My $120 CJ7 build

Drilling out that bolt ain't fun. SS bolts have a rep for seizing or galling onto dissimilar metals but I don't think your SS bolts have been there long enough for that to have happened.

 

Who knows, but I got the tank back at the end of July, so they have been there for 3 months of hot / cold cycles...

 

Sweet Lord this is taking too long. Had a little bit of money, so I picked up the first 2 tires today. Word is tires are gonna be hard to get here soon, so I want them while I can get them. Hell, EVERYTHING is hard to get. I got one type of fish out of 4 ordered for my VFW fish fry supplies I picked up today. Two 35x12.50 BFG KO2 tires pretty much take up the entire roof of my little 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Endeavor... that only rides on 31s.

 

Whoa...make sure you got a couple strong hands to help get them off that roof rack

 

I may be half cripple, but the wheels are aluminum, so each one is still less than 100 pounds. I put them up there, and got them down myself. Oddly... the idiot supervisor at Tire Barn wouldn't let the guys do it. Said the roof rack couldn't take the weight.

 

Ok...still a hefty load on the way down so slow and easy. OEM roof racks are rated for approx 150lb thus the supervisor reservations.

 

Progress!

Sort of. Got the last 2 tires mounted, so she's a roller once again. I took her off the jack stands, and put her back on the dollies for easy movement.

 

OK... problem.

No easy movement. Months of dirt, sand, leaves, metal shavings, sawdust, broken bolts, and such debris have collected on the floor (not seen in the above photo) meaning the little rollers, they no roll. This prompted a long overdue cleanup that netted what seemed like somewhere around 6.2 metric tons of trash.

 

Now having cleaned up some. I felt like doing something... but no more new parts.

I looked around for something I could do with what I had in the garage already, and found a seat. It's one I got for the Montero some time back, but it turned out to be the wrong year, and wouldn't fit, so I had to make a bracket to fix the old seat. AND... it's kinda desert tan looking... hum. It's not gonna fit in the YJ Tub either, but I can try to MAKE it fit. So out came the cut off wheel, and grinder, and off came the mounting tabs.

 

Then I got out the custom home fabbed seat bracket that came with the tub. The previous owner made it to fit TJ seats to it. It has a real beefy bottom plate for welding to, so I'll just reuse that. First, the old brackets need to come off. They're about 12.5" apart, and the new seat rails are 16" apart. This is as far as I got before I was too sore to anything else, so that's it for the time being. I can build wings off the very strong front posts, and then build all new rear posts.

Later.

I need a nap.

I have a Treasure Hunt drawing to officiate tonight at the VFW.

 

Well, a man can only do so much on one thing before his ADHD kicks in... or his welder craps out. Wire feed problems when I was tacking in the new mounts. That's ok, my welding sucks anyhow. The proverbial phrase "Looks like Ray Charles did it with his feet." comes to mind. So... I took all the pieces for the mounts to a local machine shop to be stitched together. Next, I looked around for something I COULD work on. I found this old hitch from when I had a F-250 Super Duty. It sticks out way too far, and that big adjustable mounting plate has to go, so U started in with the cutting wheel & grinder again.

 

Got the seat bracket back all welded up. They did good. I took in all the pieces I had cut, told them what I wanted, and that's what I got. I'm happy. Should hold up pretty well. I can undo 4 bolts to pull the seat, and sliders, leaving the bottom plate in the tub if need be. Got the army style anti-theft chain welded to the plate so I can run it through the steering wheel and lock it up too. Also got a couple packages in. My shifter, and the brake lines. I'll spare you the unboxing, but will post photos later.

 

Got the pintle hitch finished up, and mounted today. I had to order the plate for the safety chains to maintain that military look. Once I got the bar shortened, (yes BAR, not tube... that's a solid 2" square bar) and drilled a new hole in it (not something you do with just one battery) I put the safety chain bracket on and mounted it up. Much more like an original off a military jeep. Just have to wait for a warm day to paint it. (and the seat bracket) Gives it that proper military look from the rear end.

 

Then I got to opening my boxes. New brake lines, and a shifter. Hope they fit, and work as planned...

 

Loving the nice weather. Spent some quality time out in the garage with "two seven" last couple days. Don't have any new parts to slap on real easy, but I did get some stuff done with parts on hand that had been taking way too long to finish. Gas tank for one. I never did finish the process of doing all the chemical treatment required to do the Eastwood Fuel Tank Liner, and couldn't really work with the chemicals out in freezing weather. Here's all the crap required according to the instructions on the bottle. During the process I'm required to flush the tank out with water, so I took the chance to see how many gallons it holds... Just over 17, with some spillage between containers.

Then the liner itself.

Now... instructions say to insert an air hose with it set to 2 to 4 psi. it take 48 hrs to fully dry. OK, this is weird, but I'll do it. Don't want any troubles with a gas tank out in BFE some day. I walk out in the garage next morning. OMG the fumes!!

 

Next up, paint the newly modified trailer hitch. Rather "Army" looking.

 

As long as it was spray painting weather, I hit the seat mount with a coat, and mounted the main seat belt. This is a racing belt that came on the '79 CJ5 I got the engine, and axles out of. It has shoulder straps and a anti-dive belt too. Not sure I'll use them. That other Jeep had plastic seats mounted on the cage.

 

I started looking at the lines I got not long ago. Some of them are very close to the originals.



This one probably is too, having a Dana 44 from a full size Dodge truck doesn't help matters. It is, however, close enough that I could modify it to work.



The rear... well that's another story. I can't make heads or tails out of what they labeled as the right and left rear axle lines. even IF I had a stock axle. (and a Chrysler 9.25 is NOT) Furthermore what came with is was just hanging from the frame, and calipers... I'll need to make my own here.



By the way... anyone got tips on the power brake set op on a YJ? Neither the '79 CJ5, or the '80 CJ7 I took apart had power brakes. I want to use the power set up that came with the YJ tub. The CJ5 (I got the axles from) has a manual master cylinder, with this Willwood proportioning valve to adjust for the 4 wheel disc conversion.

 

Started in on what is without a doubt going to probably be one of the more challenging parts of the entire build. The windshield. Now this doesn't seem like a particular interesting part of a Jeep CJ, but I have a certain idea on this I'm gonna try to implement if I can. When you're in a vehicle, it's the driver's seat where you spend all that time. That's why I didn't think twice about going all out on making an old seat from a Mitsubishi Montero fit. Yeah sure, I already had it... but it's also a much newer, and more comfy, and adjustable seat than is normally found in a CJ. The fact that the color is close to what I need was just a fluke, a bonus, a sign that God loves me. (Just kidding. I knew that already.) This CJ7 will get a tilt wheel too. And just what do you look through all those hrs spent driving your vehicle? The windshield of course.


As mentioned before. I am a military veteran, and this is a military tribute build. Regardless of your job (or even branch) if there's any vehicle anyone ever drove in any military service back in my day, (and 28 years covers a lot of days) it was either a Jeep, or a deuce and a half. Damn near everyone drove one, or both of these at one time, or another. Lots of fond memories behind the wheel of a 151 (Jeep) but the deuce was always my favorite for some reason. Big, noisy, and slow... yeah, but also very fun, and pretty capable for it's size and weight given aired down tires, and a good driver.


One real fond memory is cruising down the interstate in convoys with all the civilians waving at us as they drive past. (I did mention they were kinds slow right?) If it was nice weather, I always had the windshield tilted open. No AC, but with 50 mph wind coming in straight at you from under the windshield, it was almost like being on a bike. And with no cupholders... my canteen sat right out on the hood under the glass, the only flat surface available to me.


I want that windshield tilted up feel (and look) for this build. I want to remember those times as I tool down the road in this thing. "Bla, bla... old man living in the past..." The trick is gonna be to make my NOS deuce & a half windshield, fit into where a CJ windshield used to. It only has to be narrowed a couple inches once you get the extra side brackets off, but once done I'll also need to figure out how to do the same to both driver's, and passenger's windshield sides... PLUS figure out a windshield wiper system that mounts from the top... but isn't a stupid vacuum operated deal. Memories aside, I ain't going through THAT anymore. Of course the doors, and my very hard to find old school aluminum top will need to fit...


If I can manage to pull this off without just ending up buying a new Jeep windshield... I'll truly have a one of a kind CJ7.

 

Forgot what it was like to work outside in 80 degree temps...

I didn't last long today, but I did finally get the fuel tank in for what I hope is the last time.

One step closet to dropping the tub on in any case.