[imtheant]

Well I cant say enough about how much I have learned and been inspired by all of you that have embarked on a full tub-off restoration of your CJ and I am finally ready to begin the process and figured I would of course share the process with everyone. I am a NOVICE mechanic. I have owned a few CJ's prior but have only done minor work to them. I cant weld, I just bought my first compressor and have never done anything more to an engine than replace the oil, belts and hoses. I did rebuild my last T150 tranny on my own which was quite an experience but I am looking forward to sharing this project and PLEASE do not hesitate to throw whatever advice you can since I will need it. So, enough banter here's the info:

1983 CJ7
258 I 6
T4 tranny
4" suspension lift 2" BL

Body and frame were in pretty good shape when I picked it up and motor runs a little rich but not too bad. Here
s the day I picked her up. (God knows why someone painted her purple)

[imtheant]

First couple days of teardown (How anyone could do this with just hand tools and no air tools is beyond me)

[imtheant]

Made pretty good progess in just a weekend and with the help of my fiancee and some dude walking his dog, I removed the tub today. So far except for a few stubborn bolts and having to take the breaker bar to a couple old Torxs the tear-down has gone pretty smooth. PB Blaster is worth its weight in gold.

[imtheant]

So after pouring over all your build threads, I have reached the "what the heck do I do as far as coatings" debate. I have a buddy that will sodablast anything I need done free of charge so my first step is to take every part, including the frame, body, axles, tranny, etc to him to get cleaned up. I am a little worried about the tub though. Look at the holes where the roll bar was. Is a sodablasting going to make these way worse? I was planning on having it welded of course after it gets blasted but I am concerned I am going to end up with a swiss cheese tub. Any thoughts??

[imtheant]

[LostINohiO]

nice work... way to jump right in there....

keep us posted!

[imtheant]

Oh and I do alot of surfing and surf fishing, hence the title of the build, so this jeep is going to see alot of salt air and sand so consider that when making reccomendations for coatings.

[Lifesgoodhere]

Soda blast it. That is what I do, soda blasting, having it done for free is sweet! I charge. Go over the VERY rusty spots with a SAND, then soda. You will see why. It will save you an extra step....SODA BLASTING will not damage the tub further, though if their is glazing over the tub, it will be removed, as with light bondo jobs. Sand blasting removes heavy rust (unlike soda blasting) and will remove metal if you not careful.

You may or may not be surprised after a soda blasting, usually you have to go over with metal filler to remove pin holes. General rule of thumb applys here, if you can fit you thumb in the hole, patch it.

[Lifesgoodhere]

GO with POR-15 paint products...www.stoprust.net they work the best and have seemed to be (to me) the most forgiving.

[Floridazed]

Originally Posted by imtheant

I was planning on having it welded of course after it gets blasted but I am concerned I am going to end up with a swiss cheese tub. Any thoughts??

Soda blasting. I've read a little about it in the Eastwood catalog. I was under the impression that it didnt remove rust. You had to sand it, or sandblast it. It just took off paint and chrome, I could be wrong, its happened.

Edit: Lifesgoodhere covered it. That was a quick post

Looking forward to the build. CAnt wait to see techniques to combat salt.... natures carcinogen. Keep it up!

[Skerr]

Originally Posted by imtheant

Dang! Nice garage. I thought you were working on it in your living room!

[imtheant]

Haha thanks Skeer, when I moved into my new hosue in May I kicked the paint guy $50.00 and he sprayed the whole garage grey to cover all the rough drywall. Best cash I ever spent.

As far as the products go, after over a month of research I am proabably going to spray evry inch of the frame, tub, axles and tranny with this: http://nomorerust.com/silver.htm It looks like it will withstand salt better than most products and if they use it on bridges for 25 years it should work on my CJ. I will have everything soda blasted, use the sliver to coat as a primer and then use the black http://nomorerust.com/black.htm as a top coat. I may end up using herculiner on the inside but I will make that call later in the build.

[HackFabrication]

First: DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for yelling. Having torn down my 76 CJ5 'thinking' that I could replace just about everything.... NOT. Even if it's damaged: Bag it, Tag it, Store it. You'll be kicking yourself in the rump when it comes time to re-assemble. And at the very least, you'll have a pattern to reproduce your own part from.

Second: Why not go the extra steps (you're almost there right now): Look into getting the frame galvanized. I had my boat trailer done, years ago, by a local company. All I had to do was get it sandblasted first. They dipped it. If you don't like the look of raw zinc, with the proper primers it can be painted. Which will give you 'the look' and 'protection'. Otherwise, go with what you've selected. But, be vigilant at hosing off the underside everytime you return from the beach....

Third: DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!! Ooops, I said that already....

Fourth: Consider just scraping or selling the existing tub and go with 'glass. The steel the automaker used 25 years ago is of lesser quality (corrosion resistance) than what they currently use. Since you've stated that this CJ will be playing at the beach, if you plan on keeping it 'forever' (I'll be buried in mine), save some money by spending some money: Go 'glass.

Lastly: Dump the 2" BL and return to stock. 4" SUA lift will get you ample clearance (with your intended usage) for 33" tires. Possibly 35's. If you're uncertain and definitely want 35's (I'd check the axle gearing first), then add a 1" BL. I don't see needing a lot of articulation, just running down the beach to get to the 'hot spots'.

[imtheant]

As much as I would like to fork over the cash for a fiberglass tub, with the way the economy and the instability of my finances are as of late I am going to have to make do with what I have and hope it holds for at least a few years until I can afford to make everything fiberglass. I will be taking the axles and tranny off this weekend so more pics to come! (And yes, I have bagged and labeld every part thus far in the tear down)

[Floridazed]

....and pics. take pics as reference. Just the random snaps I took are like gold to me now. I have a few hoses I wish I had documented. But just snap plenty of pics, you will be suprised what you forget.

Also, check eBay for fiberglass tubs.Or Craigs list. Have you considered a CJ/YJ tub swap? The YJ tub is galvanized. There is a sticky up top to read more.

And remember, "Don't through ANYTHING away"