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1989 Pioneer Budget Build


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Are you seriously spending all that money on bedliner and bondo but you won't spend $4 to repair the studs in the flares when they break?

 

You are wasting your money and time. Fix the body right or just let it rot away.

Thanks for the kind words.

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What he is doing is somewhere between fixing it "right" and letting it rot away.  He is cleaning up the bad spots and trying to fill in the gaps.  It may not be the right way, but it falls somewhere in between.  I understand not agreeing with his approach, but having an opinion and being rude can generally be two separate things.

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For the broken bolts you just need to drill through the studs and place new bolts of appropriate size though the holes, then either weld or otherwise attach those bolts' heads and reattach. its pretty straight forward and while the flares are off you may decide you like it better without them.

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I really am liking the look of the Napier flares and have been thinking about going that route. I just wasn't going to mess with them just yet. I'll get to them down the road. This truck is essentially my beater so fender flares that are currently attached securely aren't really a concern right now.

 

I didn't take them off because I didn't want to fool with them just yet. It's a slow process for me but I think it'll work itself out in the end.

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  • 6 months later...

Finally got some time to work on the truck. Lately I have had other home improvement things occupying my time and just been driving it about once a week. Today I finally got the old busted up FEY bumper off. It really was a PITA, broke pretty much every single bolt, but at least it's off. Any feedback on the best way to get the stuck bolts out? I suppose drilling them out will be the best way to do it. 

 

 

 

I installed the passenger A-Pillar and OH Sh*t handle. 

 

 

I also did a little bit more body work. 

 

 

I ordered a replacement cab corner from NorthWoods off the For Sale forum and plan to get setup with this MIIG welder in about a month or so. Once I get the welder, the real fun will start  :thumbsup:

 

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200631880_200631880

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Drilling may work to get the bolts out, but you'd need a right-angle drill unless you take the bed off, as there's not much room to work.

Alternatively, the nuts on the inside of the frame, if still factory, are only tacked on there, and will come off fairly easily with a long punch/chisel or better yet an air hammer. That does however mean you would need to fish some new bolts down there, or better yet make a backing plate with the right pattern and weld the nuts to that.

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Drilling may work to get the bolts out, but you'd need a right-angle drill unless you take the bed off, as there's not much room to work.

Alternatively, the nuts on the inside of the frame, if still factory, are only tacked on there, and will come off fairly easily with a long punch/chisel or better yet an air hammer. That does however mean you would need to fish some new bolts down there, or better yet make a backing plate with the right pattern and weld the nuts to that.

 

Thanks for the advice! I will look into getting a punch or air hammer down in there. 

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Are you seriously spending all that money on bedliner and bondo but you won't spend $4 to repair the studs in the flares when they break?

 

You are wasting your money and time. Fix the body right or just let it rot away.

Took this guys kind words and took the Fender Flares off. I went to the JY and scored a set of Rear Flares from a 2 door XJ. So I felt a little more confident in taking the flares off and not having to worry too much about getting them back on. As you can see the drivers side was pretty wrecked and as were the Flare mounting brackets. I'll spend some time this week getting the holes filled in and sanded smooth. Now that they are off, I will also paint the flares and get them in good shape. I have an extra set of flares if anyone is interested!

 

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Drilling may work to get the bolts out, but you'd need a right-angle drill unless you take the bed off, as there's not much room to work.

Alternatively, the nuts on the inside of the frame, if still factory, are only tacked on there, and will come off fairly easily with a long punch/chisel or better yet an air hammer. That does however mean you would need to fish some new bolts down there, or better yet make a backing plate with the right pattern and weld the nuts to that.

I went to Harbor Fright and got a cheap O Air Hammer. This really helped with getting the stuck bolts off and finally got the FEY bumper mounted. I still have to connect the license plate lights. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Welder and shielding gas are on order, so hopefully jumping into fixing the rusted out cab corner and rocker panels. I plan to weld in 2x3 square tubing in place. Once I get the welding done, it will be onto getting the body ready for paint. Once the exterior is painted, I plan to tear into the interior and fix the floor pans as well.

 

Went to the JY and scored a very nice set of door panels to replace the burgundy ones. The old ones were half way on and these make it feel a lot nicer in the cab. Also ordered a set of 4 hole injectors from DirtyJeepGuy and will get those installed as soon as they come in.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well a little update to the no longer "budget" build. I ended up sending my truck to the shop for new shoes. Decided on 31x10.50 MTs. While it was in there i had them install my coil spacer, a 1 inch lift shackle, and 4 new shocks. I went with Rough Country shocks because of the price. So far I am very happy with how it all turned out. The truck has a very nice stance now and is nice and level.

 

 

Before is on the bottom.

 

 

 

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I'm diggin the way the truck is starting to look.  I Really like that tool box too..reminds me that I still need to get one.

Thanks Impulse! It's been a fun time with it so far. After the lift and tires I fell back in love with it again. I feel like it's getting some character now. Up next is finishing up the body work a welding in a new rocker. Then hopefully I'll be ready to get it painted.

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Thanks guys for the kind words. Checked off two more this from my list today and yesterday. Installed the Eurmatec B pillar lights and also finally installed my Autozone tailgate handle. Handle was super easy. Just had to use a cutting wheel to knock off the piece metal inside the opening. Then drilled three new holes to mount it. It isn't perfectly straight but honestly I don't care, I'm just glad to have an easier way to open my tailgate. Also cleaned up my tailgate cover and decided against raptor liner on the tailgate due to the huge dent on the top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Well came home today to my idiot neighbor catching a field behind my house fire. Comanche got into action to make sure the fire didn't spread to my house. Luckily the FEY bumper didn't fall off and the truck pulled pretty decent.

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Today I decided to get started on my Rocker Panels. Once I get these welded in I will closer to be able to get this thing painted. I went by a local metal supply and picked up 2X6 rectangle boxed steel. I changed my mind from the 2x3 I had after reading through several XJ build threads. It sticks out just a little bit, to protect the doors and seems like it will be easier to weld in than the 2x3. 

 

Anyways today I tore into my drivers side rocker and wasn't real surprised with what I found. The end towards the front was in great shape, but the cab corner was pretty rusted on the inside. Found two baseball size balls of fiberglass body filler in there  :???:  My plan is to keep the cab corner in tact and put the 2x6 in at the door and not all the way through the front fender. This week I plan to spend it prepping the rockers and getting them ready to weld. If it all goes well, I will be welding in the rockers this weekend, but we will see how all that goes. 

 

Not sure how this even happened, but it's out now. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for anyone that has done this mod. Did you cut the pinch seam all the way out as well? I just cut from the bottom and followed the pinch seam as a guide. I plan to follow the write up on Jeep Kings that used a 1 inch flat bar and then a 2 inch angle iron to mount it too. 

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Test fitted the 2x6 this afternoon. My buddy who is a welding student couldn't come by tonight to help me get it burned in. Hoping to have all that done tomorrow evening. But here are some pics of the process thus far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Finally got the rocker mounted in. I may add 2x2 square tubing to the support the bottom better. But this is how it's gonna stay for a bit. Now I get to do the other side and be done with the rockers finally. Anyways onto the pics

 

POR15 inside the rocker to keep the rust at bay in there.

 

 

 

He stacked two welds side by side. As we were dealing with 1/4 steel and my welder was maxed out on heat to burn in.

 

 

 

 

Hope to get the other side welded in over the next few weeks. I'm pretty stoked with how it came out.

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Good job on the rockers, I think it's a project I'm going to tackle eventually.

 

Thanks man. I wasn't sure how hard it was going to be. But it really wasn't hard at all. If I knew how to weld I could have knocked it out in two days. But I took my time and was dependent on a buddy to weld it for me. Overall it's very solid and can't wait for when I paint them black. My plan is do the body line down with the black Raptor liner. 

I've always been torn doing that to rockers.  I see the function, and I can understand doing it on a rusty vehicle, but mine are still in good shape so I can't bring myself to do it.

 

Yeah I wouldn't have done this unless my rockers were so  un salvageable. I was surprised the rust wasn't real bad on the inside of the rocker as it was on the outside. 

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