Hello everyone. I enjoy keeping up with all the different builds on the forum and thought others might enjoy mine. Nothing fancy or spectacular here. My goal is to restore my jeep to as close to factory original as possible. I am not a mechanic or a welder, but I am pretty handy. So here goes...
Searched Florida for about two months. I was looking for an original, unmolested CJ7 with a solid frame. I finnally gave up. They seem hard to find around here and were too expensive.
Got one on ebay for $2,000.00, but I had to drive to Louisiana to get it. Probably paid too much, but it was just what I was looking for.
Spent about a month taking it apart. I wish I had been a little better organized, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
Engine only had 72,000 miles on it and ran great. No smoke or any other issues.
With the exception of the rear crossmember and the back four frame to body mounts, the frame was in great shape. 90% of the paint still and no rot.
Replaced the rear crossmember
And the back four frame to body mounts. That was a monumental task. I was very careful to put them back on in the same place. I used the ones from 4wd hardware. They seem alot stronger than the ones that were there originally.
Spent the next several weekends removing the paint with aircraft remover and sandpaper.
Amazing job. I really want to do this one day... have you ever had experience doing a project like this before? or is this the first? keep up the good work. Cant wait to see it all finished! Do you know what color you'll end up painting it?
Thanks for the gasoline tip CopperCJ7, I'll give it a shot, hopefully it will do the trick. Brian, your more than welcome to come by. I only work on the Jeep on Saturdays. I'll be out of town this weekend. Send me a pm, if you want to stop by and I'll give you directions.
This has got to be one of the nicest undersides of a Jeep I've ever seen. I actually called me wife into the room to look at the pic.. Of course, I heard the words that strike fear in the hearts of men, "How come yours doesn't look like that?"
Been too busy following the Water-For-Gas threads to get anything done. J/K! Actually, been working diligently on the body work. Boring stuff like block/wet sanding. Should be done with that this weekend and the tub is scheduled for the paint shop next week. Going with Glasurit and its being painted at the local Cadillac dealership by a buddy of mine. He has been painting cars there for over twenty years. Should be top notch.
Also got some old Laredo seats and had those reupholstered. Turned out very nice.
I'm not sure how to quote a post........The tub that came on the jeep is probably salvageable, but outside my skill level. Found an original '86 CJ7 tub, no rust. Apparently after AMC's demise, some "86 tubs were galvanized. This is one of them. Found it right here on the forum. Paid $600.00, what a steal. Oh, by the way, drove to New Orleans to get it.
Your build-up is great! I have never heard of a galvanized CJ tub. Wrangler yes, CJ no. Are some 86 tubs galvanized? That tub and whole build up is sweet. I want to find one. Any ideas as to what to look for in a tub like that. It looks as good as new. Anyone know for sure?
Mentioned earlier that I had some seats reupholstered. Here some pics of the front two seats I got on ebay. I liked the look of the Laredo style seats. Got all three seats done for $500. Turned out very nice.
Got the rear seat on ebay for $80 and the two front seats for about $65. I'm sure I could have gotten aftermarket seats for cheaper, but I really wanted to go with those style seats and stay as close to original as possible. I thought the upholstery work was gonna be more expensive. The seats were done the day after I dropped them off, must be the economy.
Well, got the jeep back from the paint shop. The pictures don't do it justice, the paint turned out very nice. Been chugging along putting it back together and painting little parts.
Well, got the jeep back from the paint shop. The pictures don't do it justice, the paint turned out very nice. Been chugging along putting it back together and painting little parts.
Lookin' good, but hate to tell you that your tailgate hinges are on upside down!
I think the pictures do a pretty sweet job... first shot showing the driver's side... I was wondering what happened to the area just in front of the rear tire - it almost looked like it was sanded very roughly... until I realized
Its just THAT SHINY! That's the ground! lol! :2thumbsup:
who says you need a mirror to comb your hair, when you have a JEEP?! Nice build, I like the gold grade 8 bolts with the black....man it looks sweet, even though its overkill.
Beautiful job!!!! But I have a dumb question: On the back of my CJ7 the right side emblem was the red, white & blue logo with "Jeep" instead of "AMC." Was that changed at a certain point or the is that AMC emblem from the cars that AMC made?
Hey Copper, the original AMC emblem read "Jeep" with the AMC logo, but I found this one that read "AMC" and thought it would look cool since everybody knows its a jeep, but not everyone knows it was made by AMC just from looking at the logo. Probably too much thought about that for some.
Okay I do have a question: Did you ever consider Herculining the interior of the tub? I mean it does cut down on road noise, rust and such. Just curious.
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