I found frame repair sections. There were some expensive ($250) sections that were boxed in, or some cheaper ($100) plates that you weld to existing metal. I opted for the cheaper ones as there is still plenty of metal to secure to.

I haven’t driven the Jeep since the day I bought it (Thursday) because the battery went dead. I wasn’t happy with the battery connections (they were old and rigged in there) so I worked a bit today to replace them. In the process of doing that I had a rusted stud that refused to come out, so I had to cut a wire. I could have been driving the Jeep today if that had gone smoothly.

The last few days have spent scouring information on JeepForum, this JP site and on parts supplier sites. I have spent quite a bit of money on some parts that I need / wanted such as:

-Rear Fog Lights (The amber driving lights). I went with the Pro Comp 100 4″x6″ amber fog light. I will be replacing the bulb with a lower wattage lamp and then wiring a flip switch to allow for switching between red and amber.

-Front Fog Lights. One of mine was missing the lense / reflector assembly. Replacing this with a factory one would have cost quite a bit of money. I decided to go with the Delta 150 Foglight. It is a pretty close match for the factory light, just a little bit thicker I presume.

-Fenders. I found a company that claims the fenders they sell are OE quality. If they are not, I will be returning them and attempting to get my money back.

-Soft Top. I managed to find a Spice Bestop top here on Craigslist locally. It has quite a bit of hardware (2 of everything) and a decent top. I picked it up for $200 which is a great deal.

Looking for:
-Half Doors. Saw some on eBay, probably will be out bid even though they are up to $400 right now.
-Windshield Frame. I really don’t want to buy a aftermarket steel frame. I am trying to find a used rust free frame. Currently bidding on one, but its already up past where I really want to pay.

Future Steps:

I have a bit of maintainence to do. Hopefully I can get it all done tomorrow. I have the battery, steering stabalizer strut, rear axle seals, TC output seal, and fluid changes for those.

Now that I have a soft top, I want to pull off the Hardtop and install the soft top hardware. That will require a lot of cleaning and painting of the parts as some of them are rusty. I hope there is enough components to make atleast 1 good set of hardware.

But before I put the soft top on, I want to pull the rollcage, seats and carpet and Herculine the floors and interior. I am pretty sure my floors are rust free (atleast no holes). So I want to keep it that way. I figure 3-4 coats of Herculiner should do the trick. After that is done the carpet will go back in. (I really like that look of that!).