It was such a small hill...........

Took a year to reassemble my '78 and only seconds to roll it . Now I have 2 fenders , 1 grill and a hood on order. Also clipped both rear corners. Looking for some do's or dont's for reassembling the front end, as I am going from a "87 clip back to a '78 fender/grill/hood original setup. Supposedly CAPA certified body parts for whatever that is good for. Thinking about putting some fender supports under the new ones. Any other suggestions or stories about installing after-market body panels? Good or bad.

Kind gives me a sick feeling after reading this... We all spend many many hours on our toys to only to destroy them in seconds. But, THAT'S WHAT WE DO!

Good luck on phase II!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...c/pichers1.jpg

Really though. Sorry to hear about this. Parts is parts, but I've found that any aftermarket body parts don't line up as perfectly as factory. Of course I doubt you'll find any NOS parts at a dealer, and what's out there will be spendy. I flopped mine on it's side several years ago, and aside from a bruised elbow and ego, scratched paint, and a broken windshield and bent frame, the Jeep weathered it pretty well.

Make sure you use the factory rods that go between the grille and firewall, they do help stabilize the grille and keep the fenders from cracking. Otherwise, just line it all up before tightening, paint it, and get it back on the trail.

Bob
tufcj

Would have liked to have had a picture of it on it's top, but I had gear oil running down the stick shift to underneath the console and darkness was coming fast.............oh yeah, I was on a closed section of road and did not want to stick around.

Just got some fenders in and to my surprise they have seams across the outside of the fender and down the fenderwell. Looks like there will be some extra welding and grinding to strengthen and blend in these ugly seams. Is this "normally" how these panels are assembled?

Sounds like an exact copy of the late 70's CJ fender. The fender behind the wheel was basically two layers of metal thick to reduce flex and stress cracking. They didn't do that with YJ fenders.

Bob
tufcj

Sounds like an exo-skeleton is in order when you finish the body repair.

trying to keep the retro-78-stock jeep thing intacked...............don't really want to do the rock-climber thing.

Update.............Finally pulled the jeep out of the garage after rolling it a month ago. So after a complete rollover here is the list of damage:

One smashed fender
One dented fender
One dented hood
Scraped paint on both rear quarters
One qt. power steering fluid
Two qts. tranny oil
Six snaps on bikini top
One stereo spkr.

Pulled out some dents, poured in some fluids and she runs/drives like a champ...........doesn't even pull while braking now!

any pics from after the roll

Glad the carnage wasn't worse - any pic's of your rig now?

Had a 75 CJ5 I took end over end in the Ocotillo Wells / Anza Borrego area in SOCAL in 79. Broke both axles, rebent he "roll bar" the oposit direction, folded the windshield against the steering wheel (broke 2 knuckles) and bent the frame into a pronounced U shape. Needless to sayt he insurance compnay totaled it and kept the built 350 4-bolt -:azzhat:

Sorry 88 & MR not very good at posting pics..............Even now if I posted pics you would see very little damage since most of the dents were pounded out and repainted. SORRY!

Do I wish I had a pic of my rig on it's top? Yeah you betcha! But, at the time I was preoccupied.............maybe next time.