More Frame Cleanup and Front Clip Mockup - June 26, 2020

Tool Update:

Earlier this week, I retired the footswitch from my Swag Milwaukee Bandsaw.  I never used it as a footswitch and just had it hitting on top of the bench.  I just toggled it with my hand.  I replaced it with a switch box intended for a router table from Kreg.  It's much better for the my setup.  The red bracket is angle bracket that I made to get it oriented properly (and then painted red). 





There wasn't any wiring - the Kreg switch box has a 120V cable attached to it that you just plug into the wall outlet.  The back of the Kreg switch box has 2 normal outlets for the bandsaw plug.




Jeepster Update:
Tonight, I continued to work on the front frame, mostly on the passenger side...I removed most of 3 brackets, cleaned off the rust, etc. 
Before:




After: (I have lots of holes to fill tomorrow) 




Mark asked a few days ago if I ever got the rivets out of the inner frame.  I have a high tech borescope with WiFi that displays on my phone, but that wasn't really helpful.  I just couldn't focus and see things very well.   



I ended up just blindly fishing them out with a low tech magnet on a coathanger :-).  It was a small victory, but it was still awesome:




Low Tech wins today:


I was pretty efficient this weekend, and Chase was a big help on Saturday...the front frame is finished - all brackets removed, all holes filled and most of the rust was removed. 

Starting to plug holes:




My son helped on Saturday:




All holes filled:




Front leaf spring brackets were also removed:
Before:




After...brackets removed and frame done:




As I did on the driver's side, the passenger side tub was notched to match the fender (because this is a 1973 tub, and I'm installing a 1967 front clip):




Just for fun, here it is on the day I bought it , Mar 25, 2018:




Big improvement...1967 front clip installation:




I really don't know what the people were thinking when they painted the 1967 Jeepster the brownish gray color - it's really horrible:




With rock guard:







This shows why I needed a front bumper - this part of the frame needs to be modded:




I also need to fabricate a new grill support, as they are off by several inches.  The entire front crossmember may need to be changed out, but I'm hoping to keep it as is:




Goals for July 2020:

1) reinstall steering box back in stock location (trivial)

2) locate axle by centering in wheel well and by pitman arm location (also pretty trivial)

3) tack in the 3 link front suspension (much more complicated)

4) drop in the engine\transmission\transfer case and check for clearance.  Make changes, mods, as necessary, to fit.

I hope everybody had a good weekend!

Spoiler Alert: my goals were way too ambitious!