The jeep previously referred to as "Rondi's Jeep" had a rough existence and must have been victim to multiple Utah winters. The body was severely rusted, the floor pans had already been replaced once (poorly) and much of the under structure was rotten. There are several options for replacement tubs. The best option is to find a good used tub that isn't rusty. This is nearly impossible, as any scrambler that has a good tub is built into a good usable jeep. There are replacement fiberglass tubs available, and there is even a company importing aftermarket steel tubs. These cost anywhere from $2000-$4000 plus shipping. As you may know, people who are into jeeps are among the most helpful and friendly people you will meet, they are also among the cheapest. The initial plan was to remove the tub, sandblast, then patch any rust holes with new metal and finish. After removal and inspection, the amount of metal to be replaced exceeded the amount of good remaining metal. Going this route, I would have finished this project sometime around 2014.
The solution that I found was a graft of a wrangler tub. A CJ-8, CJ-7, and even a Wrangler are nearly identical from the rear section of the floor forward. Most of my problem rust was in this area, and the bed section looked to be repairable. I found a rollover Wrangler tub on KSL for $250, and with the help of a borrowed plasma cutter and MIG
welder I cut the two jeeps in half, cleaned up the seams, and welded them together. The factory seams matched up, and the repair went better than I had hoped. This picture shows the two sections ready to be welded together.
The corners of the rear floor/bed area were in pretty bad shape, so I cut them out and I am working on welding in replacement pieces that I got from Classic Enterprises. Here they are just temporarily in place with a few sheet metal screws. Once they are all ready I will punch some holes for plug welds and weld them in
weld them on and cover it up.
