Build Thread The '80 FrankenJeep frame off reassembly

[mtnwhlr]

You guys out there please stay safe. They say this could be a real bad one.

 

[shum8]

You guys out there please stay safe. They say this could be a real bad one.

Roger that. Good news is Dain and I are far enough inland we’ll just get a ton of rain. Winds shouldn’t be much more than gusts of 50mph or so. Folks on the coast are gonna have it pretty rough.....


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[gr8dain]

Exactly. I keep telling my parents to evacuate from the va beach coast area and come to northern va with us, but they are stubborn.

I hope it is not as bad as they are making it out to be.

 

[shum8]

I think the mountains around here help break em up. That’s my hope anyways


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[shum8]

Ok - I think the Jeep gods are just screwing with me now....... I got everything ready for my inspection today. In honor of the seat belts being installed, I hauled my bulbousassiness up into the pilot's seat, buckled up, and just as I started grinning - BOOP. The seat belt popped open. No big deal - I must not have seated it all the way. Reinserted firmly, and BOOP. Alrighty then. They worked fine at the pick n pull - what the heck?? Got to looking, and the male portion would twist to the point the catch would let go. So I took the seat belt back out, grabbed the extra belt I brought home, and headed for the basement. Opened up the female side, make a plastic replica plug part, and started my investigation. Here's the plug

Here's the inner frame that holds the plug. There are tabs formed into the sides that prevent the plug from twisting.... or rocking...... tilting..... whatever the correct term is I'm looking for....

Then I noticed the plug was more narrow than the opening into which it fits, allowing the plug to miss both tabs...

Here's a side view of the proper position

What it rocks, it falls below the reach of the locking tab, shown in yellow

I tried to bend the tabs - the inner frame must be hardened as it broke pretty quickly. I'm glad I had a spare to dissect!!

The way all the internal parts relate to each other, there's no way to add anything to prevent the plug from rocking. Only recourse is to widen the plug. If shoved all the way to one side, the locking tab still engages, so I welded an extension onto the other side

I got the welding done about 11:00 tonight - I can work the shape down tomorrow. I had to weld a bit then hit it with an ice cube. Didn't wanna melt the plastic pieces on the plug. Stand by for the finished product.



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[gert]

Dang hope it works very strange that they would pop out tho


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[Belizean]

Dang hope it works very strange that they would pop out tho


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Luckily it's not rocket science . Looks like Shum8 has got this. Get it done ! We want you to be safe while wheeling

 

[shum8]

Alrighty - seat belts are done....... where I reworked em the chrome is gone, paint will wear off quickly, so as they rust I'll just hit em with steel wool and oil. It'll be a redneck rust blue job. It'll hold till one of these days I put a new set of belts in.

Started out this afternoon by smoothing up the plug

I knew it was too wide, but that's an easy fix. Made another dummy plug, this one for the correct width

Used that to mark my grind line, then snuck up on it till it just fit...

Once it fit, I put the buckle back together I and test fit it. Wouldn't latch....... it fit fine, just needed a tad more depth. I had room here, so it needed a bit removed from the end.

Shortening it a couple thousandths allowed it to buckle nicely. Here you can see the three critical areas. The nose hits a stop, limiting forward travel (which also allows the latch and notch to align), the forward shoulders rest on the side indentations , preventing the plug from dipping out from under the latch (which is what it was originally doing), and the rear shoulders, which had to be relieved a bit also which were hitting the buckle housing.

Was gonna fix the passenger side later on, but figured since I had the process fresh in my head I'd go ahead and knock it out. Yanked the assented side belt out, grabbed the scrap steel, grinder, welder, and,got ready to make a mess and some noise..... stuck the plug in the buckle to verify it needed the same treatment, and it would fit - not even close......

Then I remembered the female belt ends that were in it when I got it were on long steel extensions....... probly weren't originals and the driver side plug had been modified to fit those. Guess the passenger was on their own LOL. Comparing it to the dummy plug

This was easy - just ground a little off each side, and it fit perfect - just like it was supposed to. I did have to take a bit off the end of this one as well, but they both work perfectly.

Until I get a console in there, the female sides of the belts will just have to lie on the floor next to the seat risers..... no biggie

So I am officially ready for inspection...... as soon as monsoon Florence leaves us alone - I wanna take it with the top off. Stuck the mirrors on today as well - they're the YJ mirrors that came with the doors - fine for cold weather, but by spring I want a set of CJ mirrors - just doesn't look right without em

And the steering column is all put back together so she's ready to go.

Now that the gotta haves are done, I'll start on the stereo and aux lighting..... I feel like the pressure is MUCH less and I can breathe[emoji16]


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[mtnwhlr]

I think your steering wheel is the crown jewel of your project. Nice job.

 

[shum8]

I think your steering wheel is the crown jewel of your project. Nice job.

Thank you very much. Funny thing is it was much easier to do than half the I’ve done LOL


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[gert]

Dang so jealous I bet you are going to love cruising your jeep


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[gr8dain]

I think your steering wheel is the crown jewel of your project. Nice job.

I was gonna say something similar. A beauty.

Great job getting it all ready for inspection. Good luck.

 

[shum8]

Dang so jealous I bet you are going to love cruising your jeep


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I must admit - I am getting just a tad anxious....


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[shum8]

I was gonna say something similar. A beauty.

Great job getting it all ready for inspection. Good luck.

I thought about picking up a couple old ratty CJ steering wheels and making a couple more and see if I could sell em......


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[gr8dain]

I thought about picking up a couple old ratty CJ steering wheels and making a couple more and see if I could sell em......


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Depending on what your cost is, I bet you could. I am sure they would look great.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Depending on what your cost is, I bet you could. I am sure they would look great.

X2 I would buy one.

 

[shum8]

Checked to see what I had going at work this week (new job, still learning stuff), decided to take Wed off, get the Jeep inspected, and see how much gas I could burn in it. Got home this afternoon, pulled it out in the driveway, pulled each wheel and cleaned the wheels and tires real well, reinstalled with NEW lug nuts ,

Old

New

cranked it up, tweaked the idle speed a bit, and decided it was ready for inspection. I thought maybe I'd take it around the neighborhood one more time just to make sure it was rite. Turned the last corner back to the house, and the brake pedal went to the floor. I thought WTH? Down shifted, hit the driveway, threw it in first, and with cat like reflexes and ninja precision, shut the engine down close enough to not have to push it, and far away enough so as to not drive thru the back of the garage, taking all the boxes and with me.

Got out, opened the hood, and everything looked right. Except the puddle of brake fluid on the garage floor..... figured I'd left the reservoir cap off - sounds like something I'd do... Nope - it was good. None of the line connections were leaking..... then I saw a braided rake line hanging down next to the front wheel..... THATS not good!! The dang connector on the end of the wheel line broke.

So now, the only chance I have at getting an inspection done Wed is to have this line repaired. We have a shop,here that builds all kinds of hydraulic lines - hopefully they'll have the correct fitting in stock - if so they can fix it tomorrow.

I've always had my suspicions that AMC built both male and female CJs....... this seals it. Lumpy has a male CJ. They've been friends for over 40 years, they treat each other right, and are like old friends. Mine is female. Every time I get ready to do something, she pulls a stunt redirecting my efforts. As soon as I feel like I have a plan of attack, she dictates otherwise. I told her tonight that after popping a brake fitting, I was gonna start talking to other Jeep's, take pictures of other Jeep's with their tops off - I might even sit in one..........

Oh - and this isn't a big deal, but it's been bugging the snot outta me. I bought the fiberglass front fenders used, have no idea of their history, but they were strong and in good shape. Whoever drilled the mountingnholes for the side markers must have been 3 or 4 beers in.....

They're both like that. I'm gonna hafta fix that - I think it makes the Jeep handle funny..... messes up it's aerodynamics.


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[gr8dain]

Damn. You can’t catch a break (brake[emoji12]).

And yeah. I would lower that front screw on the turn signal light. It would bug me as well.

 

[gert]

Damn. You can’t catch a break (brake[emoji12]).

And yeah. I would lower that front screw on the turn signal light. It would bug me as well.

Lol OMG


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[shum8]

Well played, sir. Very good!!

I dropped the failed brake line off at a local shop that does custom hydraulic lines - usually pretty reasonable. They should have a new connector on the line by this afternoon, and I’m having them work me a price up for four new lines.... I don’t trust any of em now. But I am determined to get this stupid thing on the road (I’m not gonna day the “I” word any more - every time I do something else breaks...)


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