Jeepster Commando Build - A Different Sort of Jeep Thing - Stoffregen Motorsports

[Jurfie]

Comparing the new CJ grill to the original Jeepster grill, then mocking it up to see how it fits with the steering box from Red Head Steering Gears.

This is awesome! I always thought the Jeepster grill and hood looked out of place and disproportionate. I don’t know enough about these things; will a CJ hood bolt right up, or are you doing a custom hood?

 

[jscherb]

The look of any build is the important, like curb appeal on a house. I have a firm rule that form follows function, but this rule hardly applies to the exterior. Luckily for the Jeep enthusiast, Jeep corporate has built some very nice vehicles which have debuted at the past few Easter Jeep Safari gatherings in Moab. Taking cues from the original Jeepsters and from the reimagined EJS Jeeps, we knew the exterior had to be modern clean, but with a nod to the past.

Do you plan to add a Hurst Commando hood scoop?

 

[14JKURX]

Awesome Build!

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Do you plan to add a Hurst Commando hood scoop?

That's a great idea. Seems superfluous though. Clean body lines on this build... well, as clean as a Jeep can possibly be anyway.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

This is awesome! I always thought the Jeepster grill and hood looked out of place and disproportionate. I don’t know enough about these things; will a CJ hood bolt right up, or are you doing a custom hood?

Actually we are keeping the Commando hood, but scabbing the grille ends from the original grille onto the new CJ grille. The new grille was used to be able to fit a big radiator and an A/C condenser and to move it all forward to make room for the motor.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Awesome Build!

Thanks everyone. It should be subtle yet awesome at the same time. Can't wait to drive it!!!

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Dualmatic locking hubs are so cool and retro.
Maybe those originals could be cut up to make decorative caps to fit over whatever ’modern’ hub you end up using.

Interesting. I'll have to have a peek at that.

 

[ThePartyWagon]

Hey, something other than a Gladiator or a Wrangler! Sweet Commando! Lots of progress already, nice work.

 

[billiebob]

Must admit, the only thing I disliked about the Commando was the front park lights. Well done changing the hood and grille.

 

[jgaz]

Love this build!
Really nice work creating the ridges in the floor patch panels.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Sorry guys, we're keeping the Commando hood and outer grille parts. The CJ grille was used for packaging of radiator and A/C condenser.

Making tons of progress on the actual build, with most body mechanical systems done or at least mocked and tacked. The plan is to get all the fab and mods done to the body so I can send it to the painter's , at which point, I'll start on the frame, suspension, fuel tank, chassis plumbing, exhaust, etc.

Working with a goal like that is tough. It means jumping around a lot. Yesterday I tore into the engine wiring just to make sure that it would all fit through the one hole I cut in the firewall instead of going in through two different places as GM designs it out of the box. So not just metal work. It's kind of schizophrenic. If you were watching on a shop cam, you'd wonder why I can't focus.

I'll get more of those pics uploaded soon. Thanks again for commenting.

 

[Dances with Wolves]

Do you plan to add a Hurst Commando hood scoop?

I never knew such a thing existed!

Hurst to the Rescue: Rare 1971 Jeepster Commando Hurst Edition

Reprising the basic concept of the fun and jaunty Jeepsters that were briefly produced in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, Kaiser-Jeep Corporation introduced a new Jeepster for 1967. While quite popular at first,...

www.zero260.com

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[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I've got just a couple minutes for some progress pics.

Once the Body was more or less completed. work on the grille and firewall area was to begin.

With the Advanced Adapters engine mounts tacked in place, I spent some time fiddling with the hydro boost setup from Power Brake Sales in Sacramento. The stock pedal assembly was modified by cutting off the original mounting flanges and welding on a solid 1/4" plate with holes that match the hydro boost bracket from WFO. You will see three different hydro boost brackets in the pic below, but to get enough room for a pushrod to the pedal, the entire hydro boost unit had to be spaced out from the firewall as much as possible, at least an inch and a half. The holes in the firewall were then welded up and new holes drilled and the unit was mocked up for fitment.

These hydro boost units don't car which way they are oriented, which is good, because to gain clearance at the valve cover, I ended up rotating the unit 180 degrees from what you see in the first pics. Great, now with that figured out, I had to then figure out what I was going to do with the clutch master cylinder. The Jeep master was too large to fit behind the hydro boost, so a new compact Wilwood clutch master was bolted up in the newly cut hole in the firewall. The initial fit was less than optimal, with the oulet port on the clutch master running into the back of the hydro boost unit. But before that could be addressed, I put the body back on the chassis to check how the masters fit against the engine. And then I discovered that the aluminum Corvette master cylinder actually hit the back of the alternator. Ughhhh. Back to the computer and research began for a smaller brake master, which ended up being supplied by Wilwood, this time in a compact tandem unit, which was almost an inch and a half shorter than the Corvette unit. So with a little wiggle room between the alternator and master, I spaced the hydro boost unit further away from the firewall and used a banjo bolt on the outet of the clutch master. This whole scenario was just the beginning of the fitment issues in that area of the body and chassis.

Another mock up was done to figure out what to do with the radiator support/grille shell. Mounting the Advance Adapters sourced radiator to the new CJ grille left me with little room for the intake tube and electric fan. The lower radiator hose outlet on the engine was so close to the port on the radiator, that it would have needed a curly q shaped hose to be able to fit. Again, I moved the engine around a bit to try and gain some valuable room, and finally ended up lowering the motor and trans one inch from where I had them initially placed. This gave me a straighter shot for the lower hose and also a bit of wiggle room at the firewall and brake booster too. But the radiator was still too close to the water pump. I finally said screw it and cut the grille shell into five pieces and got to work whittling it down to size. What I came up with was a radiator support that was shortened an inch, and left me with barely enough room to mount the Vintage Air A/C condenser. But in this game, barely enough is still enough. So with the radiator and A/C condenser moutned up, an appropriately sized electric fan was sourced and test fit. Luckily my measurements were good and the fan fit just fine with room to spare. I like at least 5/8" all around the engine and I now had that between the front of the water pump and the tip of the electric fan motor. Success!!!

Here are the pics of that whole debacle.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Pics of the work on the radiator support/grille shell.












Test fit proves the fitment.




That's all for today folks. Next time we'll continue the body mechanical debacle saga with motor mounts and steering column and clutch slave. Thanks for watching.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Slowly chipping away at a project is sometimes the only method of maintaining focus. The driver side area of the front of this Jeep has so many mechanical systems; steering, clutch, brakes being the focus this early in a build of this type.

With the pedals and masters sorted out, I turned my focus on the steering. An approximate location for the steering box was established and work on the column and shaft began. The original plan was to use the original Jeepster column, but the nickel and dime aspect came into play here. FIrst off, the output shaft would need to be shortened and machined for a DD steering joint, then a support bushing/bearing would need to be welded into the end of the column tube to support the shaft (the original shaft was connected directly to the steering box, so no additional support was needed), and then the upper portion of the column cleaned and rebuilt, the turn signal and hazard switches would need to be replaced and since the original wheel literally disintegrated upon removal, a replacement would need to be sourced. Instead of spending all that time and money on the original column, I purchased a universal fit column from Ididit. Two not so obvious benefits of this column are the turn signal and hazard switch connections and the hub spline. They are both late GM style meaning it would be easy to source any number of steering wheels and the electronics would work easily with the aftermerket, custom wiring harness.

A custom body support for the shaft extension was made using a press, a piece of elevator hydraulic pipe and an old wheel from a floor jack. This plate was then welded to the firewall and holds the support bearing. After some fitment and fabrication, the new column was in place.