Build Thread 85 CJ7 resto/makeover

[jeremy5780]

Looks good, and you can be proud of the fact YOU did it!

 

[OKCJ7]

Test. I've been locked out of this forum for months.

 

[OKCJ7]

Wow! I'm back in! Long story, went swimming with my phone this summer and haven't been able to post on here since. Just tried tapatalk on my new phone and it works. I'll try to catch you up on the project starting tomorrow.

 

[OKCJ7]

Let me try to bring you up to speed on the build.

First I cleaned and primered the firewall and bottom of the tub.

[/IMG]

Then I sprayed Raptor Liner on it.

I sprayed the tintable Raptor Liner on the inside of the tub.

 

[OKCJ7]

Next, I did some repairs to the doors. Had some rust and the usual crack towards the front.

I also repaired some rust under the hood hinges.

 

[OKCJ7]

My shop is too dusty to paint in so I loaded everything up and hauled it to my shop at work.

As soon as I got it there I had to set the tub on the frame. It had been so long since I had seen it that way I couldn't wait any longer.

 

[OKCJ7]

Over the next two months I did bodywork and painted everything. I have a whole new respect for body men and painters now. It is difficult work that I struggled with for weeks.

 

[Petescj]

That looks great. Maybe its a good thing you took your phone for a swim. Look how much work you got done. Seriously though that body looks awful nice.

 

[OKCJ7]

Thanks Pete! I also cut out the ecm and did the nutter bypass. Here is the mess of wires that I cut out of the engine harness.

I also painted the blower motel housing and did the blazer motor upgrade. For only seventeen bucks at the local Napa it was hard not to do that upgrade.

 

[OKCJ7]

The past week I have been bolting on as many things as I can. I also redid the backseat. I used sem coat vinyl prep, and satin black. I am blown away by how good it looks!

Before

After

In the Jeep

The back end is pretty much done.

 

[OKCJ7]

Tonight I installed some led lights in the tub. They will be controlled by the dome light switch.these things look pretty cool. I can't wait to see them in the dark!

 

[PaRenegade]

Jeeps lookin' good, nice work. Great idea for the LED light strips. Do they interfere with the hardtop mounting bolts/nuts along the side?

 

[elwood blues]

That's an awesome idea! I was looking at upgrading to LEDs on the interior, I like this a lot better than just simple bulb replacement. Awesome work

 

[OKCJ7]

Thanks guys! On the rear lights I mounted them on the angled piece of metal so they are out of the way of the hardtop bolts. I also had to reroute the wiring through the frame on the driver side.

 

[PaRenegade]

Nice! Where did you pick up those flat, strip lights at? I just might copy your idea.

 

[velocity280]

I've built several, ask me any questions you may have. I have a CJ5 project for sale now...

 

[Posi]

Nice! Where did you pick up those flat, strip lights at? I just might copy your idea.

Any hobby shop, radio shack, ebay, etc. You can buy the medium light strip 3528 or the shop light bright 5050. Most hobby shops sell the 3528 in 3' strips, or you can buy them by the reel.

Edit spelling

 

[OKCJ7]

I bought mine on amazon. You can also find them at superbrightleds.com or ledwholesalers.com

 

[OKCJ7]

Progress has been slow the past few weeks. I repainted the fenders only to realize I missed some dents in both of them, so I get to paint them again this weekend. Hopefully the third time is a charm. I did manage to get the dash installed and wired up. the only thing not connected is th radio and the steering column. I did get the column painted and hope to install that this weekend as well. I also got the led tail lights installed and wired up.

 

[OKCJ7]

Painting is complete!!![emoji4] [emoji4] [emoji106] I managed to get one fender and the steering column installed. I'm waiting for a few parts to come in, hopefully today, and I can start bolting a lot of stuff together. The wife and kids will be out of town this weekend so it should be a productive one.