1962 Ford M151 Restoration

[Refit1701]

A full day on Wednesday, we got all but the outer edge spots done. We've discovered the pass side rear section of the rear fender still has an inward and upward bend. It was hit sometime in the past on the taillight. We will have to pull that out somehow, we'd thought we solved it before.

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And THANKS to the bubba who welded the lanyard nuts closed on the upper gas strap mount. No amount of drilling has even dented these. We thought it was bondo at first, then epoxy. I guess we will remove the weld nuts and replace them.

This was done to the two top straps in front of the rear wheels too, it seems. Grrrr.

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[rickf]

I would bet it was not hit on the tail light but more likely it had an antenna on it and someone caught the mount on a low hanging tree. That would fold the rear panel in and up every time.

[Refit1701]

I would bet it was not hit on the tail light but more likely it had an antenna on it and someone caught the mount on a low hanging tree. That would fold the rear panel in and up every time.

That makes sense. The taillight has no damage but the fender buckled under. The holes for the mount are there.

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[rickf]

Yup, and it had an antenna. If it were slammed back from the top it would push the top of the fender down and the bottom in just like I see there. I have heard so many people say that is a form of demill, yea, right. There is nothing done by that that disables the vehicle so no demill. Just inattentive drivers.

[Refit1701]

Now to work out how to straighten it.

[rickf]

I would start by putting a solid flat piece under the rear of the top panel and jack up on that panel some while tapping down on the point where it bent on top. See what that does for the bottom bend. You might be able to get away with pulling on a flat bar inserted through the light hole lightly at the same time and get it all done easier than you think.

[Refit1701]

We are planning to try that method. We also thought that a plate drilled to match the antenna holes in the side of the fender would give a similar tension to the original motion that created the bend. Heck, it might even work to use an identical antenna bracket.

[rickf]

You could bolt an antenna bracket on the original holes and that would spread the jack load over the whole corner which would work well and tie it all in, I wouldn't try to do the bending only with the antenna bracket. You could put some pull forward from the top of the bracket and see if it looks like it is headed in the right direction but I think you would end up pulling the sheet metal out at the bolt holes. Remember, the whole flat of the bracket was pushing in on it to do the damage. Going the other way you are just pulling the bolts unless you can get a full size backup plate behind the fender. That is just more work than needed I believe.

[Refit1701]

After two months of a break due to health issues and the holidays, we were back at it on New Year's Eve. We finally got to the goalpost I had been reaching for for a year. We finally got the geometry correct on the rear fenders and panel.

I made a stand off adapter for the rear panel.

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Getting the rotisserie under the jeep was a task. We used straps to support the rear suspension and assembled the pipes offset to clear the jack stands. We then lifted the front and rear one at a time and bolted them up.

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Once attached, we spent some time ensuring the center of gravity was right.

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[Refit1701]

Success! After a major cleaning of the floor we are ready to start on the rest of the body. The remainder of the suspension will come off now.

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[rickf]

That rotisserie looks familiar. What happened to the faceplate for the gearbox? The faceplate is 1/4" thick and supports the other end of the gear shaft. I can't see in the pic but the end of the shaft should be threaded for a castle nut which goes on the outside of the plate. Right now all the weight is pulling down on just the inside bushing so keep a very close eye on the gears mesh and make sure they do not pull apart. You really need to clean that out and lube those gears.

[Refit1701]

I have the plate and it's already back on. A buddy wanted to pull the gears out and inspect them but we could not get them apart and I didn't want to break anything. I'm going to put gear lube in the case after the sealant dries.

[rickf]

If you couldn't get it apart to replace the seals you would be better just putting regular grease on the gears. Slop a bunch in there and be done with it. If you already have it on a sealed then try the oil and if it leaks then later on pull the cover and grease it. The oil will keep it lubed just fine for a long time indoors even if it all leaks out.

[Refit1701]

While waiting for the storms to arrive in Alabama today, I started inspecting the underside. I knew the front crossmembers were gone and I have the large underbody kit. I think that someone welded a thick plate to the rear engine mount (or transmission mount) at some point. I'm working on getting all the undercoating off.

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The engine mount.

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Aside from the front crossmember, the underside is mostly OK. Once we got the rear crossmember and back panel in, things look better. There are some rust holes in the floor pans and on the sides.

[rickf]

Looks like the only thing you will need from the underbody kit will be the front crossmember. The main rails are not part of that kit so you are on your own there.