[Jmaas]

Good stuff. What parts on the Dana 300 did you powder coat and/or paint? That pan looks like it has a coating on it. The next thing on my list is to rebuild the Dana 300.
Jason

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Good stuff. What parts on the Dana 300 did you powder coat and/or paint? That pan looks like it has a coating on it. The next thing on my list is to rebuild the Dana 300.
Jason

@Jmaas I only painted the cast iron case. I used Eastwoods 2K gloss black engine paint. You don't have to use an engine paint for this but I had various engine components I was painting and I wanted to use up the whole can since it only has a a 72 hour shelf life after mixed. I also had eastwoods self etching primer on the case. I only lightly sandblasted and thoroughly cleaned the aluminum parts of the dana 300.

For the pan and front bearing retainer, I got those from Novak's website. Those are machined aluminum with an anodized coating from Novak, so I didn't paint those.

Overall, the dana 300 wasn't hard to rebuild. Just take your time and be patient. There are many youtube videos on how to rebuild it, I suggest watching a few videos and then reading though the rebuild manual before actually rebuilding. I think it gives you an opportunity to see it before you get into it and the manual will have the right torque specs. I never found videos with the right torque specs. Good luck to you!

 

[Jmaas]

Thanks. I got the deep pan a long time ago and it wasn't anodized, so I'm jealous of how that one looks. I think I'm going to powder coat the case since I have the setup to do it and leave the aluminum parts alone after cleaning.

 

[Axhammer]

That transmission & transfer case work is great. It’s coming together nicely, good job!

As far as painting your tub goes. Metallic can be a little tricky, but the technique I was taught, is to turn the pressure up a little, dial the fan into a round pattern, and back off a little, and then dust the surface until the metallic is spread out evenly. This is done at the end, after the final coat has been applied. The metallic particles separate from the paint, due to the higher pressure and distance from the surface. This technique works and it’s pretty easy to get the metallic spread out and dispersed evenly without metallic streaks. This is an old school technique using an old school gun.

What kind of paint gun are you going to use?

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Thanks. I got the deep pan a long time ago and it wasn't anodized, so I'm jealous of how that one looks. I think I'm going to powder coat the case since I have the setup to do it and leave the aluminum parts alone after cleaning.

@Jmaas, I think powder coating will look great on the transfer case. I didn't think the novak pan was going to be anodized until it arrived. I was honestly expecting it to be bare aluminum. I really think the bare aluminum will look better on the black case, if you choose to paint it that color

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

That transmission & transfer case work is great. It's coming together nicely, good job!

As far as painting your tub goes. Metallic can be a little tricky, but the technique I was taught, is to turn the pressure up a little, dial the fan into a round pattern, and back off a little, and then dust the surface until the metallic is spread out evenly. This is done at the end, after the final coat has been applied. The metallic particles separate from the paint, due to the higher pressure and distance from the surface. This technique works and it's pretty easy to get the metallic spread out and dispersed evenly without metallic streaks. This is an old school technique using an old school gun.

What kind of paint gun are you going to use?

Thanks for the compliments Ax! I may go a little over kill on this project sometimes but I think it's worth it now.

As far as the paint gun goes, I honestly have no idea. I only have the harbor freight purple gun that I have used here and there. I don't think I want to lay paint with that but I know many people who have done a really nice job using that gun.

I've been in the process of finding shops around town quoting... but most places tell me "we only do insurance claims right now". I'm down to two places to check out, one of them is well known and most likely the most expensive and the other I'm going to be in contact with soon. Either way, they both sound expensive, and the girlfriend doesn't like that idea lol!

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

A little update on whats going on with my Jeep!

Yesterday the bolt kit came in from Totally Stainless. I was impressed with what I got in the kit so I figured I would share it with you guys and maybe help those who have contemplated buying the kit. I got the hard top OEM indented hex head style which is supposed to mimic the original bolts. After tax and shipping, I paid $388. The bolts that are supposed to be Torx bolts are allen head style but I am going to fix that by just getting some from the hardware store. I want it to look original as possible. As far as the strength of the bolts, I'm not sure which are grade 8 and which are not I didn't read the little instruction paper yet. To anyone reading this thread or those who have been following along for awhile, if you need to or have wanted to upgrade or replace your bolts, I suggests looking into totally stainless CJ line of bolts. They literally have EVERY fastener for our CJs. Below there will be some pictures of the kit.

I have yet to have the tub stripped of paint. I have been super busy preparing for hunting season and helping out family members with their projects. But my plan is to hopefully get that done soon. I have called various shops for paint but no call backs yet. I am so close to just paining myself but I'm still nervous about that but the price point is more appealing. I'll have more to follow soon. At this point, I am trying to get a few days or a week of work done before I share it on the forum... it's all little repairs right now.

 

[JoonHoss]

A little update on whats going on with my Jeep!

Yesterday the bolt kit came in from Totally Stainless.... The bolts that are supposed to be Torx bolts are allen head style but I am going to fix that by just getting some from the the hardware store. I want it to look as original as possible...

In that case, make sure you get the ones that have the heads pre-stripped, and a use plenty of red loctite when you install them (to really emulate that factory look and feel)

Hoss

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

In that case, make sure you get the ones that have the heads pre-stripped, and a use plenty of red loctite when you install them (to really emulate that factory look and feel)

Hoss

I love it! I laughed way too hard at this :laugh: only CJ problems!

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

I needed some space in the garage again so I assembled the Jeep... I had to re-drill the grill mounting hole on the frame since I repaired it 2 years ago anyways, here is where it sits in the garage.

I was actually surprised on how easy the fenders and grill lined up with each other and how good a fit the fenders were on the tub since I rebuilt the fenders. The fenders just naturally fell in place without having to adjust them much. I will end up pulling everything off again of course but it took like 20 minutes to put it all together so disassembly will be just as fast. I have a few cracks in the floor pans to weld up and then I need to replace a welded nut and then off to paint stripping!

I think I really needed to see it assembled to keep the motivation going. A lot of this Jeep hasn't been easy work... you guys just get the summary

 

[mhandke]

Great work so far, will be following to see more updates!

 

[Axhammer]

Are those fenders galvanized? Mine are and my 1986 CJ-7 had them, are any other parts galvanized?

It must be nice to see it assembled again, at least it looks like a Jeep, but you have a long way to go. I say paint it yourself, you can do it.

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Are those fenders galvanized? Mine are and my 1986 CJ-7 had them, are any other parts galvanized?

It must be nice to see it assembled again, at least it looks like a Jeep, but you have a long way to go. I say paint it yourself, you can do it.

I don't think my fenders were galvanized. I remember the drivers side fender was rusted through the cover panel and the the fender itself. Maybe mine could have been an earlier 1985 and they didn't do that?

Moving forward, I have plans to paint the Jeep myself. I keep getting the "I don't really want to paint it because it's a rusty Jeep price" Honestly, they don't know what I have and I can't justify $10,000 for paint. Three people quoted me at lease 10k and that's after telling them to do minimal body work because I would like to see the original spot welds on the tub for a more authentic look.

 

[bob4703]

Where is Earl Scheib when we need him?

 

[Jim1611]

Most body shops would rather do insurance work than what you want done. My friend who owned his own place told me he never made any money on our type work. He was good enough to get me pointed in the right direction to paint my own though. The nice thing about a paint job is that if you make a mistake it's not too hard to fix.

 

[JoonHoss]

...I have plans to paint the Jeep myself. I keep getting the "I don't really want to paint it because it's a rusty Jeep price" Honestly, they don't know what I have and I can't justify $10,000 for paint. Three people quoted me at least 10k ...

I just got my '55 two-door post out of paint after 3 years (looooong story), and about $15K.

I couldn't find a single paint/ body guy to quote it under $20K. Thats where they ALL said they START at (and go up from there...)

The materials were about $3K total, and it amazes me when I see people post that they got there car/jeep painted for <$5K and complain!

Don't get me wrong, it still seems ridiculous to pay a half a years salary (for a lot of people) for a paint job, but that's what they charge for them. It's crazy.

Hoss

 

[John Strenk]

I just got my '55 two-door post out of paint after 3 years (looooong story), and about $15K.

I couldn't find a single paint/ body guy to quote it under $20K. Thats where they ALL said they START at (and go up from there...)

The materials were about $3K total, and it amazes me when I see people post that they got there car/jeep painted for <$5K and complain!

Don't get me wrong, it still seems ridiculous to pay a half a years salary (for a lot of people) for a paint job, but that's what they charge for them. It's crazy.

Hoss

And I was upset because red paint is so expensive.
I paid nearly $500. to do it myself. 1 quart of primer, 1 quart of color base and 1 quart of clear.

Like you say, they really don't want to do it.

I wouldn't want to rewire someone's else's jeep but if you give me $10K and no time limit, well I'll spend a day or two on it. ......

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Like you say, they really don't want to do it.

I wouldn't want to rewire someone's else's jeep but if you give me $10K and no time limit, well I'll spend a day or two on it. ......

I mean I get it, it takes a lot of effort and time to paint. Insurance treats bodyshops nice these days because people my age (25-26) can't put their phones down for less than a minute without checking it and crashing cars. So naturally it's easy for them to say, "I don't want to do it but I'll charge 10k+". I make good money for my age but the quotes I get don't fool me and I'm smart enough to not jump on it... especially on a Jeep.

The last quote I got on Friday, the guy tried to talk me out of my color choice.. As soon as he told me "I would not paint it that color because it has metallic in it" I was already turned away. Don't tell me what color to paint my car. He didn't understand "factory original" so I naturally turned away. Also, 80% or more of cars have metallic in it so I don't know what this dude was smoking.
@JoonHoss,
Now if I was restoring my girlfriends fathers 1956 Corvette, I think that would be a little different on what I'd spend on paint. Beings it's a car that will be passed down. It hasn't been restored due to the well kept nature but if I ever tinker with it to make it better, the original black will stay.

Anyways, I think I'm going to practice on the bottom and inside of the Jeep first. 4C Ice Blue Metallic shouldn't be too difficult but I will update and share my results. Hell, I may make a video to show you all it can be done! Just give me some time, a lot is going on in the garage!

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Got some powder coated parts back yesterday! Clutch/ brake assembly, gas pedal, some steering parts, trans and tcase shifter, brake booster brackets and the jack bracket. All for 60$ It beats painting it with a gun and looks way better

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

This week I took off work because I was going to loose my time off and roll over wasn't an option. The garage is a dusty mess from body work but I took some time to assemble my gas pedal.

I noticed the bushing were worn out but you could not service it. I ground off the riveted end and pressed it out and found some suitable hardware to replace it with on McMastercarr. Luckily I found the same dry bushings. This time I chose to use "C" clips to keep the shaft from falling out of place. So I found a shaft and clip combo that was slightly longer than I needed. About an half hour later in the machine shop, I had cut it down for a perfect fit. I added a knurle the best I could and it all slid together perfectly. No more slop or squeaks! And a way to service the bushings