Water tightening a CJ: Hardtop Restoration & windshield frame replacement
jonboy1919
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- Location
- Maltby, WA
- Vehicle(s)
- 1979 CJ7 Renegade, 304cid, MC 2150 Carb, TH400 tranny, Dana 300 twin stick, Dana 44 front w/lock right, Dana 44 rear w/truetrack locker, 33x12.5 Goodrich's, Warn 8k, onboard air, Motorcraft TFI ignition upgrade, WipeBoy wiper upgrade, Painless wiring harness, backup lamps, Driving lamps, YJ brake booster and MC upgrade swap, Rear tow hitch
I purchased my 1979 CJ7 Renegade in Feb of 2011 and immediately started spending entirely too much time and money to undo many of the PO's mistakes and general problems most all Jeeps present.
One of the many problems most of us share is a cracked hardtop. I live up here in the wet Pacific Northwest and I am not under the illusion that Jeeps are water tight. But after re-wiring the dash, installing new gauges and switches, it really bothered me that rain water would drip down my windshield, go onto and under my dash, not to mention in the rear under the hardtop seal.
The main culprit for leaks was a cancerous windshield frame along with a cracked hardtop and failure of all the associated seals therein.
So in March I started the long task of water tightening my CJ. I started by designing a poor man's hardtop lift in my garage so as to not need assistance everytime.
I then removed a cancerous windshield frame, windshield hinges and door hinges. With the advice from some of you fellow Jeep enthusiasts, I purchased a new frame from Collins Bros for $168+shipping (long story short: a GREAT fitting frame, I highly recommend).
After matching factory paint at Wesco (AMC Firecracker Red), I purchased a quart, some hardener and a cheapo LPHV paint gun. For a first time painter, I did OK, very passable for my application (mine is not a show Jeep).
I then had a local glass shop install a new windshield (again, advice from fellow Jeepers; they warrant no leaks on their work). Meanwhile, I removed all surface rust from the cowling and under all hinges, then painted them with POR-15. I also POR-15'd the bottom of the windshield frame and the interior of the frame in the defrost chamber.
While paint was drying I started to work on all the cracks in my hardtop. Most all my cracks were around the bolt holes along the side rails, a weak spot for sure. So I decided to fabricate bolting rails out of aluminum to spread out the down pressure and torque, but also to dress it up and to hide my upcoming first-time fiberglass repair work on the bolt holes.
I used my pneumatic cut-off tool and a carbide bit to shave down the cracked bolt holes so I could lay in fiberglass cloth and resin, and I also decided to add in each repaired area a square steel washer for even more strength.
After cutting fiberglass cloth into strips, I mixed resin and hardener and quickly went to work on only two holes at a time (resin hardens in 10 m inutes). On one crack which was missing a big chunk, I had to build a form to replicate the frame rail shape. Again, I thought for a first-timer in fiberglass repair, it turned out OK.
One bit of advice, don't put a pre-drilled metal washer in the hole under the fiberglass, as it will squirm around and end up not centered over the rail bolt holes making it much harder to drill out later
. Instead, just place a square in there without a hole.
After sanding and painting the rails, I placed the aluminum bolt down rails in place and outlined the holes to be drilled through the newly-laid fiberglass. I highly recommend starting with a small drill bit and progressively get larger. I then installed new rail weatherstripping & windshield frame weatherstrip on the hardtop, now it was time for the windshield frame installation.
At this point I decided to make this project a bit more expensive as I purchased Kentrol stainless steel hinges (doors & hood), air intake vent and mirrors. I also went with IOPORT's advice and upgraded my wiper system to WIPEBOY (note: they are GREAT!
)
After installing the new cowl seal it was time to get new windshield frame mounted. Here is where body alignment fitment gets tricky, especially upon putting the doors back on. There will be a lot of loosening and tightening hinges, jacking and rejacking the doors. At 75lbs each, this proves to be fun. I used squeeze clamps, with the pads reversed, off of the rock sliders to attain slight door adjustments.
Finally it was time to lower the hardtop back onto my CJ. The Collins Bros' frame proved to be really close to my original for fitment. I did however have to grind down the metal flange on both upper corners of the frame, very minor adjustment indeed.
I then put on my aluminum bolt-down rails in the interior, a great fit as all hole aligned with the tub's holes
.
Now the big question remained: did all this effort, time and money help to make my CJ more water tight? Well, the weather here really cooperated with me today (6/23/12) with thundershowers. I cranked the old AMC 304 V8, she started first turn and away we went.
I am VERY VERY happy to report no leaks from the windshield, nor the frame, nor the hardtop (some minor water from one small patch of rust on floorboard; next winter's project).
Thank you all for the advice on parts, fiberglass repair and fitment.
One of the many problems most of us share is a cracked hardtop. I live up here in the wet Pacific Northwest and I am not under the illusion that Jeeps are water tight. But after re-wiring the dash, installing new gauges and switches, it really bothered me that rain water would drip down my windshield, go onto and under my dash, not to mention in the rear under the hardtop seal.
The main culprit for leaks was a cancerous windshield frame along with a cracked hardtop and failure of all the associated seals therein.
So in March I started the long task of water tightening my CJ. I started by designing a poor man's hardtop lift in my garage so as to not need assistance everytime.
I then removed a cancerous windshield frame, windshield hinges and door hinges. With the advice from some of you fellow Jeep enthusiasts, I purchased a new frame from Collins Bros for $168+shipping (long story short: a GREAT fitting frame, I highly recommend).
After matching factory paint at Wesco (AMC Firecracker Red), I purchased a quart, some hardener and a cheapo LPHV paint gun. For a first time painter, I did OK, very passable for my application (mine is not a show Jeep).
I then had a local glass shop install a new windshield (again, advice from fellow Jeepers; they warrant no leaks on their work). Meanwhile, I removed all surface rust from the cowling and under all hinges, then painted them with POR-15. I also POR-15'd the bottom of the windshield frame and the interior of the frame in the defrost chamber.
While paint was drying I started to work on all the cracks in my hardtop. Most all my cracks were around the bolt holes along the side rails, a weak spot for sure. So I decided to fabricate bolting rails out of aluminum to spread out the down pressure and torque, but also to dress it up and to hide my upcoming first-time fiberglass repair work on the bolt holes.
I used my pneumatic cut-off tool and a carbide bit to shave down the cracked bolt holes so I could lay in fiberglass cloth and resin, and I also decided to add in each repaired area a square steel washer for even more strength.
After cutting fiberglass cloth into strips, I mixed resin and hardener and quickly went to work on only two holes at a time (resin hardens in 10 m inutes). On one crack which was missing a big chunk, I had to build a form to replicate the frame rail shape. Again, I thought for a first-timer in fiberglass repair, it turned out OK.
One bit of advice, don't put a pre-drilled metal washer in the hole under the fiberglass, as it will squirm around and end up not centered over the rail bolt holes making it much harder to drill out later
. Instead, just place a square in there without a hole.After sanding and painting the rails, I placed the aluminum bolt down rails in place and outlined the holes to be drilled through the newly-laid fiberglass. I highly recommend starting with a small drill bit and progressively get larger. I then installed new rail weatherstripping & windshield frame weatherstrip on the hardtop, now it was time for the windshield frame installation.
At this point I decided to make this project a bit more expensive as I purchased Kentrol stainless steel hinges (doors & hood), air intake vent and mirrors. I also went with IOPORT's advice and upgraded my wiper system to WIPEBOY (note: they are GREAT!
)After installing the new cowl seal it was time to get new windshield frame mounted. Here is where body alignment fitment gets tricky, especially upon putting the doors back on. There will be a lot of loosening and tightening hinges, jacking and rejacking the doors. At 75lbs each, this proves to be fun. I used squeeze clamps, with the pads reversed, off of the rock sliders to attain slight door adjustments.
Finally it was time to lower the hardtop back onto my CJ. The Collins Bros' frame proved to be really close to my original for fitment. I did however have to grind down the metal flange on both upper corners of the frame, very minor adjustment indeed.
I then put on my aluminum bolt-down rails in the interior, a great fit as all hole aligned with the tub's holes
.
Now the big question remained: did all this effort, time and money help to make my CJ more water tight? Well, the weather here really cooperated with me today (6/23/12) with thundershowers. I cranked the old AMC 304 V8, she started first turn and away we went.
I am VERY VERY happy to report no leaks from the windshield, nor the frame, nor the hardtop (some minor water from one small patch of rust on floorboard; next winter's project).
Thank you all for the advice on parts, fiberglass repair and fitment.
