Body Work

This Jeep spent a lot of time outside in the weather and as a result, the floor was really rusted and had developed some holes in it. The entire floor and floor supports came out and was replaced with 14 Ga. sheet metal and 1"x2"x.125" tube for a new solid floor and sub frame. A patch panel also had to be formed and welded near the cutouts for the shovel and axe mounts because the original metal was rusted through.

With the 38's and the rear axle flexed out the tires would hit on the rear corner of the tub. To fix that problem the rear fenders had to be modified. I debated on how to do it, should I cut it straight back, should I leave the cut edge on the bottom or have a lip like the stock fender so the tires wont get cut up. I decided to keep the fenders round-looking and fold a 1" lip under so the cut would be smooth to the touch. I traced the front radius on a paper then drew a line across the top of the fender's radius. I then transferred the pattern to the rear of the fender while wrapping it around the back of the tub. I used a sharpie to mark 2 lines, 1 cut line and another for the bend line 1" apart. I cut it with an air body saw and then bent the lip over with vice-grips. It worked out well.
 

Once the fenders were cut I decided to add some body protection in the form of 1/8" steel diamond plate corners. A cardboard template was made and then it was plasma cut out of the diamond plate. It was formed using a torch and clamps. It attaches with 1/4-20 button head bolts

To add extra seat room without stretching the tub I cut out a portion of each fender and basically inverted it using new sheet metal formed into a box shape. This gave me close to 5" that I could move the seats back.

Once all the welding and body work was complete, the tub, fenders and hood were sprayed with Royal Blue paint. The tub was put back on for the last time during this buildup once it was painted.