Project: Probably Shouldn't Be Alive AKA Sue

[Bennythebull]

Starting in about 2018 I was desperately looking for a project. My friends and I had been on a University Baja SAE team, and after finishing college one of my buddies decided to make his own, more powerful Baja car. While that project was going on I figured it would be nice to have a reliable off-roader that could act as a recovery vehicle. So in March 2019, I found out that someone I knew had a Wrangler with just a few problems in a tent behind their house. I knew it had frame damage, and I knew it needed body work. In fact, I knew this thing was going to be a big project. What I didn't realize at the time was the scale, the absolute level of destruction that 20 years of Michigan roads had laid out on this Jeep.

I've been lurking on the forums for a while now, using every resource possible to try and put this Jeep back together correctly. Honestly I'm not sure if I would have had the confidence to do all the things I have if it weren't for all of the kind people and useful information on this site. I've posted a couple of times showing the progress of the bodywork, but I'd like to share the whole story. I hope you guys enjoy.

 

[Mr. Pink]

I'm a bit north of you in Saginaw. Looking forward to your progress.

 

[Bennythebull]

The first thing to do was tear the whole thing down. It took from late March to early May in 2019 to get the body fully ready to separate from the frame. From the second I saw that thing up on the trailer I knew the two pieces would have to come apart, there was just too much to be done. My friends, our dog Basil, and my partner Brian were crucial in helping me keep up enough energy to get to the part I was really excited about. I had to cut apart rusty body mounts, cut bolts in half, and hammer more things than I knew could be hammered, but it finally happened.

On May 3rd, my parents of all people - wearing their realtor work clothes, helped me get the body off of the frame. That was such a huge deal at the time. I was finally getting somewhere with this thing! But oh man was that frame ugly. And the holes that I was now able to see in the body were not promising. This might take a while.

 

[Chris]

Now that is what I call a project! I look forward to seeing your progress!

 

[B00mb00m]

holy shit light that thing on fire and get something from down south! I mean err take luck, keep us posted.

 

[5632]

Your are at that point. Get an LS for it.

 

[Bennythebull]

May 9th, 2019. What a beautiful day! The dog is doing that weird thing where he rolls around on his back for a while, it's a cool 68 degrees, what a perfect day to look at the Chassis. After rolling it out of the garage, I started by chipping off the heavy rust using a pneumatic scaler. To make sure I got everything, I figured I should probably drop the T-case skid plate... Only to find out there was basically no metal left holding it to the frame. Just rust.

After that I figured it would be a good idea to wire wheel off the remaining crust so I could find any pinholes. Oh boy were there holes, just not pin-sized. Surprisingly (and luckily), the top half of the frame rails were in decent shape and had lost next to no material due to rust. This would be important, as the classic rear-wheel arch and aforementioned skid plate mounting section no longer had what you would call "structure".

At this point I was a little stuck. I knew I would have to get patches, and I knew welding would be involved. Neither of these things worried me too much as I had experience welding. But I'd never worked on a full-sized vehicle before, much less a frame. I ALSO didn't have a welder, or a 240V outlet which would be nice for thicker metal.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Based on your post I get the impression that you're young, which I like to see as most younger people (heck, even my own age) aren't getting into this stuff anymore. Bravo.

Looks like you're having fun with it. I think I would ditch that frame and get a clean one to build from, but I have more money than time these days.

 

[Bennythebull]

Based on your post I get the impression that you're young, which I like to see as most younger people (heck, even my own age) aren't getting into this stuff anymore. Bravo.

Looks like you're having fun with it. I think I would ditch that frame and get a clean one to build from, but I have more money than time these days.

If only I had gotten this note about a year ago haha. I actually have pictures back from March 2019 up to today and I'm trying to break them down into posts that don't appear too spammy. As of today the frame has been repaired, the clutch has been serviced, the suspension has been replaced, all u-joints were replaced, and I am working hard at the body right now.

 

[jodomcfrodo]

I'm the President of my schools Baja team for the upcoming year. I'm planning on doing a lemons car with some alumni after I graduate. My TJ had rust, but luckily not as bad as yours.

Definitely get the full length caps if you go that route. Considering that you have already torn the Jeep down so far, getting another frame might just be easier. You can get it done for $1200 and weekend for travel.

 

[Bennythebull]

I'm the President of my schools Baja team for the upcoming year. I'm planning on doing a lemons car with some alumni after I graduate. My TJ had rust, but luckily not as bad as yours.

Definitely get the full length caps if you go that route. Considering that you have already torn the Jeep down so far, getting another frame might just be easier. You can get it done for $1200 and weekend for travel.

Hey nice! I was Team Captain for my school. Small group of 6 people, but it was a huge learning experience for sure.

I think I've read through your build, seeing posts like yours really helped me keep going when I got frustrated after working on removing a bolt for two hours. My Jeep may look bad now (above), but I hope you'll agree the results of my work have turned out pretty well in the next few posts.

 

[Bennythebull]

So here comes the scary part - Welding the frame back together. I installed a 240V 50A outlet on the house so I could weld out in the garage. Then I brought one of my buddies back to help me get started with the patches. I ended up getting the wheel arches on both side completely patched, and also a full-length patch for the center of the frame which holds up the transfer case.

While I understand this might seem a little sketchy, I am fairly confident with the results of the job we did on this thing. Spent a lot of time lining everything up, checking the suspension geometry, and ensuring that the skid plate would fit. The welding took a long time. Spent quite a few hours in the middle of 90 degree July days making sure that each piece was fully bonded to the frame.

 

[Bennythebull]

If there's anything I've learned during this project, it's that the hype over POR-15 is well justified. When working with metal that has had rust on it, you can easily apply this stuff and man does it STICK! I completely painted the Frame with it and it turned out pretty nice! A big difference from the burnt pizza cheese color that it had when I bought it.

 

[NDSpeed]

Wow,

so those are the safe t- caps I keep hearing about or were those replacement frame sections?

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Wow,

so those are the safe t- caps I keep hearing about or were those replacement frame sections?

Safety Caps have a misleading name. They are just replacement frame sections. No matter what repair pieces you buy, you cut out the old rust. There aren't any pieces on the market that just weld over rust.

 

[e1harris]

Holy crap! This build gives me anxiety. However, I couldn't be prouder an an American to see kids like you with such great work ethic and tenacity. My hat's off to you!

 

[Bennythebull]

Bonus pic of what welding in the middle of July looks like.

 

[hardtailpan]

Man, you guys got a lot heart! I'm not sure where you are in this now but be sure to remove the upper rear shock bolts before you put the body back on. You have access to heat the nuts with a torch to get the bolts out.
Also, since you have the 4 angry squirrels, seriously think about the LS swap at this point. You are right there!
Looks like good work though!

 

[ranger101]

Hell of a project. Keep up the good work

 

[Bennythebull]

Man, you guys got a lot heart! I'm not sure where you are in this now but be sure to remove the upper rear shock bolts before you put the body back on. You have access to heat the nuts with a torch to get the bolts out.
Also, since you have the 4 angry squirrels, seriously think about the LS swap at this point. You are right there!
Looks like good work though!

Oh I got those shock bolts out, you'll see in a second. I am considering an engine swap, but to be honest I would like to just drive this thing before anything else, even if it means more work down the line!