My 3A so far. First drive on the road

[specialty]

Here are a few photos of what I have done so far after many hours. Some of the frame. body and 1 of my CNC'S. I have most of the metal work done on the body and a friend blasted it. Now I want to start body work. Is it good to to DA with 80 git and then apply filler? I want to get it straight as possible so I may put a thin coat over the entire body doing it in sections and then block sand it to get it straight and the waves out. Good plan?

[1955CJ-5]

Looks fantastic...!

What is that thing on the transmission in front of the shift tower? Flashlight?

Body work is up to you...In my opinion if it's too perfect it kinda looses it's "jeep" identity...

In the pictures the tub looks pretty good....

[garage gnome]

Paint that thing and put it on! Of course, you might have to do a little body work to hide some imperfections.

Nice shop and and jeep looks good so far!

[specialty]

Looks fantastic...!

What is that thing on the transmission in front of the shift tower? Flashlight?

Body work is up to you...In my opinion if it's too perfect it kinda looses it's "jeep" identity...

In the pictures the tub looks pretty good....

Yes that's a flashlight. My eyes are not what they used to be! I forget the name of the color but As of right now I am going with the dark maroon mainly because I like it but under about 10 coats of rolled on paint I ran across it under all that. The tub is getting pretty decent now and solid. I made my floor pans and fabricated the transmission tunnel from about the shifter back. After blasting I have noticed some pin holes in the rear floor but it seems solid. What I would like to do is coat the inside of the tub and bottom with some sort of weather proofer then paint the whole thing with the top coat. I haven't looked real hard but have not seen anything that does not need to have the paint applied within a hour or so. I would like to do that myself then haul it to my buddies for him to paint it. However it could be awhile between the undercoat, sealer then paint. Have any idea of a product I could use that can sit awhile before painting? Something like PORS15 says to paint within a hour while still tacky. Thanks

[specialty]

Paint that thing and put it on! Of course, you might have to do a little body work to hide some imperfections.
Here is a photo with what I started with so it has come a long way.

Nice shop and and jeep looks good so far!

I wish it was on already. I am getting close to my maiden voyage!� Mechanical and chassis work is about done except for the steering knuckles. I still have the dreaded wiring to do but I am going to keep it as simple as I can. Still haven't figured out how to make the tail lights , signals, brake and back-up all work with 2 bulbs. More research on the way there.
Will post more tub pictures as I go. Hope to get the hat channel going today and tacked on. I made my side steps yesterday and tig welded those together so hopefully they will be tacked on by tonight also. Spring is a coming and I want to get it on the road!

[specialty]

The body was not salvageable so I made the 4 hour trip to get one that was but it still needed a lot of rust repaired but was repairable. I have used some pieces ff the old tub like the plate where the brake, clutch and steering column go through since my donor tub had been torched there I suppose to get removed. Also using some of the front fenders but that's about it for that tub. It does have most of the hardware on it though I can use on the donor that will save a few bucks since this is a budget project.
Anyone need a free cowl?

[1955CJ-5]

Just a couple of thoughts.

If this tub has not been on your frame, you might want to put it on and make sure the mounting holes line up before paint.

This may be on your to do list but if you plan to use the stock fuel tank there are a couple of holes that need to be cut in the drivers side floor...the holes in the picture were in the replacement panels I bought and are not quite in the right place..but they give you an idea of location.

Do you plan to add the hat channels under the floors? The mounting bolts go through the hat's and that sets the height of the tub above the frame so everything clears....

[LeeC]

Looks good, go over it with the DA (at least the parts that show the most) and put a good epoxy primer on it. Sand blasting can leave a course finish, and make sure it is well cleaned. Good luck.

[specialty]

Just a couple of thoughts.

If this tub has not been on your frame, you might want to put it on and make sure the mounting holes line up before paint.

This may be on your to do list but if you plan to use the stock fuel tank there are a couple of holes that need to be cut in the drivers side floor...the holes in the picture were in the replacement panels I bought and are not quite in the right place..but they give you an idea of location.

Do you plan to add the hat channels under the floors? The mounting bolts go through the hat's and that sets the height of the tub above the frame so everything clears....

I had put it on once to mark the mounting holes and drill them and I am going by that. I am not actually using original hat channels. I opted for rectangular tubing the same height and width, mainly because it's� much stronger and a fraction of the cost. I think 20 ft cost me about $25 through my metal supplier. I got those tacked on today along with my side steps. I will have to rework the steps because I overlooked the angle where the fenders bolt to them. My plan is to fabricate my tank out of stainless then figure out where to put my holes for the fuel line and sender unit. Looking at your photo's did you put seam sealer where you welded the pans in? Also with your steps, are the tops flush with the bottom of the tub? I think I need to move mine down flush where they are the thickness of the step lower than the tub so the hat channel supports it. Is that correct? Looks like you did a great job on yours.

[specialty]

Looks good, go over it with the DA (at least the parts that show the most) and put a good epoxy primer on it. Sand blasting can leave a course finish, and make sure it is well cleaned. Good luck.

Lee, should I primer first or can I so the body work first. I know back in my day it was a no to put any filler on anything but bare metal. So far I have heard both ways on that along with the seam sealer. I would prefer to DA it and do the filler and seam seal then primer it. Mainly because I have a friend with  good paint guns and a paint room for that. He says prime but either way would be okay as far as he knew since he paints for a hobby. He is pretty good at it though. Thanks

[1955CJ-5]

Yes the side step sits on top of the hat channel where it extends beyond the tub.

The picture shows how the old step came off...

Rectangular tubing should be fine..there just needs to be something it there or those floors will resonated like a steel drum..!

I did use seam sealer, and two-part panel adhesive in places.

I did learn that you must be sure that no further welding will be done before you apply seam sealer...contaminates the weld and just generally makes a mess if you try to weld after it's applied....

Thanks!!  The tub turned out way better than I had hoped, and it's holding up really well.

[athawk11]

I started messing with a tub again.  These photos might help...

[specialty]

Great pictures guys. Now did you weld your panels or use the panel adhesive or both? I have a few places where the metal is a little thin but I think with the proper prep or sealer it would last for years as long as moisture doesn't get to it. I  don't plan to use the 3A in bad or rainy weather because I have other Jeeps for that but I use my truck in the salt and snow. I don't even plan on putting a top on it because so far I have not seen one I like.
As far as the steps looks like I have to break my tacks and move them down to rest on the hat channel or tubing in my case. I need to redo the fender angle on them anyway. Darn, I had them tig welded real nice and now I have to cut the front back off and do it again. Easy to make but takes some time but saving the 50 or 60 bucks to buy them is money I can use on something else down the road. I am thinking about cutting my rear floor out and putting new metal in there also. It has a few pin holes and some dips from heavy objects thrown on it but is solid and with some sort of sealer would be fine after straightening out the low spots between the support channels. What would be a good sealer to coat the underside and inside of the tub with? Or is such a thing made that is durable and paintable to match the top coat? Or a bad idea?

[1955CJ-5]

Great pictures guys. Now did you weld your panels or use the panel adhesive or both?

Both. I started without a welder and with my beginner's optimism thought I could get by-it was just going to be a patch and drive project after all....well if you look at my build thread you will see that the project quickly "exploded" into a complete rebuild....so I bought a welder and went back and reinforced many if not all of the panel seams where I had used adhesive......and then used seam sealer just before painting...

The 3M panel adhesive is very strong and works great on new metal. I did a couple of test pieces and could not separate them after it cured. It's expensive, and if you are lucky the auto paint store where you buy it will have a loaner applicator gun...otherwise that is another expense for something you may only use a few times...

I used it on the floors only. No side panels.

If I had any real welding experience and a welder to begin with I would probably never have used the adhesive......

[specialty]

I understand what you're saying. I often wondered how the adhesive would hold up once exposed to the harsh elements over a period of time. Might hold up fine but I have never used it. Where did you get your seam sealer from? Do parts houses have it like Advance? I think I will need a truck load of the stuff because there are a bunch of seams on these things where water, salt, etc. could get into and make a real mess fast. Especially with that nasty stuff they put on the roads these days. I don't know if they use it in Idaho but here in Virginia they spray this junk on before it snows and that gives it more time to destroy your car before the snow melts and washes it away! This stuff is really nasty and should be outlawed but they use it like candy around here.