No one has written a procedure manual for mounting an MB body
to a CJ5 frame. I got some advice from total strangers on the Internet that were
super kind in sharing their experiences.
With an awful lot of measuring and re-measuring I took the plunge and started
drilling. Larry Schultz's excellent body mounts and with rubber pucks from Four
Wheel Drive Hardware the body tub was mounted to the frame. The body pucks come
in a 24" round bar. You have to cut it into slices with a chop saw. What a
stink!!
The body fit rather well considering it was twisted. I didn't find this out
until I started adding fenders, etc.
Next up was a fuel tank. I could have used the CJ5 tank but every time I have
seen a CJ5 climbing a steep gradient I have seen gas spilling from the cap. I
also didn't want anything else under the frame to bang on rocks that wasn't
necessary. I was not going to add a rear seat so I chose to mount a fuel cell in
its place.
I purchase a 16 gallon Jazz fuel cell from Summit racing equipment. Larry Schultz
fabricated me a fuel cell mount and tie down brace.
With the tub installed , it was time for the fenders. With a
twisted tub they didn't fit particularly well. But it was thin metal and with
hood and grill in place it looks pretty good. Especially compared to the
original CJ3A tub purchased 6 months earlier.
Everything was tied down on the trailer with the old roll cage temporarily located in place. It was back down South to John Toumbs Repair for a lot of
mechanical work. In the next few weeks the engine, trans and transfer case will be
installed with Howell Pro Injection, new drivelines, etc. Work will
then progress to steering, brakes, seats, roll cage and a host of many
other items on the list that only money, time and a total disregard
for all logic will determine.
Next Page - Toumbstone
[The Start]
[First Parts]
[1979
CJ5] [The Frame]
[The Body]
[Body
meets Frame] [Toumbstone] [Extra
Seat Room] [Blocker and Tanker]
[Brakes
and Steering] [Test Drives]
[Details] [Incremental
Willys]
[Incremental Willys Part II]
[Incremental Willys Part III]
[She's getting old]
[Still the best damn
wheeler]
[Timeline]
[Specifications]