After my last trip to Fordyce I was pissed about nearly rolling back into the river coming out of Committee. If that tree hadn’t broken my flatty’s backward tumble, and subsequently dented the corner of the tub, I might have been in deep shit.
I had one more semester of partying like a rockstar left, so in between whiskey cokes, Keystone Light, floating the river, riots and the occasional class; I plotted how I was going to make my GPW into exactly what I wanted.
After much Jeep and Gen4x4 pages regarding frame design, and conning a few mechanical engineers I know into running my design through solid works, I had a working idea. I would have had a job, but the damned economy went into the shitter. While looking for a job, I decided to build my 1945 GPW and fix a few things that had bugged the shit out of me for a few years.
This is what I started with, note the stock Samurai for comparison:
The Jeep Stuck on WH1:
Frame flex demonstrated going down WH 3:
I was done with this so I decided to rip this fawker apart.
Time to paint the frame now that the body is one piece again:
Quite possibly the most annoying point in the project. I missed the mid January heat wave for my body work. Bondo doesn't work well in 40 degree weather.
I then put a whole can of glazing puddy on the body to make everything smooth. I'm still questioning why I put so much effort into the body work on this fawker.
Painted!
After moving the seat to a location where someone other than an Oompa Loompa could drive my Jeep, I discovered my wheel was too far from my seat. Damn.
I figured I should put more racecar parts on this, so it was time to modify this:
Time to build a legitimate tunnel cover (out of metal this time):
Now that I had everything fit in it, time to tear it all back apart
Now it was time to bedliner the interior
I then built a spare tire carrier that can support the vehicle's weight. I was tired of worriying about someone bumping me and smashing the tub. This is bolted through the bumper which is sleeved, and then bolted to the back of the cage for added strength. All is .250" wall.
Now that I had all the other stuff completed, it was time to mount my 8274 I got from Fyrdude on the on the PBB.
I got a winch plate that almost fit my GPW perfectly. I sleeved holes through the front bumper and crossmember and used 1/2 x 7" grade 8 bolts for the front 2 bolts, then added 2 mounts for the rear bolts which were 1/2" grade 8. I also tapped the side parts of the frame and put in 2 grade 8 7/16" bolts per side. I'm pretty sure it's not going anywhere.
I tied the cage into the frame in 3 spots as well:
I finished re-routing all the associated plumbing and electrical, but most of that was covered in this thread:
I decided to take the GPW out for a test run at Hollister Hills. Nothing too extreme. I didn't get many action shots because it was only myself and Max (Diablo169) there and it's hard to drive and take pictures.
The only thing I have left to do are put the stereo back in it, and move the axle to the second centering pin hole as it rubs a tiny bit on full compression. That's an easy and free fix, but I have not felt motivated to do it just yet.
The rear wheel well is actually cut 1" in the front and 2" in the rear of the fenderwell. Your observation means I must be better at body work than I thought I was. I spent a lot of time smoothing a lot of that out with Bondo and sanding. A 37" tire will fit in there without rubbing, I just have to get my axle placement correct since the springs settled a little bit.
sick man that thing looks killer! i had a chance to by one of these jeeps awhile back for $400 it had a full hard top and everything, im still kicking myself for not buying it.
I should have clarified, that the frame is .120" wall on all the areas that aren't supposed to make friends with rocks. The bumpers and sliders are all .250" wall.
I spent waaaayyyyy too many hours on that thing. What was it you convinced me to help you? something like 4 weeks straight? I'm happy not to have to spend that much time with you for a long time.
Speaking of that, Ready to get my Toyota to 95% ready for the trail?
damn Jeff, impressive. What, did you kidnap some homies outside home depot for some slave labor to get that thing done?
My only concern is....that cage needs more triangulation.:flipoff2: errrr just scrapped and done right, hint hint. I finally upgraded from my manual jd2 model three to a fancy JMR electic over hydro setup.:smokin:
No, I just told Garrett I'd help him SAS that sweet 87 Toyota he just bought. No Home Depot kidnapping needed.
Nice bender dude. I hate bending tube. It takes too long for my liking, and patience is not one of my best qualities. Although my cage is fine for the purpose it serves. My goal is to not roll this thing, but to walk away if I do. The cage won't be quite as sturdy as Matt's.
I spent waaaayyyyy too many hours on that thing. What was it you convinced me to help you? something like 4 weeks straight? I'm happy not to have to spend that much time with you for a long time.
Speaking of that, Ready to get my Toyota to 95% ready for the trail?
I generally hate flatty streches... but this one is not so bad...
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