Lots of body work

[danzigdawg]

I drove this '93 Wrangler about 2 years ago. She taught me how to drive manual! So, she's been sitting for about a year, and I'm just getting into fixing her up for spring. I am learning, but don't know much about cars. I have a dad that would rather fix it himself than show me.

I replaced the battery and changed the oil, and she starts right up! Stoked!

Shes lookin' pretty ugly on the inside. Rusty holes all in the drivers side, and under the doors on both sides. Near the base of theroll bars are looking bad also.

I know I need to break out the wire wheel and grind as much of the crap off as I can, sand it, and maybe ospho it-put some primer on.

I am a college student and dont have a huge budget, so I'll be doing every thing I can myself. I was thinking about rebuilding the tub with fiberglass sheets and finishing it with some rhino liner like finish, to keep the fiberglass from causing problems to my dogs feet.

Does this sound like it will work?
I would love to get a few ideas and suggestions about fixing up my baby!

 

[xt master]

If you have rust around the roll bar fiberglass will not be strong enough,Would need to weld some metal in there do not want to hurt the structure of the vehicle.

Fiberglass is fine for some small holes on the body but to use it on the floor I am not sure you may end up putting a foot threw it.If you have some holes in the floor a cheap way to fix would be to pop rivate some metal in from the bottom side and then put fiberglass over the top to make it look smooth and nice.

 

[jhoe_20]

yeah i agree with him on that, I work at a boat manufacturer and i use fiberglass all the time, it will hold on small patches, but under your floor i would at least put some thin sheet metal down first. I used plastikote brand bedliner that you can get at walmart for like $45/ gal and it works really well on the tub and its about the cheapest one i've found, Herculiner is decent too but its a little soft in my opinion. The other nice thing about plastikote is you can also get it in a spray can to do touch up on it.

 

[Itchee96]

What part in NC are you?

 

[Collin the Hen]

Get some Popeye arms! Pop riveting is nice, though. If you're kind of crazy and overkill like me, you could get some 1/4 in. steel and make a plate to go under and behind the roll bar. I was just a little weary in pop riveting under my roll bar. Again, I'm going overkill because I flopped my Jeep, and my passenger side seat belt came right out of the floor!

 

[xt master]

When it comes to saftey weld,weld,weld.

Roll bar area get it welded,most welding shops would not charge much to weld a plate in for you.

As far as the floor pop rivit and then fiberglass

 

[danzigdawg]

Great! For the small spots, I'll definately pop rivit and fiberglass. I will take your suggestion on the welding around the rollbar also. Good idea, saftey first. I want to be alive to enjoy what she has to offer!
Thanks jhoe 20 for the liner info~

I photographed the Black Beauty before her facelift so ya'll can see what rough shape shes in.
The drivers side is what really concerns me. I'll see if I can get a photo of the sheet metal someone made for that spot. Its not pro, but I may be able to use it.
If I use a piece of sheet metal, should I use the piece I have and put it on top of the rust, or just use a different piece and weld it under?

Now, this is after I chiseled the nastys off, took a wire wheel to it, and finished with Ospho.
-Ya'll rock! Thanks!

Nicole=Morehead City, NC

 

[danzigdawg]

Wow, looking at these pictures makes me sad.

 

[danzigdawg]

Get some Popeye arms! Pop riveting is nice, though. If you're kind of crazy and overkill like me, you could get some 1/4 in. steel and make a plate to go under and behind the roll bar. I was just a little weary in pop riveting under my roll bar. Again, I'm going overkill because I flopped my Jeep, and my passenger side seat belt came right out of the floor!

Thanks for your reply to my rusty jeep thread-but one more question.
Are popeye arms from eating lots of spinach or it it a hardware term? I'm new at this, if I dont ask I'll never know!
Thanks!
Nicole

 

[Itchee96]

You have some work ahead of you.

Huntersville, NC here.

 

[Collin the Hen]

Well, when you poprivet, you use your forearm to squeeze the gun. When I think of forearms, Popeye is the man. No real terms here. But yes, eat your greens, especially tomatoes, even though they aren't green. That has the same rusty spots as mine. I guess that's one of the Jeep things we understand.

 

[xt master]

New fiberglass tub around $3000.

You do have alot of work ahead of you,good luck

 

[danzigdawg]

Thanks! Luckily, I think dirty work is fun. And driving my Jeep is even more fun! I'll be checking in, glad to be part of the forum.

While I was working on her today, I turned around and my dog was sitting in the passenger seat! That inspired me, he looves cruzen! I'm sure he misses it...

Huntersville eah? I think I gatta look that one up on the map...

 

[jackedupxj]

dosnt look as bad as my cj tub cant wait for warm weather then the body work will begin !!!!!...... and the new brakes .... and the 4.0 swap ya i got a lot of work to do !

 

[Itchee96]

Thanks! Luckily, I think dirty work is fun. And driving my Jeep is even more fun! I'll be checking in, glad to be part of the forum.

While I was working on her today, I turned around and my dog was sitting in the passenger seat! That inspired me, he looves cruzen! I'm sure he misses it...

Huntersville eah? I think I gatta look that one up on the map...

Just north of Charlotte.

 

[danzigdawg]

Huntersville, its a little far from the coast for me! At least you have a nice lake near by, feel free to come ride around on the beach while you can. I dont know if you can buy a monthly beach pass or not, but its great to ride on the beach in the off season.

 

[danzigdawg]

Alrighty, its time to get dirty. Just got the 'ol tax refund, so its supply time.
I was thinking about diamond plate under the door from fender to fender, and these panels for the floor. It looks like the panels go all the way back, which would be great so I wouldnt have to piece it together. How does this idea sound to the pros? Any experience with this piece?
From JC Whitney
SEAT FLOOR TO REAR STEP BRACE REPAIR PANELS FOR JEEP : JC Whitney: Auto Parts & Accessories

 

[dandoc]

I've got a '93 YJ that needed body work as well. Both front fenders were replaced due to severe rust, with the replacements purchased from Quadratec.com. There were rust holes underneath the doors where yours are. I had a local vocational school repair the holes, and i believe they used a combination of sheet metal and body filler. To take care of the rust, I used Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator. It stops the "rust creep" and is applied directly over the existing rust (after wire-brushing off the loose particles).

As far as the diamond plate for under your doors, I'm guessing that's an exterior piece designed for rocker panel protection? If so, that will help hide the holes, but not necessarily keep the rust from progressing. The part that you found on JC Whitney doesn't look familiar to me, maybe because of the picture they used. Best of luck to you on your project! Check out my restoration project for pictures and some information (click the link below in my signature line).

 

[danzigdawg]

You really put a lot into that baby! thanks for the link, I'll be able to use your info. Happy trails!

 

[marlor]

Before you go deep into this thing, step back. Gas prices have dropped the price of jeeps dramatically. Jeeps aren't exactly the most fuel efficient vehicles. I've never seen prices this low for decent jeeps.

You're facing $3,000 in body work and more in suspension and engine. Take a look at prices of used jeeps. If you buy a jeep with a good body, you can put that money into the suspension and engine.

After all, the FUN work is doing engine and suspension. Body work does not have that much of a performance payoff. It just makes you look less sad.