1980 CJ7 build

[daddyusmaximus]

I still have a lot of work to do on the jeep, and here I go getting sidetracked with yet another new project...



Yes, that's a new Predator 420. It all started when I saw a video on youtube. (Yeah, 'cause that always ends well.) I subscribe to Jay Leno's Garage, and he recently did a video on a 1916 Autocar coal truck.




I absolutely love the vehicles from that era. They're so simple, yet so rugged. Kinda like the Jeep... This one looks sorta like a big Kawasaki Mule, something I've always wanted to tool around in, and to carry stuff in. Well, I do have a old riding lawnmower sitting around with a blown motor. Good wheels, tires, steering gear, battery... I have some scrap steel... Just need a few things like a new engine... I can build the bed with lumber I have... I got on Powerpoint, and did some cutting, and pasting. (no photoshop)




So far, just one evening in, this is what I got. My ancient yard sale Milwaukee hand held ban saw needs a blade real bad, and it is really starting to wander. Also you can feel the weld bump it's way through the material with every rotation. That, in combination with my horrible welding skills have me thinking I'll probably be dropping the frame off at the machine shop to be finished. Everything that goes on it will be bolted, so I can handle the easy stuff.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Remember way back when I showed a photo of a NOS deuce-and-a-half windshield, and said I wanted those safari-style windows? Well, I still do. And, a while back, I dropped it off, with the windshield frame from this tub at a local machine shop so they could make it easy for me to relive those memories of driving behind them. I had to stop in with a big sheet of steel for them to sheer for me for the go cart-truck, and they showed me the progress so far. (working in between their big contracts) I wish I had that level of fabrication skills. Man, I'm so stoked...! I probably won't be once I get the bill, but I'll have a one-of-a kind CJ7 for sure.

 

[mountainsports2002]

Remember way back when I showed a photo of a NOS deuce-and-a-half windshield, and said I wanted those safari-style windows? Well, I still do. And, a while back, I dropped it off, with the windshield frame from this tub at a local machine shop so they could make it easy for me to relive those memories of driving behind them. I had to stop in with a big sheet of steel for them to sheer for me for the go cart-truck, and they showed me the progress so far. (working in between their big contracts) I wish I had that level of fabrication skills. Man, I'm so stoked...! I probably won't be once I get the bill, but I'll have a one-of-a kind CJ7 for sure.


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Looks fantastic, keep up the great work.

 

[givemethewillys]

I'm super stoked to see your deuce/cj7 windshield. The ventilating windshields are rare and highly coveted on the 1955-1967 era jeeps. They're also sort of lousy for most folks, as it took the already low windshield height and made it even smaller, as well as rust being a huge concern.

Your solution looks like it might work really well! Please keep posting, as I'm looking forward to seeing the end result.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Yes, that's a new Predator 420. It all started when I saw a video on youtube. (Yeah, 'cause that always ends well.) I subscribe to Jay Leno's Garage, and he recently did a video on a 1916 Autocar coal truck.

View attachment 724018


I absolutely love the vehicles from that era. They're so simple, yet so rugged. Kinda like the Jeep... This one looks sorta like a big Kawasaki Mule, something I've always wanted to tool around in, and to carry stuff in. Well, I do have a old riding lawnmower sitting around with a blown motor. Good wheels, tires, steering gear, battery... I have some scrap steel... Just need a few things like a new engine... I can build the bed with lumber I have... I got on Powerpoint, and did some cutting, and pasting. (no photoshop)

View attachment 724019

I'm totally stealing this idea. My son and I dragged home a garden tractor this morning for parts. Hopefully have it running by...the weekend??? Next year???

I have a handful of vintage Briggs upright single cylinder motors to choose from and as luck would have it, the rear fenders on the donor tractor are going to work perfect for the front fenders on the truckette.

Are you putting the motor under the bed or up front?

 

[daddyusmaximus]

I'm totally stealing this idea. My son and I dragged home a garden tractor this morning for parts. Hopefully have it running by...the weekend??? Next year???

I have a handful of vintage Briggs upright single cylinder motors to choose from and as luck would have it, the rear fenders on the donor tractor are going to work perfect for the front fenders on the truckette.

Are you putting the motor under the bed or up front?

It's going under the seat. Been sick lately though, and this ninety-eleven degree heat isn't helping any...

 

[mountainsports2002]

It's going under the seat. Been sick lately though, and this ninety-eleven degree heat isn't helping any...

Hope you feel better soon! Great build

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Still been feeling weak, and the heat doesn't make things better, but I did finally get back out to the garage. Did some tinkering on a new dash today. The one I ordered online just wasn't gonna work. None of the holes lined up. I mean, they were way off. Wobbling them out wouldn't even have worked. Had to start over. These weren't right either, but they were close enough that wobbling them out will work... Decided to add a glovebox, (from a deuce and a half) so the data plates are gonna have to be adjusted, but as I've stated before, this isn't a reproduction of a military vehicle, it's a tribute to the military, and has touches of more than one vehicle from my service added, as well as off road mods, and a bit of hot-rod flair.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Work continues, slowly as usual. I've been working on several parts of the Jeep at once, but that's just because I think I have some form of AFHD, and I always seem to (Oh look, a squirrel) jump on a different thing each time I go out to the garage...

A week or so back, I started in on Brandy's seat.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

A few days later I decided it was time to build me a new battery box. I'm no expert, but I think the metal I'm using is like 14 gage...? Anyhow, whatever it is, looks strong enough. It was strong enough to be an absolute bear to bend with my little Harbor Freight brake. In fact, I started bending the little handles, and even thought I was going to rip a bite out of the front of my workbench. Once I got the big bend done, I went back to the old method of hammer and vice.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Yesterday, and today I was working on the antenna mounts. These will go on the rear corners of the Jeep. Even though the CJ7 more closely resembles an M38A1, I'm going for the kind of mounts with the matching units we had on our M151s. The trick is to make them look like the military ones. (even though it's just for a CB radio) I found surplus ones on eBay out in Pennsylvania, but the seller was charging like $90 (each) just for shipping...! WT actual F?

OK, make by scratch it is. Bend, cut, drill, oh, and make a circle (top plate for the matching unit) by cutting straight lines with a grinder (cut off wheel) then rounding it off with another grinder and regular disc. They're not done yet, they're cut out wrong (I need to trim) and I have some cut-outs to make yet... but I got a good start on them. One will have an antenna, and the other will have a whoppie light like they had us put on our vehicles to help prevent crashes when road marching on the autobahn.

 

[mountainsports2002]

Great progress, thanks for sharing

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Cooler temp prevail, and with it not being ninety eleven degrees out, comes progress on the Jeep. However, one project has fallen by the wayside... I will not be doing the little yard cart build. At least not in the near future. Had a yard sale, and sold a bunch of old army stuff a couple weeks back, so now I have this to run around on...
No need to build something. Run to the post office, go get pizza, go to the hardware store for a bolt for the Jeep...
OMG this is the best thing I've bought in years.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

As far as the Jeep itself... I took the windshield back off. It got painted, and the pop out frames are set to go to the glass shop to have glass put in them. I went ahead, and did the roll bar, and hood while I had the spray cans out seeing as it was nice weather.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Also, I got my new Redhead steering box in, so that got mounted up.
Then I started in on the front fenders. Same as rear, I'm using trailer fenders. Of course the fronts aren't as simple as just plain old round arches... I got flat top ones then made pie cuts in the edges so they could be bent out. Looks like they'll work out pretty well. Went by the local print shop in the next town the other day, and picked up the stickers that will be the flags for the front bumper. They will be rigid, on steel poles at each corner. I've had front mounted flags before on my car and decided against it again, as they sometimes blow sideways at stoplights blocking my view. These will be rigid, (stickers on steel) and always "blowing" towards the rear.