Here’s a teaser of things to come.
I have two grills for my truck. It’s nice to have a spare. They are so beat up that it would have been really tough to restore them to nice shiny like-new condition. Plus, that wouldn’t really fit the color scheme plans I have. While Brent and Ryan, from BJ’s, were at my shop I bounced some ideas off them that I’ve been considering for my grill work. Teaser- Primered, waiting for paint.
Raptor Bedliner- First impressions.
Since the floor is going to be covered with sound deadener and carpet I decided to do an acid test on the Raptor. I left it completely exposed to abuse while preparing the inside firewall for primer and paint. I’ve stood, sat, and moved around on it while it was covered in dirt, rust scale, and 60/120 grit sandpaper residue. As near as I can see there isn’t even a scratch on it. I’m impressed. Side note- All I can say about the U-TECH epoxy primer is, “It’s some tough S***. Period!"
Now, some info ALL FSJ owners need to be aware of.
The very back 6” of the floors were not replaced because the sheetmetal was still in good shape rust-wise. However, in preparing that area for paint I found stress cracks at most of the spot welds where the back of the floor rails are attached to the sheet metal. My conclusion is this must be a high stress area that over time fatigues the metal. Drill the ends of the cracks and tack weld back together. I haven’t seen what the heat did to the primer and Raptor on the bottom side of the floor yet, but I expect I’ll be recovering those spots.
A couple other things about the original Jeep manufacturing processes. After taking every bit of the cab down to bare metal I’m convinced the original Jeep seam sealer does more harm than good. Almost everywhere it was used the metal had rusted to some degree. It’s a really light, compressible, open cell material that apparently acts as a moisture sponge. Also, the original Jeep paint is some tough stuff. It’s been kind of a pain to strip. It’s so tough that it looks completely fine even when I’ve found a lot of rust under it. So, just be aware. Even though the paint may look fine doesn’t mean bad things aren’t going on under it.
As of this morning I’m ready to paint the last of the cab, with the exception of the outside of the back wall. It shouldn’t be too far in the future that I’ll be able to put the cab back on the chassis.