Prozon's '77 Jeep Build

Well 5150KDC2 did it, why can't I?

Here's a quick rundown of it.
'77 Jeep CJ7
304cu V8
3spd transmission.
4x4

A few years ago I decided to yank it out of the bushes and start fixing it up. Basically just a basic-tune up. After that it was months of four-wheeling it on my property. Hitting the mud hole constantly and things like that.

One day we decided to jump it. 1st gear jump, landed no problem. 2nd gear jump, wow that was awesome. Then we hit third gear, got a lot more speed and jumped. When I saw the front nosedive I immediately thought "Damn, I just totaled the front of my Jeep!" So I jumped out and checked it, noticed that it it was perfectly fine up front. Then my friend proceeded to tell me how the rear end was crooked. The tire carrier came loose at some point, and when we jumped it the weight of the tire landing tore the body like paper.

We braced it up and made it almost as good as new, but the rusty frame was a little "compressed."

At some point I thought I would start fixing the rust. I did a lot of rust repair and put a cheap ass coat of paint on it. Then it sat and got weathered for a few years. I just pulled it into the shop a few weeks back and started working on it. The first thing was to cut the last two feet of frame out and replace it with some tubing and a ton of bracing. Now the frame is stronger then factory lol.

I then ordered about $500 worth of replacement parts for the motor and various parts of the Jeep.

Right now this is more of a restoration then a build, but the build will go later.

This is how it's sitting now.


Gutted the Jeep to rewire and build a new dash.


Before stripping engine bay.


After stripping engine bay.


Wiring and hoses I need to redo.


The first set of parts. Two more shipments arriving today.


Stripping down the Jeep.


Soft top and doors off. Top is just "set" on.



I'm still trying to find some pictures of it in the past.
I'm cleaning up the engine bay today and covering it in bed liner. After the bed liner is on, i'll pull some things off the motor and replace gaskets and paint up things. I think i'm going to go with a black/orange look on the Jeep so I figure I will bed line the bay black, paint some parts of the engine black or silver, and put some orange accents on it here and there. After all the new parts are on, I need to go through the wiring harness and chop out all the ugly wires, loom it up and put it all back together.

More parts should get here today, so more updates will come soon!

It actually looks really clean, I like it. Oh yeah, you prolly already know this by now, but the tire carrier mounts arent very strong lol...

Nice! Can't wait to see some progress on this one!

More Progress..

New fuel tank!


The bedliner i'm using on the Jeep. I was planning to go with "Herculiner" but this was the same price, on sale though for $25 less. I went with this to save some money.


The front clip of the Jeep. I need to replace some metal on the inside of the fenders. Kind of rusted out.


So NOW, this is how it sits.



I'm trying to scrape out all the old caulk/weather seal, just trapping water to rust in there. Trying to wire brush everything up. The fenders seem to be the only rust on the whole thing. The front grill has a tiny bit but i'm cutting the piece off completely, not sure why it's even there, it's just a weird little "flap" thing.

I may need to pull the starter off before it fires up, but i'm hoping I can get it to work again. I'm going to pull the valve covers and intake to paint them. After that's all off I will bed line the firewall and do what I can to fix up and get the fenders ready.

(I'm just in here eating a pizza pocket so I thought I would give you guys an update.)

ohhh, sooooooooooo much work

I HATE RUST!!!!!!!!! lol... make sure you check under the rollbar, thats a real common place. Also be sure to seal up the body where you are going to line it with a paint or some kind of sealer... cheaper bed liners tend to be real rough, and can let moisture in.. dont want any more rust. You have a ways to go though. Not as far as I do though lol

I lied. I found rust. The previous owner LOVED bondo. So much to the point that there was about 1/4-1/2" of bondo in one spot. I assume the other side is going to be pretty bad too, so i'll take it down to bare metal on the opposite side as well.

Basically just the sides need work.


Took me about 20 minutes with the grinder/flap wheel to knock it down to bare metal, only to find it has a huge hole. I might start on my patch panel tonight.


I finished prepping the firewall, as far as wire brushing/grinding goes.

(That's orange primer on there, not rust. Lol.)

I hate body work!


I'm like the hulk, except it's not anger that turns me green, it's bondo that turns me pink!

If you couldn't tell I was wearing gloves while sanding.


Depending how motivated I am after dinner I might go back out and finish the firewall, and start on my patch panel.

Edit:
Looking at that last picture. I look like I have really pale arms lol.

:haha: I have been there lol.. and Ill be there again soon. My body work is coming up..

Jeep's have easy body work. Not a lot of area. Hehehehe.

Speaking of which, I got caught up on FB chat and I haven't gone out to the Jeep. It's 1:25am. I better go put the first coat on so it can dry lol.

Im at a stand still on mine at the moment.. But I only have one class on monday, so Ill be working away all week.

Let me know how that bed liner stuff turns out. I am going to do mine, just dont know what brand im going to use.

I will let you know in the morning. My first thought about it is that it's kind of, thin? I guess the instructions do say you need at least two coats.. but I have an issue with not fully covering things lol. I took ages and I still got some spots showing through.


I bedlined the firewall, the area above it (below windshield) and down the side in front of the door. Also did some of the frame and the front. I got that crap EVERYWHERE though. It's really.. runny?

I guess I will do the second coat in the morning and see how that first coat turned out.
I will scuff up the rest of the windshield area, and coat it inside and out as well as make the patch panel and probably cover the whole outside.
There are some area's i'm just going to shoot with some cheap black paint, to make things easier.

I didn't really intend to start on the rest of it yet- but the firewall got messy, and it just kept spreading from there. -_-

Lookin good man! Gonna follow this build as well

Looks good bro.

Thanks guys. The first coat turned out really well. I'm waiting to do the second coat until I can do the whole Jeep's first coat. I didn't touch it today other then to check out how the first coat went. Tomorrow i'm camping with some friends so i'll be gone tomorrow and Saturday. I will be getting back and doing more to the Jeep after that!

Cool, I got a '51 Willys M38 I'm about to start working on.