Fiberglass Tubs

[bernidupa]

I am getting ready to pull my old steel body off my CJ 7 and replace it with a new fiberglass tub. I am looking for advice on who to get a tub from. If anyone has had experience with either a 4WD tub or quadratec's and has any advice/opinions on what is the best for durability or ease of instaltion it would help me make the decision of where to get it from.

[jeepcjers79]

I am getting ready to pull my old steel body off my CJ 7 and replace it with a new fiberglass tub. I am looking for advice on who to get a tub from. If anyone has had experience with either a 4WD tub or quadratec's and has any advice/opinions on what is the best for durability or ease of instaltion it would help me make the decision of where to get it from.[quote

I got mine from 4WD it's the best quality I've seen. Just follow their instructions and you won't have any problems. They have excellent tech help if you need it. Just make sure you get all your measurements for all the holes in the firewall off your orginal tub. The measurements must be taken from the outside edges of the tub. For example if a hole for the steering column is 10 inches from the edge of the orginal tub, it has to be the same distance on the new tub.
Good luck! Jeepcjers 79[/quote]

[LeadFoot]

The only down side to fiberglass is that it is less dent-resistant, and can cause some major carnage on a trail if you hit it up against a tree or a rock. I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just letting you know.

[jeeprrz]

On the other hand ; fiberglass will flex with the minor misshapps and the steel will dent!!!
Just to give you an unbrella. :g
If you can look for a tub with kevlar in the stress points.I hear that ones with wood in them will rot in time from where you mount the seat,rollbar.Maybe if you seal the holes when you mount them it would last longer?!

[habman]

I just installed one of 4WD's glass bodies on my 77 CJ-7 this summer, and the only problem that I ran into was this;

I lined the body up in the frame as detailed in the installation video, a must have item, but had a big problemwhen I went to install the grill. In the video they show the process using a glass grill, which is not longer available, and the stock steel grill ends up about and inch or some too far forward. I had to fab a mounting block to allow mounting the grill back far enough. This was a very simple piece to make. Basically just a block of steel that mounts at the factory hole on the front crossmember and extends rearward to provide a new mounting point for the grill.

Other than this small problem, everthing else was a breeze, including prepping and painting the new tub.

[Mugzilla]

Just make sure you are committed to this project! My dad & I started a cj5 1975 resto in 1985! (17 years ago!)

I am in the process of starting it up again! I now have the whole body installed. Now all I have to do is mount every little piece/part, drill more holes, make everything work, then tear it apart to paint it!

...If I could go back in time, I would've done a willys overland steel tub...

[SK]

One of the best things about 4WD is that they designed the body and for all tense and purposes are the manufacturer of their body. 4WD does not buy somebody else's body and resell it. And there are people at 4WD with a great amount of history and experience with their body.

The wood "rotting" thing could be a problem, I think it depends on the type of wood used and how the fiberglass sticks or absorbs into it.

There are going to be questions and small problems here or there with any large project like this, but I think the key is to buy the body from who you feel can best support and answer your questions and problems when they arise.