September 19, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
Finally got done welding (both sides) of the rear frame. It took a while longer to get done thanks to Dragon*Con and a trip to New York with Jeep #18 owner Boomerjinks. I thoroughly welded all sides of the frame with the plates and then hit them with a layer of rust preventing paint, and then black paint. It turned out great, but it makes the rest of the rusty frame really stand out now!
Here is the passenger side, the driver side looks the same:
Now to put the gas tank back in, and drive the Jeep without a top for a few more weeks before it becomes too cold to do so!
August 23, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
Just an update on the Jeep’s rusty frame repair. I have managed to get one side done. What a pain in the ass this is being! The welder is acting funky and throwing sparks like crazy, I have several very nice burns on my arms, hands, and legs from molten metal. I’m overall pretty happy with how the welds are turning out. Perhaps a little grinding and then adding a layer of rust encapsulator and chassis paint.
August 20, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
This will be the first in several posts about fixing the frame rust, as I will not be able to finish it all today, or in 1 single day. The fuel tank removal took longer than I had wanted, and I’m sure installing it will not be any easier. The reason for removing the fuel tank was ofcourse to get in there and repair the frame rust that has plagued the Jeep. The repairs should be very strong, and as long as it doesn’t immediately rust out again, it should last several years before I need to think about replacing the whole frame. Here is the rust that I have managed to break free from the outside (and inside) of the frame. Consider that I had gotten rid of a lot of rust prior, and it all ads up to A LOT.
Here are the plates that I have purchased to do the repair. I got them from a guy on JeepForum, but I think he also sells them on eBay. They are very thick ~1/8″+ laser cut steel, to which I made a few modifications. Here they are clamped in, but in the next few days they will be fully welded into place.
August 17, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
Since it was in the 70′s today I decided it would be a good time to get some much needed work on the Jeep. I was ambitious to think that I would be able to get all of the work done today, but the rust monster has struck again. I intended to repair the rear frame area rust, which unfortunately requires removing the gas tank. It took a lot of cutting, cursing, and cramping but I managed to get the gas tank out after a few hours. Most of the rubber hoses will need to be replaced however, because when the tank was last installed (either by someone, or at the factory) all the clamps were installed upside down and inaccessible.
I will have to resume the welding sometime later this week.
In the meantime I had some stickers made and I decided to see how they would look like on a license plate blank. They need some tweaking and overall are too big, but a set in the right direction for an accurate license plate. (BTW…. would anyone like to buy one?) I also took a quick shot of my work area’s Jurassicness.
June 29, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
Well. It has been a long time since I have posted an update. It has been very busy the last month or so, and I have not had the time (weather permitting) to work much on the Jeep. This week I am making some progress on some very important parts. For today, the following things have been replaced: Transfer Case Seal, Transfer Case Fluid, Transmission Fluid, Rear Brakes, Rear Bump Stops, Rear Shocks.
Its nice to get some work done. Hopefully this week I will be able to take care of the rear frame rust issue. If not there is still a few components that need to be done on the front suspension yet.
May 15, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
The rusty area that we found yesterday was wire wheeled and the bad area was identified. The area to be cut out was marked in yellow paint. There is a little bit of rust extending out of this area, but it is for the post part surface rust. The remaining metal is plenty thick for securing to.
Here the bad metal was completely cut out. A 1/2″ thick border was left to secure to.
A 16 gauge patch panel was cut out to fit over the area.
The panel was tack welded into place and then a bead was put around the whole patch.
Next step will be to seal the underside with seam sealer and paint. After that.. we start prepping for the herculiner!
May 14, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
Today was a big day for progress on the interior. It was decided that I would be stripping the inteior and laying down a layer of Herculiner to hopefully subside any eventual rust on the body. The Jeep is in such a great shape that we were hoping for the best as far as hidden rust spots were concerned. After the doors and hard top were removed the first step was to remove the carpet and rear seat. This is a very easy task, its just a lot of fishing carpet around mounts and removing bolts.
When it came down to removing the rear seat, the first level of resistance was reached. Three out of the four bolts holding the front of the rear seat down snapped off. And they snapped off nearly flush with the surface. Getting them out will be still one of the hardest things to do.
Moving foward into the Jeep the front seats and carpet are removed. Here you can see the first glimpse at the floor rust. Like the rear seat there was some issue getting out the front seat. Two of the bolts proved to be rather difficult to remove, but came out after some finessing.
The rust on the driver side floor pan was initially viewed as horrible surface rust. As we chipped away at the rust, it was obvious that the floor would need to be replaced. There should be plenty of solid metal to weld a new section of sheet metal in place. Normally I would weld in a replacement panel, but I would much rather have this done over the weekend and not push the project back into the next week.
The rollcage bolts have been removed in the rear, and the cross bar was removed with the sound bar. Unfortunately four of the front bolts on the rollcage were sized, and stripped out several Torx sockets. We could not apply enough torque on the torx to remove the bolts. The solution was to purchase several cheap Torx sockets and weld one to each bolt. With a much larger cross section making contact with the bolt they broke loose easily with a 2 foot breaker bar.
May 14, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
I took the top off, and the doors.. and then went to go pick up some Herculiner. Pretty fun. Although door-less driving really isn’t for me. Heck top down was annoying because you have no privacy. At the auto parts store there was a same year Jeep Renegade with their top off and no doors. Copycat.
I also got a few items in the mail today. Mainly my new windshield frame and Sahara half doors. The doors need a few parts and an alignment before they will fit right. But its so nice to have some half doors.
Now to go strip the interior. I already took a peak at the driver side floor, and it is pretty rusty. I hope there are no holes and it is thick enough to use. I hope I don’t have to replace it.
May 12, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
Today was only half rainy. Here is what I got (half) done.
Took the front bumper off. I ended up finding a 1/2″ drive T-55 to do the lower bolts and then finished them with a 3/8″ drive. I’m gonna sand down the bumper and put a fresh coat of paint on it along with the tow hooks. I also need to clean up the frame ends and hopefully put some paint down on them.
I lifted it up and took the driver side tire off and started to do some brake work. I installed new rotors and pads without much problem. I picked up really nice “Ultra Premium” rotors from Napa. They are by far my favorite rotors of all time. I’ve had them on the last 4 cars that I have owned. They are painted black with a machined rotor surface. And that paint lasts and lasts, they almost never get any kind of surface rust.
Speaking of rust. Everything is really rusty. I look at my suspension and just think.. god. I want to replace that, that and that. I’ll have to start pricing everything out. But I really might replace my hubs, tie rods and the like. Maybe next time I have the wheel off I’ll look into it. I definitely need to wire wheel a bunch of the rust and get some paint on down there.
I also installed a new Monroe Sensitrak strut and a rubber bump stop.
I decided not to tackle the other side since I’m tired now, and it is supposed to start raining in the next hour. Here is a photo:
May 10, 2010
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Written By AJ Quick /
The body is amazingly almost completely rust free. The frame however is not so lucky. The front and rear sections are common for rusting, and they did. The front was already repaired, and the rear will be done. I suspect the frame is probably 60% there.. there is a lot of surface rust.
Here is the current to do list, with parts stacking up:
-Install Steering Stabalizer
-Install Sway Bar Bracket
-Install Bump Stops
-Install Shocks
-Install Pads / Rotors
-Install Rear Drums
-Install new TC Output Seal
-Change Oil in TC and Transmission
-Repair Rear Frame Rust
-Remove / repaint Front Bumper
-Install Bumper Guards
-Install Foglights on stock brackets (clean / paint brackets).
-Install Rear Foglights and wire in switch.
I should have front fenders, half doors and (now) a windshield frame on the way. I might pick up some paint to start laying down as a protectant. It really needs to stop raining for me to get some of these things done.
