So I got past the parental locks on the computer and found another Jeep on Craigslist. We went to take a look and after we left the seller's house my wife said lets go back and get it. I am a very lucky man. It was a 100% original 73' Jeepster Commando with 80k miles and no rust. Here are the pics of it when we brought it home.
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The plans for this vehicle will be a mild wheeler and something that the wife can drive around town. I am very lucky in this build to have my wife helping me. Here is the proof - a garage manicure. Did I happen to mention - I'm a lucky man?

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This build will be done in stages. The first thing we are going to do is a SOA lift. Then we are going to replace the front clip with the pre '72 style. This means we have to shorten the wheel base by 3". So we cut the spring hangers off and moved them back 3".

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After a lot of cleaning and painting we got the spring over and the front clip mocked up. We pieced together the front clip from several jeeps. I will have to do some sheet metal work to the fenders and the grill to make them fit before paint.

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:smokin:

I love those things.. I wanted to get the wife one and she thought they were ugly, then she sees a built one and all a sudden thinks they're cool..."WTF, I thought you didnt't like 'em"

Is that a CJ front clip, or Jeepster? I actually like the later grills, but I might have left the wheelbase alone and bobbed the "new" fenders.

Edit: where'd you find it? It wasn't out in Somerset/Fair Play was it?

The fender and grill are CJ but the hood is from a pre '72 Commando. I will have to modify the fenders and grill to fit.

Do you have the original passenger front fender?
I would be intrested in it.
thanks David

Edit: where'd you find it? It wasn't out in Somerset/Fair Play was it?

Yes the Somerset area.

Do you have the original passenger front fender?
I would be intrested in it.
thanks David

I do but it will need a little work.

looking forward to this one. :bounce2:You do awsome work. So now its two projects at the same time!:eek:

Is that motor the 304 or the 360? More details on drivetrain?

Yeah, I know two builds at once:shaking:. This one will be done in stages so it will be a driver most of the time. I will do upgrades over time the way most guys do.

It has a 304, th400, Dana20, d44 rear and I think its a d30 front. I will eventually cut a Chevy d44 down for the front, install power brakes, and Chevy power steering.

Nice project, thanks for sharing.

I'm also interested in the fenders and maybe the grill?, sent a PM, I can pick up.

Dave

cool looking build... good looking Dane too

Thanks.
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Cool.:D

had one just like it, bought it when i was 16 drove it off and on for 10 years. wish i still had it. sold it to my buddy and he wrecked it.

Thanks.


completely off topic, but is the one on the right (pink features) deaf and/or blind? A buddy of mine had one growing up that looked almost identical and we always thought it was deaf and thought it had something to do with those features.

Awesome... pics of the lucky wife :flipoff2:

Yikes,

Sure wouldn't want your dog food bill!!!!! or do you just feed them burglars?

Yes the Somerset area.

I know that rig.. I tried to buy it a couple owners ago. It was living in the El Dorado area at that time... then it showed up at dudes house in Somerset, I was looking at some other stuff he had, but he wasn't ready to let go of the Commando.

completely off topic, but is the one on the right (pink features) deaf and/or blind? A buddy of mine had one growing up that looked almost identical and we always thought it was deaf and thought it had something to do with those features.

We bought Pearl from a breader in Oregon who had a great reputation for Danes. We were concerned about her hearing but the fact that she had some black fur in her ears almost insured that she would not be deaf. She is niether deaf nor blind. We chose her because of her unique features.

wierd that has albino eyes/nose but the black fur too!!!

Yikes,

Sure wouldn't want your dog food bill!!!!! or do you just feed them burglars?

6 cups a day.....each, or 1 solicator. They are worth every cent.

I know that rig.. I tried to buy it a couple owners ago. It was living in the El Dorado area at that time... then it showed up at dudes house in Somerset, I was looking at some other stuff he had, but he wasn't ready to let go of the Commando.

I think the guys name was Tim. Nice guy, claimed to be the brother of Kevin Carey (former POR president). He said he bought it from some old man that was the original owner. He didn't want to sell it but lost his job at the Ford dealership in P-ville.

'65 Tucker huh? I love those things. Got any pics? You don't see many of those in Nor-Cal.
Tom

I've got one of these going right now. It was in a fire in Santa Barbera so it was just the body and chassis. luckily it was a 1967. I've got some questions about under the dash. of course everything that wasn't iron or tin was melted down into beads. anywho.

The heater seemed relatively simple, but it was bolted up in the wrong spot. Would you happen to know if a cj heater assembly would work and where did it originally go?

Also, under the hood, you might not know this one though. on the early models they had these corner pieces on the fenders where the hood came down. any idea what the dimensions of those are?

Thanks much for the help, and I'm looking forward to seeing yours grow.

I have never owned a CJ with a heater so I can't help with that fit. Also this is the only Jeepster that I have worked on so your right, I don't know about the corner pieces at the fenders you speak of. I will take some pics of my heater asembly if that will help though.

looks cool, i've always wanted one since my dad got rid of his when i was a kid.

You bring up a good point with your CJs. Why do i even need a heater? A completely open vehicle doesn't get foggy windows... :P And I'm gonna put hinges on the window so I can just put it down.

You are doing an awesome job with the other build. I am excited to see how this transforms. Also great looking dogs, pity the postman.

I think the guys name was Tim. Nice guy, claimed to be the brother of Kevin Carey (former POR president). He said he bought it from some old man that was the original owner. He didn't want to sell it but lost his job at the Ford dealership in P-ville.

'65 Tucker huh? I love those things. Got any pics? You don't see many of those in Nor-Cal.
Tom

Same guy, same Commando... I know him and yeah they're related.

65 Tucker per request... Its legal in this forum 'cause its got a Jeep engine. She runs and drives, but needs some love. and $$

You'd be surprised how many are out there privately owned.. you just dont see 'em driving around town.

65 Tucker per request...

Nice cat. I must have one... Some day.:D

that thing is soo sick....I want one

I have a pair of Jeepster fenders off my '70.They are a little rusty.You can have them for shipping costs.

It has been a while since I have updated this one.

The old hood had more modern spring type hinges. So the hood needed new mounting points for the older cj style hinges. I inserted 1/8" plate and welded nuts under these mounts.
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The previous owner cut the exhaust out for some reason so that was next. I went with 2 1/2" single which gave it a nice mind v8 tone.

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The old battery location was on the fender that is no longer being used so I made a new mount.
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I cut approx 4" off the frame and remounted the bumper.
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I had an early cj grill on my side yard and decided to modify it to fit the Commando.

First I cleaned up someones handy work.
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The shroud had to be removed to make room for the radiator in the new shorter front clip.
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I fabbed up some ears to fit cj grill to the Commando hood.
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I've decided that it is going to be a huge pain to fit the cj fenders properly so I am gonig to find some Commando fenders instead. The cj ones will do for now.
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My wife's hobby is sewing so she made some seat covers. We will have the seats recovered eventually.
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nice work....even if you did ditch the bullnose!

Man this is looking good! You do great work! Wish I had a neighbor like you. Hahaha I think it's cool your wife is into the jeep. My wife thinks mine is just a money pit.

I see you used that grill I traded you. Keep it up!

Thanks. I still have those hinges for you.

you the only one I have seen that convert cj to commado. most people convert commando to cj fender and hoods

Very nice, lookin good.

you the only one I have seen that convert cj to commado. most people convert commando to cj fender and hoods

Thats true. I don't get why people do that.

Nice rig, nice work.

I have 2) 1971 Jeepster Commando's. I love the things.

Just a heads up if you dont already know this:

When you find the Jeepster Commando fenders, you will find that they have a small triagular extension on them about 2" long on the bottom.
the '72-'73 Commando does not have this feature in the tub and you will need to either cut the extension off the bottom of the fender, or make a place for it in the tub (that would not be easy)

NIce to see you keeping the Jeepster front end.

With you having a '73, you have all of the 'Best' parts most of the guys with earlier jeepster want or retrofit.
Like the saginaw steering, 2" springs up front and the D30 frt axle.

Sure is a clean Commando :smokin:

Thanks for the info. I know there will be some fitting when I get the pre'72 fenders. It should be much easier than trying to fit the cj fenders though.

Forgot about this.I still the fenders.They are pretty rusty.I will get some pics of them.

Very cool build:smokin: You do some good work, keep the pics comin.

Nice Commando.

Why do you not want to use the CJ fenders. The only difference between those and Jeepster fenders is the bottom corner against the firewall. The fender continues down to match the shape of the rocker panel. It shouldn't be to hard to add the piece on the bottom. I can get pictures of mine if you are interested to see how it meets the tub.

nice.

http://www.jeepsterpartsdude.com/

this guy lives about an hour from you. he is "THE" jeepster parts guy.

I contacted partsdude and he doesn't have any. The cj fenders that I have are pretty rough. If I can't find newer ones I will rework them.

I have a set of jeepster fenders. They need work but are very usable. PM me.

What size tires? What springs and rims are you using?

What size tires? What springs and rims are you using?

I went soa with stock 73' springs. The tires are 33x9.5x15 BFG AT on stock Jeepster wheels.

Old build...any updates? Great work on both builds btw.

x2 for updates