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Couldnt post on Fab so i will post here. Extensive rust cut and repair.

Black_Beastie

NAXJA Forum User
Location
West Georgia
I am undertaking a massive cut project on my 96' XJ sport. I am cutting out the rear hatch to make a short bed and also doing half doors on the front. (This is not the massive cut that i am refering to) My xj has significant rust and rot through out the entire unibody, the only part that is not horribly rusted is the unibody portion of the "frame" that supports the motor just before the lower control arm.


I am not worried about how i am going to do the body modifications there are plenty of posts and other guys and gals on here who have done what i am planning, what i need to know is the exact specs of the uniboby rails from bumper to bumper so that i can make my own and cut out all of the existing junk that has been consumed but the rust. I will be welding together the new "rails" and doing a full rust cut restoration.

:skull1:Just a quick disclaimer: Any posts that say this cannot be done or scrap it will be ignored. I am only looking for positive posts that help me in my undertaking. I refuse to send an xj to the graveyard.:skull1:
 
Seems like you could cut out the cancer and build the rails how you wanted to accommodate welding to the body and for the suspension/exhaust/crossmember, etc. that's what I'd do if I were in your position. Maybe widen the rails to be able to fit more suspension stuff in like rear link mounts or exhaust. But maybe that would interfere if you were doing leafs prings and staying with stock width axles.
 
I am not worried about how i am going to do the body modifications there are plenty of posts and other guys and gals on here who have done what i am planning, what i need to know is the exact specs of the uniboby rails from bumper to bumper so that i can make my own and cut out all of the existing junk that has been consumed but the rust. I will be welding together the new "rails" and doing a full rust cut restoration.

You should get your hands on a complete FSM for that year. It has complete uniframe dimensions to allow you to build a complete new frame to match factory. (If that's what you want to do)
 
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I will add more tonight when I get home.
 
You will need to build jigs to hold the body in place while you cut out and replace the frame rails. I would basically build a subframe and then build a cage off of that. Do the main frame first then work on replacing floor sheet metal.
 
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I agree I should but I cant, that jeep has gotten me into and out of a lot of trouble and its a part of me. it is also my first XJ and i plan on running her to the ground everytime and build her back up.
 
How does it get that bad? wow. I guess here in CA we don't see these issues too often.
 
Im in Ga and at least the third owner no telling what happened during the previous 180k miles but things get soggy out here with all of the humidity and rain and then the baking heat. As for the free time no more than anyone else but thats alright i dont mind the long hours cutting and grinding. finally got all of the carpet and the seats out last night, and the plan now is to start cutting all of the remaining floor pan crap out of the way so I can get down to the rails.
 
I can't wait to see how this goes. It will either be a work of art or an absolute disaster depending on your fabrication skill level... I hope you're good with a welder and have frame/cage building skills and/or good engineering instincts because you're gonna need it.

Edit: I'm hoping for the best, because I may steal ideas from this build when I repair the rust on my MJ, it's getting baaaad :gee:
 
I can't wait to see how this goes. It will either be a work of art or an absolute disaster depending on your fabrication skill level... I hope you're good with a welder and have frame/cage building skills and/or good engineering instincts because you're gonna need it.

Edit: I'm hoping for the best, because I may steal ideas from this build when I repair the rust on my MJ, it's getting baaaad :gee:



Lets see:

Welding skills: 1 of 10
Frame cage building skills: 4 of 10
Fabrication Skills: 6 of 10
Engineering Instincts: 6 of 10
Bow fighting skills: 11 of 10
Southern Pride and Stubborness: 15 of 10

Im mostly going off of the pride and stubborness and reading every article and studying every picture I can find about welding, framing, and any other similar modifications that i have found that relate to what i am planning.
 
I vote find another chassis. There is no way I would put that much time to fix something like that. Even if I was free to begin with. Xjs are cheep


Yea it would be easier but I also love the feeling of built not bought so if I can sucessfully build this thing out like I want it would be a major point of pride. I, while not very old (26), grew up with the philosophy of fix it if its broken no matter how far gone anything can be repaired given the time and paitence, and patience is one thing I feel I have in spades.
 
Lets see:

Welding skills: 1 of 10
Frame cage building skills: 4 of 10
Fabrication Skills: 6 of 10
Engineering Instincts: 6 of 10
Bow fighting skills: 11 of 10
Southern Pride and Stubborness: 15 of 10

Im mostly going off of the pride and stubborness and reading every article and studying every picture I can find about welding, framing, and any other similar modifications that i have found that relate to what i am planning.

I strongly suggest a welding class or a few dozen hours of practice (at least...) on stuff that isn't going on the jeep. Because undoing mistakes and redoing them right will only mean cutting more off, and doing this wrong will seriously impact both its safety and the public's opinion of 4 wheelers in general should something bad happen as a result.

I'm not saying not to, just to go into it prepared so you come out with something to be proud of instead of an example of why offroaders shouldn't be allowed to modify vehicles. It is pretty easy to get tarred and feathered if you do something most people don't and it causes harm.

I didn't trust my welds worth a damn for quite a while after I started learning. Now? I can tell if something will hold up or not, if it won't, it gets ground out and redone.

Edit: put some research into what suspension you want to run before starting the frame sections the suspension goes near, you basically have a blank slate here to do a fully boxed rectangular tube (or round tube, I guess) chassis with an integrated cage here and could do coilovers and 3 link suspension without undoing all the factory stuff, since it will be gone anyways.
 
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Update: Project is on hold for a few weeks while I transition between jobs. Kastein: thanks for the imput i dont know about any classes in the area that would fit my schedule but i fully plan on doing trial welds on scrap metal i have laying around until i feel confident in making structural welds. This project is not one that i am going into haphazardly or rushing. I do not want to put a dangerous rig back on the road that could hurt me or others that I ride with.
 

I understand if you love your jeep but this is a big commitment. I'm sure a chassis can be found for 400$ which is probably pretty close to your cost of steel. I don't think any one telling you to scrap it is negative, they probably just don't want to see you waste time that could be spent improving your build instead of rebuilding.

Either way make sure you take PPE seriously. 20$ for a good face shield is worth it.


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