1970 Custom Wagoneer Frame Off (fake Super Wag)

[CameraFinn]

Back in 2017, my dad and I did our first build – my 1970 J4000. (See here: http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=183072) Dad had never done a car before, and really liked it, not to mention he grew up with Jeeps on vacation here in Colorado with family friends, and had always liked Wags. Sometime in 2020 probably, he bought a 1414C custom out of Cloudcroft NM, and brought it back home. It sat on the side of the house for quite a while, and I’ve made it my project this summer.
The plan for it is restoration. We will stick with the 431 Avocado Mist like original, keep the Buick 350 and TH400, but just redo it all. Compared to my build, I’m leaning toward doing the paint myself, but sending the trans out to get rebuilt. In addition, while junkyard hunting a few years ago, we found a Super (1414D or X) console, armrest, and shifter in the back of a
’74, so we snatched that up. The plan is to use them and make a fake Super Wag. No in dash AC though, and only two strips of chrome down the side, not three. Conveniently we also have a spare shifter-free column from a Jeepster to use the top off of. We’re currently looking for the buckets up front, but if we can’t find them then we can use the buckets in my truck as models – somehow my truck was optioned up enough to get buckets instead of a bench.
Otherwise, it will be a very true to original restoration, my dad doesn’t want anything crazy. It is a lot rustier than mine was, so that will be more work, but something for me to learn too.
This is how she looked when we got her:



The first day was focused on strip down, we got all the junk out of the cab, pulled the vinyl and sound deadening to the unsurprising rot in the floor.


Then we got the dash out and front clip off


And that was day one.

[CameraFinn]

Day Two
Day two was all about starting to cut the cancer. I worked on the front for the day, and got most of the bad stuff out. Worked on the rear doors, the lower screws are really firmly rusted in, and now stripped despite my best efforts. I’ll weld a nut to them here soon and get them off. Also, I’m trying to decide how to deal with the rear floor. It is pretty deeply pitted by the tailgate, but not through at all. I think it would be best to replace the metal at least from the wheel wells back, but I’m not sure where to get ribbed sheet to match the floor – I even checked the bed on the J4000 and instead of 2.75” wide rib up 2.5” wide rib down its like 2” up 2.2” down. Anyone have any ideas?

[cu4whln]

Hmm, check BJs Off Road. i think they have extensive floor patch floors available??

[sierrablue]

Kaiserjeeps used a GMC bed floor when he did the back of Sadie...not 100% sure that has the exact same width as the stock Waggy one, but it's pretty close.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=121305

Your rig looks awesome, btw! I'm subscribing Yours (bone stock for both of them) is pretty much mine, but green with a black interior, and made a few months earlier by the sounds of it.

[CameraFinn]

Mega Metal Replacement

The underside was pretty ugly, the hat top at the rear was totally gone



After removing the sill the story didn’t get any better


The other side was a lot better than this side, which was nice, but still not too usable.

Got it all cut out


Rebuilt the corner (I forgot to take pictures then so that’s the new floor)



Had to replace the rear corner. Nowhere near Al’s level but I was still OK with it since all I had was a hammer. Took forever though.



Redid the wheel well rust


Then we decided the floor needed to go for sure


I had been thinking that truck bed would probably be my best bet, even if the floor from didn’t match, as the J4000 bedfloor didn’t. So we got the bed off a ’98 Dakota. The widths are near perfect, like 0.5” short behind wheel wells and 0.5” wide between them. Pulled the bed from the junkyard. Perfect dry western sheet metal.


After a really serious quantity of time we got it cut down and fitted. Notice there had to be a bit of tuning, extra 1” straps welded to the side and the gas filler hole welded up.


Also made up a new hat top to support the tailgate, since the old one was pretty rusted.




It was at this moment that we discovered that the newer tailgate we had gotten had different hinges, with a different pattern, and a different shape. I was pretty bothered as the hat top had taken quite a bit of measuring and thinking and now I didn’t have any way to know where the new tailgate should go, considering the hinges looked like they should go on at a different angle. So, we decided to hang the new tailgate on the body by the latches, and weld in a (way too) beefy piece of angle iron below the hinges to act as a mount. So now the sill will go back over the angle and receive support from it, with no hat top at the extreme rear, but there is a hat top on the new bed material right as it starts.

[CameraFinn]

After we made this awesome support, we were ensuring the sill still fit well. Well, it didn’t and we discovered that the new tailgates clearly also changed weather stripping designs, and didn’t have the extra 3/4” step that the old tailgates did. This was a low point for the project. Dad and I were pretty worked up that nothing was ever going to work, but then we realized that Jeep did a very Jeep thing, and simply pressed a different interior panel, the actual tailgate was still the same. So after some more use of our good friend the death wheel, we revealed the old design under the new tailgate. Checking this with the old sill showed great clearance and fitment and improved the mood that evening.
Before cutting (notice beige strip below hinges)


And after being “adjusted”


Before the floor could be welded back in, we cut out the pan below the rear seat, since it was also trashed. At this point we were laughing pretty hard about how little original sheet metal was left.


Then we tacked the floor in


Cut the ridge tapers into their new correct positions from their old location on the Dakota



We also decided to reshape the pan under the rear seat for simplicity. Notice it is a straight line across instead of the extra dip.


This shows the original shape and the new one, and the seat in place with good clearance


And now we’re working on floors up front. Had to make a custom corner in the driver side, the passenger side is the same story but not done yet.


That’s where she sits right now. The front floors still need some work, and the rear quarters, doglegs, and rockers still need to be changed haha. There will be nearly no external original sheet metal other than doors and the roof when we finish.
We were really trying to make it to the sand blaster by the end of this week since I’m leaving on a trip, but despite the thrashing we just aren’t making progress very quickly, and it’s not going to happen, so oh well. I think we’re going to try to get the chassis out tomorrow so we can at least get that cleaned up while I’m out of town.
Cheers

[SJTD]

From where in NM? I didn't think they rusted that bad. Even in the high altitudes. Do they salt the roads in the snowy areas?

[CameraFinn]

Originally Posted by SJTD

From where in NM? I didn't think they rusted that bad. Even in the high altitudes. Do they salt the roads in the snowy areas?

I'm not sure why it's so bad. It was from Cloudcroft, which is way up high in the mountains near Almagordo, like half way between Roswell and Las Cruces. It has a TX title and plates though, so I'd guess it was from somewhere like Midland or El Paso, although that would make you think rust free.

[sierrablue]

Originally Posted by CameraFinn

I'm not sure why it's so bad. It was from Cloudcroft, which is way up high in the mountains near Almagordo, like half way between Roswell and Las Cruces. It has a TX title and plates though, so I'd guess it was from somewhere like Midland or El Paso, although that would make you think rust free.

Just a guess here, but if it's from an area where it's fairly dry, with no salt, and is rusted out, it's possible that it got parked in a barn or something with no floor, which caused lots of condensation on the floors as it sat there through temprature and humidity changes, and without any attention or anything, the moisture just sat there, slowly eating the steel away. Like I said, just a theory, and really it doesn't matter HOW it happened, right?

Great work, keep it up!

[SOLSAKS]

Holy Crap,.....you got skills and determination,....your work looks great,..

I admire your work ethic,.......one thing is for sure,....you will know every single

square inch of this vehicle.

dave in NC

[CameraFinn]

Originally Posted by SOLSAKS

Holy Crap,.....you got skills and determination,....your work looks great,..

I admire your work ethic,.......one thing is for sure,....you will know every single

square inch of this vehicle.

dave in NC

Indeed we will. No doubt about that, and everything that isn't quite stock. Just like Al, it's my first time trying this external sheet metal deal, my truck only needed work with the floors so I'll keep hoping it comes out OK. Thanks for the compliments though, I'm tryin!

Originally Posted by sierrablue

Just a guess here, but if it's from an area where it's fairly dry, with no salt, and is rusted out, it's possible that it got parked in a barn or something with no floor, which caused lots of condensation on the floors as it sat there through temprature and humidity changes, and without any attention or anything, the moisture just sat there, slowly eating the steel away. Like I said, just a theory, and really it doesn't matter HOW it happened, right?

Great work, keep it up!

Thanks! That's not a bad thought, I definitely have been wondering why. It also could have been from somewhere else for sure, It seems to show alot of cancer on the sides that tires would throw water/salt onto, but not the other sides. It also has been redone, painted, and heavily bondo-ed before for sure.

[rang-a-stang]

Holy win! Your truck build was awesome and I am excited to see you throw this one together, too!

(BTW, Hello from Camarillo, again)

[XiteCarnage]

Damn your killing the floor rehab I'm going to be doing pretty much the same thing on my 62 wagoneer mostly in the front area and I have to reform the rear driver door qtr panel, but awesome work can't wait to see the interior put together

[ProTouring442]

Impressive!