Build Thread Bondo Brat

[Phoenix827]

Hi there, my name is Chris and i am an idiot. For those that don't know, a few months ago I bought a 1977 cj as a project. That's the Bondo Brat. It has a AMC 304 v8, GM Turbo 400 tranny and quadra-something Transfer Case . 66,000 miles on the odometer, no clue if it has rolled over. Interior is stripped but it appears to be a Levi (Edition) 's edition Renegade (Yes!) Every piece of sheet metal has holes in it and the body has about a half inch of bondo molding it to a bed from what looks to be a 1976 Ford Courier. The floors and body mounts are almost completely gone in it. Also has quite a strong varnish smell, (OLD gas). The back wall of the cab is half diamond plate and half plywood with a sliding back window from a truck in it.
Someone that owned this apparently likes to weld as there is stuff welded everywhere on this! The eear cross member is rotted out ok, let's weld some angle iron onto the supports of the bed so the gas tank doesn't fall out. Nerf bars? Welded on, bastardized trailer hitch? Every piece of it is welded to another. Front frame? Angle iron welded to it for something, maybe a small winch? Bed sides from the courier? Welded to the sides of the cj tub. Not a bad idea except the bed is 2 inches WIDER than the cj!
Last weekend i had a little time to mess with it and i removed a dead starter. Today I got to do more with it. Off came the broken fog lights, out came the spark plugs and in went some marvel mystery oil to sit. Also started cutting the bed off. I like the Scrambler look but this is all hacked together. Then since I can't stand the smell of varnish I managed to get the 1/2 full leaking gas tank out without blowing the whole thing up.
Plans are just to make a nice driver, mild off-roader with it. Replace the tub with one from a square headlight wrangler, supposed to be a fairly simple swap.
Thoughts? Opinions? Parts donations?

 

[Phoenix827]

What I bought,,,

 

[Phoenix827]

Got a leaking gas tank out today, I say "A" tank because I don't think its the right one



Also found this gem, yup, thats a board for a "body mount"

 

[Phoenix827]

Some of the stuff I have found is the wood body mount support, an elecric fuel pump on the fender wired in with scraps of wire and bits of electrical tape, the gas tank that didnt fit right, welded brackets and angle iron in places or holding the "custom" rear crossmember in place, stuff like that. eyeroll

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Sounds like the previous owner was… creative! That’s going to be quite a project!

While grinding the 1/2” of bondo off mine I found mine was retubbed.

 

[Phoenix827]

Got a little more done today, got the seats out, and hammered every bit of rust i could find looking for rot, I found it alright! lol Also cleaned out the tub a bit, .


believe it or not, this is about the worst spot on the outside body, Forgot to get a good pic of the drivers side though. that hole is a few inches back from this one but smaller.


drivers side,

Pass side,


And the infamous back wall

More "interesting" work, the doors are like this too, all screwed/riveted together


Plans right now are to keep stripping off the bad stuff while I get it running again. Then start patching the outside and pulling out the back wall so it can all be re-sealed and painted. Then brakes and a cheaper dual exhaust and drive it. Will probably strip off the half-assed camo and spray-bomb the original green again as best as i can. At the same time I am also looking for a cheap yj if anyone finds one. It can even be hit in the front. The frame has some rot but it looks fixable without it being a major problem.

 

[Belizean]

I’ll bet the other owner was a speedy guy and made sure it didn’t fly apart at great speeds with all that fastening.

 

[Phoenix827]

Sounds like the previous owner was… creative! That’s going to be quite a project!

While grinding the 1/2” of bondo off mine I found mine was retubbed.

Creative is one word, not one I would use though. How did you find it was retubbed?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Tail light markers were last installed a few years before my jeep was issued. The PO bought it in 2000, so it had to have been done between 85 and 1999.