16-FEB-2014
Wheel wells finished
The wheel wells turned out good. They are really strong and solid and shouldn't interfere with anything.
16-FEB-2014
Larger and wider wheel wells done!
I thought that by cutting the rear fender openings as big as I did that I was going to have a huge problem with the wheel wells. It actually wasn't that big a deal to get them covered and looking halfway decent.
Now I have a little bit of body work to do because of the welding heat but that shouldn't be too much work.
17-FEB-2014
Wheel wells primed
After a little smoothing with the flapper wheel I primed both wheel wells top and bottom with epoxy primer.
17-FEB-2014
Primed wheel wells
After these are good and dry, I'll hit them with some sand paper and then use seam sealer on all of the joints to help keep the water out and prevent any corrosion.
22-FEB-2014
Tabs welded in for aluminum sides
Now that my wheel well modification is complete I was able to weld some mounting tabs to the rear fender area to use to secure some aluminum panels.
22-FEB-2014
Bead lines drawn out
I followed the contour of the wheel well cut outs for my bead pattern.
22-FEB-2014
Rolling the beads
It's pretty awkward to crank the handle of the bead roller and feed such a large piece through the rollers. Unfortunately everyone at my house was gone so I couldn't get any help to turn the handle.
22-FEB-2014
Both panels complete with beads
I was able to roll the beads in both panels, not perfect but pretty good for the ol' Jeepster!
Drilled and fitted panels
Both panels are complete with all holes drilled and all nutserts set in place.
22-FEB-2014
Just need to cut a hole for the gas filler
I still need to cut a hole for the filler tube and then box the tube in with some aluminum. This is something I can do after the tub is painted and the cage is back in. My main objective was to get the mounting tabs welded in and the panels made.
23-Feb-2014
Huge fuel tank
Something that is in great need of a modification is my fuel tank. There are a few problems wrong with it, it's huge, it's heavy, it hangs lower than i want it to, and it sits high against the body.
Part of the issue is that the previous owner installed a funky body lift made of 2" square tubing. I don't want the body sitting that high and would like to drop the body a bit but the problem is that the tank was built after the body lift was installed. The body sits just a fraction of an inch above the sending unit therefore removing the 2" spacers would make the body sit on the tank so modifying the tank needs to be done.
23-Feb-2014
Getting ready to cut the tank
I marked lines all around the tank to cut out 1.75" of metal to drop the top of the tank down. My suction line, return line, and fill nozzle will have to be modified as well to make this tank shortening work.