[Tigerpaw]

I have a Scrambler stripped down ready to stick a 304 motor and transmission from a 1979 CJ7. Where would you start a budget rebuild. All electrical is gutted to the outside of firewall and ready to start over. Brakes have not had fluid for 25 years and master is dry, lines to front axle have been disconnected.

I've had it since 1985 and have not run it in 25 years. All drive train is pulled but I have a old Cj7 with a good drive train ready to go for a swap.

Daily driver for hunting in good terrain. No crawling or mudding.

 

[thantos858]

How big of a budget? What are your plans with the Jeep?

 

[bigfoot1]

Don't go to cheap. I did and now have to do it all over again. I spent $130 on paint, primer, sand paper etc. Cheapest paint and supplies Ben's autopaint store could do. It did not hold up that well. No rust bubbles under neath so I did my prep good, but it faded it cracked and it pealed. Then after the paint failed the rust started.

 

[Tigerpaw]

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/members/48649-thantos858/
Run it local and let kids use to drive to school. No crawling or down here water crossing.

Budget $2,000

 

[Tigerpaw]

$2,000 budget for now

 

[Tigerpaw]

paint

Don't go to cheap. I did and now have to do it all over again. I spent $130 on paint, primer, sand paper etc. Cheapest paint and supplies Ben's autopaint store could do. It did not hold up that well. No rust bubbles under neath so I did my prep good, but it faded it cracked and it pealed. Then after the paint failed the rust started.

Did you paint the under carriage at all or just leave it as is?

 

[Tigerpaw]

What's the best way to clean and paint under carriage of Scrambler

I see lots of surface rust but nothing that's through the metal. I have the whole drive train out so lots of room. But this is a true shade tree job without the shade, I'm working on it in my yard straight off the ground. I'd hate to kill all the grass for good under it any thoughts?

 

[thantos858]

I’d start by going over the frame looking for cracks. If it’s good structurally you can paint it with por 15 and a top coat. For the body a good quality epoxy primer followed by a bed liner looks good and is durable. There’s colored bed liners now. I’d upgrade the electrical while going through everything. Make sure your donor parts are in good shape.

 

[Tigerpaw]

I'd start by going over the frame looking for cracks. If it's good structurally you can paint it with por 15 and a top coat. For the body a good quality epoxy primer followed by a bed liner looks good and is durable. There's colored bed liners now. I'd upgrade the electrical while going through everything. Make sure your donor parts are in good shape.

When you say "paint the body with a good quality epoxy primer followed by a bed liner looks good and is durable" are you talking just about painting the under carriage or the underside, inside and outside. That would be pretty durable for sure.

 

[WindKnot]

$2K won't even cover the costs of materials for a decent paint job.

If that's all you're budgeting, concentrate on the brakes, electrical and drive train. Bear in mind though that a wiring harness can run north of $500.

Adding larger wheels can demand a lift and a brake upgrade. A lift alters the geometry of the suspension which demand more parts and work. And so it goes...

Jeeps are money pits. Restoring any vehicle is a deeeeep money pit. Try to keep it minimal.

Sorry to throw a wet rag at you, but I'm just trying to give you a heads up beforehand.

 

[Tigerpaw]

Budget and rebuild

$2K won't even cover the costs of materials for a decent paint job.

If that's all you're budgeting, concentrate on the brakes, electrical and drive train. Bear in mind though that a wiring harness can run north of $500.

Adding larger wheels can demand a lift and a brake upgrade. A lift alters the geometry of the suspension which demand more parts and work. And so it goes...

Jeeps are money pits. Restoring any vehicle is a deeeeep money pit. Try to keep it minimal.

Sorry to throw a wet rag at you, but I'm just trying to give you a heads up beforehand.

WindKnot: No lifts or large tires I'm lucky enough to have had a few jeeps so I try to stay low and standard. Wiring is good up to firewall. HEI on the 304 from donor jeep I've had about 10 years. Lighting will we upgraded to follow one of Jeephammers designs. Brakes need the most help probably adding a booster to help the front disc and rear drums. Rebuilding the doors will be a lot of time. I don't need a high dollar paint job so I'm going to shop around or DYI best I can.

 

[thantos858]

When you say "paint the body with a good quality epoxy primer followed by a bed liner looks good and is durable" are you talking just about painting the under carriage or the underside, inside and outside. That would be pretty durable for sure.

I'd use por 15 for under body and bed liner for the rest. Most bed liners can be applied with a paint roller or spray gun. As for cleaning it prior to paint you can buy the cleaner of por 15 and a good pressure washer gets most of it off.

 

[baldfatdad]

Start with making it safe. New master cylinder, slave cylinders, calipers, proportion valve. Clean out the brake lines or buy new.
Pack wheel bearings, check rear seals. Check steering: ball joints, tie rods, drag link, steering column bearings, steering box adjustment.
Take the body off, wrap it in a tarp and get the frame done. Welding, painting, springs, shocks. Clean out the gas tank and check fuel lines and purge system.

Then wrap the frame in a tarp and start on the body.

 

[Tigerpaw]

Had several of these spin in the body so I had to cut off the head to separate from the frame.
What do y'all recommend best method to remove and repair.

 

[Tigerpaw]

I have a new rear bracket for the frame, but the body is where I need help figuring how to get in there and re-weld the plates and remove the old bolts.

 

[DocSavage]

I redid my 83 Scrambler starting about 4 years ago. I took her all the way down to a bare frame and built it back. Took me 2 years and I finished up with about 12K in it in materials (original budget was 10K). Stripped all metal down to bare, patched by welding for frame and some body holes, and some bondo work. Primed and painted everything. Replaced ALL bearings, swapped gears, new brake components, rebuilt motor, new seats, console, LED tail and turn lights, redid dash lights, recolored dashpad and door panels, rebuilt doors, new radiator, swapped transmissions, new master cylinder, and added AC.

I painted it myself, well had help from some friends who have painted autos, and equipment for years. We got good paint, and it is holding up nicely. Couple things I did to cut costs on the paint that have worked well for me. My sealer was darker than I liked (super dark grey, almost charcole). So as I was doing a tan/yellow color, I got a can of white tint and did a base coat with that to keep from having to have a second gallon of mixed paint for a second coat. I saved paint on the bottom by using some rustoleum that we mixed for spraying on the undersides. The almond color is real close to the color I went with. We were able to do a few coats of that super cheap to save the good paint for the visible parts. I've since played with the rustoleum and added a touch of yellow to it to be able to spray my gas can and console to match the jeep. I even used it to spray my military trailer to match the jeep.

Be a little realistic on prices. Best bet is to plan out what all you want to do and put a spreadsheet together with costs, quantities, and totals together to plan with, then track to those how your are going. There will be things you run into that you didn't plan on (or think of) as you go, so expect to run over some. I underestimated sanding supplies and bondo needs, as well as a couple of bearings I didn't realize were bad. I had a good build thread on the CJ8 forum, but since all my pics were on photobucket, I'm not sure how much help that will be now.

Robert

 

[Tigerpaw]

Flipped it for sanding and putting on POR-15 on the bottom.

 

[Tigerpaw]

Will POR 15 stick to a frame that still has original paint or should I just top coat after I touch up the few areas with surface rust with POR.