Build Thread Custom Jeep CJ Truck Build

Build Thread Custom Jeep CJ Truck Build
PB-I'm really enjoy'n this thread! Please keep us updated!
:chug:
LG
 
Where in Texas and what job took you around the world. I kind of did the same thing, until I retired from the Military, Army.

I grew up south of Dallas. Lancaster, if you know the area. It's a LOT different now than it used to be...

8 years in the Marine Corps took me here, there, and everywhere. Best times of my life. I'd do it all over again if I could.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do for a tailgate, too. I'm thinking of a bed something similar to what you have there. Keep it coming!
 
Thanks for all the comments and encouragements guys. :chug: I mention the wheel wells of the CJ7 because I already have the metal. My intent was not to use the entire piece. Here is the type of fender I want to use: Single Axle Trailer Fender - Jeep Style - 16 Gauge Steel - 13" to 15" Wheels - Qty 1 Redline Trailer Fenders J101936 :) I was thinking I would use part of the CJ7 wheel well on the inside of the bed and buy the fenders I linked. I would connect the two to make the opening for the wheels. :rolleyes: To not cut into the side of the bed for wheel clearance I would have to narrow the bed so much, it would be useless. :eek: So, I will do both, cut into the bed as little as possible and add a fender to the outside. Hope that makes sense. ;) I may just end up using the bought fenders, let them intrude into the bed, and add some flat sheet metal to cover the inside hole. I still have all of this to figure out, but would like to set it on the frame first to see how much room I will need. :)

As you can see from the pictures, I think it will clean up nicely. Just going to take some work. I really like the metal floor, so the fact that the wood and supports were totally shot is fine. :D
 
Some more thought on the fenders: If I use the ones that I can buy, there are 10" wide. I need 4.25" inside the bed to fit the narrow track axles. That leaves 5.75" of outside fender. I believe this will be abdicate for the wheels and tires I'll be using, especially if I add some rubber flare. I'll seal the inside area with a piece of sheet metal. That will give me 41" in between the wheel wells and 50" everywhere else.
 
Worked some more this morning on my truck bed. Started with the driver's side. I need to sand, scrap, somehow remove all of the rust, paint, and of course tar :bang: from the metal. I have a little air scraper tool I got from HF. :rolleyes: It worked really good getting the tar off. :D Along with some paint thinner, I got down to bare metal. Good lesson here, if they had just kept it painted or even with tar, there wouldn't be any rust! :(

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And here is the pile of junk that came off:

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Looks good without all that junk on it!

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Here is the little air scraper I used. Worked really good!

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I probably would have kept going but the heat was getting really bad.

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That's right Temp is 98.8, RH is 59% and heat index is 123.8! :eek: Inside it wasn't much better. Need that air conditioned garage! :laugh::laugh:
 
Got a little more time this morning before going over to the daughter's house to help build a swing/playhouse. :D As you can see in this picture there is a large area of rust on the front bed panel. :mad: First thought was to gut this out and just add a piece of sheet metal. After getting into it I discovered that the sheet metal make the round bend at the top and then joins together at the point of rust to form a sandwich that goes all the way to the bottom.

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Here is what the rounded top piece looks like.

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So I believe the top piece is salvageable. :rolleyes: If I dress it up and take care of the rust on the inside, I won't have to worry about replacing the whole thing. Here is the bottom half that I cut out.

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It was a mess. :bang: The plan is to replace it with a single heavier sheet of metal. I was kind of lucky that somebody had welded a piece of flat metal near the top between the sides. ;) This really helps maintain the position of the side while I repair the front panel. As you can see in the next picture.

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You can also see where the metal bottom turns upward to connect with the front bed.

I really like the idea of a metal floor over a wood floor. :) It will be much more functional for my purpose. I can say that I really use my trucks, and this one will be no different.

Not sure if I will continue to work on the front or start stripping the passenger side next. I'm really happy with the progress after a 5 month break from the project to put together my surprise for my wife and I's 30th wedding anniversary. We were married in a Court House in El Paso TX while I was in basic training. :confused: I stood for 2 hours in front of my 1st Sargent's office to ask for permission to leave the base to get married. I doubt you can count on one hand the number of people that can say they got married during basic in recent history. So the surprise of renewing our vows was a really big hit. :D My wife was totally surprised. She had no idea. ;) She didn't realize what was going on until she started to walk out to the ceremony area. I had a really good friend of ours that is a Pastor from Illinois preform the ceremony. There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd. Even the caterer had tears. ;) It was awesome. :D Here are a couple of pictures I will share with ya'll. This is at the Ring Mountain Event Center. It is located just north of us. We live in the beautiful Hill Country of Texas as you can see in the pictures.

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And my beautiful family:

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Thanks for letting me share that. Now back to work on the Jeep! :chug:
 
Congratulations Rod, and to your wife as well. Beautiful family pic, thanks for sharing your special day with us. :chug:
 
You Sly dog you. :D Hard for her to say no about anything now. Says Rod "Yeah Dear I'm going to convert the Jeep into a pick up while I'm at it." Her reply "Sure anything you say Dear." :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:


Honestly congradulations. :chug:
 
PB--Even if you didn't have a penny to your name. You're a rich man :notworthy:

Respectfully,
LG
 
Congratulations! That's a beautiful family you have there...


































Now get back to work! :chug:
 
So back at it this last couple of days. I feel like it is cleaning up nicely. :) I built a wood dolly to be able to wheel it out onto the driveway so that I could use my torch to cut off some stuff. :drool: Here are the latest pictures:

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Found something in between the bed side and the angle iron holding the metal bottom to it. :eek:

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Yep a P-38. :D Put it in some Phosphoric Acid to clean it up. Will most likely polish it a little. This is definitely a keeper for this truck. ;)

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Yes I cut the light housings off. :eek: They were just in too ruff of shape to use. Plans are to cut some new pipe to replace them. :cool:

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I also decided to run a continues weld between the angle iron and the bottom and sides. That will seal the inside of the bed completely. Should be getting my fenders this week. I'll cut and weld them in next.

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More to follow guys!
 
I forgot to go back and update the completion of the rebuild of my transfer case. I switched out the differential gear for a Mile Marker Part Time setup and bought a new chain from BJ's Off-Road. Only USA made chain on the market. Painted the outside of the case with Eastwood's Aluminum Engine Paint. Bolted everything together. $600 later, I have a like new transfer case.

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Got my fenders in Thursday, so I had a chance to work on them yesterday. Here is what one of the fenders looks like:

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I then found the center line and traced the outline of the fender to the side panel of the truck bed.

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Now it was time to cut!

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After getting the side of the truck bed cut out, I fitted the fender in approximately 6 inches. This will line up with the frame rails.

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I tack welded the fender in for now. :) When I traced the fender for cutting, I was off on the corners. :bang: I'll probably have to cut a couple of small pieces of sheet metal to fill in the gaps. :mad: Hopefully I'll be able to do a better job on the other side. :eek: So the fender is inset 6 inches into the bed and 4 inches stick out of the side of the bed. That 4 inches make it line up with the original width of the Jeep CJ body. :D I will probably have to cut some of the fenders off at the outer bottom ends. But I won't be able to tell how much till I get the bed actually mounted to the frame. :rolleyes:

So what do ya'll think so far?
 
Man, thanks lookin fine!! I like inserting the fender into the bed a bit - and having 4" of fender outside the bed will have a nice proportion / look to it. Very nice


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Love it. Looks good and gives it a nice shape. I also like that it doesn't intrude into the bed area a lot . Very nice.
 
I'm still anxious to see what you do for a tailgate


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I'm still anxious to see what you do for a tailgate


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Me to. If you want the Jeep logo from my rusted one you're welcome to it. :chug:
 
Me to. If you want the Jeep logo from my rusted one you're welcome to it. :chug:

I may take you up on that Pete, if your not going to use it. I hate cutting up a good tailgate.

My plan is to get a plain Chevy tailgate that fits and insert a Jeep logo into it. The CJ7 / CJ5 tailgates are a little small. What looks really good is one from a postal Jeep. Have to keep my eyes open.
 
Does that mean if one of us sees a postal Jeep just sittin around you'd like us to liberate the tailgate for ya??? LOL. I'm kidding.......

On a totally different note - a buddy told me today his neighbor has a possibility to grab a complete, as in everything but a body, original rolling chassis from an MB....... For 500 bucks. The guy that has it ought it for 200 for the PTO unit, and wants to unload it for 5 bills. Just wanted to share my frustration of not being at the right place at the right time. Ok - back to the pickup..... Sorry for the diversion. (The tie in is it needs a tailgate also )


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Got a chance today to finish welding the fender on the passenger side. I also welded up the existing holes and the angle iron that is on the inside of the bed. I cut a piece of card board for a template to fill in around my fender. ;)

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I then cut a piece of metal to weld into that hole. :)

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So I was able to finish welding all of the passenger side. :D

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Now I have to do some grinding. Some of my welds were not real pretty, :( but I did get good penetration on all of them. :eek:

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I also need to grind the holes that I filled flat. Should clean up really nice with some minor grinding work. :D Then I'll start on the other side and try to reproduce what I just did. :rolleyes: I'll also need to cut a couple of pieces of flat sheet metal to weld to the inside of the fender or the outside that faces into the bed. That shouldn't be too hard. ;)

I really like the way the bed is turning out. :banana: I will most likely end up adding some sheet metal on the outside of the bed between the bottom of the stake pockets and the fenders, but I don't want do that till it is sitting on the frame. :drool: That way I'll get a better idea of how much I want to add. I also still need to address the front of the bed. :bang: I may just buy a replacement piece, not totally sure on that part yet.

Felt like I got a lot accomplished today. If I can keep working on it, Ill have it ready for primer in the next couple of weeks! :D
 

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