Choptop/Crewcab Progress *update 2/3

[youngjeeper]

Figured I'd start a build-up thread, might help some people along the way.

Plan:
I've got an '88 Waggie, bent up roof from a tip over. I made the decision to do a half truck/half cab style with the body. I will be cutting off part of the roof, and using the back piece of a J-truck Cab to box in my "new" Waggie cab. The plan is to keep the stock bench seat in the rear. Once all of the body work is complete I will be putting in a full rollcage inside the cab; also will be removing the stock tailgate and building my own. The carpet side panels in the rear will become removable metal ones; the speakers will be moved into the rear cab doors.

I'm going to try and take many pictures as I go along, some with measurements, to make this easier on anyone who may have a similar idea in the future.

11/11/08
Today I didn't have much planned, mainly wanted to take measurements, sit back and think. I moved the cab piece by the jeep and measured, marked, measured. Went into the back of the Waggie, did the same. Had to make a note of how far back the rear seat leans; that will determine where the cab piece will be welded in. Didn't know what to do next so I cut some carpet and thought for awhile. I realized after awhile, I would get nowhere if I didn't just go ahead and cut the d*** top off.

Here's the damage




This is a measurement from the window frame to the rear of the stock seat


Roof to Floor measurement ~42"


Cut Lines (Rear corner)




Cut Line Roof (Inside of roof support) ~3" out where the cab will weld in.
I will be cutting the J-truck cab so that I can slide it into place and the seam will be under the Waggie roof; I will then cut off the extra 3" sticking out past the cab. (Will be more understandable later)


Cut one


Cut two


Cut three




Pile of junk I had to take off (PM me if you see anything you want)


I had to go into work and didn't get to finish cutting the roof section today. Only have about 4" left on each side of the roof till the portion comes off! Tomorrow I will finish that up and hopefully begin cutting on the Cab piece.

More pics are in my album: http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/a...7/Wag%20Build/

[dajeeps]

are you using the gw frame or the truck frame?sound like you have it planed out well.
good luck.

[youngjeeper]

Originally Posted by dajeeps

are you using the gw frame or the truck frame?sound like you have it planed out well.
good luck.

The Waggie frame...I didn't cut the whole body in half like you, just the roof line. The sides of the Waggie will be my "bed sides" up to the "new" boxed cab. The tricky part will be cutting the truck cab rear to fit INSIDE of the Waggie. Hard to explain, you'll have to see!

[youngjeeper]

11/12/08

Well today brought some problems to the table that I should've considered from the beginning. Today I finished cutting the roof, made templates for the wheel well cuts on the J-cab, measured an azzload and cut the J-cab all up...and then realized a big issue. The crushed roof bent up the C-pillar on the driver side pretty bad; clocked inward. Also, the bedsides are kicked outward about an inch (not a huge issue as you get up to where the cab will weld in). After a lot of measuring and cutting I decided to hold up the J-cab piece to see if I measured the height correctly; this was BEFORE cutting the space for the wheel wells. Turns out because of the crooked pillars, the left of the cab (where the two pieces join) is outside of the pillar an inch on the driver side, and inside an inch on the passenger side. :thumbsdow Not cool! Tried to high lift the roof up thinking it MAY bring the pillar out, didn't work. I decided it was time to call it a day, and look at it on Friday. I think I'm going to try and pull the pillar with a come-a-long and see what happens. Anyways, here are the pics from the day!

Go roof!




You can see the crookedness a bit here




Some rags and tape to cover the hole for now


Random measurements, showing where the J-cab will be at under the roof, and where I cut.


This is where we start on the J-cab work..Cab as a whole here


Initial cut (cut lines and measurements are in my photobucket album) Took off cab walls and floor.


Good bit higher after the first cut, but still can't tell have "off" it will be


2nd cut section. Took off remaining roof and gutters


And the problems start showing now...(again this is before the cut that will set it on top of the wheel wells)


That piece on the side of the J-cab once fit up on the ledge before serious cutting.


And the Hi-lift attempt..I was thinking that if the roof lifted it may lift the pillar out?


So Friday, I'll be trying a come-a-long on the pillar to see what I can do. If anyone has ideas/thoughts, post up!

more pics: http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/a...7/Wag%20Build/

[mcjeep80]

maby run the come along from door jam to door jam and pull them together. that should force the c pillar back up. then pry it up like you tried in the last pic with the high lift. pull a bind on it then persuade it with a hammer. or pull the bottom together and use the high lift to spread the top of the doors

hey it worked great in my head!

[Casey]

Did you get some more ink?

Try welding the roof to something to pull it with, the way a body shop would?

[misfittom138]

Nice, I like where you are going with this! Can't wait to see it done.

[mcjeep80]

still think you need to pull the bottom of the c-pillars together with the come along. the way the body is pushed out, it is stronger than the roof so it will keep pulling the roof back down. you will probably have to use the jack to push the top up and out while pulling the base of the pillars back together

[youngjeeper]

Originally Posted by mcjeep80

still think you need to pull the bottom of the c-pillars together with the come along. the way the body is pushed out, it is stronger than the roof so it will keep pulling the roof back down. you will probably have to use the jack to push the top up and out while pulling the base of the pillars back together

I don't quite understand how that would work..I'm only trying to bend the driver side pillar outward, passenger side is straight. By hooking the two together, would it not bend the passenger side? Correct me if I'm thinking wrong, I don't have much sense with this kind of stuff.

[tgreening]

Originally Posted by youngjeeper

I don't quite understand how that would work..I'm only trying to bend the driver side pillar outward, passenger side is straight. By hooking the two together, would it not bend the passenger side? Correct me if I'm thinking wrong, I don't have much sense with this kind of stuff.

We used to have a body shop and the one thing you have to remember when you are trying to pull something, whether it's frame or body, is that you have to stop everything from moving except what you want to move.

In your case it appears you want to pull the drivers side c-pillar and nothing else. Even if you do have multiple things to pull it's generally best to yank one thing at a time. Just a quick and dirty opinion but I think you were on the right track back with the phone pole and come-along.

Try this. Cut a 4x4 of sufficient length to jam between the frame and axle. This will stop the suspension from collapsing on that side. Stick a bottle jack under the axle tube as close to the wheel as you can get it. This will stop the tire from compressing. That should pretty much take care of that issue but will probably need some tweaking as to placement and such.

It would be great if you had another pole on the passenger side of the truck. This way you could attach a come along on that c-pillar and just take up the slack. This will stop that side from going along for the ride when you start pulling the driver side.

Another potential issue is you may actually start dragging the whole truck. Again a passenger side pole would come in handy as a place to anchor the frame. Remember, you don't want anything to move except want you want to move, in your case the drivers side c-pillar.

The frame tie down you might even accomplish using some long-azz rebar as stakes and you can chain your frame to those. The c-pillar on that side would be a bit trickier due to its height.

These are just some suggestions on a solution based on making due with what you may have on hand. A good body shop would have a frame table where you could make all these attachments but in your case it's not a viable solution.

Good luck. You have an interesting project going.

[mcjeep80]

from the pics it looks like where the c-pillar meets the body on the drivers side is pushed out. if the body is pushed out it wont matter if you can pull or push the top where you want it. the body will keep pulling it back down. now that is just the way it works in my head. if nothing else works its just another option to try

[Dmntxn77]

Originally Posted by tgreening

It would be great if you had another pole on the passenger side of the truck. This way you could attach a come along on that c-pillar and just take up the slack. This will stop that side from going along for the ride when you start pulling the driver side.

You could always just hook a strap to the right side and another rig. Then, you could just pull hard enough to put some tension on the strap. That should keep your rig from sliding or trying to tip over once you immobilise the left suspension.

[BIGYELLOW78J10]

Dan,

I think tgreening is heading you in the right direction. You have to have some point secured to make the bent parts rotate and bend the right direction.

What it you attach the strap to the telephone pole (being remarkably attentive to not accidently yanking it with your rig) and to the top of the C pillar. Roll the rig til you get a little tension. Then, secure the come-a-long to the bottom of the C pillar and attach it to an adjacent rig or to the seat belt mount. Be very careful using the seat belt mount on the wheel well as I have had several rust out and fall out.

Your C pillare looks like this
/
\

So once you straighten it out, then working to get the roof shifted as earlier suggested (block the frame, jack the axle) can really do some work.

A second come-a-long would be nice as well.


Good luck!

Daniel

[BIGYELLOW78J10]

Like this.

http://gfsj.org/forums/attachment.ph...0&d=1227102895

[daddywinz]

i'm new to this site.

excellent venture! i love diy crew cabs.

i'd definitely gusset that roof section, with at least some flatbar or plate, temporarily, from the top of both posts...all the way across the roof's profile. just tack it every few inches. if you don't hold the shape of the roof while you jack, you could very well start some rippling and tweaking (more).

if it were me, i'd use 1x1x1/8" angle iron. wrap it inside the roof's profile from post to post along your install line. just use a grinder or chop saw to cut a series of notches (called kerfing) in the vertical section of the 1x1 so it bends to match the roof's profile.

if you get the j's patch piece the right shape and size, you can wrap it with small 1/8"x1" flatbar, or something, to give it some shape rigidity too.

if you have a pile of angle or flatbar, you should X the "bed" right where you're gonna jack (out of the way of the j's patch piece). that way, only the posts are moving and not the whole side. serious chop & section guys use lots of temporary bracing!

another way to get it square is to use the j's section. if you can get it started in place under the roof (while it's still racked to one side a bit) PROBABLY UNDER THE DRIVER'S SIDE CORNER, start tacking it into place. as you jack the roof to square, you'll know it because the j's section will start lining up and dropping in. it may start out half in/half out of position, but if you USE ALIGNMENT MARKS FROM CENTER TO GET IT STARTED, it'll eventually work into place. if you've wrapped the j's section, you can pry on the edges to get it into place (otherwise it'd crumple around where you jam a crowbar).

if you use the j's section to pry the top over, make sure you have like a foot long section with 8-10 tacks before you start putting pressure to the joint. i would even TACK A JACKING PLATE below the window (maybe a 6x6" plate with a piece of angle welded on it). then jack sideways against that til it's square.

hope all that's not "too much information".

YOU'LL LOVE THE EXTRA MATERIAL AROUND THE JOINT FOR WELDING IT UP. that thicker metal makes a great heat-sink and allows for a bigger misfit.

an IH guy would use plywood with a house window! so, you're doin' good!

i need to shut up, kevin

[youngjeeper]

Good ideas guys..I'll probably do some work on it this week once it dries out here. I'll keep this updated.

Kevin- I like that idea of fitting in the J-cab piece and squaring it just to the point where it will fit in nicely. I'm a little afraid to do that though, I still need to cut more off of it to fit it in, and I'm afraid if I do that with the body how it is now..if it straightens out there could be some gaps/fitment issues.

[youngjeeper]

Well after looking at everyones ideas, I'm going to try this first..and if I can get solid mounting surfaces, I will strap the bottom of the pillar to my Blazer, and the top to the telephone pole. We'll see what happens!