CJ5 Resto-Mod Project

[daddyusmaximus]

That last shot of the empty quiet shop is real cool.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

You are doing some very nice work on that Jeep.

The video link works and you can coax it back to the start.

Thank you. Let's just hope it pays off.

That last shot of the empty quiet shop is real cool.

I would normally be embarrassed showing such a messy work space, but that pic shows what it takes to do body work. Five or six hammers, assorted dollys, pliers, crimpers, vise grips, channel locks, a dozen different clamps, saw horses, two stools in different heights, two welders, rubber gloves, leather gloves, drill and drill drivers, all the different sanding and cutting tools plus the boxes and rolls of sand paper and discs, hoses, cords, lighting...

I try to do these jobs in lumps so I don't have to have all these tools out during other types of work.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

"messy workspace"? You wouldn't want to see my garage. Your head may explode. All the tools is what makes it a cool shot. One look and you know stuff gets done here. That's rare these days.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Thanks for putting it into perspective. I have to remind myself from time to time that life could be worse. I get to build cool stuff for a living...

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Looks like you do a good job at it. I hate body work, but I would like to learn to weld better. Sometimes the best photos are accidents. That shot just spoke to me because it's like that feeling you get when you're done for the night, and you look back at your work before you kill the lights and head in the house... and you smile because you know what went into getting that result.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I'm glad that it shows. Thanks.

 

[PCO6]

Why black windshield frame? There's a precedent for it and it will break up the body colors into the right proportions. I want it to feel like a farmer's Jeep from the 60's, not a beach bikini or military Jeep.

I'm just catching up on this thread and enjoying the progress you're making.

I like the black windshield and there's plenty of precedents. As for a "farmer's" Jeep here's a good one ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxsRatINHM&t=29s

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I read about his Jeep last year in some magazine. I'm not surprised that it was his favorite vehicle.

Just catching up? Me too. Finally, the body is off to the painter's. I finished the dash yesterday. On that note, I had three different "year correct" dash panels, and they all had different cutouts for switches and gauges. I went with the one that had two small gauges the left of the steering column. They were definitely factory cut and though I've searched the web a-plenty, I've never seen one like it.

I'll post some pics later today.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The last of the body work pics...before paint, that is.

I mentioned the fender skirts needed to be scabbed onto the fenders as someone had cut them off. Well, getting the stamping wrinkles to line up was not easy, but I think not many people will notice.



Even though the fenders were in great shape, there was still a ton of body work to do on them to make them perfect.



Applying the seam sealer to the fenders required thinking like water. You don't want any getting in, but if it does, it has to get out, so the tops of the fender seams were sealed, but the bottom left open. As a mtter of fact, I don't know if Jeep even used seam sealer on the fenders. I couldn't find any sign of original sealer when I tore into them.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Choosing the dash between the three that I had was pretty arbitrary, but I wanted the simplest layout. This panel has the fewest factory cutouts (no switch indicator lights) and the two small gauges were on the left of the steering column, leaving the center of the panel free of clutter.





I tried to finalize the wiring as much as I could before taking it all apart.



The dash was going to be the easy part. Well, when working on a flat, thin panel, warpage is a major concern. Lots of plinking and heating was needed post patching to get the panel straight again. I also added some reinforcing ribs to the back of the panel to keep it straight for generations to come. I had 5 or 6 small holes to fill, plus a stereo cutout. I did leave room for a future radio, should someone feel the need to hear anything other than engine music.









Bolted in for transport to the paint shop. Hopefully next time you see it, it will be covered in a beautiful coat of vintage color.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Nice work. I like the idea of strengthening the dash. I was wanting to do this to mine.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Thatnks. I really couldn't believe how thin the dash material actually is. It's about .040, which is somewhere between 19 and 20 ga. Finding a new replacement was impossible, but I did find a blank replacement, and I alomst bought it, but then saw that it was .120 thick steel...? Who the hell would put a 40 pound dash panel in their CJ?

On a completely different note, the kids are watching the Incredibles right now...and I just got your avatar.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Who the hell would put a 40 pound dash panel in their CJ?

I would if I could get rid of the diamond plate dash that it came with...

On a completely different note, the kids are watching the Incredibles right now...and I just got your avatar.

Wish they made a second movie of them...

 

[SheepnJeep]

Not to be a total D bag, but wouldn't that year CJ5 have idiot lights for the oil pressure and ammeter? Or are you going with gauges to keep a closer eye on things?

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Good question. I figured I had some leeway considering I found three different layouts, so I chose the simplest option. I think it looks cleaner and yes, we did add the gauges to monitor the vitals. There are also idiot lights in the speedo cluster.