Project Jeep CJ-7
Rust Removal and treating existing Rust on the Jeep body
Part Two

You may notice a not so familiar piece of steel welded between the front body mount frame and the rib under the seats.  Since these pieces were once welded to the floor of the tub and they are no longer attached to the floor I decided to add this to give a little strength to the structure and to lend a little support under the floor.

Below are a couple of shots of the floor of the tub.  A few spot require a little more steel to strengthen the floor like where the seat belts attach and where the passenger seat bolts up but otherwise the floor was in excellent shape thanks to the prior owners gratuitous use of the welder.  The shot to the lower right has a coating of another Eastwood product that's bondo type material that has aluminum embedded in it and hardens like metal and seals just as well against moisture.  I used this to fill and level out the floor where the sheet metal overlapped.  In the end it will all get a coat of black paint so any uneven appearance will be hard to spot.  The main concern is to keep rust away and keep it strong for years of abuse.

Eastwood Rust Encapsulator Beats POR 15 in Independent Tests! Click here to see why!

Below are a pair of replacement parts that were fabricated to replace the two pathetic, rusty pieces just below them in the same picture.  These are the body mounts of the tub just in front of the rear wheel wells.  The large angle pieces that the rails are attached to are make to re-enforce the area where the roll bar attaches.  Everything will be welded and bolted together.

Below are two other body mounts of the tub that had 12 gauge steel plates welded to them whether they were in bad shape or not.  With all the twisting around that this Jeep will eventually see I'd rather re-enforce these areas now while it's accessible.

Above and below are some shots of the body mount in front of the rear wheel wells.  I wanted to re-enforce this area because of the roll bar has to mount up here.  Also notice the silicone sealant in various places.  Call it overkill but having fought the rust battle many times before I noticed that where I patched bodies with silicone it did not rust.  So I coated areas susceptable to rust with the clear silicone.  It also acts as an impact protective coating for rocks and gravel and stops moisture from getting in to places where I don't want it to go.

Below is a fix for my wheel wells.  There was some good rust holes in the wheel wells and although the top side within the tub was re-lined with galvanized steel the holes underneath were there to let water  and debris in.  I patch the holes with primer, paint and more silicone but to make it look better and to add protection I used an aluminum break to bend parts to cover the inside of the wheel wells.  Then I sealed the seams with more silicone and sanded, primed and painted the aluminum with gloss black.

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Project CJ-7 ~ The Tub Part Two