Starting the restoration

[mrhc]

I am about to start taking everything off the body of my 79 cj7 so I can get it painted. Any suggestions on the best way to go about it? I am also going to rebuild the transmission, the carburetor, and work on the frame (clean and paint). Any advise from those who have been through this would be helpful.

 

[bobcat481]

A good sand-blast on the frame will help. It will reveal any soft spots, and give you something good to etch, and paint. I would suggest some Por-15. It's good stuff, and won't fail you. You might consider boxing in the frame while you're at it. >> Depends on if your planning on abusing it when it is complete (you've got it apart, why not?) . As far as the body goes, depending on the condition, if it is in good shape, clean it up and go. If in poor shape, have someone media blast it with walnut shells. This will remove all the rust without "digging in" to the good steel. Other than that, take your time, don't half-arse it, and have fun. Rember: It's a hobby, not a job. Later, Brad

 

[54cj3b]

ID pull the tub that way you can work on frame and trans alittle easier than layin on your back and gives you a chance to replace all worn body mount bushings and also gives yo a full eye veiw of the under cariage to clean fix what ever needs fix and give it a good undercoating

 

[mrhc]

Thanks for the advise. I am really going to go over the frame when I get the tub off. I do have another problem; the bolts holding the tub on the frame are turning but not coming out. I can only assume that I broke the bolt loose. The bad thing is that I can't get to the nut to keep it from turning with the bolt. Help!?!?!? How do I keep the others from doing the same thing?

 

[TerryMason]

Take plenty of photos, and post them in the Jeep Builds section.

As to your body mount problems - it's not uncommon to have to cut a few of them off. Just us an angle grinder.

 

[mrhc]

OK, another question. I have looked up info on how to get out stuck screws, bolts and the like, even broken bolts. Every page I found said 'Don't break the screw extractor off in the screw head.' Unfortunately this has happened (thanks to my husband). My problem is that none of these sites told me how to get the broken extractor out. Help!

 

[bobcat481]

Ewwww. That's harden steel there. Next step for me would be a cut-off wheel, a grinder, sawz-all, or torch. Sometimes you can get the extractor out with a punch and hammer. Get 2 "dimples" started on either side and alternate tapping each one in a counter-clockwise direction. Even taps back and forth will sometimes jarr the extractor out. Same process as if you were backing out a broken tap.