Build Thread 1979 Cj-7 Let the games begin! Rolling restoration

[Canadian CJ 7]

Hi BC CJ, It good to see another BC person who loves CJ's I am restoring my 85, I am out in the Fraser Valley. CJ Brian NJ looking forward to your progress, might help motivate me to put mine back together.

Cheers, Brian

 

[mtnwhlr]

When ever you strip it down to metal you should use a metal etching primer to keep it from rusting again.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

When ever you strip it down to metal you should use a metal etching primer to keep it from rusting again.

thx mtnwhlr!

perfect thats exactly what i wanted to know! any brand names come to mind? i know 3m makes good products and i see them in shops all the time.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

i went through another 3-4 flap discs on the grinder a few 60 grit and 1 40 grit. the 40 is a bit too aggresive it looks like 1/2" gravel glued to paper(exagerating) but the 60 grit is perfect . i just grind till the sparks start flying and keep it moving the whole time and its a pretty smooth finish. the driver side rocker has more steel than the pass side does so thats a good thing and really i didnt find any other surprises. the filler on the driver side smells more like fiberglass than the rest of the body so i guess the guy used different products as he went along?? the front fenders are getting replaced so i didnt bother grinding the paint off but i coated all the metal in cheap spraypaint so i sprayed them too so its less of an eye sore for the neighbors(and me too). i have a pretty heavy schedule this week so i wont get too much done but hopefully if my frame repair sections come in i will start welding next weekend , i need to get my argon bottle filled too. i will take lots of pics of the frame work because so many guys pay a small fortune to have it repaired and i think i can get it done right for around $200-300 beans! i called a few collision and frame shops and my cheapest quote was $1500 and they went all the way up to $6500! most guys will only do frame work if the body is off and im not ready for that on this jeep so i am doing the sleeves myself and if my mig wont get deep penetration i will borrow a 240v welder from a buddy but i think my little mig should be good with the 11ga sheet the sleeves are made of...i think i am also going to make my own bumpers out of square steel stock , after looking at a few different websites selling $1000 bumpers i decided to diy them. they will mostly be for looks and in the front and back the hitch and winch will bolt directly to the frame so my bumpers wont really take any force.

oh and i found some c.a.d. drawings of body mount reinforcing plates and other repair pieces for cj's but now i cant find the website the guys name was "mr jeep" or "dr jeep" "jeep man" something like that and they were free to print . with those any local metal shop can cut them out on their cnc for a couple bucks a p iec e , i trapped a few raccoons at my local steel yard so they owe me a favor or two but i need the c.a.d drawings so if anyone knows where to find them let me know!



from 25 feet if its dark and raining and you squint she looks pretty sweet! i am also going to stick the aluminum wheels on soon! to keep me motivated, the better she looks the more i will want to get it on the road

i also went to an upholstry shop and they will make my denim "jeans" seat covers for $125 each for fronts and $200 for the back and they will throw in a matching cover for the cargo area! $5 bucks extra for the heavy gold double stitching at all the seams and $1 each for brass rivets like the ones on the pockets of jeans so im going to do it , should look really cool with the silver metalic paint , i found a House of Kolor shade that i really like and the sales guy said the chunky flake really helps hide imperfections in the bodywork. if i use their entire system (etching primer , sealer , base , flake, flattening agent and clear)it should cost me around $425 so not too bad . i am going to make a paint booth using a portable pop up gazebo and plastic sheetng , two big box fans sucking at one end and central air conditioning filters at the other end to stop any airborn dust !

its alot to take in all at once so sorry for rambleing on and on ! i will be checking out all of your build threads soon so i hope you guys stay tuned to mine!

brian

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

this is the paint series i want to use , i might go a few shades lighter but i kept it dark so you guys could see the flake easily! with the black top,doors and interior i think it will be pretty unique. i know there are alot of cjs with cool paint but i have not seen one in this color especially with the 70's disco dune buggy flake since i was a little kid i have loved metalic flake i remember every carnival ride and bumper car on the boardwalk had the glittery shimmer and they looked really cool at night with the lights shining on them! if im off my rocker and you guys think its going to look goofy let me know , i probably wont change my mind either way but i like to hear what people think!

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

hi guys i have run out of room in my gallery to post pics i can delete the older pics but i really dont want to bc im trying to keep records of my progress. i put my newest pics on photobucket and im trying to see if i can post them using the codes from there so here is a few test pics..

ok i think it worked ! if there is an easier way to post pics please let me know! is this how most of you post lots of pics , using outside sites to host? photobucket is pretty easy to use now but its still one more step i have to take to show my pics but i guess its ok...so here are the newest pics of the cj . i got the tires and rims off to further inspect and i was going to put the f150 rims in the pics on her but the jeep hubs are too big for the center holes in the rims they look pretty sweet in my opinion i am pretty bummed they wont fit in the front but i might just wire brush (with angle grinder) the rims that came on it and slap a fresh coat of paint on them . the tires have decent tread but also some dryrot so they are fine for now but not going to be safe at road speeds.





here are the rims/tires that she came with, had black centers then someone painted them white so it all has to come off
these would be perfect if the front had bigger holes for my hubs.

these damn rims cleaned up great the hub thing is killing me! maybe i can trade them for steelies or something that would fit over the giant hubs!
i would need to make the holes about 3/4 of an inch bigger to fit them any ideas if its possible? would they be weak? what tool could i use to open the holes? the paper disk is the size of the ones that fit.
it looks like someone did new bushings and shocks before the truck sat and its still straight and tight .
here you can see it also got all new brakes , calipers drums and rotors too! ugly but still like new under the rust! and someone also put all new urethane bushings in it so thats good!
shots of rust issues one bad body mount

rear frame rot not as bad as i thought!

what is the small air hose near the fender curve? vent line for diff maybe??
not looking to bad here


this is the bad body mount
drums were new too
here is the worst rust on the frame , cant wait till rear sections come in so i can chop all this out and get to welding!

will update soon , any tips for rust control would be great! i plan on cutting out the bad stuff , cleaning surface rust to bare metal then after welding i will use etching primer and undercoating to prevent rust return! got a tip from a guy to seal the bare metal inside the frame rails even if i just blast undercoating through the holes and slots it should cover all the new welds and hot spots from welding!

thanks guys for all your help so far!! brian

 

[BC CJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

I also use photobucket. A bit time consuming but works well and easily.

Those rims do look nice. You could get a machine shop to bore the center holes out. I dont think it would cost too much.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

I also use photobucket. A bit time consuming but works well and easily.

Those rims do look nice. You could get a machine shop to bore the center holes out. I dont think it would cost too much.

thats what i was thinking and the aluminum is almost 1/2 inch thick so i dont think removing a little bit would weaken them that much!
another thing i noticed was the tires that came with the jeep are 31" but my goodyears are the same size 31" but they stand 2" taller ?? wierd

 

[IOPort51]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

just something to consider, that metal flaky stuff is really hard to touch up and get even close to a match. flat light colors go a lot farther toward hiding not so perfect body work and dings.

this is the paint series i want to use , i might go a few shades lighter but i kept it dark so you guys could see the flake easily! with the black top,doors and interior i think it will be pretty unique. i know there are alot of cjs with cool paint but i have not seen one in this color especially with the 70's disco dune buggy flake since i was a little kid i have loved metalic flake i remember every carnival ride and bumper car on the boardwalk had the glittery shimmer and they looked really cool at night with the lights shining on them! if im off my rocker and you guys think its going to look goofy let me know , i probably wont change my mind either way but i like to hear what people think!

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

when i drop the back springs i am also going to do a spring over axle flip with 2" steel blocks , it will give me 6.25 inches of lift with no major problems ie. drive shaft angle, brake lines, steering arms etc.. i think that will be enough to get 35's under it but even 33's will be fine with me as long as they dont look small in the wheel wells. i think we all like how jeeps look on 44's but they just are not practical , gas prices shooting ever higher not to mention the price of big tires these days . with all the daily driving i will probably need a set of tires every year or two and $2000 tires wont be easy to fit into the budget

if anyone has done the spring over flip let me know if there is anything i should know before getting into it.

Chevy Colorado Long Travel Suspension kit - YouTube
here is a vid of the suspension i would love to have , i know its never going to float like that with straight axels but it sure looks like a hell of alot of fun! I FOUND A SET OF SOFT OLD F250 SPRINGS FOR FREE BUT I DIDNT HAVE A MEASURING TAPE TO SEE IF I CAN USE THEM OR NOT. I FIGURE WITH LOTS OF HIGH QUALITY BUMP STOPS I SHOULD BE ABLE TO RUN IT PRETTY SOFT!

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

thats what i was thinking and the aluminum is almost 1/2 inch thick so i dont think removing a little bit would weaken them that much!
Another thing i noticed was the tires that came with the jeep are 31" but my goodyears are the same size 31" but they stand 2" taller ?? Wierd

just something to consider, that metal flaky stuff is really hard to touch up and get even close to a match. Flat light colors go a lot farther toward hiding not so perfect body work and dings.

i have been reconsidering it too , i definatly want to go with gloss no matter the color . Im confident that with enough time on the straight line sander i can get it all pretty flat . Maybe i will do a solid color and if it turns out pretty straight i will then add the flake to the clear and use a leveler over that. I have loved the chunky flake since i was a little kid, there was a supermarket near me with one of those goofy coin operated trucks that rocked back and forth i would ride everytime i was there . It had an ugly green and yellow flake paint job that stuck with me

someday it would be nice to buy a brand new tub , fenders and hood so maybe i should wait till then to lay down the flake

then again i also wanted to cover an entire jeep with diamond plate from bumper to bumper so my idea of "cool" could easily turn into ugly!

We will see how the bodywork goes before i order paint brian

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

well i found some more things i was not expecting but im not letting it get me down! i smelled gas after my last cruise around the yard so i sniffed around the tank and sure enough its rotted at the seams and the space between the tank and skid plate was completely filled with mud also found out that all my nice new floor pans were just welded on top of the rotted ones without cutting the rot out?? they just shot a thick layer of under coating over them to hide the rot . also the ribs on the bottom of the tub look ok but when i poke at them i found out they are just hollow shells made of undercoating and all the metal had rotted away, good news is i have a few stop sign posts that are the right profile so i will just get to grinding and weld them in place (someday).... i am still really impressed with how smooth , strong and quiet the drive train is so thats my motivation , i hop in fire it up and drive it around the yard and that gets me pumped up enough to get to work on her. to all my rust fighting new friends keep up the good work and stay tuned for my next update ! i should have the skid plates and tank out and will be giving the bottom a thorough going over with the scrapers , grinders and if im lucky my new 40lb sand blaster!!!

 

[BC CJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

There's always floor mats, or under seat storage boxes... speaker boxes. Just make it solid, not a big deal if it doesn't look like new. It's our secret, no one will know. No one reads this forum anyways, right? right? The jeep still looks good from the outside anyhow.

And a gas tank is no big deal. You guys in the USA have it good: every Jeep part available at great prices. Up here in Canada we have to pay major shipping, taxes, dutys, the boss needs a new mercades fee, brokerage fees, more taxes, and another 'just for fun' fee. It's depressing.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

there's always floor mats, or under seat storage boxes... Speaker boxes. Just make it solid, not a big deal if it doesn't look like new. It's our secret, no one will know. No one reads this forum anyways, right? Right? :d the jeep still looks good from the outside anyhow.

And a gas tank is no big deal. You guys in the usa have it good: Every jeep part available at great prices. Up here in canada we have to pay major shipping, taxes, dutys, the boss needs a new mercades fee, brokerage fees, more taxes, and another 'just for fun' fee. It's depressing.

haha , yeah im thinking as long as its safe i will be happy! It still drives me nuts to hear that there are tons of fj40's up there they are like gold down here im still happy i bought another jeep (even though its worse than i thought). Jeep parts are really flowing around me on the east coast , there are 2 guys within 1/2 hour of my house that have acres and acres of jeeps! One guy has a warehouse (400,000 sq ft) with 30 foot ceilings that is completely packed with new used and nos parts ! Both have over 100 complete jeeps from 1950's all the way up to 2012 . The problem with them is they do most of their business online and rarely open the gates for retail sales. They were both owned by former military men and always has amazing prices but now that the old men have past away the familys have gotten money crazy , i try to avoid using them for that reason.

Most days down here you can buy a decent jeep for around $1500-2500 and i would have to spend more than that just to buy a top and doors for an fj.

Talk to you soon , brian

 

[BC CJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

1500-2500 will only buy scrap rust up here too. Fj40s are rare... but probably no rarer than a Jeep CJ. They are cool trucks and quite beefy, but they have thier weak points that are impossible to avoid without customizing (usually chevy parts). The prob is they all came with the same options: inline 6, 3spd until 74ish, then inline 6, 4spd until the late 70s when they started comming with an even more gutless diesel 4cyl option. Also no power steering option until around 79. The engines are fuel thirsty with no power to show for it and the 4spd likes to pop out of first gear. The front axle birfields are a weak point for sure. I had one for about 5 years and I didn't like it until it was 1/2 chevy and then I sold it anyhow. Sure got a lot of attention around town though.
My CJ came from the factory with the V8 and power steering I had to custom-swap into the FJ... and it is 2 years older. Maybe I'm preaching to the choir on this site, but I'd take the CJ anyday.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

well i got past my bitching and moaning about the rust mood and got some more work done. i had to drop the tank because it was leaking and rotted and that helped me get a clear picture of what exactly i need to do to get this baby safe and road worthy!






this should tell the story about the tank rot! solid mud caked between the tank and skid! and all the rust on the sending unit tells me that my guage is probably fine the rust and loose connections were probably why the needle wasnt moving.



i grabbed a few cans of rustoleum "rust convertor" but i think the tank is obviously a waste of time . i found a 22 gallon plastic tank with a nice aftermarket skidplate that will be perfect.


the pics uploaded backwards so below you will see what i did to get to this point!



the cross member looks great and the frame is also in good shape from the bump stops all the way to the front bumper so i have my head back in the game now and as long as i attack it one step at a time there is nothing i cant fix! and even though it was a bit scary when i got a good look under there im just going to break it up into small sections and start beefing up and repairing all the bad areas.


i ran a wire wheel cup over everything i could with the grinder until every single wire was gone !(and stuck into my arms and legs). but under the dirt , under coating and rust i found solid metal and nice new brake lines with reinforcing coils on them from front to back!






seeing all this solid steel really got me back in the mood to keep on trucking! i still probably have 16-20 hours in grinding cutting and welding left on the chassis suspension and tub bottom but i may take a few days off from work and just bang it out




its a small victory but i love seeing the pumpkin cleaned up!







here are the inside frame rail shots , they are pretty bad but where the holes stop so does the rot! my patch plates have plenty of solid metal to be welded to so thats a good thing the shipment was delayed because my stupid paypal acct was hacked AGAIN . this has happened to me before , some scumbag in china takes $1 usd from a few million accts and gets rich and they freeze all the accts until the fraud investigation is complete! i have even told them i dont care about the theft but it doesnt matter they still freeze the account. im going to get a prepaid credit card to use online for all my jeep purchases from now on . this will also help me keep track of the money i dump into her!






here is the pumpkin after a few mins with the grinder , this makes me happy and the exhaust cleaned up really well so im guessing they replaced that along with the brakes and lines , suspension , bushings and all the other goodies i have uncovered. i guess some guy 10-15 years ago dumped some money into her but never finished it and then it just sat . im happy to get it finished this time! .
stay tuned!

 

[BC CJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

The back end of the frame reminds me of my first CJ back in the day. It was pretty bad. I'm glad to hear your frame is good from there forward!

You're making some great progress! love the rear axle look! I should clean mine up too.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 update pics all paint stripped!

The back end of the frame reminds me of my first CJ back in the day. It was pretty bad. I'm glad to hear your frame is good from there forward!

You're making some great progress! love the rear axle look! I should clean mine up too.

yup its amazing how much more motivation i get when i see real progress like that! it only took me about an hour to wire wheel everything back there and get it coated with rust convertor , and when i see it it reminds me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel! as soon as i get a new gas bottle on my welder i will start fixing the ribs on the tub bottom and welding plates on any weak spots i find. i also picked up a gallon of bondo quart of "ultimate bondo" and some "bondo hair" so that will be coming soon!

brian

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

letting the sparks fly!

well i finally started chopping out the rot and digging in a bit deeper. no more surprises everything is looking as good as i thought. i chopped out the rear crossmember but left the shackle mounts and whats left of the rear body mounts. i am quickly learning my 10 gal 1.5 horse compressor just aint cutting it! i have some feelers out for a big old ugly shop size compressor on a tight budgt so we will see what happens. obviously i cant push the sand blaster with my comp either so its really starting to slow me down...


here is the rear view with the cross member chopped out to help me access the rot.

i like the rear exposed like that so i might make a new rear member out of square stock 2" insdtead of 4" plate.
i got a little crazy with the black primer)

she is not pretty but it runs so smooth and quiet it wouldnt surprise me if it were recently rebuilt before it sat. im going to get a rebuilt carb or maybe a small 4 bbl edelbrock (500-550cfm) and a new intake . while its apart i will polish the valve covers or paint them if the rust is too bad. i am also going to paint the motor and replace the valve cover gaskets and any other seals and gaskets i can get too. it has no leaks but who knows after a few hours on the road so better safe than sorry .


a few shots of the v8 in all its glory! its ugly under the hood right now but im going to detail , paint and remove all the rats nest wiring half of it is not attached to anything anyway . i will start removing things one wire at a time and rewire anything old , cracking and beat up . hopefully i can get it all down to 1 piece of 3/4" loom tied down to the fire wall and inner fenders. i detailed cars for a few years so i have alot of neat tricks to spruce up a engine and compartment.



above you can see i squared up all the rust and left as much healthy steel as i could , im confident now i can get the rails in great shape and stronger than stock. im alsko looking for some high quality "donuts" to replace the shot rubber body bushings. i dont like body lifts but i might go with a 2" kit with stainless hardware and poly spacers. the current spacers are around 1" so 2" wont change much.



here she is before i chopped the rusted cross member out. let me know what you guys think and i will keep everyone up to date asap.

thx brian

 

[IOPort51]

FYI compressors are best measured in CFM, cubic feet per minute.

Sand blasting easily use 10 or 15 CFM of air, that is a BIG compressor. more than likely 3 phase.

Are you going to take it down to the bare frame??