Well I found a couple of hours to start a few things out in the barn. Managed to drive out the last of the bushings from the rear springs...now I just have to wait for warmer weather to paint!
Also started to clean up the rear axle with the grinder and a wire cup brush... found the 43/8= 5.38 gear ratio tag too and a few things that I cannot figure out.



Anyone know what the screw is threaded into the axletube on the far left? Just curious about the band too that is on the far right near the joining of the tube and the diff housing.







So, here I am clearing away clods of 50 year old grease and dirt and these bubbles appear. One is on the top right and the other is on the bottom left of the diff housing. They look like a bubble in a weld that the grinding uncovered. I don't think that they go through the housing. At least I don't think that I could have done it with over zealous grinding.
Lots more cleaning to go before I paint. My 5 year old was fascinated with watching the gears turn when I removed the cover. He thought that they were really "cool!"
In other news, the front springs are toast... after wasting time on them and deciding to just try and replace the hardware both sides of the main leaf eye holes splintered off as the original bushings had worn completely through and the shackles continued eating into the leaf... Luckily a friend of mine is giving me his old springs! Got a crazy expensive quote for re-arching... 135 bucks... apiece! may as well buy new springs at that rate!
I also finished painting the draw bar in that spell of nice 60 weather we had a few weeks back and I'm hoping for a rolling (driveable?) chassis by this fall... keep your fingers crossed!

The Frame Is Done, For Now...

The TJ bumper isn't pretty and not a 'perfect' fit, but OK for now until I can afford a real bumper.

Test Fitting a TJ bumper

I've hardly gotten any work done on the Mistress with being away for a couple of weeks and the weather getting better for work around the house, but I cut a couple of tabs in the TJ bumper today for a quick test fit. It was about 1/2" on top and about 2" on the bottom. Its fits ok, but I'll have to measure carefully and drill some holes for the bolts and use a few washers to get it to fit. Not pretty, but how many Mistresses are?

Front Bumper Off!

FINALLY! The front bumper is off and the frame ends are primed. I managed to get three of the eight rivets punched out with a 5/16" pin punch and a three pound sledge easily enough... then the remaining five either had to be drilled out and/or ground down flush with the frame and then they popped out pretty easily. Think that all my blacksmith hammer blows must have ironically mushroomed the heads slightly. But now its off and I'm going to grind and cut a TJ bumper slightly to fit!

Back To Work

Lots done today, great 70 degree day and lots of time to do stuff. I finished the frame... well, almost. I still have to finish grinding off the rivets and pop them out (which is harder than I thought it'd be...) and get the old front bumper off. I plan on retrofitting (read drill new holes and torque Grade 8 bolts) my old TJ bumper in place of it. Its been sitting around for a couple of years and hey, it's cheaper than buying a new one!




The seat frames. The green is actually a bit darker than the photo shows. Its like a light OD... just a Rustoleum rattlecan meant for outdoor furniture in a satin semi-gloss.




The TJ front bumper getting painted today...




I painted the frame with two coats Rustoleum bedliner over two coats of primer. I just love the look of the bedliner! It's a semi-gloss and just looks great. Hope that it'll last too!




































The first two small parts... gas and brake pedals.

Down to a frame...

as of today... The D44 is out.

Getting There... Again.

So as of yesterday this is what I'm left with:




Frame resting on wheels...




Dana 25...




...and F head resting on 2X6's.




Up...




up...




up...




...and over!





Now just to work on the rear axle and get the frame on sawhorses, strip it, paint it, check out the axles, rebuild what's necessary, change the brakes, figure out which f head I'm using and do the necessary repairs, buy a welder, teach myself to weld, weld in various sheet metal to the body, strip it, paint it, hook up the brakes, rebuild the steering box, etc, etc, etc... you get the idea. But I'm getting there...