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Hey guys. I have a 97 zj that I sold last summer, turns out they never transferred the title and it was stolen from the purchaser. So when the police called me, I called who I sold it to and they want no part of it. So I got my zj back for free!!!! Ignition is broken, it's hotwired, rear cargo window and hatch window are smashed, it's a mess. Still drives and runs great, and actually the person I sold it to had a shop do a ton of work to it!! Score!
So my plans... Don't try to stop me or convince me it's terrible, but I'm going to cut out the hatch, rear most cargo windows and weld up a back of a cab and make a truck! It's happening, so all I need is some advice on things to look out for and how to fab in a rear roll/ support cage. This is an extra vehicle I didn't account for so I don't mind having fun with sawzall and welder.. thanks guys
You came to the wrong place to not have someone try to convince you that your plan is terrible, because it is. I did the same thing to my ZJ 10+ years ago. I hated it so much I actually took the time to weld a full roof back on to it.
The ZJ is a unibody. Meaning that as soon as you hack the roof off like that you have sacrificed the structural integrity of the frame system. I couldn't drive my ZJ over 50mph or so without the whole rear of the Jeep violently shaking. Think death wobble, but instead of the tires it was the frame moving.
Can it be done? Sure. But should it? Not unless you are a skilled fabricator with access to welders, benders, plasma cutter, etc. For it to work properly, a cage or some type of frame reinforcement should be in place before you get to hacking. When guys chop tops on hot rods they weld in bars to keep the body square and take a lot of precaution. Granted, they're looking for a much higher quality job than what you probably are, but they're only dealing with a body, not a unibody.
The ZJ unibody is weak enough, don't make it worse. I thought it was a good idea at one point, but having run a ZJ like that myself I can tell you it's not.
But if you're gonna cut shit up anyways, post pics.
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Thank you. I will be using this as a trail rig more than likely and I have lots of tubing laying around. I realize how the rigidity would be compromised so I am going to weld in supports similar to a strut tower brace and then do a Wrangler style cage where I cut, plus the reinforced rear addition of cab behind rear seats. Should be suitable for beating on
A lot of the pics don't work anymore, but you can kinda get the idea of what I did here: http://mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthr...t-Red-Roof-Inn
Just seems like a lot of work for basically zero increase in the vehicle's capability. Especially if you're in the Pacific NW where it likes to rain a lot. That was one of the main reasons I put my roof back on, got sick of getting drenched and cold.
Thanks for the link... Yeah I'm kind of die hard about this idea. I've seen it and want to make it happen. I have several other daily drivers so this is the fun Jeep, if I do the cut and end up not liking it I can junk it and not worry, it would be a parts Jeep for the 5.9 or the 95.
I started to tear out the interior peices and will take pics tomorrow. Hatch is almost off and drawing plans to engineer structural ideas
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