cj-5 '73 new tub

Where in Alaska? I grew up in Cordova and now live in Anchorage. If you end up going with a replacement steel tub you have to plan on protecting it really well from the start or else it will just rust out again. A coat or two of epoxy primer would be the least amount of protection you want to give it, and pay particular attention to the underbody. On the truck that I saved from rust I used herculiner on the undersides of all the wheel wells in addition to a lot of POR-15 and epoxy primer.

There are also aluminum tubs available which I would strongly consider, but I would still use a lot of epoxy primer just in case and a layer of sealant between any steel and aluminum parts to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion. And use anti-sieze compound on the hardware. I replaced most of the body bolts on my truck with stainless steel.

You will definitely want to tie your roll bar into the frame, even if you go with a steel tub. If you can get the mounts tacked to the frame, you can then get somebody who IS good with a welder to finish it up for you.

---------------------------------------------------- Del Rawlins- del@_kills_spammers_rawlinsbrothers.org Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email. Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:

I recently put a steel "Replitub" from Wyllys-Overland on my `79 CJ-5 restoration. They told me that all of the repop steel tubs come from the same plant in the Philippines, so the only variation is in whatever prep the vendor does before sending the tub to you -- the tubs come to them in a "one size fits, um, none of them exactly, really" flavor. W-O punches some holes in places that you'll need them (like the heater box holes and fuel filler), modifies some of the tub and front seat mounting points. I still needed to add reinforcement for seat belts and some miscellaneous small holes. OK, so a lot of small holes, like the feed-through hole for my wiper harness.

You are correct about the steel quality -- it is neither as thick nor as hard as the OEM metal used and it will rust at the drop of a hat if exposed to moisture. On the other hand, fiberglass will shatter on impact, so you pays your money and takes yer chances, rustable or breakable. I don't know if it is still a problem but older glass tubs had issues with the thickness of the firewall requiring modification to brake and clutch linkages. Whatever your choice, keep your old tub as a template until you are sure that you've drilled all the holes you need -- for instance, I spent a lot of time scratching my head trying to work out just where the mounting brackets for my top bows should be.

Good luck! On Sun, 9 May 2004, it was written:

I'm in Nome. Have to fly or barge whatever I get here.. kinda sucks.

I took a look at some aluminum tubs on the net and they seemed to be for later models.. '76 and up. They're pricey, but if worth it I could consider them. I did build a boat using wood, fiberglass, and epoxy so I have some experience there.. fiberglass.

Yeah.. never felt too safe as it is.

Where do you get your stuff? I also need a supertop, but hate the

cheers, JIm

Thanks Lee! Are you happy with your new tub?-

cheers, Jim

Yeah, that's the way Cordova is. Bad for shipping large items in, unless of course you are in the shipping business as I was. 8^)

I forgot about that. They changed the tubs in '76 so you are in the same boat as I am with my '70 CJ-5, if I ever get around to doing anything with it. IIRC the front fenders and hood are the same from '72 onward. I have built a couple of small boats using those same materials. One thing to keep in mind is that if you buy a glass tub it will most likely be made using polyester resin rather than epoxy so you can expect the gelcoat to develop fine cracks as it ages, but you probably knew that already.

All of the big/heavy parts on my Jeep were shipped up via barge when I was in Cordova, but I got a really good deal on shipping through work at the time so I can't be of much help to you. Getting big stuff up from outside is now a major hassle for me, as it is for most other Alaskans. I bought a sheet metal brake last fall and then the person who was going to bring it up in his trailer had to change his plans, so I'm still waiting to get it up here.

---------------------------------------------------- Del Rawlins- del@_kills_spammers_rawlinsbrothers.org Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email. Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:

On Mon, 10 May 2004, it was written:

Very happy, thanks. W-O did save me a certain amount of hand work and hair-pulling, but my warning about saving the old tub as a template came from experience. Even though I had read warnings, I had foolishly dumped the remaining fragments of my old tub -- the ones that hadn't already returned to the earth they came from. I didn't try to do a faithful restoration since the repop tub isn't an _exact_ duplicate of the original sheet metal (the Phillipine tubs are less detailed, one fewer set of ridges around the gas filler dimple by the door, for instance), but as vintage parts came my way I added them for detail, like an OEM optional cigar lighter and mounting bracket. My guy at the local alignment shop nearly wet himself when I brought the CJ in. He'd worked in a Jeep dealership in the late 1970s and when he hopped in had some weird -- but happy -- flashbacks. He said that it even _smelled_ new. He was also kinda awestruck when he had it up on the lift and saw how much attention to detail there is there and was the third person to suggest that I take it to some shows. I dunno `bout that but I'm thinking that a couple of local cruise nights might be fun. I've got a scrap book of "in progress" snapshots that I call "Not a restoration but an amazingly life-like recreation!" It is.

I put plates on it last month and drove it for the first time in roughly a decade. Great fun, except.... On the second outing it came home on a hook. I'd forgotten that I'd never properly timed the ignition and it seems that it was running mostly on goodwill and an eagerness to get out of the garage. Halfway up the first hill on the way home it bagged out and died. When I put a proper light on it it was so far off that I couldn't even see the timing mark. Oops. It's running fine now.

Lee,

I'm sitting here reading your post laughing, nodding and saying "yup, yup been there"!

In a moment of total madness I hauled a ratty '76 CJ5 out of a chiken coop two years ago and dragged it home. On the good side, no rust and it had a tailgate, which is somewhat rare on post 76 CJ5s. On the negative side was everything else! What a load, four days after making a punch list of everything it needed I should have pushed it off a local cliff and filed an insurance claim, but NO! Soon to come was a rear end overhaul, one piece axles, new engine, clutch, seats, top fenders, grille, windshield frame & glass, dash panel, suspension, tires, bumpers, front turn signal lights, marker & tail lights, wiring, gauges, steering box, shaft & wheel, turn signal switch & lever, starter, battery, alternator, DUI distributor, Weber carb, all new brakes, exhaust system, roll cage, strip to the metal, body resto & paint.

Having no one around here to save me from myself, I now have a pristine CJ5 worth maybe 1/3 of what I have in it! It's impossible to call it a restoration because so many of the original components had been replaced, butchered, etc. However, it trully is fun, even to just park by the house & watch people oggle it.