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

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Once the mechanical portion was completed, ie- intake and such, the body came off to be able to access the interior of the engine bay. At this point, the CJ7 grille took delivery of the Jeepster eyebrows. Even those had to be modified in the name of proper panel fitment.



And since I couldn't find a suitable pair of round LED fog lamps to fit the CJ7 turn signal holes, those were filled too.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I forgot to mention, when I was fitting the fenders, hood and grille all together, a 5 pound sledge hammer and concrete chisel were used to reshape the bump where the fenders meet the grille. It sometimes makes my stomach turn, thinking of the damage I could do with a few mis-struck blows, but you have to be confident that you're doing the right thing. I had a boss once that told me if I made a mistake in front of my suboordinates, that I should do it again so they thought I did it on purpose. That logic applies here. No mistakes were made, but if you saw me slamming away at the fenders with a giant hammer and chisel, you'd have to wonder.

A tiny bit of rust repair was required on the fenders. Basically, the reinforcement panel where they meet the grille had rot in between, so they were chiseled out and new ones made then welded in place. The new ones are a bit thicker and wider, in the name of strength.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Here's the tailgate. It wasn't too bad looking from the outside, but when I started poking at it with an awl, holes appeared in droves. You may notice that I stuffed a section of 3/4" x .090" wall tubing inside the lower part of the tailgate before the patch panel was welded in place. I figure this will make a better place to sit in the future. And I did not forget to cut a hole in the middle of the added tubing for the license plate wiring either. Whew, that was close...















The doors have a textured steel interior panel so careful repairs were made, so as to not disturb that texture. When the texture was destroyed around the few repairs I made, a needle scaler was used to put some of the texture back in.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Well, that's the update. All metal work done, body stiffeners bolted in so it wouldn't tweak while being trailered and pushed around the body shop. Next time you see it, it will be in one color or another.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Man, I hope I didn't forget anything...

 

[Zeep]

That's really look'n good!

 

[toddz69]

Love watching this build! Thanks for taking the time to post the pics and explain your thought process. Great fabrication!

Todd Z.

 

[zgfiredude]

Yes, thanks for sharing! I LOVE this thing SO much!!!

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Thank you all for paying attention. Apologies for the delays in updates.

 

[Jim K in PA]

Looking good. Those metal shifter knobs are gonna get hot in the sun . . .

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The knobs. I'm glad you brought that up. Some of the factory knobs were an ivory color, and that's what we're doing here. All of the knobs including headlight, wipers, stereo, A/C controls, trans and t-case shifters are getting powder coated ivory. I think this is a nice touch that gives a nod to the heritage, and hopefully looks great too. So yeah, that's the reason for the bare aluminum knobs for the shifters - so I could powder coat them.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Quick update.

We decided to have the entire body powder coated and it is now at the paint shop. We're going for perfect, but it all boils down to time, which equals cost. The painter updated me last week saying that most of the body work is done, and I'll go to inspect it before he squirts any color on it.

That's all for now.

 

[mountainsports2002]

Quick update.

We decided to have the entire body powder coated and it is now at the paint shop. We're going for perfect, but it all boils down to time, which equals cost. The painter updated me last week saying that most of the body work is done, and I'll go to inspect it before he squirts any color on it.

That's all for now.

Amazing work, love the updates.

 

[Woodstockz]

Fantastic build thread!!!!!
Thanks for the detailed build. Looking forward to an update after paint.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Ok guys. I am fully back on the Jeepster build. The owner has been more than patient, and I love him for that.

Small bit of progress is the wheels, which are custom 17x8 steelies, which I had powder coated in a creamy white. The tires may look small, but it's an illusion due to the wheel size. The truck has minimal lift and narrow axles so we had to be careful with tire choice.