SW86 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 good god am i glad i live in the south!! i had next to no rust and what little i did have was just surface! your taking it on though so you get major props from me :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokie83 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 awesome effort so far on a really challenging project. I'm looking to tackle many of the same things you're facing, but I'm going to wait until the spring. Keep writing and posting pics... I'm watching and learning right along with you. :popcorn: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 Thanks for the compliments and encouragement guys...... it's really appreciated :cheers: I've been really busy lately, but I have managed to make some progress. I'll post an update as soon as I manage to fix my main computer that decided to crap out on me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Hello everyone..... happy new years and all that (okay.... I know it's a bit late :dunno: ) I'm really overwhelmed with my project and I'm looking for feedback, so I posted a thread HERE. Thanks in advance for your help :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Day 48 - 145 Well I'm finally back at it. I wish I could say a lot has happened in the last 100 days. The sad truth is that she sat untouched for the vast majority of time. Well I'm back on the horse now, which is all that matters. Here's what I've accomplished since the last post: - removed the front axle and suspension- removed rocker panels in preparation for rock sliders (details later)- removed the majority of the front inner fenders (details later)- trucked scrap metal to the recyclers for a small pittance Removing the front axle went pretty good, but many of the bolts were incredibly stubborn from 25yrs worth of rust. Getting it off was actually easier than removing it from the garage. After poking and prodding the rocker panels for quite awhile, I spent a lot of time online learning how to replace them, and what my options were. Before researching my options I had planned on replacing the entire rocker panel and then running a tube slider like the Zone MJ Zone MJ Slider Even though I loved the zones sliders, it seemed like a lot of work to cut-out the entire rocker, weld in a new one, only to have to cut into it to accommodate the tubular slider. After doing even more research I came across an alternative that seemed like the better option in my case..... and it's a bit more unique. I found a thread on jeepforum.com posted by a user called "EricsXJ", titled "Time to beef things up!" (I might even use his removable door mod too). Basically instead of replacing the rocker panels, they're cut out and replaced by 2" x 6" x 3/16" rectangular steel. I know what you're thinking.... "this has been done a ton of times". You would be right. The big difference is that when he cut out the rocker panels, they're cut all the way up to the door sills. This requires an additional mod to the doors, but it allows me to get rid of the entire rocker, with the exception of the top part which had almost no rust on it. Here's a look at what I did: Rusted out rocker panel Center part of rocker cut out As you can see from the above 3 pics, I still have a lot of rust to address now that the rocker is gone. Bottom part of rocker cut out Top of rocker trimmed Work still needed to be done The red line shows where the top part of the rocker needs to be trimmed/grinded so that it's flat for the slider to be mounted underneath. The yellow area shows what needs to be cut away. The green area shows the area of the cab wall that is rusted out and needs to be replaced. The passenger side isn't nearly as bad when it comes to rust, but it still has a few spots that need to be addressed. The other thing I found out is that the previous owner spent about 10x more on bondo than he did the fancy camo paint job. There were area's on the rockers where the bondo was a 1/4" thick :nuts: Bondo on the bed corner of the rocker I still have a lot of minor trimming/grinding to do before I even begin to address the rust, and later the slider, but you get the general idea. I'm planning on running 38.5" x 13.5" R17 tires (possibly even 40"), and I want to try and maintain a LCG (Low Center of Gravity)...... so next up was some major inner fender trimming. major inner fender trimming, or should I say removal Once again I still have a lot of minor trimming/grinding to do, but the majority of cutting is done. This idea was based on the "Zone Offroad Comanche" build that utilizes 40" tires with coilovers. I also plan on copying their cage, which will go a long way to adding rigidity back to the front end now that the majority of the inner fender structure is gone. I still have a few area's on the fire wall to address, and I found another excellent write-up by "EricsXJ" on jeepforum.com titled "inner fender trimming / clearance for bigger tires", which helps out a lot. Next up will be the removal of the front control arm mounts, the transmission mount brackets, and the rear leaf spring brackets (along with the rear axle/springs). For the removal of the inner fenders and rocker panels I burned through 20+ cutting disks. Before I even begin to tackle the control arm mounts and other stuff, I plan on picking up a cutting torch to make the job a little easier. Once all those brackets are removed, the next step will be removing all the crap off the unibody, and bed frame in preparation for plating. I have a few hurdles to cross before I'm able to do the plating. First off I have to be able to cough up the money to purchase the cutting torch & bottle rental, as well as the 10 gauge steel..... but more importantly, I need to hook up my MIG Welder and actually learn how to weld with the scrap I have lying around :yes: This grit is all that's left of the 20+ cutting disks...... and the floor was spotless before I started Here's what I picked up over the last 100 days: Dewalt 1.8 HP, 15 Gal, 200 PSI Air Compressor Creeper Seat, Bolt Puller Kit, Hose Cutter, Hammer, Tapered Drill Bits, Etc. Twisted and Straight Wire Cups Ingersoll Rand Air Hammer Ridgid 4.5" Grinder Snap-On Air Hose Reel Pro.Point 3 Ton Jack Stands Ratchet Adjusted Headgear/Face Shield I'm really happy with the tool purchases that I made lately. Everything is high quality and works as it should.... which is a nice change. I'm especially happy with the Ridgid Grinder. It's really comfortable to hold, the guard is easy to adjust and as a great safety feature, it won't start until you push the trigger + the lock button. Once the grinder starts, you have 2 options: (a) release the lock button and it will only continue to operate while you hold the trigger, or (B) release the trigger button, before removing your finger off the lock button, and the grinder remains on in lock mode until you push the trigger button a second time. After about the first 5 grinding disks, I realized that just using safety glasses and a dusk mask sucked. I went out and purchased a proper Face Shield and I have to tell you that it's worth every penny. No more sparks or grit bouncing off my face. Even without a dusk mask it prevents the grit/dust from hitting my face and finding it's way into my mouth and nose. I looked around at various tool places to find one, but everyone I found was cheaply made and a a piece of crap. I finally purchased the one pictured from Acklands Grainger, and it's far superior quality. I managed to grab the Ridgid Grinder and Dewalt Air Compressor during Home Depot's huge tool sale and saved over $200.00 which made me happy. I also managed to get the Ingersoll Rand Air Hammer at 40% off. The Snap-On Air Hose Reel came from Costco, and the only Snap-On thing about it was the sticker.... but it works just fine. Post Purchases Tools - $395.50 (Christmas Gift) Dewalt 1.8 HP, 15 Gal, 200 PSI Air Compressor - $77.91 Creeper Seat, Bolt Puller Kit, Hose Cutter, Hammer, Tapered Drill Bits, Etc. - $29.27 Twisted and Straight Wire Cups - $47.45 Ingersoll Rand Air Hammer - $46.34 (Christmas Gift) Ridgid 4.5" Grinder - $56.48 Snap-On Air Hose Reel - $39.54 Pro.Point 3 Ton Jack Stands - $32.35 Face Sheild Misc. - +$33.68 from metal recycling (Engine, Trans, Axle w Suspension, Drive Shafts & Misc) Build Total Parts = $1532.63 Tools = $875.51 Misc. = $124.77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Comanche4x4 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 wow you sure are in deep now! and you don't know how to weld yet? theres like nothing left of your mj anymore !! keep up the good work! :clapping: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 wow you sure are in deep now! and you don't know how to weld yet? theres like nothing left of your mj anymore !! keep up the good work! :clapping: You couldn't be more right. I'm about as deep into this as you can get. After I clean up all the dust/debris, my next step is setting up the MIG and practicing like crazy. At least I now have a ton of scrap metal to practice on ;) Hopefully MIG welding is as easy as everyone keeps telling me..... otherwise I have more scrap metal in my garage than I thought ;) Thanks for your encouragement :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 I've been absent from this project for a long time. Well now that the weather is getting better, I'm back at it. More details to come, but for now I'll leave ya with a pic of my new donor vehicle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 So here's a few details.... The new donor vehicle pictured in the previous post is a 1997 GMC 1500. I picked it up for $800.00 , which probably seems like a lot.... especially for any members that are in the U.S, but around here that was a pretty decent deal. I actually lucked out on this truck. I had checked the local classifieds early in the morning before going outside to garden, and there wasn't anything new listed. It started to rain around 2pm so I cleaned up and headed in for the afternoon. Around 4pm I checked the classifieds again and noticed this truck was listed shortly after I went outside in the morning. I called the seller and he already had 4 people call about the vehicle, 2 of which stopped by quickly to view it and indicated that they would stop by after work to purchase it for the asking price of $800. The seller was willing to sell it to whoever showed up first with cash in hand. I left immediately, and took a really brief look in the pouring rain. I started it up, popped the hood, did a really quick inspection, shifted gears, and forked over the $800 at around 4:45pm. I sold the bumpers for $150.00 and the remainder of the truck for $100.00 minus the following: Vortec 5700 L31 V8 4L60-E Transmission I also pulled the wiring harness and a few other odds and ends... more details/pics later. All told $550 for a running Vortec V8 and Transmission isn't too bad. Hopefully I'll have it hooked up to the engine stand soon, so I can tear it down. I also found a ton of change, but haven't had the chance to count it :brows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 A real quick update: Finally got the engine on the new engine stand Picked up a few things necessary for the teardown Part way through the teardown Loads of pics/details to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Really quick update: - I've removed the intake & exhaust manifold, the heads, oil pan/pump, timing gear/chain..... basically all that's left is the block complete with cam, crank, pistons. I'll be leaving this intact so the pro's can inspect it & figure out what's got to go and what I should save. Pics of the engine teardown are on my phone.... I'll pull them off later. ZipLoc Bags, Dollar Store Storage Bins, Labels & a Sharpie Marker are your best friends during the teardown. Finally removed the rear axle. Rear minus the axle.... this is the cleanest the floor has been in months. Drilled out the spot welds on the upper part of drivers side unibody..... had to grind a ton of rust to find them. Inner part of the lower section of unibody on the drivers side (front half) ..... not nearly as bad as it looks. Inner part of the lower section of the unibody on the drivers side (rear half) Me getting ready for the next step..... more coming soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exxon Valdez Jeep Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 the welding part is easy, just pull the trigger and run with it! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 After some fun with a cutting torch my MJ is about 12" shorter in preparation for the bed bob and shortening the wheelbase by 5" to 108" Next Up: -Removal of the Front Control Arm Brackets -Removal of the remaining rear Lear Spring Brackets -Lots of frame prep & plating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COFFMAN Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Put that gas axe & grinder away :rotfl2: There will be nothing left soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryGuy Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Before I start to tell you my plating plans, let's take a look back at what the rear frame & bed brackets used to look like: As a reminder here's an earlier pic of the rear frame with the rusty bed brackets (notice the drivers side rear bracket is missing) What was left of the drivers side rear bed bracket Since the one of the bed brackets was kind enough to remove itself, I figured I might as well remove the other 3 so I could plate the top of the frame without them in the way. Bed brackets removed (shaded red area is where they were) Once the bed brackets where removed it was obvious that I really needed to cut a section of the top part of the frame out. I figured that this would not only get rid of the rusted out area, but it would also allow me to access the inside of the frame as well. In this pic you can see I already started to drill out the spot welds. The yellow line shows where I carefully cut across with a zip disk (trying to only cut the top layer) Front cut successful and spot welds removed Making the rear cut was a bit more of a challenge since the outside edge of the metal curves into a 90 degree angle. Basically I cut what I could with the zip disk, drilled a hole close at the end of the cut, and finished the cut with a air body saw. Rear cut What I found after I removed the cut out section After I cleaned out the inside of the frame Bottom View Section to be cut out My Plan: - cut out the rusted portion (see pic above) - replace cut out section - remove remaining surface rust - treat inside of frame to prevent future rust buildup - replace top cut out section - repair/treat and reinstall bed brackets (1 will have to be fabbed up) - plate frame with 3/16" steel - POR-15 Sealant & Chassis Coat There is however a few things I'm uncertain of. When it comes to the inside of the frame, I plan on removing as much rust as possible, by cutting out the bad parts (mentioned above) and sanding/grinding away as much of the remaining rust as I can. I'd love to be able to coat the inside of the frame with POR-15, but I'm pretty sure the heat from the plating will ruin it. I recently purchased some weld thru primer, but unless every little bit of the rust is gone, covering it up with primer won't solve the problem. I could spray the inside with a rust converter, then primer, but I'm worried the rust converter will be ruined by the heat as well...... any advice/info would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 I would cut out the rotted sections of frame, treat with the POR cleaners, apply POR 15, weld in new sections.of.frame, then redo the POR. Just get a flexible wand for your paint gun to shove in the frame to apply the POR 15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92tanMJ Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Wow great build dude! I hope you still have it at around and play on raptor linering it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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