Full Size Jeep Network

It’s been slow going, but the canopy has been shortened 4” to an 8’ overall length, and narrowed to the stepside width. I had to remove the front panel and rear hatch panel prior to slicing and dry dicing to do the short/narrow work. So more modifications are needed on those two sections before it’s finalized.



It’s not aluminum skinned like I thought, but thin gauged galvanized sheet metal. It will be interesting to see how it cleans up now.

The front portion is back in and the C Channel and angle iron frame is welded up on the inside.



I also scrubbed the galvanized exterior with hot soapy water and thinner, softer, off-brand scratch pads from the Dollar Store. The old louvre style side windows are cleaned up, too.

The back side is going to be more of a challenge because of how wide the back door is- as wide as the canopy itself before I narrowed it. Slow and steady wins the race.

The front is on, but the back (where the hatch is) is more tedious.





I mocked it up on the truck itself after the front panel installation.

That was a few weeks ago.

This AM I tackled dismantling the rear door jamb wall.



The bits of the top came off 1st. I was kinda glad it was a big too long, the rear corners took several hits of the last 40 years and would’ve been a bear to fix.



The header that holds the hatch came off next.

Here’s the frame:



She’ll get sliced and grafted back together, mocked up in place, welded back together and the splice, removed, cleaned then reinstalled and re-skinned. Then onto the hatch itself.

66stepside wrote:She’ll get sliced and grafted back together, mocked up in place, welded back together and the splice, removed, cleaned then reinstalled and re-skinned. Then onto the hatch itself.

Are you re-skinning the whole thing? Whatever you do, don't lose that neat decal of the truck in the lower front corner! That thing's cool.

twisted frame wrote:

66stepside wrote:She’ll get sliced and grafted back together, mocked up in place, welded back together and the splice, removed, cleaned then reinstalled and re-skinned. Then onto the hatch itself.

Are you re-skinning the whole thing? Whatever you do, don't lose that neat decal of the truck in the lower front corner! That thing's cool.

Haha, I know, right?! Those decals are cool. I’m reusing the original metal to re-skin it after the tear down.

The patina is cool, too- but it doesn’t really go with my truck’s newer paint, so I’ll end up painting the canopy and masking off the decals when I do the painting.

I tackled the back end again today. The header that holds the rear door is attached. The rear door hangs just right.

The door does not close flush to the canopy due to the inside latch mechanism still being in place.

The door will get narrowed next weekend. I need more time to plan how I’m going to trim it down as it’s pretty intricately fab’d. I’ll order new glass, or plexiglass for it after it’s trimmed.





When it’s all said and done, I’ll repaint it silver, as it came from the factory. The cool stickers will get taped over so they can stay.

I mounted it today after fabbing up brackets, and then I replaced the two broken pieces of glass in the side windows. The weather has been unpredictable for the past few weeks and I’m waiting on better weather to slice and dice the rear door.





She’ll also eventually get a lumber rack like the truck bed trailer, too.

Edit:

Nice fit. Looks streamlines (or as streamlined as an FSJ with a cap can be!) snug, and the way the roof lines up with the cab keeps it looking very tidy. All that re-working of the piece was worth it!

Looks sharp. I’m totally digging that. Nice work!


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twisted frame wrote:Nice fit. Looks streamlines (or as streamlined as an FSJ with a cap can be!) snug, and the way the roof lines up with the cab keeps it looking very tidy. All that re-working of the piece was worth it!

Thanks Twisted Frame! I am liking the way it turned out, too.

I’m on vacation this week, so I might actually get time to finish reworking the batch hatch, installing the vintage 3rd brake light, and painting it. We’ll see, though. Haha

44bz wrote:Looks sharp. I’m totally digging that. Nice work!


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Thanks 44bz! I’m going to weigh all the metal taken off to see how many pounds were shaved off in during the nip n tuck session- just because I’m curious.

On the list to do over the summer- she needs a repaint, I’m putting stock door panels, stock emblems, putting new seats in. Maybe even new carpet. We’ll see how far I get, though. That’s a mighty big list.


Edit:

Harder part is done.

Awesome work! Looks like a factory made shell, like you never cut it.

jaber wrote:Awesome work! Looks like a factory made shell, like you never cut it.

Thanks Jaber! Now it’s time for minor body work.

I did manage to kill a few of these




in the process.

Yep. That’s a bad girl right there.


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Yep. That’s a bad girl right there.


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swampedge wrote:Yep. That’s a bad girl right there.


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True story.

Meanwhile, in other news:

What are you doin with that guy?:)


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What are you doin with that guy?:)


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My wife- "I want the red one, can I have it???"
Another great find...

44bz wrote:What are you doin with that guy?:)


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I bought it for parts. The front clip, and bed are in pretty good condition. The 327 engine is a solid block of rust and primarily just the block only. We’ll be cleaning it out today.



Even in the Spring, it was hornet central!