[Bard]

Well, I sold ole blue and bought my old 85 Laredo back, (which I sold in 96 to a guy who blew the motor and it sat since then in 98'.) It has been sleeping since this Sept, needed alot of parts the PO forgot to include all the motor parts and needs alot more work than originally contemplated since looked at.
This will never be as clean or neat as my mentor Fatman or Hoos, but close enough for me to live with.

So, I just recently decided to dig into it with all the snow up here in New England. Cut the rollbar out and put the axles back under it. Staying SOA.
Debated high and low what to do with the tub, finally got some clean shots of it. I went back and forth whether to fix the tub and do a quick fix, but along the lines of Jeepskate and his wisdom, rust is inevitable, amount of time and welding will cost the same in the long run as getting a new tub. I am going to go with a YJ tub and do this quick and basic to get it up and running. CJ dash, wiring, front clip, CJ frame, same specs with everything else. I am going to send the B&M Mega shifter to Ebay and do a column shift since I am going to run a Turbo 350 (3 spd) and it will work out better. Call it old age setting in. Also going to skip welding over the YJ gas tank hole and just cut the CJ one in it. Retrim the holes for the fender flares to be CJ and get rid of the lower factory rocker set up and go with shockrocks instead.

Frame is a CJ7 with a 2" frame lift. I cut 2" 3/16 pipe and welded plates on the top of them to the frame plate with a bolt hole drilled in.
SOA, all can read this in the search, I doubled my 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 springs to get a stiffer ride on the 20 year old springs, new bushings and alot of other basic mods.

Had some issues with the power steering box bolts, so I made a cut on the inside of the inner frame rail and was able to get the bolts in and just have to reweld them.

Currently seeking a good shaped YJ tub with the windshield frame and will have to figure out what wiring to use and heater box is better, but I will have to search for that.
My time table is a month from the time I find a tub, order the shockrocks for the sides and figure out some paint and go either regular clutch fan or electric fan.

Here are some pics, of course I will be heckled for my short cuts, but I am the one who will drive it and live with it.
So I will provide some pics of the quick and easy, but it will be a few before I can test it and see if it fits my needs.
When I got it
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CJ parked for snow
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Pass Side
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Drivers side
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Dash set up
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CJ pass mount
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Drivers side mount
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Pass Rollbar mount
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Driver rollbar mount
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Happy trails

[Bard]

I have a couple of YJ's tubs lined up to look at, but think I could just fix this bucket.
So I dug into it a little more today. I have all the steel to cut off the rot and replace it. A couple of things bother me. Panels are close to $375 plus shipping. Floors I can do with a plate of steel panels I have. I can cut them, bend it and weld it in or I can just take the dash, wiring and remove the tub and keep what I want. Not much left, but the worst parts are what you see.
I personally hate bondo, but it does the trick when needed and I can spray a YJ tub for next to nothing.

Overall frame has 3 spots to fix, minor IMO and easy welds. So front clip is good as with a few other minor issues, so I think I am good to go.

Opinions of how far to go before replacing the tub? Too far gone or fix it? I want to get this up and running before spring, but I suppose mother nature and my checkbook will tell me different.

[Fuzz21]

My tub rotted in the same spots and I went YJ replacement. If you got a welder and the materials then go fo it but the rust thats tere will always be there if not totally removed and fixed....Been there done that!!! I tried to remove the rust of my original tub but didn't get it all and 3 yrs after the paint job it was totally gone. My yj tub cost me $500 w/the family style roll bar and pedal assembly. much easier since the tub had to come off anyway if i was going to even think of fixing it. BUT.... Once it was off and the new is now on there are so many little things that add up VERY quickly that i has to buy because I was doing it and might as well do it now. Guess it all depends on what you want to do w/you jeep in the long run. I want to keep mine for my son when he gets older so I doing it right now that way i don't have to worry bout it down the road.

[DannibusX]

I can't see the rust on the rockers too well, but it mostly looks like surface rust there, I say take the tub off and blast it, get all the rust off you can and then assess the situation.

Just looked at the driver side photo, looks pretty bad there, but I think that thing is salvagable, you just need to weld in some new sheetmetal and get good with a grinder.

[certifiablejeep]

It is hard to make out in the pics, but behind the bottom mount of the seatbels usually gets pretty bad as well. I was taking the seatbelts out of the last tub I had and it just spun in the hole. Turned out I was going to need the 2 tub supports for the seat belts both driver/pass side, those were like 135 a piece if I remember.

So, with corners needed and some floor repairs and some wheel well issues, I went YJ tub.
I got a 95 from a guy in Webster, MA. The tub was cherry. Had a couple broken bolts I had to get out and some conversion to make it look like a CJ, but all in all, the 600 bucks the tub cost was worth every penny as the cost of the metal and time it would take to repair the old one was about even.

The tub had just a little surface rust, but for 13 years old, I can't complain... came with the family style cage as well as the heater/foot pedals as well.

http://www.certifiablejeep.com/images/freejeep/page29/large/161_6190.jpg

PM me and I can give you the guys info... have to dig it up. Where in NH are you at?

cb

[Bard]

That was my gut feeling when I did the math and amount of work to fix those spots. I took a very good look at the rot is too much to cut out, time wise and fab in section after section. So decision is made.

Definately going to have to go to YJ on this one, plus I will most likely do a almost complete restore like fuel and brake lines. I don't want to dump a ton of cash into it, but I have done it too many times before to know better. Ideally the motor and drive train and frame are great working order, the front clip is good, tailgate and the dash and wiring will be easy enough to change.

Probably go with the YJ heater and windshield, seems to be easier than converting the defroster since I like to get it up and running in a reasonable time frame. Might go with the YJ brake set up if I can find one, ideally I have been looking at tubs and want one with little to no work, but I know if I wait I can find a complete YJ and part what I do not plan to use. Time will tell.

Thanks for the input everyone.

[JoonHoss]

Originally Posted by Bard

This will never be as clean or neat as my mentor Fatman or Hoos...

they both sound like nice guys, I 'd like to meet them someday.

HoSs

[Bard]

Originally Posted by Joonhoss71

they both sound like nice guys, I 'd like to meet them someday.

HoSs

Yes, indeed, two guys who enjoy life and their Jeeps. Lake Chelan is one spot I love to fish in and relax in the good ole USA.

[Bard]

Well finally got off my butt thanks to cb's motivation writing and have made a little bit of progress. Put the motor in, need to plumb and wire it and a few others. Decided to reset the motor a 1/2 higher and will need to reweld the mounts. Need to finish up the motor install and nothing has been easy on this change over. Should have the motor completed in a week, wired and all buttoned up and then the frame and body streetable. Its all the little things that add up, new brakes lines, rubber fuel lines, wires, etc, etc

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Changed the height
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drive shaft is in finally after screwing around with bad t-cases for a few months and the pinion fix. Anyone want a SOA, 1 piece axle with a Detroit in it? By the pics, time for new inner axle seals.
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[Fatman]

that a boy! good to see ya going again. warm weather is just round the corner.

[bigjoe]

Keep up the cause Bard. It could always be worse.

[Bard]

Well all, I had some freetime this weekend and the weather was great to finally make some serious headway, motor just needs to be wired, timed, ps bracket fabbed up, fuel hooked up, exhaust, cooled and need to figure out a fan set up.

Redid new front steel tube and brake lines, plan to mount them on the inside of the frame rail. Trying to come up with a better idea. I welded motor mounts solid.

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Got into the tub section, remind me to remove the rear wiring when using torches Couldn't get the hose out in time, but wires are fine, it was the molding which was buring. Wish I grabbed the camera for that one, but water hose was first on my mind.
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Anyways, got the sawzall out and cut out what I needed.
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Pass side was about the same, maybe a little worse since I needed to save the belt.
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Decided to just go with the diamond plate corners to cover the one bad section on pass side, drivers was fine, but would look funny with just one.
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A buddy stops over and says I have an hour free, I lend you a hand, what can I do, grabs an aftermarket light which has a different bolt pattern for the drivers side light and he actually installed it. Been fixed and adjusted correctly since the pic, two inches lower, but was funny at the time. I just refer to him as a knucklehead like my 3 year old.
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Making progress, I just am doing this very quick and frugal in my book since I want my Jeep running. I couldn't find a reasonable YJ tub and had the steel and parts around. Found the rear corners on here thanks to a great fellow Jeep forum CJ member. Thanks again. I have pieces of diamond plate for the rocker below the doors, but need to reinforce the inside. I made cut up some channel 1" x 3" and use a holesaw to cut the top of the channel out so I can weld some nuts for the body mounts and the rollbar when I place it over, I have the angle cut for the frame section and decided to use a peice of 16 guage for the floors where needed. I do have a 1/4 steel plate which I might cut up for the rollbar section and really should tie it into the frame right there. Rear of the frame is going to be challenging to get the 2" frame lift in exact, but will work on that. As for the one side on the drivers side which will show, I will just sand it, bondo and either spray it or use a spray can paint. The tub will last for 2 years or less and I will do a right swap then, but atleast I can get all the bugs out of it now and the just focus on a tub swap verse everything else.
Thought about welding and just got set up, but my little blonde stopped by with a 6 pack and wanted to sit and chat with me on the dock.
What can I say, cold beer, beautiful girl who loves my Jeep, so I cleaned up and called it a day on the Jeep.
Once I weld the frame and tub, I will stick the tank back in it and finish up with the motor and tie up the other loose ends. I started with the idea of 75 full hours to complete this. About 35 into in, but am not counting running and grabbing parts for it, couldn't even comprehend how much "time" I have into it. Enjoy til next time.

And I really need to figure out how to do video from my phone when I get it up and running.

[Bard]

Well finally had a nice rainy day, call it a raw day and decided to make some progress on the Jeep. Resurected is a understatement. " I really should have bought a tub" but it will last a couple of years until I find a good deal. This is my quick and dirty rebuild and I will cut alot of corners to a degree just to put it back on the road asap. There are alot of things I wanted to do, but time doesn't permit it right now.

So I made the channels out of 1" x 3" and used a holesaw to cut the top out and drill 7/16 holes and welded nuts, cut the channel to length for each side. Bolted up the body mounts and then used 1/4 plate section over the channel to mount the rollbar and seatbelts plate section by the rocker.
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Seatbelts bolts are welded, but I still have 1 torx to drill the head off. What a nightmare those are. All torx possible will be replaced with 6 point hex bolts.Nice fat washer over the rollbar floor, well I got too close with the torches and might go back to weld it when I put the belts in.

I had typical rot under the rear of the rollbar. Before I set the rollbar in, I cut plates and bolted them to the rollbar. Then welded the nuts to the plate and then set the rollbar in and welded around the mounts to the tub. Talk about very thin metal, lol. No pic of it, but like others have done, just welding and stiching alot of fill.
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For the rear, I have a 2" frame lift with stock body mounts throught the whole frame and tub. Well,l I decided to try something different and use 1 mount centered. Just an idea that came from one of my fellow Jeepers so why not try it. The body might flex better in the rocks. I use a piece of angle bolted to the bottom of the tub, drill a 1/2hole in the angle, threaded it and then lifted the body up until the doors were gapped right. (Glad I did this then, because I would have been way off)
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So progress is going. Hope to make some tomorrow as well.
Like to be on the road for Memorial day, just in time to fill that 20 gallon tank.

[JoonHoss]

Bard

weld sticks are metal too!

keep it up.

Hoss

[bigjoe]

Looking good Bard. Did you tirm the tub corners by the wheel well like that or did you get them that way?