78 Wagoneer, Building a driver! New Thread.

[Full Size Jeeper]

Originally wanted to do a frame off restoration with my son but he is just not that into cars like I have been since a kid. He will come out and help if asked, but this is clearly not his love and I'am good with that. My main goal with this build is to stave off rust and get the jeep back on the road as something that looks good and is usable as a cruiser. Bought it from a member on this sight in July of 2014. Ran it around town for a year or so and then the wife went back to school, so that was the end of that. She is a month away from finishing so now seems like a good time to get started. This is what it looked like when we first got home.

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Since photo bucket killed all my pics.,I'am redoing my build thread. Please don't delete my old thread until I copy all the text from the old thread, thanks.

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Have the whole front cap off and started cleaning the frame.

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Bought a 79 out of Baton Rouge a while back and it looks like the valance is rust free. Only two panels on the parts Wagoneer are rust free. One door and the valance. Paid $200.00 for it with the extra Razor grill.

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Pressure washed the fenders and fender wells. Removed most of the old under coating and scraped and sanded the rest off.

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Fender wells sanded and ready for primer.

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Also remade the fender welting. Mine was hard and not sure it would have functioned if I would have reinstalled it. Found something close in New Orleans at Atlas Hose & Gasket CO. 504-522-9613 1/8 diaphragm sheet rubber.

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So over the weekend I pressure washed the under side of the Wagoneer but ran out of daylight. looked at it the next day and I need to hit it one more time. Lots of mud, but it looks solid on the under side. Now for the cowl, it's a different story. Both sides were full of leaves and mud and the bottoms have some rust.

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Traced out on cardboard the rusted out piece of cowl. Cut it out of 18 gauge sheet metal, but did not shape it yet. Found more rust in what I would call the kick panel area. Still working on a plan of action. Other problem is I don't know how to weld. A friend dropped off a small mig welder I have been playing around with, father in law can weld, he may be the man for the job.

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Did a final sanding on fender wells and hit them with primer. Had all kinds of problems, blew out the diaphragm on the air compressor regulator.

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My valance has rust,so I cleaned up one off of my parts Wagoneer.

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Valance in primer, feeling a little better about this painting stuff. Still have a lot to learn, but getting after it.

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Okay,back on the Wagoneer. Cut out some rust at the kick panel on the passenger side, and my father in law welded it up. I made a little patch and It worked out okay for a rookie.

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Treated the area with POR metal treatment and the POR 15 epoxy paint. Sure is ugly, But I think It will be alright.

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I have the outer part of the cowl roughed out and just need to do a final fit before welding it in place.

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Pulled the rest of my interior just to get it out of the way. If anyone was envious or jealous of what I said about the mostly rust free Wagoneer I have, no need for that. Floor pans have small rust holes on both sides. Not as bad as many I have seen, but still needs to be addressed. Also the lip that the door rubber pushes onto on the passenger side at the bottom is mostly gone. Not sure of the plan of action just yet, but the list is growing. will finish the cowl area before getting into the floor rust.

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Pulled the engine out today so I can get to the firewall.

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Had to take a peek inside.

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Welded the new piece onto the bottom of the drivers side cowl.

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Pulled the wiring harness, blower motor, and heater core so I can clean the fire wall for primer and paint. I really did not think I was going to get this deep into it, but if I want to slow down the rust, it has to be done.