Removing the Tub -- The Willys is naked!

If you've been following along, you know that the body had been sitting on the frame for a short time.  So, I asked a couple of guys to come over to lend me a hand getting it off. It was a lot lighter than I thought it would be. Three of us had no issues lifting it up and putting it on my 4x8 utility trailer.  I was going to put it on saw horses, but I liked the ability to be able to move the whole mess around.

Prior to loading

Last time together for a while

Thanks, guys!

M.C. Escher Jeep? (thanks, JP)

Normally, I would give a few beers to the guys for helping, but since it was 10am, and neither guy drinks beer, I got away cheap.  I owe one of my Uncle Terry's soon-to-be-infamous Whiskey Sours to Unvy, though, and some Postum (yuck) to JP. 

Anyway, it went very smoothly, other than a missed wire to the taillights which we discovered before trying to move the body.  You can tilt up each corner and with a helper, determine if there are going to be any bind points or things still connected.  The wrong time to find out that you are still attached is when you have the body lifted three feet above the frame!

Here are some shots of the "rolling" chassis.  "Rolling" is in quotes, because I still have the front wheels off, the results of my attempted brake job.  More on that later.  The access to the components is amazing, and it should be a pleasure replacing parts as needed now.  This is how the Jeeps were assembled in the factory -- as a complete, rolling chassis.  The body was added near the end of the assembly line.

From the rear

Easy access to everything, including the MC

Engine, transmission, and Transfer Case Access

Transfer case with PTO.  Note E-Brake built-in

 Thirty-five-year-old farm crud (tm)

 As you can see, reaching where I need to in order to rebuild component systems will be much easier without the body.  What is obvious now, though, is that I need to get this thing cleaned.  The Jeep is pretty cruddy, as I neglected the first step in a normal Jeep rebuild -- the power wash.  The crud keeps falling into my face when I'm underneath it, and since I want to repaint the frame, I am going to have to get this thing washed.  More on what I did about that later...