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Narrowed front fascia

Jeff 98XJ WI

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Butternut, WI
Well, I cut four grill sections out and then cut the fascia to match. I cut 15" out. Here's what I've got for now. Any suggestions for fiberglassing the fascia back together? I really don't know fiberglass or body work for that matter. BTW, I plan to hack more off this by the headlight pockets. I've got visions of tubing in the corners.

P3080095.jpg
 
I'd use a fiber/resin composite (rough) product and perforated sheet metal (galvanized), on the back side. A few pop rivets to hold everything together, kind of a sandwich. Smear it on there fairly thick wherever possible.

http://www.mcnichols.com/products/perforated/round/roundhole/

You can even use 1/4" steel rod for stiffening and glass that in there also.
 
Are you still going to have room for the big radiator?

I'm thinking about bed mounting mine. I'm just trying to figure out how and where to bun the plumbing.

I do like the narrowed nose. I would think about doing it but mine will spend much more time on the road. I'm not sure if it would be legal???
 
WTF said:
very nice work! I can't wait to see how it turns out!

This is on my long list of projects to do in the future.


I'm sure you already have seen this but here's another narrowed grill execution, to collect ideas/ inspiration from.:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50663&highlight=narrowed


I've got those pics on my hard drive already! :) I hadn't seen that thread though. I didn't know what bigwoodys dimensions were either. He took 12" out and I took 15". The grill I have is different than his too...and I have two of them, so if I break one, I've got another to play with. :) The grill has 10 sections which are narrower than his. I am planning on running a more squarish radiator that fits between the frame rails, so I guess I can go a little narrower. I have a few pics of a black MJ with a narrowed front fascia and dovetailed long bed but I really don't care for the look. I think perhaps he went too narrow for my tastes. I wonder if it is AZXJ's. I guess we'll see how mine turns out in awhile. I hope to keep the top of the fascia and the top portion of the fenders, but run tube below kind of like the california clan has been doing. Jeff
 
How do you plan on reworking the inner fender wells?



Are you going to narrow the entire fender, or just half like the above?
 
Starboard M said:
How do you plan on reworking the inner fender wells?



Are you going to narrow the entire fender, or just half like the above?

I hope to narrow the fender from the firewall forward. I have no idea on how I'm going to redo the inner fenderwell. I know I want it closed in but I don't know how I'm going to do it. Another small item concerning the inner fender well is that the drivers side needs to be notched in the front area to clear the WJ steering box. That was one that snuck up on me. Looks like I also have to notch the bottom of the 2x6 I welded in the front because the WJ box won't clear the top AND bottom. One or the other, but not both. I think I'll be cutting the inner fender loose, moving the whole thing in and then trying to patch it back together nicely. Good luck, eh? I've got to incorporate coilover mounts in there too. :eek: Jeff
 
I've slowly been narrowing the front of mine. I took 9" out of the grill and hood. These are old shots, it's a little skinnier now.

Skinny2-1.jpg


100-0002_IMG.jpg


I finally have the inner fenders sectioned as well. I cut triangular sections out of each inner and pushed the outer vertical section in. Afterwards, I made patch panels to try to keep some of the structural integrity(no current pics, but I can snap some). Now I just need to finish the hood and get the fenders back on.

Glassing the front fascia will probably be the easiest part of the project.

-Jon
 
Jeff 98XJ WI said:
Did you see what his fenders looked like after awhile?! Actually, he kind of destroyed the whole rig! I guess that's why he's running a full on buggy now. Jeff


Yes I did. There is a pretty good sequence of photos showing the roll that did him in.

It does look like a legal way to narrow the front end. I'm seriously thinking about moving my radiator to the bed. These photos might have just made my mind up for me.

I thought you might like to see his 1/4 eliptical rear suspension. That is what you have planed isn't it?
 
Kaczman said:
I've slowly been narrowing the front of mine. I took 9" out of the grill and hood. These are old shots, it's a little skinnier now.

Skinny2-1.jpg


I finally have the inner fenders sectioned as well. I cut triangular sections out of each inner and pushed the outer vertical section in. Afterwards, I made patch panels to try to keep some of the structural integrity(no current pics, but I can snap some). Now I just need to finish the hood and get the fenders back on.

Glassing the front fascia will probably be the easiest part of the project.

-Jon

Jeff would be interested in seeing more pictures and so would I.

Thanks
 
That looks like a job well done.

I'll be waiting for some more pictures with different views.

Keep up the good work.
 
Kaczman said:
Here's a shot of the inner before I cleaned it up.

100-0022_IMG.jpg


I'll get some other views this week.
It looks like you just took a wedge out of the inner fender and then just pushed it in?


How the hell did you cut the hood? Im having a very hard time figuring out how you did your cuts while still keeping the ends strait. :confused1
 
It looks like you just took a wedge out of the inner fender and then just pushed it in?

Yup.

Starboard M said:
How the hell did you cut the hood? Im having a very hard time figuring out how you did your cuts while still keeping the ends strait. :confused1

A steady hand and a lot of beers :)

I also cut wedges out of the hood. I spent a ton of time measuring to determine where the cuts needed to be in order for the outer sections to line up with the center and still have the body lines match to fascia. The rear of the hood is the stock width, but the front is 9" narrower. The front and rear outer portionf of the hood don't line up with the cowl or fascia, but I'll cut and patch smaller sections to fix the lines.


-Jon
 
Kaczman said:
Here's a shot of the inner before I cleaned it up.

100-0022_IMG.jpg


I'll get some other views this week.


That's fuggly!

(we need flip off smiley's) :D




You guys are committing to some serious, tedius work to narrow the fronts that much and still keep the sheetmetal intact. Kudos to you for the efforts.


How about those rear D60's you two are working on?
 
I shaved and plated the housing, and just got the shaved ring gear back from the shop. It has 3/8" more clearance than my 44. Gears are going in this week, and the brackets and truss should be done by next week. It's getting close. Then, I can finally get back to making it pretty. :) The way I drive it might stay that way for at least an hour.
 
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