Swapping '72 body onto '81 diesel-powered chassis

[budojeepr]

Fuel tank out

Got the fuel tank out last night.

First: To all of you who have done that with the body on the frame, post up and I'll hoist a wee cup in your honor. You have my respect.

Second: To those of you who have not, put it on your to-do list (esp. if you're east of the Rockies). My Cali car's skid plate was nearly rusted through.

Question: should I stick with the poly tank/skid plate, or put in the metal tank I took out of the '72?

Pics to follow later today.

[budojeepr]

Gas tank removal pics

Here's the tank, still inside the skidplate, cemented in there with oily rust-gunk:



Oily rust-gunk detail:



Section of frame where tank was mounted:



Horribly rusted skidplate:







I ordered a 2" body lift from BJs Offroad tonight. I'm going to have another look at the skidplate and see if I need to buy a new one (close to $400!!! ).

[letank]

Late find about your swap.

Definitively an eye opener on the rusted gas tank skid plate.... I have a cali 85..... need to check it out.

[budojeepr]

Late find about your swap.

Welcome!

Definitively an eye opener on the rusted gas tank skid plate.... I have a cali 85..... need to check it out.

I took about an hour to clean the skid plate. I chipped the crud and rust out with an old wood chisel, then used a drill motor and wire brush. Turns out most of the rust seems to have been from somewhere else than the skid plate. I hope.

Yes, the plate was rusty and there were two places where it was pinholed, but all in all it was pretty solid. It was all galvanized metal and seemed to have lasted fairly well. I don't have the scratch to put up $400-ish for a new skid plate, so I think I'll try to re-use it while hedging my bets.

I drilled drain holes in strategic (I hope) places, cleaned it out really well (Dawn dish soap and a wheel brush), dried it, then painted it with Rust Mort (cha-ching!). Last night I sprayed it with a coat of hammered black. Looks great!

I also ordered a rubber mat and support bracket from Team Grand Wagoneer. The original support bracket was not galvanized. Interesting...

Also yesterday I cleaned off the poly tank and then removed the fuel sender and cleaned all that off. I drained as much of the old fuel as I could (not easy, must have looked like I was playing WWE - smackdown! - with it). One of the nipples in the fuel sender assembly had come loose, so I did some JB Weldin' on it. The float had fuel in it, so I'm not sure what I can do about that. Coat it with rubber cement? Are replacements available? Time for some research.

Last week I tore out all the old wiring harness, labeling all the blinkers, headlight ends, etc. that I think I'll need for the new wiring harness. I ordered a bunch of relays and pigtails from MCM Electronics (online, Google them - good prices). I'm going to clean up the engine compartment wiring, using ideas from Alan Horvath's web site.

Aside: Mr Horvath seems to have been a good guy. RIP man.

[JPSwapMohn]

You can get replacement sending units. I ordered one from BJ's along with the poly tank that I put into the NT Cherokee that I gave my Dad. The top of my original metal tan had holes rusted through it, along with the area around the sending unit. Lots o rust inside as well..

Getting the contraption out from under the rig was no fun. Putting the new one in was not so bad..

Looks like you are having a good time!

[newtojeeps]

look in the adds Some one was selling a tank coffin for 150. oem new I was warned against doing this as the CHP down here check the vin on the firewall and frame.

[budojeepr]

look in the adds Some one was selling a tank coffin for 150. oem new I was warned against doing this as the CHP down here check the vin on the firewall and frame.

Thanks for the heads-up!

[budojeepr]

A moment of silence, please (hats off, too)



OK, that was worth $136 at the recycling center. Sorry to see it go, happy to be making progress.

I decided to keep the old fuel tank and skid plate. Things weren't all that bad, and after a thorough cleaning I coated the skid plate with rust-mort then painted it with hammered black. Looks nice now, and I've got it all re-mounted and ready to go.

I labeled all the wires I wanted to keep from the chassis and diesel, and snipped off the rest. It's ready for the rewiring job, once the body's resting on the chassis.

A few weeks ago I bought new body mounts from BJs. It's a nice set of poly mounts, but the bolts look skinny and allow the mounts to slide around. I went to Ace Hardware, but wouldn't you know it they don't have 9/16 UNC bolts in a 5-1/2" length. So I got some 5/8 bolts with heavy washers and nyloc nuts. However, they don't fit through the holes in the 2" body lift pucks. I'll just drill those out when I get that far.

I've decided to go with a Suburban fuel tank in the rear as an auxiliary unit. After reading up on them on this forum (best link: http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=90413), I did some Internetting.

Replacement 42-gallon tank: $75 (brand-new)! At that price I can't see why I'd go to a junkyard and struggle with a used tank, at the additional risk of getting a junk tank.

Fuel sender etc.: $88

What else for this? A valve, some fuel line. The filler neck is already on the '72 body. Straps and/or bracketry. 60+ gallons (at $4+ per gallon, ) at 24mpg means I could get from my house to Denver (1200 miles) without needing to fill up.

I guess it's time to order some more stuff, then next weekend or the week after, start assembling junk. Fuel tank, some attention to the suspension, body swap, wiring, interior, Vintage Air A/C (not purchased yet), sand and paint, new shoes. I can't wait to get started. Again.

[budojeepr]

Got a big box today...

New gas tank!

[budojeepr]

Frame mods for Suburban gas tank

discountbodyparts.com - part number ARBC670119, $75 plus shipping and tax. 3 days to my door.

Diesel fuel is about 7.15lbs/gallon. 42 gallons will weigh 300.3 lbs. I think I'll need spring enhancement...

Well, with Wagoneerlover's help >> click for link <<, I started installing the tank today.

Here's the tank:


First test fit. Not so good...










Take the bumper mounting horns off...


Cut the rear crossmember...


Test fit again...


Fab up a new crossmember. Should have used 4" x 2" instead of 3" x 2", but beggars can't be choosers.




Welded and painted. Should have drilled holes for the bumper mounting horns first, but oh well...


Last test fit...can't do much more until I know how high I can go with it, which will require the new body to be on the frame.




And I just noticed that in addition to needing to move my 3" exhaust for the tank, the upcoming shackle flip will benefit from moving the exhaust, too.

[76FSChief]

I have to say that I have read lots of write ups on the Suburban gas tank, about to tackle it myself, and the pictures you took have made the whole thing feel less daunting!!

The pictures of your work on the rear crossmember brought all the information together for me. Thank you very much and I look forward to more installments in your build.

BTW what are you plans as far as fuel pump? I took a gas tank, and need to pull the intank pump and replace with an external for the diesel engine. OR maybe just go pull a gas tank out of a diesel suburban and see if the wrecker will trade for the gas on????

Keep em coming

[budojeepr]

I have to say that I have read lots of write ups on the Suburban gas tank, about to tackle it myself, and the pictures you took have made the whole thing feel less daunting!!

Well, when I first opened the box, I was fairly well-daunted. That's a BIG tank.

The pictures of your work on the rear crossmember brought all the information together for me. Thank you very much and I look forward to more installments in your build.

Cool, welcome. Things look much easier once that pesky body is out of the way.

Once I get the body switched over, I'll be able to strap the tank on and add the filler necks (yes, there are two on this body). I still have to get the fuel sending unit from AutoZone ($90-ish) and the two vent valves (http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/results...mber=15640448). And a tank switch valve, and all the lines. Oy.

BTW what are you plans as far as fuel pump? I took a gas tank, and need to pull the intank pump and replace with an external for the diesel engine. OR maybe just go pull a gas tank out of a diesel suburban and see if the wrecker will trade for the gas on????

Dunno. Your mileage may vary. I ran mine with a "clicker" pump from Kragen Auto Parts (no O'Reilley's, which has a MUCH less interesting inventory, but I digress), mounted to the passenger-side frame rail. The brand name is "Facet". It worked just fine. I used a 3/8" diameter line going in to the injection pump, and a 1/4" coming back. Hmm, that brings up the question - do I get two tank switch valves so the return lines go to the tank the fuel came from? I guess so...

[budojeepr]

What I did with my Sunday

Or, '72 body is on!

Pulling the body off the old chassis...







Old chassis out of the way, newer one rolled back into position...



Dropping it on...



Sizing up the body mounts...only 4 of the 8 (not counting radiator supports) match! More on that later...





Artsi-phartsi shot, framing the Taco in the wheel well.











I ain't sure but it looks like there's more room between the valve cover and the firewall than there used to be...



I'm pooped. It's beer-thirty. Have a nice rest-of-the-weekend!

[budojeepr]

Front body mounts, or what I did with my Friday and Saturday

When I swapped the body onto the newer chassis, only 4 of the possible 8 mounts aligned. I chose to go with the rear mounts at that time, which allowed me to use the mid-body mounts, too. If I'd chosen to align the body with the front mounts on the chassis, none of the others would have been usable.

So I am compelled to fabricate new front mounts.

First, I made a cardboard template. Basically the holes in the body are a couple inches rearward of the chassis mounts. The mount I fabricated is just an "L" shape that uses the stock mount to support one side.

I cut out two identical pieces of 1/8" CRS sheet. Since I don't have a bandsaw (boy, I wish), I used an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel.



Then I bent the two pieces up, mirror image. Not bad for a 5" bench vise and a sledgehammer. A bending brake would be nice, too.



Then I tacked them in place and marked the location of the hole by dropping a paint pen down through the hole in the body. I am fortunate enough to have a drill press, so drilling the 1-3/8" hole isn't so tough.

Back to the grinder to smooth the frame out from tack welding, then I welded the pieces in.







Then some cleaning and painting...





Then lift the body up a bit and slide the poly mounts and 2" body lift pucks into place, then fasten with my fancy new 5/8" bolts.



I'll think about the mounts between the mid-body and rear mounts a bit later. I can use bumpstops or some combination of the poly body mounts/body lift pucks. Right now it's time to go out and play ball with my dogs! Yay!

[budojeepr]

It's been a while since I last posted. I got the tank in, but dang even with the 2" body lift it really hangs down. I made the mounting straps/brackets so that I can remove the tank easily if I think it'll take damage on a trail. If you're thinking about adding a tank, I'd back away from the 42-gallon version and go with a 30-ish-gallon one, hoping it's not so deep. As it is I think I'll have to have at the least a custom bumper, and maybe even add a skid plate.

I've been doing body work. I couldn't leave the old body and paint alone. It had been painted over the original paint, so the new white was just peeling off the old. Ick.

I'm stripping doors and other panels now, just getting my tools in order and experimenting with aircraft stripper and other techniques. I found this wonderful thread about doing body work and paint, but it ended in 2004 and sadly all the pictures were on the now-defunct fullsizejeep.com site.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=44602

Anybody have any other good links? I've been poring over Terry's Auto Paint Supply:

http://secure.terrysautopaint.com/

I'm also going to have to remove all the door glass and refurbish the mechanisms. The rails that the glass sits on are just trashed with rust. Any howtos on that subject out there?

More later, I'll post pics of my tank mount, and the body work as it progresses.