Hey guys, was going to do my own thread once I got better pictures but this one is as good as any. It's so annoying, the week before I got the jeep back it was too cold for salt+traffic to create a mess but it's been a slushfest ever since. We've got a big snow storm tonight but it's supposed to get nice and cold again. If it does, and the traffic + salt no longer makes slush, I will wash the truck, jack it up, and take better pictures.
... picture is small and can't really tell what's going on there. Lol...
If you want more pictures, click on that little one and you'll go to a bunch more in photobucket.
I was just going to repair them but then id loose a bit clearance with sliders. So that's why im gonna just cut that crap out and weld in some steel.
That was my original plan until some research revealed sliders weld or bolt into the pinch seam and considering mine was rotted out, I opted for this solution. If you do go ahead with it, you will find that you gain about 1/2" clearance from the stock setup and the truck as a whole gets
a lot more firm/stiff. Actually with this work done, the TC skid plate that used to look low is really low now. The best part of doing this modification is you can literally place a jack and/or stand anywhere along the square tube. Also, everyone who has seen it in person said they make the truck look a lot meaner
When we get into that front fender area, that is where the fabrication issues start for me. I am by no means a welder or a fabricator, so this to me is where a lot of our time will be spent. Since rust has affected my front fenders where it connects to the pinch seam, I thought about running the 2x6 all the way to where the factory fender edge would start ( or maybe back an inch or so in cause I need to trim fenders one day). I know I would have to modify/add a mounting tab to allow the front fender to attach somewhere to that 2x6 beam to keep it from separating from the vehicle. Right now lack of time is preventing me from jumping into this project head first.
Great points. First of this this job is not quite as easy as it is on XJ's and even ZJs both of which seem to have unibody rails much closer to the rocker area so they can just weld on some L brackets to support their square tube, weld the tube, and giv'er. Also, if you want it to look nice, prepare yourself for lots of cleanup grinding and bodywork. That being said, I did not do the work, I had someone with fabrication background tackle this project and it took him a long time so I hope you have a 2nd vehicle while your WJ is laid up. If you go through the pictures, you will notice we didn't touch the front quarterpanel area, read why below, I was lucky that I had no rust in that section but you're right in saying it'll be tricky to secure it once you cut out the bottom. In general, if you're rockers are rotted out be prepared for a lot of unexpected complications once you open it up and chase the rust trail. If you're a hobby welder/fabricator as you say, I hope you have someone with more background/experience you can call up and get advice from if you open it up and get stumped!
The square tube used in the rockers is 3/16" 2x6. In addition to the tubes, additional 3/16 plates to reinforce some other structural areas that were in need of attention. The metal used between the top-outside edge of the square tube and the door sil was sheet metal a litle thicker than what the unbody is made out of. From there bodywork was completed and paint was applied. The rocker portion of the front quarter panels was not done intentionally. The need to have them all the way forward is not necessary due to departure angle, doing so would add considerable complexity to the structure you don't see, and could get in the way of bigger tires when/if the day comes that I go long arm, open up the wells, and try stuffing 35's or 37's under there. More importantly, none of my columns (A, B, or C) were cut up and the new structure is welded right into them so side impact protection is maintained and safety inspectors would no doubt give me a pass that it was done right (confirmed by two local builders that do safeties). I know I said this already but the WJ is SOLID now, I couldn't belive how much more responsive it is just driving around town. I guess the rotted old structure was flexing away, even the doors seem reinforced now LOL!
All in all, I am very happy with the end result and so was the fellow that did the work. After we reviewed the finished result, he said if he were to do it again there's a number of things he would do differently to improve on the design, including prettier bodywork on the driver's side. I'm OK with that, I knew I was going to be the guinea pig for doing this work. When I started this project, there are not many WJ box rocker examples visible online, let alone in my province, so when I gave him a vague description of what I wanted and he opened it all up we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Another idea we had at the start was to add some round tube for steps/sliders. We opted out of that because without more lift, bigger tires, and flares they would look weird.
After work tonight, I took it by a local specialized jeep shop to show the owner how they turned out and he was impressed. He did note had he not encouraged me to go with the fabricator I found willing to do the work he would have had his guys angle the front and back portions to reduce the possibility of tires or debris getting caught or wedged on the right angle.
After looking at Ancientspear's pictures, did you have to remove the entire interior carpet and plastic trim before you started welding? I would think you would need to remove the carpet to prevent the possibility of catching the interior on fire.
I've read about that happening, including smoking foam filler, to others but my understanding was the guy who worked on this, and the person who helped him never had to. My door sil edges still looked fine right to that curved top edge of the rocker so a lot of that was preserved before additional sheet metal was added to connect them into the 2x6.
