1974 CJ5 Body Work

[4x4cj5]

I am 13 and got this jeep last Christmas from my grandpa. I've had it for about a year now and it is in dire need of rust repair. So far, I have stripped the seats, rollbar, and the remains of the rear floor pan, as well as the driver's floor pan. I need to replace the driver's side and maybe the passenger side body panels, the driver's side fender, and a rear bumper. I would like the parts to be close to the factory ones, except for maybe the bumper. While I do want to keep things reasonably cheap, I want quality parts that I won't have to replace again sometime down the road. So far, rockauto.com and omix-ada.com both look reasonable, but I want to see if there is any other place that can better the quality for the buck.

I also need to know how to remove the body panels for replacement. So far I've heard that I will have to drill out a lot of spot welds. Will I need to use a spotwelder (which I don't have) to install the new panels or is there a different way to go about it? Also, do I cut out the toolbox that was under the passenger seat (rusted out and not willing to buy a new one)? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[JR74CJ5]

:ww:

I have heard good thinks about this one:

Classic Enterprises - Restoration, Reproduction Parts for Studebaker, Jeep & Ford

as far as spot welding, I'm assuming you have a regular welder? And of course, (no offense intended) that you are able to use one yourself (permission & experience wise?) Spot welding is basically just welding spots along a seam instead of running a long bead weld along the whole seam.

The reason you want to spot weld it, is that you heat up the thin metal too quick when you try to bead it (unless you are really good or have a top notch welder i suppose) which will burn holes through and leave you "irradiated" so you do short quick tack or spot welds.

What i did when i did my front fender is something like this (please forgive the quick sketch quality):

Basically, small spaced out welds (first red dots) then after a sec to cool next set of welds (green dots) then next (blue) then next (pinkish color)

If at any time you burn through STOP let that part cool, and when cool, work on lightly filling it in...

It takes some practice and patients to be good at it. you can technically spot weld very carefully until you basically have a full bead. Then grind it down to a smooth finish, though probably not necessary for your current project, just FYI. I did this on my old cracked up fenders, the one i did it to, looks close to new!

I hope I've helped some. Glad you getting into this stuff man!

EDIT: sorry, just re-read post. appears you knew what spot welds were

my bad, no belittlement intended... So yes the spot welds would be the best. Bolts would not do the trick, nor any adhesive i would assume, but perhaps some others here wil have better suggestions.

~ JR

 

[JR74CJ5]

PS: Lets see some pics of this 74 CJ5 ...

 

[jasonmark1993]

I just did the rust repair on my 73 CJ5 and here's what I found.

Replacing the floor pans, wheel wells, etc piece by piece is going to cost you a ton of money; most likely what you want to weld those parts to is all rusted out anyways.

If you really want this this to be pristine, spend the cash and buy a new tub. I didn't want to because it was like 3600 for just the tub and probably 5-600 for shipping, and I want to wheel mine without worrying about smashing in my new tub. I also couldn't fine alot of the panels for my year; should be the same for yours.

I already had a welder, bought a torch, and spent about 125 bucks on a bunch of sheet metal and tubing to rebuild the rusted body mounts. Id confirm the frame is good before you go spending a ton of time and money first though. A $40 jigsaw with some steel blades and a grinder with a wire wheel and grinding wheel are needed as well. Bought bluetorch fab fenders for the front. Worked great.

I probably spent 100 hours on mine, but saved money and ended up with something that I can fix easily if I smash it.

If you look close at the side photo, you can see the sheet metal I welded over the wheel well. I cut so much metal out I could have run 38s with my 4" lift. I also welded a 5" strip along the rocker from the wheel well to the fender. In the photo showing the taillight, you can see the the wheel well area where the roll bar mounts is all new as well. As long as you aren't aiming for a show truck you'll be happy doing it that way.

 

[johnbilt]

I rebuilt my tub. Not sure about the quality of the replacement tubs and the cost plus shipping seemed too high. You will need a small mig welder and a means to trim and cut steel. An electric or pneumatic hand shear rated for #16 gauge steel will work. A plasma cutter is handy. You can get by with a jigsaw or sawzall. You will also need a basic 4" metal grinder/sander.

I assume you have a shop or barn to perform the work. And hopefully a dad or older brother to monitor your safety and provide assistance.

I bought my metal from a local sheet metal shop. My 73 CJ was #16 gauge or .062 steel sheet. The 74 is most likely the same. Most of the CJ tub is flat panels, so it is relatively easy to replace. You can have the sheet metal shop make any bends you need. I had them bend the bottom of the rocker panels with a brake, and the floor pans had a 3/8" bead rolled every 2" or so in a pattern to make a more rigid panel.

Plan on spending some time to get it right. It can be a fun learning project if you pace yourself through one section at a time. I pulled the tub off the frame for easy access to all of the panels. The mig welder can be used to stitch the panels back together.

I like being able to have my original tub with new metal. It also has the original Jeep stamp on each side of the tub. I don't think the replacements have that. And they may be of thinner metal. I did replace my front fenders with shell valley kevlar parts.

Take Care

 

[4x4cj5]

Bringing this thread back from the dead. I'm 17 now and have been forced into shopping for a replacement tub. The old one got smashed about a month ago by a barn that collapsed in a bad storm, not to mention the rust it already had. Anyone know where I can get a replacement tub for a reasonable price? I'm NOT spending 3k+ on a body that I'm going to wheel and work with. Ideally I want a used tub to keep the cost down

 

[jdcaples]

I know you're in Florida, but I've used this trick a few times

Google

Search

site: craigslist.org CJ5 tub

click "Search tools" and change "Any time" to "Past Week."

It looks like this

View attachment 19369

That search a few minutes ago returned a used CJ5 tub in Nebraska for $550 and one in California. Keep an eye out and you might find something closer to home.

If you're good with metal, or want to get good with metal, maybe you can shorten a CJ7 or YJ tub


Good luck!

-Jon

 

[4x4cj5]

That's some sound advice, I've been watching craigslist like a hawk in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee with little luck. Most of what I see are complete jeeps that wouldn't make sense to tear down. Not to mention most are out of my budget. Found a good deal in WV but hell that's a 1200 mile round trip