cj5 full cage with fiberglass tub

[blaylock6502]

hey guys, i have a 74 cj5. When I bought it It had just been painted but it turned out they bondoed and painted right over rust so i bought a used fiberglass tub. Being a newbie i didnt really know what to look for at the time. When I got it home I found it was reinforced with wood and fiberglassed over! Is this common or are most modern tubs reinforced with metal? At any rate the wood was rotten from having hundreds of holes drilled for seats and left to sit outside. I cut out all of the old wood and replaced it with 3/4 inch marine grade plywood and fiberglassed over the top again. At this point i reallized i had no way to mount it to the frame so I fabricated a mount system out of 2 inch od square tubing 1/4 in thick and sandwiched the tub between it on the bottom and 1/4 in thick by 2 in wide straps. It turned out nice but now moving along i wanted to install a cage and am not sure how safe it will be. Would you attach it directly to the fiberglass tub or try to come up with a way to tie it into the frame and if so how??? Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[69jeepcj]

the wood in the tub is normal, I dont know why but a lot of companies used wood for the fiberglass tubs. For your cage, bolting to the frame is the strongest but requires cutting holes in your floors and running extended pipe from the frame up to the cage, they sell kits to do it or you can make your own. If you bolt your cage to the tub, make larger plates for under the jeep and under the feet of the cage when you bolt it in.

 

[blaylock6502]

thank you 69jeepcj! Is it as hard to find parts for a 69 as it is a 74? Why is that? Do you have any sources you recommend that have more parts than most vendors?

 

[TLCJ5]

Another more popular way to mount/attach your roll bar to the frame is by sandwiching the tub between flat plates. The rollbar bolts thru the flat plates & tub. The bottom plate is welded to a tube that extends to the frame & welded there. The top plate is welded to the roll bar. You can buy a "rollbar tie in" kit or make your own parts.
A nice aspect of this method is the Rollbar is still removable because it's just bolted thru the plates & tub.
Good luck & let us know how it works out.

 

[blaylock6502]

That's what I was leaning toward but I didn't know if it would be the safest as you would still be depending on the tub somewhat but bolting through the tub I would think would give me the body flex I need. Thanks guys!

 

[69jeepcj]

Yes, almost everything I buy at the local auto stores has to be ordered. Quadra tec has a "EARLY" jeep catalog, and their normal catalog. You can request the EARLY catalog instead of the normal. Im not sure where the year stops for it to be considered early, but I would think it is up to 76 because that is when big changes took place and intro of the cj7.

 

[blaylock6502]

I looked at quadratecs website and I get their catolog but there isn't much for a 74 and when I looked the only option I saw was for wrangler and cj or Cherokee?

 

[69jeepcj]

Il see if I can find my early catalog and give you the info on it to request one. Im pretty sure it was quadra tec, il let ya know.

 

[blaylock6502]

Thanks 69jeepcj I got a new quadratecs magazine today and it just says quadratecs essentials

 

[69jeepcj]

I have looked and can not find it. I would call them and see if they have a early cj catalog, or it may have been 4wd hardware, I will keep looking and see if it turns up. I got it about 3-4 yrs ago, but have a big box full of off road mags and catalogs.

 

[blaylock6502]

Thank u very much I don't go through too much trouble