Restoring my CJ7

I read your post last night, didn't answer cause I thought you would have a flood of replies. But here's my 2 cents. Your existing frame has lasted 30 years, and works with your plow, axles, springs, mounts etc. why would you not just go with another CJ frame, if you need more then 30 years out of it, get it galvinized, if going for new frame, try these guys

. If it is just the rear portion of your frame you could get these , As for BDS suspension, great warrenty, but stiff springs, my daughter has the 4" on 95 YJ, no flex at all, but if you are using for plow this may be a good thing. Greg

Well, some of us do have real lives and can't spend 24/7 at our terminals...

Anyway, the frame: You probably won't know how bad it is until you strip the body off, and you'll have to strip the body off to fix it properly -- instead of just tacking bandaids to it. For my `79 CJ-5 I had repair plates made that reached from the middle of the wheel arch to the bumper/rear cross member. These I "sistered" on for the outside faces of the frame, and made plates to "sister" onto the top surfaces. For the inner faces I cut away the frame and replaced the section from the cross member just aft of the top of the wheel arch to the rear cross member. I also cut away and replaced the bottom section. The reason I replaced the inner face, rather than simply boxing the frame, was that I wanted to install a Hidden Hitch mount and simply boxing would have reduced the distance between the rails too much. While I had it apart I made and attached plates to all of the body mount brackets, as all of them were rotted where the rubber should have been. It looks as though these parts are now available commericially, they were not on the market when I did mine.

I haven't looked lately but my guess is that a new replacement frame will run you someplace north of two grand. Unless you have motor freight access to an arid region of the country you won't find a junked frame in good enough shape to make it worth your while. The TJs are getting long in the tooth now, too.

Why do you want the lift? It might be a problem since from what you write it seems like snow plowing is the major function of this rig. Changing the driveline and suspension geometry even just a couple of inches is going to increase the strain on pretty much everything.

Swapping out the brake system, here I assume that you mean from front drums to front disks, shouldn't be a problem and you don't need the TJ frame to do that. Any CJ disk brake donor from 1976 through `83 should bolt up. Don't forget to include the proportioning valve (located on the inner frame rail below the driver's left foot), and consider dropping the extra money on preformed stainless brake lines. Really, you'll be happy to didn't try to bend them yourself.

Article on your Dana 30 front axle: .

Dana 30 disk brake conversion how-to:

Good luck.

-- "I defer to your plainly more vivid memories of topless women with whips....r" R. H. Draney recalls AFU in the Good Old Days.

I read the "rusty frame" post, thought the idea was so far out of reason that I thought it might be a troll. No reason to even start typing.

A CJ body will not fit on a TJ frame without some fairly serious modification. You mention a BDS lift, are you planning on using the TJ coil suspension or try and back fit leaf suspension? Ditto for the brakes, what are you planning to start with? If you have to ask the question, you have no clue as to the amount of work involved. And what is a Timbren unit?

Repairing the frame is best started with a set of frame plates from

click on catalog, look for 'frame plates' These can be installed with the body on the vehicle but are MUCH easier with the body off. You don't say but the '77 can have either drum or disk brakes on the front. '78 and later are all disk front, putting these on is a bolt on swap. With these on, getting good brake action is just a matter of replacing whatever bad parts you have in there now. Worst case is master cylinder, boost, 2 wheel cylinders, front rotors, front calipers. Not cheap but not horrible.

John Schroeder wrote:

Googling indicates that a Timbren unit might be a rubber spring assister shaped a bit like a coil spring which goes between centre of leaf spring and frame.

Dave Milne, Scotland