June 22, 2023

Jeepster Roller, Part 13

Electric Fan Shroud continued...

The top of the fan shroud still needs a filler piece. I started with layout lines and notched the corners:

Long side bend:

The two short side bends were just done on my big vise:

Test fit and mark shroud to shorten:

I also had to clearance the top piece around the fan and flaps:

Shroud shortened, and test fit. The look and fit are both good. Any gaps are very tight, so the fan will be drawing air through the radiator and not through a leaky shroud:

I'll make four or 5 tapped holes in the top of the radiator frame so I can screw the shroud directly to the radiator. I can't permanently pop rivet the shroud onto the radiator, because I need access to the inside of the shroud to bolt on the fan.

My plan so far is to make some nut plates and pop rivet them to the radiator frame.

I've seen other people use self-tapping screws, but that solution isn't for me.

If I had a TIG welder, I would do it differently - this option is still open if I win the lottery!

I'll finish up the shroud after I figure out the top radiator bracket.

Top Radiator Bracket

The radiator is well-supported on bottom, but I need to hold it down into the lower cradle with a bracket and isolators from the top side.

Jack Brinks, from SAJE, used the shock hoop cross brace to hold down the top of the radiator on his Jeepster, which is a good idea. Space is very tight, so using the cross brace makes perfect sense.

I'm planning to also run my cross brace over the electric fan, as that is about the only open position for it. So my cross brace will end up in a similar position to Jack's cross brace. My hold down brackets will be different.

After quite a bit of looking around and head scratching, I bought a set of isolators for a 1967-72 Chevy truck, that I think will fit my radiator. I bought this kit, in particular, because of the metal brackets. The metal brackets would be difficult and time-consuming for me to re-create, so buying these parts made sense to me. Basically, trading a little bit of money for a lot of time.

To be continued after the parts arrive...

Front Sway Bar

Changing gears while I wait for the radiator isolators to arrive...

Feedback requested - let me know your thoughts!

This is more "Roller Extra Credit...I don't need a sway bar to get the Jeepster rolling!

I've got several options for the front sway bar...

First, I've got a stock CJ7 sway bar. It's desirable because the CJ7 and Jeepster frame are the same width, so I should not have any tire interference issues with the CJ7 sway bar. It's also very cheap. For a con, it's not the beefiest sway bar at only 7/8" diameter.

Second, I've got a stock YJ sway bar. It's pretty beefy at 1-1/8", and is also cheap. It's much wider than the CJ7 sway bar, which could result in tires rubbing the sway bar when fully turned.

Third, there a couple of vendors that make universal sway bars. They are much more expensive, but I can customize the various dimensions to get it to fit fairly well in my custom front suspension.

My plan is to try the CJ7 and YJ sway bars and see if either of them would work. If not, then I'll be looking at aftermarket sway bars.

CJ7

I already had this CJ7 sway bar in my parts stash. It is about 31" long with a dog leg of about 8-9". I tried it many different ways, but it is just too narrow to work. It needs to be longer to get around the shock hoops. There was also iffy clearance in this position (under the frame) at the power steering gearbox. The CJ7 sway bar will not work.

YJ

Ooops...I thought I had an extra YJ bar, but later remembered that I installed it in my 88 CJ-YJ. Here's where I cleaned it up and painted it black before installation in the 88 CJ-YJ:

No big problem - I was able to take accurate measurements on my 95 YJ Sway Bar. It's about 37" outside to outside and about a 9" dog leg. The YJ bar will probably work, but I will have to mount it above the frame in front of the grill.

This is very similar to the stock TJ sway bar location shown below. The TJ sway bar might be another option to consider:

If anything, the YJ sway bar might be a little too wide by 1" or so. The tire may hit it at full turn, and I'd like to have a little more clearance.

Mounting the sway bar over the frame would also severely impact the stone shield, so I'm not thrilled about that.

Aftermarket

Currie is the best known off road sway bar vendor. I like the built-in adjustment holes. Unfortunately, they aren't cheap!

They have either straight or bent arms, so you can work around obstacles.

Here's a Currie arm from my rear sway bar kit, and it seems like it would fit pretty well. Currie has a 32" wide universal sway bar with bent arms that would probably work well for me.

Mounting the Currie support tube through the frame might be possible, but it will make the bumper mounting more difficult or impossible. It would definitely work, if I mounted it above the frame, but that affects the stone shield. Even mounting the Currie through the frame may affect the stone shield during up travel of the arm.

Sway Bar Conclusions

0. I am 99.9% positive that the sway bar will be mounted either through the frame or above the frame. There are just too many obstructions under the frame:

1. Currie is my first choice. I really like the idea of mounting the Currie tube through the frame for a few reasons:

a. It would have the least impact on the stone shield

b. It would stiffen up the frame by adding another crossmember

c. The tire clearance may be a little better than the the YJ sway bar

d. Bendable arms will be an advantage to get around the shock hoops. I confirmed with Currie that they are fine with customers bending the steel arms to get around obstructions. And my 20 ton SWAG press brake should bend the 3/8" thick arms with no problem.

On the negative side:

a. It would make bumper mounting more difficult

b. It is fairly expensive at about $600.

c. The big long Currie arms will be a very prominent feature in the front of my Jeepster, but some of it should be hidden by the stone shield. I probably won't install the big "Antirock" sticker!

2. My second choice is to mount the YJ sway bar above the frame and close to the grill. Advantages:

a. It's cheaper at about $200 total cost

b. It's beefy and works well

On the negative side:

a. It will be very visible above the frame (ugly!)

b. It will definitely impact the stone shield

3. The last choice is a Currie Sway Bar mounted above the frame - I'm struggling to see how this would look good. It just doesn't seem like a good option.

Sway Bar Plan A

First, I'll see if I can get the Currie tube through the frame while also getting the front bumper mounted.

Sway Bar Plan B

If Plan A doesn't go well, then I may buy a cheap YJ sway bar to better check the tire clearance.

Checking tire clearance is more difficult with the 3 link front suspension since the front axle moves side to side with suspension travel. Leaf springs have their advantages!

Any thoughts or comments?

Tailgate

Even more "Roller Extra Credit"...if it can be installed onto the Jeepster immediately, then I'm going to work on it!

There are two styles of Jeepster tailgates - the earlier 1966-71 tailgates were flat. This is the style that I want to match the front clip that I installed. It's also has cool emblems in the bottom corner.

The later 1972-73 tailgates had a big, ugly bulge. They did not have any cool emblems - just an embossed "Jeep" in the sheet metal. This is the type that came on my 1973 Jeepster, and needs to be replaced.

All years of Jeepster tailgates have a VERY common corrosion problem in the same area along the bottom edge. This is the condition of my original 1973 tailgate. In addition to the corrosion, it also has the big, ugly bulge. I won't try to use the original 1973 tailgate - it will just be replaced.

Since most Jeepster tailgates have this bad corrosion, there are several solutions in the marketplace.

1. There's a completely new steel reproduction tailgate. I bought one used a while back, and still have it. It fits okay, but it's not great overall. It's basically just tacked together, and you'll have to finish welding it, smooth the welds, and use body filler to make it look good. For those reasons, I'm not excited about using it. It costs about $400 new:

2. There's also a completely new fiberglass reproduction tailgate. I don't know much about it, but it won't ever corrode! It costs about $600.

3. Another great option...a company came out with a repair piece to replace the corroded area. Basically, you cut out the damaged area, and then weld in the new steel:

Here's a view of the repair piece installed on a tailgate from the manufacturer's webpage:

I bought an early Jeepster tailgate for $20 a while back that had the typical Jeepster tailgate corrosion, and also bought the repair kit for about $90.

Outside tailgate:

Corrosion on the outside:

Backside of tailgate:

Backside corrosion:

As a side note, a TIG setup would be really nice for this, but my Hobart MIG will work.

Let's see if we can make something good...to be continued!