Cajun's '59 CJ5 Resto

I guess I should start posting some pics of the progression of my restoration on my '59 CJ5. I started blowing it apart back in October. I was amazed at how easily the 61 y/o nuts and bolts came out. The deeper you dig, the more issues seem to pop up. I've got rust in the floor pans, rear floor riser and next to the tail lights. Nothing terrible but it'll all be getting cut out and replaced with new metal. Once the rust repairs are made, I'll have everything media blasted and then epoxy primed. I've taken hundreds of pics as I go so hopefully I can figure out how to put it all back together.

The only bolts that gave me any grief were the ones holding the tub to the chassis, but I eventually won out. The roll bar was welded to the frame so had to cut that loose to finally get the tub free. The tranny and diff were covered in decades of grease and dirt. I scraped and used the pressure washer to get everything clean. I kept finding white bits of rock-like material. I finally realized it was oyster shell! My grandparents long driveway was covered in crushed oyster shell and it was embedded in the grease and gunk.

Welcome Cajun98!!!!!
It looks like a Great start to a restore, and you are going about it the right way.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions on here, there are 3 Guys on here that know everything from bumper to bumper on your project and like you said keep posting pictures.
We Love Pictures!!!!

Job well done Cajun! Thank you for posting the pictures so we can follow along.

Go Cajun Go! You are on the right track for sure. Take it apart and put it back together. Having minimal rust to repair is a great start. I also had a roll bar welded to the frame. At least it was installed correctly! Roll bars don't work very well when they are not hooked to the frame. You have to love your grinder and cut off discs. The pictures of the progression will be priceless.

Hat channels, floors and bed supports all have varying degrees of rust. I'll end up going with replacement floors and hat channels. On the rear floor supports, think I can cut the rot out and weld in new metal.

The tool box had rotted out so that will have to be replaced. The area where the back of the toolbox, bed floor and rear floor support all meet up is gonna take some serious work. I think I can just cut and replace with good metal. If I can find anyone in my area that carries 18 gauge sheet metal

Where are you located Cajun98?

TJones, I’m in NE Louisiana, near Winnsboro. Originally from down near Lake Charles.

If you have a Tractor Supply close they should have what you need!

I'll give them a call. The big steel supplier that's nearby doesn't sell anything thinner than 16 gauge, in 4x8 sheets. I'll check with TS. Thanks for the suggestion.

Once I got the tub off the chassis, I built a "redneck rotisserie". It works great. I can roll it around the shop as needed and it makes it a breeze to access the underneath of the jeep. I modeled it after the one that I built for my '78 280Z.

Cajun, I bought a 4'X12' piece of 18 gage from one of our local fabrication shops. If you don't have any luck at Tractor Supply, let me know how much you need. We can work out a trade.

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Originally Posted by Cajun98

Once I got the tub off the chassis, I built a "redneck rotisserie". It works great. I can roll it around the shop as needed and it makes it a breeze to access the underneath of the jeep. I modeled it after the one that I built for my '78 280Z.

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Damn that needs to be patented Cajun!!!!

Cajun, gm and you could give a clinic on how to build effective heavy shop tools from wood. Fantastic rotisserie!

That is 'way cool - ingenious!

gmwillys, thanks for the offer. I'm going to check with TS today. TJones, I can't take credit for the rotisserie. I first found it on a Datsun zcar site. Works great on the datsun using the factory bumper mounts but still needs a few tweaks to improve it for the Willys. bmorgil, thanks for compliment. Necessity is the mother of being cheap, lol.

I just learned about rotisseries - this one is ingenious Cajun. wtg & thanks for the pictures. Tremendous build you got going on...

WOW! :rolleyes:
That "Datsun zcar" rotisserie is cool. I searched YouTube and found some great info on on how to build the rotisserie/pushover jig/tip over jig. This old dog just learned another trick. THANKS! What did you use for attachment points?

AJ-MJ, the back structure bolts into the four holes where the tail gate hinges are. In the front, I use the bolt holes where the fenders bolt to the tub. I'm planning to modify it to make it a little more stable. In the back, I'll keep bolting into the hinge location but I'm going to also extend the the frame up so that you can use a long U-bolt to connect to the upper tail gate fastener. That should get rid of some of the wobble. In the front, if you use two bolts on each side, you should be good. You may have to notch the 2x6 in a few places to clear a couple flanges on the tub.

Started drilling out spot welds in the hat channels. There are a lot of welds there! Also had some rot in the rear floor supports. Just cut out the bad and welded in new metal.

Same problem with the hat channels under the floor pans. Multiple spots where it rusted through. It's amazing how much crud that can accumulate inside the channels over the years. I'm surprised they didn't completely rust to pieces. I'm trying to save the original hat channels if I can.

Looking good Cajun. I would say I have certainly seen MUCH worse. The hat channels are seldom in good shape and they usually take the floor boards with them. Yours really don't look that bad. A lot of original there including the paint!

When I removed the fuel tank, I could see a lot of rust in the floor in the vicinity of the hat channel. When I started digging, this is what I found! An old t-shirt was stuffed into the channel to fill the void and then had bondo slathered over the top. I think the guy that painted it back in 1980 had to have done this. The amazing thing is that only the floor rusted out. The hat channel under the cloth was still solid. The thing you find!!

The hat channel under the toe boards is pretty rusted too. But the wooden inserts are still as solid as can be!

Awesome find. Was it forest gumps smiley t-shirt? Or some local jeep club? Hah!!!

Az has the right idea, t-shirt goes on the wall.

I can see the progress with your recent update. I really hope that this build will turn out fine. I am so excited to see the outcome.

mrgrtt123, I'm steady making progress. It's supposed to rain tomorrow so I will be in the shop all day working on new floor pans!! I hope to get it done by this summer! My mom is almost 80 y/o. This CJ5 was her's when she was in high school. I want her to be able to drive it again. That keeps me motivated.

I am tired of drilling out spot welds but I finally got the hat channels removed from both floor pans, intact. What a pain! I thought I would be able to salvage the hat channels but I think I may be money ahead going with new steel. KW has hat channels that aren't welded together so I can use my old ones as a pattern to get the angle correct.

I posted this picture earlier, but has anyone seen a back seat mount like this? Not sure where the seat came from but it was with the jeep when it arrived.

Took the tub off the rotisserie and made a couple of oversized sawhorses that allow me to place the tub upside down. Makes it easier to work on the floor pans. Once off the chassis, this tub sure has a lot of flex. I got it leveled, squared, and braced up, and finally got the nerve to start cutting floor pans. I made a pattern with poster board so hat I can duplicate all the hole for chassis mounts, etc, on the new floor pans.

The new pans from KW give you plenty of extra metal for trimming to get a good fit. I was at Harbor Freight and grabbed a pack of those little clamps that hold the patch panel in place, with a nice gap for butt welding. They work like the cat's meow! Got the panel tack welded on the top and inside edge. I used plug welds on the outside and back edges and then stitch welded to complete the job. I'll dress the welds with a flapper disc next. Pretty darn happy with the results. Tomorrow, we tackle the passenger floor pan. This may be a little more involved. I'm going to have to make repairs to the rear floor riser also, as it has a lot of rot where the tool box was located, but I think it can be salvaged. Time in the shop, working on the CJ, is good therapy for what ails ya!!

Very well done Cajun. Harbor Freight is a great source for the odds and ends specialty body work items. The spot weld cutters work well for removing the old panels, and beats the price I paid for from Woodward Fab.... 1/4 of the price for the same cutters.

Nice Cajun! Its coming back to life. Those pieces fit pretty well. Hows the quality?

Don't you just Love/Hate Harbor Freight? They have what you need for a price that only China can provide, and I can afford!

"Once off the chassis, this tub sure has a lot of flex."

When the restorer had the cab of the '48 on the rotisserie, he suspected that it was going to flop all over the place once he cut the rotten floor pans and door sills out, so he welded some angle iron across the door openings and several other places to keep what was going to be left of the cab rigid.

Yo are doing some very nice sheet metal work there.

LarrBeard, I ended up with the tub upside down and shimmed up before cutting. Nothing moved when I cut out the old floor, and everything stayed square so that I could get it tacked in place. bmorgil, the floorpans were of nice quality. They give you plenty metal around the edges. The only thing I noticed was that the hole for the fuel tank line was off by about 1/4 inch. No biggie. I made a cardboard template with all the required holes that need to be cut. I'd heard some bad press about the Classic replacement panels but these were fine. I think it had more to do with their hat channels not having the correct geometry.

Cajun, for some reason the fuel tank fuel line hole is always in the wrong spot. Mine was also off. I have read a few who say that. I think that hole "varied" in production. When you put the tank in, you may have to "adjust" the spout. It also seldom fits perfectly into the hole on the side of the body. It can be quite far off. This is common I have actually seen a few guy's chop up the side of the body and relocate the fill hole. There is no need. You will usually have to hold the tank and bend the neck to fit the hole. It is not too difficult to do. On mine the new body and new tank wasn't close. It took a little bending of the spout but it fit right in.

A little bracing goes a long way when replacing floors. On the A1 I did a few years back, the only piece that connected the cowl with the rest of the body was the top of the rockers/door opening. A lot of tweaking,(twerking in LarrBeards case) and some 1" square tubing made everything square again. The driver's floor was tacked into place to keep everything in check, then the body was removed from the frame to continue the floor replacement.

There is no shame in buying what you need from Horrible Freight. If I were to claim to be a professional, then I would shell out the money for the better tools, but using odds and ends from China works better for the budget. It seems that a lot of the premium tools are now made overseas. I hate buying overseas, but they have priced themselves out of the budget for most, and I paid off what I do own 25 years ago, and am not looking to owe on a tool truck account.

Damn you do some nice work there GM