Makeover, Old Yeller edition. (SYE and Driveline)

[Old Yeller]

Well, I've been home from out west for awhile now, and the jeep hasn't been out and about. Here are some pics of why.

Basically, the frame let go in the front, on my way to store the jeep. When I got back home, I had to flatdeck it back, and then me and my friend Dave tore into it.

Jeep shedding front clip, hood, and fenders


Removing the tub, with 3 guys and an engine hoist. I do NOT recommend this method. Very front heavy and sketchy at times.


Body off and up on stands.


The main reason I started to do this. Bad bad bad.


Yuck.


More yuck, driverside rear


But aside from those spots, the frame is surprisingly solid. Some stock paint can even be seen after powerwashing off most of the old undercoating, mud and crap.


This crossmember is getting replaced too. A big angle piece will replace it.



The body is in rough shape. It's been repaired poorly many times, and the rockers are shot, rear corners are done and most importantly, the body mounts underneath are completely rotted out. I think I have a replacement body sourced though, so I won't have to deal with it. If anyone wants a rough body, with solid floors (welded last year) let me know. Going real cheap. $50 or a 24 of Keith's and you can haul it away.

Anyways, thats where I stand as of tonight. I'm picking up some metal tomorrow. Front end will be rebuilt using Justin's writeup as a guide. 2x4 box tubing for the frame rails about 2ft back on the drivers side, 3x3 box for the front crossmember, and various pieces to beef up body mounts, and replace that rear crossmember. I have never delved this far into any project before, so it's a learning experience for me to say the least. I'll be borrowing a nice big MIG with gas for the frame welding. I have done very little welding, and I'll be doing some practicing before I get into it. I may just tack the front end together, and get someone in the know to finish the welds, so I know they are solid.

I'm aiming to have this beast road/trailworthy again by the end of august. We'll see.

Rob D


edit: spelling and readability

[Creepy]

it will be such a better job since you took off the tub. not welding from underneath will really really help.

wanna be in project/fab section and keep undating this thread? you usually do good tech pics.

[Old Yeller]

Thanks Jan,

There won't be a whole lot of fab, but it is certinly a project, so you could go ahead and move it if you like. I do like to take pictures however

[Creepy]

*ding*

[projectnightmare]

props to you for saving it. always liked that jeep in pics here from years ago.

[Paul Boudreau]

look like you willneed a stearing brace

[Creepy]

Well i plasma'd out some nice big frame patches for him. forgot to take pics tho.

[Old Yeller]

lots of progress this weekend. I'll get some pics tomorrow

[Creepy]

looking forward to it. i like seeing the tub off.....looks fun.

[Old Yeller]

I'm always late. Here is some progress:

Front end completely redone. I took measurements on level ground with the old bumper to be sure the new is the same height from the ground in front, and lenth to the front from the shock towers.


I opted to go the easier route and skip the small bend in the frame rails near the front of the jeep. I don't see how this will cause a problem however.


I took the 'banana' method from justin's build. Split all 4 corners of the remaining frame, clamp togeather, and weld all seams. There were a couple stock holes, and these were welded into as well. To do this even stronger, one could drill more holes and do rosette welds, but this should be more than strong enough.


Mostly done plating the back half of the frame. Pieces were traced on cardboard, and then cut out with a plasma cutter (Thanks creepy!). Few more welds underneath and this will be solid again. Ran out of wire tonight! Grr.


My frame rails were FULL of mud and rust and crap, so a rectangular hole was cut into the rear of each frame rail. All the shmootz was vacuumed out, small drain holes drilled underneath, and the top holes welded up again.


Here is my broken engine mount. The other looks almost the same. Still looking from some decent ones someone has kicking around.



Tomorrow I hope to finish my rear crossmember, mock up and weld the gas tank mounts, and weld up my new upper shock mounts. Also, the front spring mounts will get mounted up and the beast will be sitting proper again. Frame should be finished and painted up in thick black tractor paint by saturday, with the new (to me) body ploped on it sunday.

Rob D

[Old Yeller]

Fabbed up some shock mounts. Turned out quite good I'd say.



Thats my plated frame beneath the mount. Almost 1/2" wider than the other side now. lol



And finally got the jeep sitting properly with spring mounts in place. I had trouble sourcing aftermarket front spring mounts, and the dealer had a 2-3 week wait, so I cut the old ones out of the old section of frame, cleaned them up the best I could, and welded the hell out of them. The drivers side has a slight misalignment, but you can't really notice it with everything bolted down. Worst comes to worst, I can cut them off and replace them with new ones in the future if need be.



Rob D

[Old Yeller]

More progress.

Finished up with the frame... finally. Found out that the rearmost crossmember wasn't the only problem in the rear. Where my bumper attached to the frame rails was toast. Had fix and box in the back. Now I don't have to worry about my rear bumper coming off on a hard pull, it is very solid now.

For paint, I went over everything with rust converter, then grey primer, then finally thick black rust paint. The frame should be good for years to come.







Then, one of the milestones I've been waiting on for awhile, plopping the body on the frame. The body I got does need some work, but it is only on the rockers. Holes were cut out to do a repair, but it was never finished, so I get to. The floor is solid, and the underside is solid, unlike my old pos body. If anyone wants the old one, its yours for free, otherwise it will be chopped up and sent for scrap. The floor of it was redone in thick metal under the seats, and the back floor is good, but thats all its has going for it. Haul it away and its yours.



Considering 5 of the body mounts on the frame had to be cut off and remade, I think its pretty good that we got all but 3 lined up properly. In hindsight, mounting the body, THEN attaching the new mounts would have been the way to go. Silly move on my part. I need to oblong the holes slightly on 3 and use a big washer under the body mount to allow for some adjustment to get things buttoned up properly.



It's starting to look like a jeep again! Should be able to start the engine this week. Since the computer is bypassed, I removed ALL of the extraneous vacuum lines and sensors. I should only need the vac line for the transfercase, one for the distributer, and one for my brake booster. I'll plug off the rest.

Today was a good day to see a couple big parts come together.

[90bronco]

that's alot of welding ! looks good ;D

Allen

[projectnightmare]

nice work man. frame looks great.

[Creepy]

yeah, frame looks great. congrats. the shock mounts are nice, well braced.

could you imagine trying to do that work with the tub on? no way!