To kinda clarify what I am doing I am not specifically doing a frame up restoration at least i wouldn't call it that. I am just replacing my old rusted out frame with one that is in good shape. So i figured I would take a little time this morning and clean out my jeep as well as take some pictures of my jeep and the stuff i have acquired to get through the frame swap. Over the last 2 or 3 months i have managed to acquire quite a bit of parts to have replaced on my jeep.
1st the frame
I have found a good frame from a local junk yard called tolpa's auto parts. I have to admit $750 i paid for it is a bit steep but they did a darn good job of cleaning it up and even spray painted it a nice black. They also gave me a 6 month guarantee that if in the process of sand blasting and installing in my jeep a bad spot was found i could get my $ back. I really don't think this will be necessary as This frame has been looked over pretty well and shes a good one. I am glad to have finally got this main part taken care of especially as close to home as i did. Let me tell you it was hard to find a good one. I had a guy in mass that does nothing but part out jeeps who said he would have one for me. All he did was give me a run around and waste my time. Another guy in Connecticut I had agreed to buy his frame and even paid a down payment of $50 as he still had to get the cab and axles off from it. I had gotten pictures of it and everything looked good. However the guy pulled the gas tank and found a big rotted hole on the inside of the frame hidden by the gas tank. That guy did refund my deposit so i didn't loose anything but time there. I do have to give my mechanic the credit of finding the good frame i had no knowledge of tolpa's or even that they existed. I also had to find the transmission skid plate as mine is pretty bad as well. That should be on its way here at the moment. The frame/skid plate etc is going to be sand blasted cleaned and then coated with por 15 prior to install. Once this is done the disassemble of the jeep should start shortly after. We may even go as far as to do the axles and under-body of the tub with por-15 we will see how it goes with the frame first and decide on that later.
2nd suspension
considering the amount of work that would be going into the frame swap I knew there was some things that I should replace not only due to age but to help make the job somewhat easier. One of these areas was the spring bolts and bushings. Originally i had planned on replacing with standard bolts and Polly bushings. However in the coarse of things I found a new set of front 1 1/4" dray star greasable shackles still in the box for $20 so i snatched them up. I then purchased the rear set from quadratech as well as the spring eye greasable kit. This allowed me to sell the Polly bushings i got on ebay to replace the shackle to frame bushings i had previously bought. I know this is the grand opportunity to buy and install a suspension lift into the jeep. However I'm afraid funds wont allow it right now. So the 1 1/4" i get from the shackles will have to do for the time being. Also one of the things I have to get probably in the next cpl weeks is the shocks. I am not certain which ones I need or am going to get. With only 1 1/4" of lift i think stock shocks should be OK but ill have to look into this. I certainly don't intend to spend too much $ on the shocks as i do plan on a suspension lift sometime down the road and cant over do it on the $ right now. Id use the old ones but I'm pretty sure they are shot.
3rd body mounting and outside accessories
well here i found a set of Polly body to frame mounts on ebay and then found a 3" body lift on the jeep forum for $60. I really didn't know at that point if i wanted a body lift and I'm still unsure now. I just didn't want to let the lift go at the cheaper price in case I decided to do the lift. It is just like me to pass something up and kick myself in the rear later for it. part of me wants the body lift because i want to get it higher and want to take advantage of my frame situation to do the body lift to get it up there. However the downside is If later i do get a suspension lift (which id get a 3.5" lift) I'm not sure id want 6" or more of lift on my jeep. The jeep mostly gets driven on the road and don't see any trail time. so having huge tires and all kinds of lift isn't exactly needed. When i do get around to getting some tires I only want to go with some 33" tires at the most. I also got a tubular front bumper for $30 that needs tabs welded onto it to bolt it up. I also got a set of chrome side steps that need to be repainted black as the previous owner painted them and the chrome is showing through. I thought about cleaning the paint off and going with them as chrome however they wont match the front bumper that way and I figure if i want chrome ill get new later on. My mechanic is trying to talk me into replacing the fenders on my jeep as at least the pass side is shot and the drivers is getting there. I probably will replace with fiberglass ones but i doubt it will be now. most likely this summer. I also have some rust spots that need attention in the back end and near the doors. I also have acquired a used good Grey soft top, new clear windows, and used tinted windows however the rear tinted window got brittle and broke. I also need to find some Grey upper doors. I want to get ones with sliding windows but for now ill take what i can when i find them.
pictures and closing
well I did take pictures of the bad spots of the frame, my jeep overall, and the parts i have acquired. I had wanted to post them all up on here but they are kinda big and theres i think 16 of them. I just think it would be easier to post a link to the photo albums and let ya click and view the whole album then posting up 16 individual pictures here. Besides this post is long enough without pics lol. There is some other bad spots in the frame i haven't gotten to take pictures of yet. I am hoping to get pics of these spots later when its all apart and easier to access these areas. I also plan to get some shots of the new frame before its installed as well as some progress shots as it is getting done. these pics i will post up as they should only be 1 or 2 at a time. This project will be getting under way the end of next week so more pics should be up at that time. As far as parts i need to get still. I would like to get a header and the front exhaust pipe and a new high flow cat to finish off the exhaust. I also need shocks like previously mentioned. I also plan on some other polyurethane stuff to finish it off. sway bar bushings, tie rod Boot sets, track arm set,transmission torque arm set, and axle bump stops to name a few. If anyone has any ?s feel free to ask. Also any input into something i may have forgotten to consider or mention might be helpful as this is the first time undergoing this kind of project. I am not doing the work myself someone else is but id like to get the things i need as quick as possible. I don't know how long this is going to take. my mechanic plans on taking his time with it around some of his other work and thinks it will be a cpl months. I'm kinda hoping early to mid June I could be driving it. OK below is the links to the pictures the first will be of the jeep and the bad spots of the frame i have. the 2nd is of the parts i have acquired. I hope this helps to answer any ?s you guys have and satisfy your curiosity for now. Feel free chime in and let me know what ya think or give any suggestions or criticism.
http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s236 ... ep%20pics/
http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s236 ... p%20parts/
www.tulsaoffroad.com
YJ
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