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Day 21

I've done all I could on the frame. The only thing left is the exhaust, but getting around the rear suspension won't be simple and I need the body in place to know all the restrictions. You can see a lot of pictures of the completed frame here.

So time to put the body on. I wanted 4 corner body mounts to place it on initially, so I welded the front ones on by measurement only. I used the TJ mounts I cut off and had to cut them shorter so that worked out pretty easy. I placed the stock YJ rubber mounts and the 2" body lift pucks on these 4 mounts and got 6 guys to lift and place the body tub on them. I measured to check it was centered then put the 4 body bolts in.

For the remaining body mounts I found it easier to measure from the bolt location to the frame and adjust. For the remaining 2 rows of main mounts I decided to go through my roll cage floor plates, making them part of the cage. For the rear most row I had to cut the TJ mounts short again, and substituted the body lift puck with a 2"x0.180" square tube as the puck was too wide to fit. I lifted the body a little bit to try and get the right height before weight is put on the bushing, passed a 1/2" bolt all the way through and welded the mount.

For the middle main mount I had to make them much longer to reach the roll cage using 1/4"x2" strips to extend it. To improve ground clearance I eliminated the body lift pucks.

That's all for now, I'll do the mounts on the rear cross member later.

Day 22

When I tried to install the steering shaft it hit the gussets I put on the raised coil/shock bracket. To rectify this I used the YJ steering pump bracket as a spacer, cutting off the piece that went under the frame. This moved the box over 1" and gave me the clearance I needed.

The rest of the day was spent re-attaching the under "hood" stuff: engine wiring, brake lines, etc...

Day 23

The front fenders were the next obstacle as they wouldn't fit over the coil/shock bracket, I had to cut out a lot for them to go on.

The front grill frame mount doesn't align with the TJ frame hole, but instead of moving the hole I moved the mount on the grill. Instead of protruding out the front it's now flush and will be out of the way of the winch mount.

Before

After

When the grill was installed I noticed the steering pump lines were hitting. I bent the lip on the grill and the lines to give some small clearance.

The rad was installed and filled, the electric fans installed, and the remaining wiring and accessories finished.

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