  I went ahead and welded a nut onto the back of the frame to bolt through the wheel well.  I debated on this, but decided the extra support was worth one more hole.

[rocketeer]

A nut on the back of the frame will space the frame farther away from the body. It won't rest against the tub. A hole drilled through the frame and tub with a bolt all the way through and the nut underneath the fenderwell would have been better.

Larry

[macrisel]

Here is the comparison between my tailgate and the repro.



Is my old tailgate an M38 tailgate?

Finally, a couple of progress photos

Both seats installed and the front bumber installed. �I pulled the frame this weekend also and squared it up. �It really didn't take NEAR the pressure I was planning on to push up the driver's side frame horn.


Visions of things to come! �Both the hood and windshield fit pretty well although it was fun to manuver them by myself. �The windshield clamps are a little off compared to the tub, but I'll just have to slot a few holes. �Also, there no holes drilled for the rubber windshield to cowl gasket. �I can use my old one for a template to drill the holes. �Does anyone know if a new gasket will have the same hole locations or should I wait until I get the new one before I drill any holes? �

[Carls_jeep]

Nice looking so far. I had the same type lockout hubs you have and hit a tree with one of them and the cap went into hiding somewhere. Then I bought a set of Superwinch hubs that were also prone to grenade at the slightest hit. Then I came across a set of Cutlas hubs that are as near bullet proof as possible and so far I like them a lot.

I will tell you to stay away from trees or rocks with your hubs, they will come off like a hand grenade if they hit the tree or rock.

[rocketeer]

That's an M-38 tailgate with the bracing inside for the spare tire mount.



Larry

[macrisel]

Thanks Larry!
Do you know where I can find the article on "brake wobble"?

[Doug]

Here is a link to a brake slack removal kit install. � �The bolt tightening was a dealer installed fix to worn brake and clutch pedals. �The other method would be to remove the pivot which is welded to the frame and replace it with a new one. � On cj3a the pivot was welded to the frame. �On the M38 the pivot could be unbolted and replaced without welding. �

http://www.cj3a.info/tech/pedalslack.html


PS  Your project looks great and brings back found memories.  I wish I was in the middle of a rebuild like that right now.     It will look really nice when done.

[macrisel]

Thanks Doug, it has been a massive project!  I'm going to start a new topic on this wobble because I have more questions..