Reproduction
Body Installation
By Bill Goodwin
Bill writes: "You
are free to publish the article on your web site. If you do please note that it
was written last year. Military Vehicle magazine used it for the same reason as
it applies to all early Jeeps. As you know things change as now everyone is
able to offer the raised Willy's. As far as I know repro grills are still not
legally available. The grill is a Chrysler trade mark and they will not permit
anyone to make or sell repros. I hope this has or will be changed as there is a
need for them. I touched on it but one must have a correct and straight frame
or more work will be required to make any body fit. I will be happy to add more
or answer any questions. If you have room and want I have pictures of my entire
project. You may also edit it down and delete my reference to beer as I do not
want to offend anyone. MV allows a little humor. Again Good Luck with your web
site. Bill P.S. I highly recommend everyone subscribe to MV Magazine as the
tech tips and list of vendors with parts for all Jeeps is the most complete of
any magazine and it is not sold on news stands."
Here's the article:
You have studied it,
contemplated it, looked at it, and drank a beer. Or like me a few more beers.
Conclusion: Like mine your prize Jeep needs a new body. If you flip through
the pages of this magazine you will find vendors with complete body kits for
sale. You will find even more adds on the internet. Note: All current Jeep
body’s are manufactured in the Philippines! (see note at end of article) What
do you need to know? First drink a beer and sell the jeep. No? Drink another
beer. Ok assuming you have a correct and straight frame, here’s the low down.
Now that you know everyone gets the body’s from the same place what’s the
difference? Who do I buy from and Why? What do you need to know up front.
First these body’s are generic. They come very close but do not just bolt on.
You will have to do some drilling, filing, cutting and fitting, How much?
Depends on who you buy the body from, hence the price difference. Before you
part that much beer money. Read all the fine print in the ads and talk, talk
and talk some more to the vender you want to use. You will also have questions
after you get it home. Ask what holes are pre drilled. (steering, pedals,
gauges, tail lights etc) Look at your Jeep and see what holes are there now.
Make a list and go over this with the vender. Be sure you understand what does
NOT come with your kit. How you define complete and how the vender defines
complete might not be the same. Do not assume anything is included, ASK. Grills
do not come with these kits as they are trademarked. Mounting hardware does not
come with these kits. I highly recommend you use a vender who will take the time
to go over all this with you. Shipping: Some venders do not stock the body’s.
They are drop shipped from an importer. Kits can only be shipped by a motor
freight Co. (Big Beer Trucks) Most of these carriers will not come in a private
driveway or even a home address. They are not required to help you unload and
well-created kits can weigh over 1 thousand pounds. (some venders will bring the
kit to a show or meet at little or no extra cost) Now my story: Open a beer and
read on. This is not my first frame off but it is the first I time I did not put
the same body back on. My Jeep is an early 46 CJ2A. I know its not a MB but
hay, its is close as you can get. What I’ve gone through should be much the
same if it were a MB, M38 or any CJ type. The vender I chose offered the raised
Willys on the hood, windshield, and tailgate, was only 500 miles from home, and
did most of the pre-drilling I needed. He took the time over the phone to
explain just about every aspect to this project. I decided to pick up the body
since the entire kit will fit in a full size pickup truck. Do this if you can.
I was able to discuss and see where problem areas are likely to be, and they
were, with a few more. Next, the steps and order I used. First body test fit
went well? Ops! (Spilled my beer) When setting body on the frame I use long
Phillips screwdrivers in the mounting holes. You can align the holes and skew
the body around a little. Sure enough had to trim out around shifters. The toe
board holes were slightly off center. The steering column did not want to line
up. The clutch pedal would not come up to toe board. Checked rear and side
overhang. Important: check clearance between engine and firewall. Need this for
accelerator linkage to work. Mine was ok. On MB’s gas tank sits outside and
below top of frame. Check all clearance here. If you use floor mounted starter
switch check clearance under floor. Test fit gas pedal and linkage. Do not
make any corrections yet. If body tub mounting holes are not pre drilled,
do not drill them until fenders are bolted to frame, then, pull body to
fenders. When test mounting do not fully tighten any bolt. Wait until fenders
and grill are on, as you may have to skew the body for everything to line up.
Mount steering column now. Mounted left front fender & Grill, good fit. Tried
right, nope, not a hope, beer time. I recommend you mount the Left fender
first. It is critical that the steering column lines up with the dash mount,
and remember the brake and clutch pedals have a upright support between them. In
short this only allows a small amount of left to right skew. I had to trim some
excess from this upright for clutch pedal to come up to toe board. Fenders
mount to the frame and do not move in any direction unless you round out holes!
Right fender needed some trimming to fit and clear shock tower and grill mount.
Rear of fender had to come in just a smudge. Had to cut the rear lower mounting
pad off so bottom of fender would fit just over the frame. I will use 2 L
brackets here. Moving the body over to the right would throw off the steering &
pedal adjustment, and change the left fender fit.
I also had to trim the
outer rear of the battery tray. Note: Steering column has no left or right,
only up & down adjustment on frame. On models with folding grills you will need
to be sure hinges and mounting holes line up. At this point you can lightly
tighten all the bolts, see what falls off, and have a beer before the HARD part.
Mount all under hood hardware, at least air cleaner assembly. You will need to
drill hole for radiator support rod and it needs to pass over indent in air
tube. Hood, hinge holes let you align and center it. You may have to slightly
bend the rear up and sides out as not to rub cowl. Remember hood rests on felt
at top of grill. Check fender to hood height as you can adjust front of
fenders where they bolt to grill. Windshield: The curvature over the cowl was
not exact on mine. Rubber would not fit unless I cut each end off. I
understand this is a common problem. Mounting holes for rubber are not pre
drilled. If you are good with sheet metal you might try taking off the lower
panel and bending the bottom rail to fit. If you can use your old Windshield or
can find a good used one do so. You can order the windshield later if you have
to. Some venders will make sure the windshield fits before they ship. I called
around and no luck until I talked with George at AJP. (Army Jeep Parts Bristol
PA.) George had 3 MB reproduction windshields made in France. These are
complete with all rubber and glass installed. He agreed to take it back if it
did not fit. Parted with more beer money and voila it fit! As you know there
are some differences between the MB & CJ windshields most notable height. Except
for the lack of the Willys imprint, I prefer the MB. Your choice here. If
someone has a better fix for this or where else a correct frame can be found
please contact me and let our readers know. If you have a tailgate check the
hinges as mine were too long to fit in tailgate slots. Had to grind off a
little from each side. These castings are brittle so be careful. Now is the
time to mark where you need to drill all the holes for everything that goes on
the outside. Note on hood blocks: check with hood up & windshield down. At this
point I took it all apart as drilling and cutting of tub was easier with tub on
floor. Now is the time to check that everything fits in the pre drilled holes.
I had to enlarge the speedometer opening. Mark and drill all the holes you need
to mount everything that goes inside the tub and test fit. Check routing of all
cables choke, throttle and parking brake. If holes are not in firewall you will
have to cut them. Parking brake note: Mine did not come with the spring clip
in the guide. (behind dash) I also had to enlarge the dash hole upward for
handle to slide in and out. I understand this is another common problem. With
care you won’t notice it. You can buy the guide with spring clip and it bolts
right in. After all this is done I suggest you put it all together and check for
fit and anything you missed. As of this writing that’s where I am. Almost ready
for paint. Helpful hints: Use a chain hoist to lift the body on and off.
Remove the shifters or at least the main transmission shifter. Cover top of
transmission to keep anything from falling in. Steering gear and column: With
left front fender off, turn shaft all the way to the left so arm gear is toward
the rear as far as it will go and slide the column in as far as you can and
steering box will drop down inside the frame clearing the oil pump. Caution: If
you think of shimming steering box at frame to move column left or right be
careful! Steering box must be secure and check that draglink clears engine
during it’s full travel. Use the strongest bolts you can get to mount the body
tub. Your safety counts here. My kit came with ½ inch thick hard rubber
mounting blocks for the body. This keeps the transmission from banging the
floor while driving. Do not over compress these blocks. Remember the body and
frame flex when driving. If like me and you are not a pro, this is a job you
can tackle. As you see the kit here is steel. Has anyone tried a fiberglass
kit? You may run into some things I did not but, just maybe everything on yours
will fit and go on right the first time. If you try this and get stuck, help is
only a phone call or E-Mail away. Be safe, measure 3 times and cut-drill once,
have fun and good luck. The vendors in MV have been of tremendous help with my
project, and I hope you use them. Remember we don’t quit or walk away from our
projects, we just get another beer.
Note: There may be others
but: Every vendor I talked to, told me, “all body’s come from the same company
in the Philippines”. I have seen ads claming some are made in Europe. As far
as I know, no one sells re-production grills. The Grill is a trademark item. (as
in Jeep ads) There is one vendor in Canada who advertises grills but as of this
writing he has not got back to me. (Willys Acres, Ad in MV issue #98 ) I only
found one vender who sells the raised WILLYS name like the original. (Willys
Overland Toledo Ohio) The reason I chose them. Remember only a few years ago
you could not get a re-production split windshield, so things change.
John: For your info. I
hope this is something you can use. About me. I am not a professional mechanic
or body man, just a average backyard mechanic. I have spent my working life in
broadcasting and for the past 22yrs with the Voice of America in Washington,
D.C. And live in Southern Maryland. I spent 3yrs in the U.S. Army (Signal
Corps) 1yr in Viet Nam & 1yr in Thailand. For the past 30 years I have been
fixing up and restoring cars as drivers for myself and with friends. I
currently own 2 early column shift 46CJ2As, 69 Ford Galaxie Conv. And a 65
Triumph Herald 1200 Conv. With two friends who are neighbors we have done a
complete frame off on a 61 MGA, 28 Ford Truck and a 34 Plymouth. Did you know
the Plymouth has the same engine with little change as the M37s I drove in Viet
Nam. Do I want a MV? YES but have wife. Maybe some day. Might sound odd but I
want something different like a duce ½ fire truck. You might notice from the
photos my current Jeep has been changed from a column shift to a floor shift and
also to 12volts and upgraded to 11in brakes. Can supply info on this if you
want.
You have many great
venders in MV and so far the ones I have dealt with have been top notch. I
could not have done my Jeeps with out them. Of note: Gary & Kevin at Surplus
City Jeep Parts in Calf. George of Army Jeep Parts in Bristol Pa. And Walck’s
also in Pa.
If you need clarifying or
have any questions let me know. You may include my E-Mail address as I would
like to here how others are coming with their projects and any feedback form
your readers.
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