[jscherb]

Originally Posted by Ziptie2k2

The worst part is that it hasn't been a lot of time actually, he's just that d*** good! Very nice work. I think another great part is your documentation of the work so the new owner can appreciate it.

Thank you!

[jscherb]

Originally Posted by jeepdude1987

...The mockup is very commendable how did you do that multiple kits or...?

I used one Monogram Jeep CJ-7 kit and one Chevy stepside pickup kit.

Originally Posted by jeepdude1987

You have a gift that borders on obbsesion for detail. I could only do the work you are doing if someone else had the plan, but I'm only 21 so I've got some time to develope some patients. Right now I would just hack and weld basic angle fenders and call it good enough.

I definitely would not have had the patience or skill for this at 21. Yes, I enjoy the detail.

Originally Posted by jeepdude1987

... Do you know how much you want for it? could you possibly PM me a price you hope to get for it if you have a free minute? I wouldn't be able to buy it in the next 2 years or so probably. So I'm not a potential customer, but I just really wonder what your going to charge for all this custom fab work. I couldn't fathom what the local expert Jeep shop would charge for it, but I worked there so I know it woud really break my bank.

I really don't know how much I want for the completed kit. I certainly want to cover my hard dollar costs of what I spend building this, but I've been getting all the components fairly cheaply, so my cost is fairly low.

I guess I'd consider the cost of alternatives for re-bodying a Jeep and look to those prices for guidance. So you could look at the price of a replacement steel CJ-8 tub and a Gr8Tops hardtop for one example, and perhaps look at the price of an Aqualu custom pickup cab and box plus a Gr8Tops hardtop for another example.

So somewhere between my hard cost and the cost of those options I guess, but I'll listen to any interesting offers when I'm ready to sell.

Originally Posted by jeepdude1987

Keep up the inspiring and impressive work!!!

I'll try!

[jscherb]

The metalwork on the fender is finished, which included fabricating some new curved sheet metal pieces to fill the empty corner that was on the original Chevy fender, but I won't bore you with those details. I stripped the paint off the fender with "Aircraft Remover", which is a very effective paint remover you can find at auto paint stores.

Next will be a little bit of metal finishing, then a small bit of finishing putty - the seams turned out good enough so no real filler is required, so I'll use "Icing" finishing putty, and then I'll prime it. The next photos of the fender you see should be of it all primed and ready.

Here's a photo of the fender after I finished stripping the old paint off.

[Brizio]

Great work!!!

[Ford_Prefect]

I can't wait to see the finished product.

I only wish you lived nearby so I could beg to come see your jeeps. Would love to be able to do this type of stuff, but other than know-how, I would need the money and the kitchen pass!

[jscherb]

Originally Posted by Ford_Prefect

I can't wait to see the finished product.

I only wish you lived nearby so I could beg to come see your jeeps. Would love to be able to do this type of stuff, but other than know-how, I would need the money and the kitchen pass!

I'll be driving the Retro Wrangler to Utah in a few weeks, maybe you'll see it there...

[jscherb]

I did about 700 miles yesterday in my parts-getter (the Retro Wrangler), towing a U-Haul trailer through PA, VA, DC, and MD. First stop was my friend Truck Massey's - Truck had a spare Scrambler frame he donated to the Gaucho project. Thanks Truck!!

Second stop was the Baltimore Inner Harbor area, where Sean Kennedy is building an awesome Scrambler in the garage under his condo. He's got a build thread (http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=496513), you should take a look - he's doing a frame-up, starting with a new TDK frame. He's doing everything really really right - worth watching. Anyway, since he got the TDK frame, he donated his original Scrambler frame to the cause. Thank you Sean!!!

So as you can see below, I've got two complete Scrambler frames out of which I will make one LWB frame.

The frame in the foreground below is in pretty nice shape, except for some rust-through shown in the photos in the second row.

The frame in the background is probably beyond restoring, but the outer frame rails ("outer c's") are in good shape, shown in the third row. For those of you who arent familiar with CJ/Scrambler frames, they are made from two pieces of stamped metal, "clamshelled" together. The "outer c", so-called because it has a c-section, is made from 3/16" stock, and the "inner c", also sometimes called the "box section", which slips inside the outer c, is made from 1/8" stock. Rust-through of the inner c's just behind the spring hanger for the rear spring is extremely common.

Both frames have good straight sections in the center.



Anyway, after studying the problem for a while today, I've come up with a plan. I will make a 113.5" WB frame for the Gaucho, which is 10" longer than the original Scrambler. I will use the outer c's from the bad frame to make new inner c's for the good frame. The left outer c from the bad frame can be used to make a new inner c for the right side of the good frame, and vice versa. They won't slip inside the old outer c like the stock inner c's did because they are the same height, but instead I will weld them to form a complete 3/16" thick box section.

If I do my planning correctly, and leave the old frame outer c's long enough towards the front, they'll also serve to stretch the good frame the 10" I need.

So I'll end up with a 3/16" full box section on the good frame all the way from the typical bad rust area through the lengthening splice on the straight rail to about 24" forward of the rear spring. A couple of 10" sections of outer c from the bad frame just in front of where the frame starts to narrow will serve to fill in the outer c where I'll lengthen the good frame. Then I'll fishplate the entire repair area.

Other than that, there are a few egged-out body mount holes I'll replace on the good frame. And the good frame also has a nice receiver hitch integrated into the last two crossmembers, not sure what I'll do with that yet as I probably will modify the rear of the frame to rise up to meet the rear bed crossmember.

But before I start work on the frame, I'll get the fender finished and primed (photos tomorrow, ending the long fender build saga ), and I've got a few quick jobs I want to do on the tub. Probably will start on the frame in about a week.

[xjandyj]

geez you work fast

[jscherb]

Originally Posted by xjandyj

geez you work fast

Doesn't seem fast to me - I've been almost two weeks just on this one fender!

[jscherb]

Now that I've got the two frames to make into one, I've got to decide the final wheelbase and cab size.

The original Gaucho had a 101" WB and a very short cab, probably about 54".

I've designed a number of variations, shown below, along with a Scrambler and a CJ7 for size comparison.

Before I was planning on building a frame, I was going to build the Gaucho so it would fit on a 103.5" Scrambler frame, mostly so I would be able to sell the parts to someone who already had a Scrambler frame. This is shown as variation 1 below. This also has a 56.5" cab, which matches the Gr8Tops half cab or Scrambler half cab.

But now that I'm going to do a frame to sell along with the Gaucho package, I can build any wheelbase I want. Variation 2 shows a 113.5" WB with the 56.5" cab.

Variation 3 ups the WB to 118.5", which is the same as the Brute, and ups the cab size to 61", which is also the same as the Brute. But note that a 61" cab on a CJ is much larger inside than a 61" cab on a TJ, since the dash takes up about 8" of interior space on the TJ and the CJ dash is flush with the cowl. In other words, a 61" cab with a CJ interior would have at least 4" behind the seats with the seat slid all the way back.

Variation 4 is the same as 3, but I shrunk the WB to 117" so the rear axle is centered on the bed instead of toward the rear with a short overhang.

Variations 5 and 6 are back to 113.5 WB but with the longer 61" cab. The only difference between 5 and 6 is that on 5 I stuck a jerry can on the back of the bed side to show there's enough room there to put on.

Also, there are two choices for the location of the spare - in most of the variations below I've placed the spare crosswise at the front of the bed, sitting in a well beneath the floor to reduce it's height in the rear window. In variation 6 I've placed the spare on the floor along the inside of the bed side.

I'm leaning towards the 113.5 WB, but I haven't decided on the cab size yet. If I do the 56.5" cab, a Scrambler or Gr8Tops half cab could be adapted for use; if I do the 61" cab, I've got to make the hardtop myself. (Which I probably would do for the 56.5" cab anyways).

I'd like to hear your opinions on the WB and cab size question - what WB and cab size do you think would be best?

[Renegade887]

aa-mazing craftmanship

looking forward to watching

[jscherb]

Here you go, one Gaucho fender primed and ready. Bottom photos show before and after at the same scale so you can get an idea of how much the fender has changed.

Now all I've got to do is find a driver's side fender to cut up and do it all over again. Anybody know where I can find one?

Since this was so much work, I'm thinking of making a mold of it so I'd be able to make new fenders in fiberglass. I'm not sure there would be much interest in people buying sets of these fenders though, so I don't know if it would be worth the effort to make molds. Anyone interested?

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I don't believe anyone will be able to tell it's been cut down unless they look inside and see the weld seams





And below is one more shot - this is just a sanity check to see how the styling and size of the modified fender fits with the styling of a CJ... and no, I'm not building a dually Overlander!!! I just set the fender next to the Overlander to check the size and style. And in the top corner of this photo, a bad quick photo hack turns my Overlander into a Gaucho - squint and you can begin to see the Gaucho...

[CopperCJ7]

Gaucho Marx would be proud = )

[corndogduff]

jscherb, your jeep porn is alot better than anyone else's jeep porn

[gr8tops]

Originally Posted by jscherb

Yes, I plan to modify the main hoop to fit inside the top. Normally it angles back too far to fit in the top so I'll change the angle to be more vertical. I'll also tie it into the tub at near the door strikers to give the tub more rigidity when the doors are slammed, and that tiw-in will also give the roll bar more front/back rigidity. I haven't decided yet if I'll add the spreader bars.

Jeff,

just catching up on this thread. I had Jeremy at Throttle Down Kustoms make me up YJ replacement main cage hoops that will fit under the GR8TOPS half hardtop on a YJ or CJ. You can unbolt the main cage and this hoop have matching stock footplates with predrilled holes and they are more upgright than the stock cage and shorter to allow the GR8TOPS half hardtop or a stock CJ8 half hardtop to fit onto a YJ or CJ.

I'll don't have my hands on them yet but I will have 5 of them later this week.

matt @ GR8TOPS