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General Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: Jesse-James on June 10, 2009, 07:46:03 PM
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Well, this started out of need for tire coverage. My cut up front fenders were getting looks from the cops and to be honest the rooster tails in the rain were getting old. After hunting for rust free YJ fenders for a few months I gave up when I found a deal on a complete front end from a CJ7 for a nice price.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/DSC02945.jpg)
First step was disassembly.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03502.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03505.jpg)
Next was trimming the CJ fenders to fit around the shock towers. Cut a little, check the fit, repeat.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03515.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03518.jpg)
Once I was able to line them up after trimming, I couldn't believe how well they fit. The bolts/holes from the fenders to the tub and even the supports lined right up. The hood was a direct bolt on as well.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03531.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03548.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03583.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03547.jpg)
The resiviors for coolant and washer fluid bolted up like they were meant to be there.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03584.jpg)
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Got the fenders in place with a couple bolts in.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03520.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03519.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03524.jpg)
Time to start on the grill. Biggest issue was the steering box. Had to notch it to clear the lines. I'm going through cutting wheels like candy.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03527.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03530.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03542.jpg)
Now it's fitting a bit better.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03544.jpg)
From what I've read the radiator was going to be the biggest hassle so I decided from the beginning to use a CJ radiator for a better finished look and so it would be a bolt in...or so I thought.
The CJ rad is in front.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03533.jpg)
I ended up having to notch the mounting bracket to clear the steering box as well.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03567.jpg)
Since the YJ is an auto I have the trans lines through the radiator, figured it was a good time to eliminate that (especially since the CJ rad. was from a manual) so I got a trans cooler for a motorhome, 26,000 GVW
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03568.jpg)
Installing the rad. and the mounting holes did not line up so I ended up using two of the drop brackets from my body lift to remedy it.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03571.jpg)
Another issue I found is that on the YJ the upper hose is smaller on the radiator side (1") so took a trip to Buy Right Auto, they were awesome at finding me a hose with two 1 1/4" ends. Not many stores can do anything without the computer these days, but they could.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03572.jpg)
Next was the fan shroud, this had to be notched as well.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03573.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03575.jpg)
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All that was really left was lights, the headlights were straight forward , but the park/turn lights have two wires and the YJ has a three wire socket. Just don't reuse the ground from the YJ wiring and all is good.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03582.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03574.jpg)
And the before and after
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/DSC03068.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03579.jpg)
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looks nice with those round headlight's!
That would be the only way I would by a YJ, to fit a CJ grill.
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Nice job, great writeup.
Instead of modifying the inner fenders to clear the shock towers, consider installing a set of shock towers from an '88 F250, only $15 each from the Ford dealership. I put them on my YJ and run some insanely long Bilstein shocks with them. I welded mine on, but they can be bolted as in the pic.
(http://www.in2jeep.com/hiltonhead/Pb300182.jpg)
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Wait a minute, which is the "before" again? And does the swap involve going from poser-to-square or square-to-poser? I always get that confused. :wall: :lol:
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It looks good.
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and this helped tire coverage :puzzled:.. lol looks good.. but i still don't get the hole nonflatfender cj thing... :wall:
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Can this be done with only the grill or is the hood & quarter pannels needed?
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:thumbsup: Well done Sir! I like the look of CJ's.
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Can this be done with only the grill or is the hood & quarter pannels needed?
You need the hood but you don't need the fenders. Although, you'll have to do some extra drilling and squeezing as the CJ grill is narrower then the YJ's.
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and this helped tire coverage :puzzled:.. lol looks good.. but i still don't get the hole nonflatfender cj thing... :wall:
Kinda hard to mount flares to this...
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/DSC01626.jpg)
I have a set of 7" flares to put on, got the first one done.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/DSC03467.jpg)
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once you hit it with some paint it will look very nice, next project a tire carrier for the back before the tailgate comes undone, might as well since you have a fair amount of spare time for the time being
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Looks good, but I don't understand the "couldn't find rust free YJ fenders" part. They cost $106 brand new at certifit, why bother looking for used junk?
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Looks good, but I don't understand the "couldn't find rust free YJ fenders" part. They cost $106 brand new at certifit, why bother looking for used junk?
Never heard of them, all I could find at the time was cheap Chinese crap for $150ea. I posted several wanted ads and got no leads.
Ah well, I'm glad I did things the hard way. :lol:
next project a tire carrier for the back before the tailgate comes undone, might as well since you have a fair amount of spare time for the time being
Did that last year.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/Bumper/DSC02496.jpg)
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I just noticed that, I guess lack of sleep didn't help. Your Jeep has come a long way I definitely like the look with the CJ grill and fenders
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looks good..now to keep the rust away...and I like my square headlights esp with the rock gaurd
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A couple pics after the spray bomb job.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03642.jpg)
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/CJ%20front/DSC03641.jpg)
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Looks good. I'm still not fond of wide flares though.
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Looks good, but the flares will look better with bigger tires.
About the only thing I would ever do to it is rework the front fender sheetmetal in front to match the TJ flares. Looks a heck of a lot better than the cut up stuff that was on there, its turning into a very nice Jeep
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Yeah, there just isn't a great way to match up TJ flares on a CJ. I tried something different to get them to sit flush, I may do something down the road. The really wide ones aren't necessarily the best looking but I'm sick of Johnny Law bugging me and mud flying in the Jeep is getting old. Not to mention the rooster tails every time it rains. Overall I'm happy with it though, definitely better than it was.
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Yeah, there just isn't a great way to match up TJ flares on a CJ. I tried something different to get them to sit flush, I may do something down the road. The really wide ones aren't necessarily the best looking but I'm sick of Johnny Law bugging me and mud flying in the Jeep is getting old. Not to mention the rooster tails every time it rains. Overall I'm happy with it though, definitely better than it was.
That's the reason I run the Warn 7" flares but I don't like the look. Although, I don't like the tires sticking out really far either. Flares can fairly easily be removed on trail rides though.
Rain and rooster tails suck. Especially when you have to turn, water sprays directly through the side windows if they're open. :uhoh:
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Funny the wife always complained about the spray when it rained or we ran through mud, now it her XJ that does it and not mine. :lol:
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Looks good!
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Hey, Jesse, I hate to be the one to point this out, but there is something looking very wrong on that YJ... Actually, I think I know what it is: your lights look kind of rounded!!!
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:twofingers:
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i would ditch the flares altogether - it looked great w/o any in front, maybe try CJ flares, these ones don't match at all (and i'm not talking about the angle on the tip of the front fender, the style is wrong). Great job on getting this done, i love the idea.
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Or go flatfender and extend them out a bit...
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:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: ditch the flairs imo but its your jeep
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The flares are the reason this swap started but thanks. It does look a bit better now that the full compliment is back on the front. Also, a couple people asked why the flares are wider than the tires, they're not. For some reason it just looks that way from certain angles.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/jlafaive/flares/DSC03644.jpg)
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it looks great anyway but if you must have flares I would consider these:
(http://www.bushwacker.com/images/trucks/CT86JeepCJ_10910.jpg)
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Bushwackers don't survive my kind of wheeling. These are pliable and cheap if I wreck one.
They do look better though.
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the bad thing with the bushwhackers is that they mount lower (becasue of exposed bolts) so you loose tire clearance. but they look kool
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the bad thing with the bushwhackers is that they mount lower (becasue of exposed bolts) so you loose tire clearance. but they look kool
What about some CJ Warn trail flares? I have heard some good reviews about those taking on trail hits...
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They're still over $400 for some plastic flares.
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Bushwackers don't survive my kind of wheeling. These are pliable and cheap if I wreck one.
They do look better though.
i banged mine quite a bit, they flex but i had a log sticking under the front left one and it cracked the tabs on the mounting screws - so from that perspective you are correct, wish they had something more "rubbery" - you can't beat their looks though unless you go with some tube flares/fenders.
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Once I was able to line them up after trimming, I couldn't believe how well they fit. The bolts/holes from the fenders to the tub and even the supports lined right up. The hood was a direct bolt on as well.
How did you handle the taller grille and shorter hood? Were you already running a body lift? Did you extend the grille mount to get it to bolt up?
Thanks. - Paul Roz...
(Grille arrived yesterday; hood gets picked up next week. May go with round Diamondplate trailer fenders hanging from the hood, so that when you open the hood the fenders go with it. Poor man's one piece front end. I don't see much mud, just snow and rocks...)
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Yes, I had done a 1" BL prior to the swap and welded an extension to the mount support. Also cut a couple pieces of an old V belt to use as snubbers between the grill and frame.
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Ok, I'm going to bring this one up again. I might be able to get a complete CJ-7 hood and grill for $80. What would I need to do to hang the radiator in the stock location without welding?
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Ok, I'm going to bring this one up again. I might be able to get a complete CJ-7 hood and grill for $80. What would I need to do to hang the radiator in the stock location without welding?
don't you need the fenders too? i thought the hood nose (the edge going around the grill) is narrower on the CJ
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don't you need the fenders too? i thought the hood nose (the edge going around the grill) is narrower on the CJ
No, you can pinch the fenders up front and drill them to fit the CJ grill. This allows you to retain YJ or TJ flares which mount flush as well as gives you a bit more engine compartment room.
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Ok, I'm going to bring this one up again. I might be able to get a complete CJ-7 hood and grill for $80. What would I need to do to hang the radiator in the stock location without welding?
Not completely sure as I used a CJ radiator.
That is a great deal to get started though.
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No, you can pinch the fenders up front and drill them to fit the CJ grill. This allows you to retain YJ or TJ flares which mount flush as well as gives you a bit more engine compartment room.
cool
and what JJ said, that's a really good deal
looking forward to hear more about this
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The only problem I have is having to store a grill and hood. I'm still 50/50 if I should buy it or not.
No one seems to have any good guides on how to mount the stock radiator. JP Magazine either bolted to welded some straps to the grill.
Also, can you reuse the YJ grill supports? The other reason for wanting to keep the YJ radiator is that the fan fits it perfectly. It would be too big on a CJ radiator.
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The only problem I have is having to store a grill and hood. I'm still 50/50 if I should buy it or not.
No one seems to have any guides on how to mount the stock radiator. JP Magazine had one but they also didn't really say how it mounted. Although they did weld new hangers.
Also, can you reuse the YJ grill supports? The other reason for wanting to keep the YJ radiator is that the fan fits it perfectly. It would be too big on a CJ radiator.
i can't see any reason for which you would not be able to use your radiator. the YJ rad has 4 mounting holes on the sides and 2 brackets on top, even if the CJ opening is smaller the YJ rad mounting bracket on the driver's side is about 3'' wide (if not more) so i think would be enough room to drill new holes. if it hits anywhere you can get some spacers made out of aluminum square tubing, 1x1x3/16, they'll be light, cheap and look good. for the top brackets i don't see that being a problem. for the grill supports you might need to fab couple of 90 deg bracket if the CJ does not have them.
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i can't see any reason for which you would not be able to use your radiator. the YJ rad has 4 mounting holes on the sides and 2 brackets on top, even if the CJ opening is smaller the YJ rad mounting bracket on the driver's side is about 3'' wide (if not more) so i think would be enough room to drill new holes. if it hits anywhere you can get some spacers made out of aluminum square tubing, 1x1x3/16, they'll be light, cheap and look good. for the top brackets i don't see that being a problem. for the grill supports you might need to fab couple of 90 deg bracket if the CJ does not have them.
Well the problem I see is that with the notching, I might not have enough room to bolt a bracket to the grill. I'm wonder if there is enough meat on the radiator to bolt an extension to the rear flange to be able to bolt it to the stock location. I'll have to go outside and see how the radiator looks.
I also found out that the hood latches will need to be moved up 1" as they aren't as far back as on the YJ if I keep my fenders.
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Well, it looks like I'll be going to look at the hood and grill on the weekend. I'll probably jsut collect the parts and see what I want to do with them. Either find someone to help me weld or else go all CJ with the radiator and fenders like Jesse. I wasn't really looking for another project but the deal is too good to pass up really.
BTW: 1984-1985 CJ-7's used the AMC 2.5L so the hose should work.
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My radiator was for a 2.5L CJ and the lower hose was fine but I had to swap the upper as the connection is a tad bigger on the CJ.
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My radiator was for a 2.5L CJ and the lower hose was fine but I had to swap the upper as the connection is a tad bigger on the CJ.
The problem was with your YJ upper hose though, right? (1" vs 1.5".) It would be easier for others to ask for the exact model and get the correct hose.
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Yes, the upper. Went to a local parts store and lined it up with the correct one. We have some good parts guys out here in farm country.
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Yes, the upper. Went to a local parts store and lined it up with the correct one. We have some good parts guys out here in farm country.
Yeah, then a factory '84-'85 for a 2.5L should work.
I've been looking and it I might just end up buying an ebay aluminum radiator since they are so cheap. (under $140 shipped) The hood seems to have a small crease or dent in it. I was sent pics and it looks sort of like the the hood may have flipped up and hit the windshield frame. Still $80 is a deal even with a dented hood, I think.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/yokomura/jeep/dent.jpg?t=1269564083)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/yokomura/jeep/dent2.jpg?t=1269564114)
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Oh, I know that dent by heart. I can confirm that it, indeed, popped open while driving. Dont ask why I know...