Build Thread 84 CJ7 coming full circle

[Scooter402]

And the saga continues...

I didn't have time to work on this on Monday, but I made up for it over the last couple days. Got the last panel stitched in to tie the floor to the back wall of the cab.



I obviously still have that pesky rust issue in the floor over there, but I'll get to that later. I want to get all the "big" things done first, then go back for the details.

A few shots of the (nearly) finished cab. All the sheet metal is hung, I just need to finish welding it in, smooth and level the surfaces, and primer and paint. I still have some small holes to fill from the rust on the passenger side, but again... Details, details...





Then it was time to get to work on the frame. I set the frame on jack stands forward of where I was going to cut, measured a couple things, scratched my head, shrugged, then started swinging the sawzall again.

(Sorry for the blurry pictures...)










The material I'm using to stretch the frame is 2 x 4 3/16" wall rectangular tube. I ended up with an 18" stretch. The problem was that the 2x4 fits inside the frame rail, but with a little room. So I had to address that.



One shot of the new wheelbase for posterity:



How I ended up tackling the fitment issue was snug the 2x4 up to one corner, then pie cut the "gapped" corners, hammer the frame rail flanges down flush, and weld 'er up.

Pie cut and prepped: (mmm...pie... :drool: )


And welded. I know, I'm cheap... I still use flux core because I haven't coughed up the cash for a gas bottle.



Repeat that a few more times, and the frame is essentially done:



So the official numbers after the stretch are now a 114" wheelbase.

I'm happy and comfortable with how the frame splices are, but for extra insurance, I'm going to grind the welds smooth, and tie the splices together with a 10 or 11 gauge fish plate across all the vertical joints. I'll also still need to add 10" or so to the back of the frame behind the shackles so I'll end up with a decent bed length.

We're going to take a short break over the weekend, but when we come back... We'll be putting the top back together. Stay tuned!

 

[shum8]

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[Peanut Butter]

You and the sawzall! Looking really good. You'll be driving a truck before you know it.

 

[shum8]

Ok - now I'm gonna show my ignorance ref CJ truck builds..... Since a normal CJ tub has the wheel wells attached the the rear panel, which offers support to the rear of the body, are you going to need to add anything across the upper rear of the cab to reinforce the top edge, or just let the top lip suffice? I would think the fact that there's no opening for a tailgate would do it, but I just had that thought run thru my muddled head this morning....... I need more coffee.

Oh, and just so you know - every time I check in on this, I have the urge to go cut something out of mine...... I need to hide my saw.....

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[Petescj]

You and the sawzall! Looking really good. You'll be driving a truck before you know it.

How about it. He's definitely getting there quick. Nice work Scooter, love this build.

 

[Scooter402]

How about it. He's definitely getting there quick. Nice work Scooter, love this build.

Thank you, sir! Things are moving along pretty well... Just got tied up with the rust, but I'll come back to it.

Ok - now I'm gonna show my ignorance ref CJ truck builds..... Since a normal CJ tub has the wheel wells attached the the rear panel, which offers support to the rear of the body, are you going to need to add anything across the upper rear of the cab to reinforce the top edge, or just let the top lip suffice? I would think the fact that there's no opening for a tailgate would do it, but I just had that thought run thru my muddled head this morning....... I need more coffee.

Oh, and just so you know - every time I check in on this, I have the urge to go cut something out of mine...... I need to hide my saw.....

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The top edge of the cab has multiple bends giving it strength in all directions. The only thing that would possibly be an issue is a slight "oil-canning" problem, similar to how old CJ doors tend to do. It all depends on how much heat distortion is put into the metal when it's welded. I'm considering adding a stiffener across the back if I do end up with the problem, but I'm hoping I can keep the heat out of it and not have a problem. But it should be plenty strong on its own.

Lol nothing wrong with getting the urge to cut something apart! I'll be doing plenty of it for all of us, that's for sure.

You and the sawzall! Looking really good. You'll be driving a truck before you know it.

I think the sawzall is becoming the most popular tool in my garage right now! But I hope to retire that one soon for the welder/sander combo, to be followed shortly by the paint gun. I hope I'll get done sooner rather than later! I'm aiming for next summer, but we'll see how things go.

Thanks, y'all!

 

[Peanut Butter]

Way to go Scoooter! :rock:

 

[Peanut Butter]

Scooter, How long is your cab measured from the front of the cowl? About 3/4 of the way down my build page is a picture of the design's Jeff drew up with the different wheel bases. He has several at 113.5" with different sizes of cabs.

 

[Scooter402]

Scooter, How long is your cab measured from the front of the cowl? About 3/4 of the way down my build page is a picture of the design's Jeff drew up with the different wheel bases. He has several at 113.5" with different sizes of cabs.

From the front of the cowl (at the plane of the same surface where the fenders mount) to the back wall of the cab, it measures 57.5". I guess I've got no chance of having a scrambler top fit now. Good thing I was aiming to butcher my own top!

Looking at Jeff's drawings there, I think that 5'7" bed looks pretty good. From what I was eyeballing with a tape measure, I was aiming for somewhere between 64" and 66". Seems like Jeff and I have similar tastes in proportionality for the wheelbase, as my cab was an inch longer and bed an inch shorter for the same wheelbase.

I didn't get anything productive done today... Woke up with a pounding headache, and felt like if I moved more than a snails pace, I'd be producing a fountain of green goo much like that girl in the exorcist... Don't know where that came from, but hopefully I'll be back in the saddle tomorrow. All I got accomplished was measuring my cab length, then holding the back portion of the top up to the back of the cab to see how much work we're going to have to put in on it... There's going to be more sawzall action, that's for sure! Let's hope that my aim is true... I don't have much "extra" material there to work with.

 

[Petescj]

I think we jinxed him talking about how quickly things were progressing. Hope all is well.

 

[Scooter402]

I think we jinxed him talking about how quickly things were progressing. Hope all is well.

Nah, no jinxing here... Just life catching up with me, I suppose. I've had some personal issues rear their ugly heads and try and take a bite out of everything... Because of that, I lost a couple weeks or so of progress. Now that everything's closed back up and I've removed the stitches, I can get back into some dirty work.

I didn't have any real measurable progress as of late, but here's what I've got so far. I've been piecing the top back together. It would be just too easy if things wanted to fit right back together as if they were never cut apart... But that would take all the fun out of it, now wouldn't it?

I wanted the back end of the top to sit vertically coplanar with the back wall of the cab. Well, because of the "rake" in the back end, it's not quite the right height. I mocked it up into place and saw that the bottom back edge and most of the length of both sides matched pretty well. So I secured it with some redneck engineering (tape) so I could stand back and have a look.

The roof line wasn't consistent, so I cut the top strip off (seen laying on the roof in the 2nd photo). I liked most of what I saw, so I started mixing resin. The material I'm using is fleece. Now, before anyone jumps all over me, fleece is rather thick and absorbs a TON of resin. I'm also filling the voids with Gorilla Hair, which is shredded long-strand fiberglass. I have the sides laid up, and the little angled void that was created at the bottom back corner of the top was filled also. I still need to do some trimming/shaping at the top back corners, as well as trim the inside radius piece that I think you can see in the second photo. Then I'll put the removed strip back in place.

The top is in a position now that I can remove it and finish all the fiberglass work, so some sanding/filling and put some paint on it... Now I just need to find a place to put it so I can accomplish those things... Lol.

Here's a couple pics of what we have so far.





So it's rough right now... I've still got a lot of work to do to smooth things out. I think my plan for now is to just bolt the lift gate back on to close it off, and also to make sure I like the look of it before I make it permanent. I've only got a couple more weeks of time available before things get unbelievably busy again.

So don't mind my mess, y'all, it's still a work in progress.

 

[shum8]

Looking good [emoji106][emoji106]. And what mess??? You should see the garage I'm working in...... Rock on, brother


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[mtnwhlr]

:lpopcorn:

 

[Peanut Butter]

Alright, now we talking! More pictures of the top as you work on it, please! Anybody else want some? :lpopcorn:

 

[gert]

Alright, now we talking! More pictures of the top as you work on it, please! Anybody else want some? :lpopcorn:

X2

 

[FLYNHYCJ7]

Hey Scooter, haven't seen you post anything on your project lately, you still at it?

 

[shum8]

I think my plan for now is to just bolt the lift gate back on to close it off, and also to make sure I like the look of it before I make it permanent.

How bout leaving it functional and using it for high volume ventilation???



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[Peanut Butter]

Hey Scooter, what's going on? Talk to us man. Here's a little teaser for you:

 

[Scooter402]

Hey Scooter, haven't seen you post anything on your project lately, you still at it?

Hey, thanks for the interest in this! No, I unfortunately haven't been able to spend any time in the garage lately... I lost some momentum over the summer with a potentially huge issue... but now that we know everything's okay, I'm distracted with other things I have to focus on for the fall. Full disclosure here - I'm still finishing up my degree. Almost done with a B.S. in Physics. Yeah, mostly bs lol. I've only got three classes left after this semester, but having to do it part time while I work will make it take another year from now. I'm hoping after I get another couple big things for school out of the way, I'll have some more time to focus on this.

How bout leaving it functional and using it for high volume ventilation???



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That did cross my mind. I know I'm going to leave the lift gate bolted on for now...who knows, the look might grow on me

Hey Scooter, what's going on? Talk to us man. Here's a little teaser for you:

Hey now, whatcha got there? :drool: Looks like somebody might be getting ready to cut a cab!

I'm hoping that at any rate, once the semester is done in December, I'll be able to get in the garage again. It's bothering me that I'm not done with the top yet... I might have to try just sneaking in an hour here and a few minutes there. Might not do much, but it's better than nothing! No worries, y'all, we'll be back at it again soon!

 

[Peanut Butter]

Full disclosure here - I'm still finishing up my degree. Almost done with a B.S. in Physics. Yeah, mostly bs lol.

That's awesome. My daughter teaches Physics at one of the High Schools here. They also have her teaching AP Physics 1 and 2 which is another way of say an advanced course similar to a college course. Will this degree help you out job wise? I know CJ's can be a little tough to work on, but a Physics Degree!