2 thumbs down for Kentrol Glass tubs

[Kane]

So exactly one year after I bought my basket case 84 CJ8 I finally got to put the body on the frame for mock up and fitment. To say this body doesn't match up would be an understatement. I bought a Kentrol fiberglass body from a person in New York last year for less than half price of new. He bought everything to build a wheeler and never touched the build so this body was brand new. Well I put the body on and the mounts on the tub for the two by the doors are off by about 3 to 4 inches each. They have square mounting pads that are metal encased in the glass so you can drill and tap them for mounts. Great idea but since they do not line up now I have to either fab some sort of misalignment bracket or cut of the mount and move it over to the right spot. Oh and the front mount for the body (not the grill) sits a little lower so it pushes up the grill to leave a nice 1 1/2 gap there so the jeep looks like it has a body lift. The rear section body mount that is under the roll bar also has a nice 3.5 inch gap. The original body apparently had an extra body bracket that goes across to both sides for support. Then I get to the back. The bumper mount cross member area. The mount locations on the glass tub are about 2 inches further out from were those stock frame holes are located.

So after I had the tub, fenders and grill on I decided to drop the fiberglass hood in place just for looks. The fenders and grill are original metal. I put the hood and on it looked a little short. I line up the front with the proper overhang and noticed a huger gap by the tub where the hinge's would go. So I measured the length of the hood to he original metal one. The glass hood is a 1/4 inch shorter?!?! Really, they couldn't even get that the right length. If I bought that hood new it would cost $600. I bought it and the fenders for $AMC 150 but $600 for something that doesn't fit. I never installed the fenders so who knows if they will work. Too bad because my CJ5 was going to have the 1 piece clip removed so I could install these. Not now.

I tell you what. I bought a Shell Valley body for my CJ5 back in 1993 and I still have it to this day. That body lined up perfectly and still looks brand new. This is why I was sold on staying with glass living up in rusty New England. Good thing I have a welder and some skills because if I didn't this tub would look like a hack job when finished. One thumb down for Kentrol.

 

[CJ]

Sounds like a lot of work but may be worth the price you paid for it.

 

[Kane]

Oddly enough I actually had a dream last night about how to fix it and came up with a pretty cool idea for a misalignment bracket. I need to make four of them but it should work great and I won't have to move the stock mounts. I actually have to shave some material from four of the body mount bushing as well, about a 3/16 inch to level the body to the frame.

 

[Old Dog]

I've got Kentrol ss hinges for my doors and windshield, I wasn't very impresed with the quality of them either.