Build Thread 77 CJ-7 Renegade Frame Off Restoration

[WV 77Cj7]

Mount all done. I may go back over the bottom side once I remove the engine.



Easiest way I've found to remove a stripped torx bolt:

 

[Sietschei]

[emoji6] nice work Guy! Good luck


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[WV 77Cj7]

I haven't made much progress on the jeep as of late. I spent a little time Saturday and cut away most of the cancer on the rear of the yj tub.

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Made some headway in the garage today that will make everything more mobile for welding. Haven't been doing mic because I have had no where to strap the welding tank up while I weld, while keeping the setup safe. Home made cart will allow me to get around the garage now and get cranking.



Also invested in a set of harbor freight 14 gauge metal shears for a more economical way of cutting the sheet metal and I must say I am very impressed. Took about 30 seconds to cut all of the sheet metal for the welding cart. Pics to follow.

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Started fixing the front passenger side pillar today. All went well except for the bottom of the patch- some of the metal was a bit rusty and the torch identified it quickly by blowing through. This was all done with .035 wire but I'm thinking about switching to .030. I like the .035 because the temps stay fairly low.

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Finished up the pillar repair (I know I know bottom looks a little rough.. burn through and my hand are to blame.)



Also cut/ formed a patch panel to seal the side of the tub back up. Just tacked into place before I left:

 

[WV 77Cj7]

All finished up. Very pleased with how my first body panel turned out. Still have to finish off the bottom lip but I will finish it up when I flip the tub over.

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Ok so today was another good day.. spent a few hours plugging some holes on the tub.

Old YJ fender flare holes plugged:


YJ tire carrier stop holes plugged:


Two random holes in the top of the tub filled in, an old cut from a cut off wheel that went too deep filled, and the two upper YJ tail gate bracket holes plugged:

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Spent about 5 hours today cranking on the jeep, finished plugging a lot of holes from the YJ gate, removed the remaining YJ bracket, patched the YJ fuel port, plugged the drivers side rear flare holes, plugged holes left from inside tailgate lock, and sprayed rust reformer on the inside of the rear pass side quarter to try and neutralize some of the rust before I seal her up.

The tub also officially became a CJ clone today- removed the wrangler pin stripping and logos.








And then my daughters ride:

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Been a little slow coming with hunting season.

Repaired rust in the passenger side floor pan:



Underside of tub:


Also repaired the rusted front panel and weld in nuts that secure the fender to the tub. This area was pretty rough:





Still need to repair seat bolt areas, a few body bolt nuts, side quarters, front driver side pillar panel, driver side floor, and the cowl/ defroster vent area.

 

[Peanut Butter]

Looks really good! I too had to patch many of the same areas that you are doing to my CJ7 tub. Keep up the good work and the good pictures. Rod

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Looks really good! I too had to patch many of the same areas that you are doing to my CJ7 tub. Keep up the good work and the good pictures. Rod

Thanks! I've quickly learned wherever he PO slapped on black paint, there's like welding needed. Certainly a lot of work.

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Finally got access to a hoist the other week. Separated the 38 year old engine from the Transmission . Had to take special care in prying it free of the tranny housing, but overall she freed fairly easily. Drained the oil prior to moving.

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Separated the Transfer Case and tranny from the frame and each other today. Frame is nearly torn down at this point. Transfer Case was a royal PITA to remove.. There was one hidden bolt on the back and it's barely had enough clearance to use a box end wrench to remove.

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Made a decision today that I'm going to start looking for an AMC 360 and a t18a to mate up with the Dana 20 once I get everything rebuilt. I plan to have the 360 rebuilt. I saw a posting on ifsja that had converted the 360 to a 383 stroker which is fairly interesting. I love the 6, but I think I'm going to want that v8 sound and power. Already got feelers out on a 360 in the area. Any recommendations?

 

[WV 77Cj7]

No new jeep progress yet but picked up some much needed garage necessities for Christmas. New toolbox, 60 gallon air compressor and 1" daystar body lift kit.

 

[WV 77Cj7]

I was going to finish disassembling the front end today but realized I'm going to need a puller for some of the bolts.. So I turned my attention back to some body work.

Checked all the bolt sizes on the jeep and it appears that I will have to fix 3 mounts- the two rear most and then a mid mount where the bolt broke off. I learned the 6 front most bolts on the YJtub are 3/4" and the 4 most rear most are smaller 7/16th bolts. Quick trip to lowes and I've got some grade 8 rears and grade 5 fronts. Picked up some nuts to fix the body mounted nuts as well.

As for the body- fixed the passenger side quarter. I still need to figure out how I'm going to shape the curve, hence the overhanging metal. I think I may just trim it down to a curve and either say the hell with the lip, or take some trimmings from my shears and weld a lip on. I'll have to think about it. The stiffer 18 gauge doesn't exactly like to form well. I did drill some holes in the plate and use that to plug weld it to the sheet metal tub walls.

 

[WV 77Cj7]

Picked up a 1983 AMC 360 today. Only known issue is low compression on two cylinders.

 

[HackFabrication]

...I love the 6, but I think I'm going to want that v8 sound and power. Already got feelers out on a 360 in the area. Any recommendations?

Rebuild the 360, do some research for a good cam, and I would definitely go all out and add EFI.

 

[ColeTrickle]

Nice set of Toys!

I went with a Summit 8601 for my 360, no problems. I recently heard about problems with quality though. So do your research.

My 360 runs like a scalded ape, but it could also be from the free flowing ported heads...

I have a Howell EFI setup that I never got around using if your interested.