Tear Down

After a busy summer finally got some time to get back to work on the jeep. Started to sand blast the frame with the engine and axles in place with a small pot type sand blaster when I realized it was going to take more time and effort than I wanted to spend and was blowing sand in places I didn't want it to be.

My friend Don pointed out that I was so close to stripping the frame bare, why not go for the frame up restoration? So we did.

So the first thing to do was take out the engine and tranny. I did not realize how easy it was and things went quickly.

Decided to leave it on the shop crane on some boards with the hook in place to secure it.

You can see the work I had done with the sand blaster before I decided to have it done professionally.

The axles came off (springs included) reasonably easily with only one bolt being a problem. I heated it with the torch and it came right out. Tossed the chassis in the back of my pickup and $125.00 later and I had this returned.

One of the first areas needing repair was the driver's side frame where the bumper attaches. The holes were wrecked and the welded nuts were missing. Looks to me like accident damage.

Of more concern to me was the monstrosity of a repair done to the steering bell crank. It appears the it had sustained some severe damage and the quick repair was to weld a couple of plates in place and drill through the tube and the bell crank mount and weld and bolt the whole mess in place. Here it is before I cut off the plates and removed the bell crank (it was only welded on the front) and before it went to the sandblasters.

Here is what it looked like underneath. Clearly something caused it to get torn out. My original thought was to take a piece of tube similar in size to the cross member and by heating and hammering, reproduce a patch. I quickly realized this was beyond my skill sets and after discussion with my buddy Don, decided a simple plate would do.

I carefully welded this piece in to ensure I did not blow holes in the tube. I did multiple passes to both build up the area to match the plate and to ensure I had good coverage and penetration of the tube.

Pulled out the cutting wheel, torch and welder and cut out the old piece and bent and welded in a new one. Drilled the holes and welded in some nuts and things were as good as new.

I then carefully ground and fit the bell crank in place as I wanted to be able to weld it all around, not just in front and rear. I measured the location of the bell crank from Don's jeep and taking a deep breath I welded it in place. Again multiple passes with various sizes of welding rods to ensure a good weld with lots of coverage and penetration.

And here is the finished job. I am very confident that I have made a strong repair, but I will still check it for cracks regularly after I put the jeep back into service.

And now that the jeep is almost finished (yeah right!)... I can start thinking about the next project, so I picked up a 1954 M37 CDN which will sit in the driveway for a bit until I can get to it. We did stick the slave cable in and it started right up with no leaks and good charging system. I will add a site on this restoration once it begins. Man I have an understanding and supportive wife!!!!

Chassis and Rebuild

Finally getting onto completing the chassis stripping and moving forward on the rebuild.