[idl]

Hello everyone,

I am wondering if anyone can recommend a body shop that has familiarity with Jeeps in NYC or surrounding areas (New Jersey, Long Island etc.). I want to have my CJ7 painted but am unsure whether it is worth painting or if I need to replace the tub. The body will need a fair amount of work prior to painting ( and I already did some floorboard and bondo work when i got it), and it may be cheaper to swap a fiberglass or yj tub. I dont know much about this and would like to speak to someone else besides maaco. Thank you in advance for any assistance.

 

[JimmyZ]

Well I'll give ya my $0.02. First off I'm not familiar with any body shops in your area. Sooo if the jeep is from NY area and has been driven in salt I would crawl under it and look at the frame. In particular at just in front of the rear axle, around the spring to frame mounts. That is where mine rotted. Also body mounts. No sense spending money on the body if you have to start by having the frame reinforced. If this is the case you'll need to find someone willing to weld it. A good body shop??? Ask around. Were people happy with the jobs done? I think a lot of body shops make their money on insurance work. I'm thinking this not your case. Some of the larger ones might not want take on your Jeep because of this. Is this your primary vehicle? Can you afford to let the shop work on it a little at a time? They might give you a price break if so. A smaller shop might be more willing to do this. As far as comparing the price of repairing the tub vs. replacing it....if you had to pay somebody to replace it I would think that would be a lot. It is very labor intensive to swap out metal for metal and even more so metal to fiberglass because of some fabbing and extra work. However the end product will last longer and look better. If you have a garage where you could do the work yourself, don't be afraid to go for it. It would be an easy project with help from here, a couple of aftermarket parts houses, and the tub's manufacturer. I threw on a couple diamond plate panels and slapped some bondo on mine. I'll do it again until it starts to be structurally unsound....that's when I'm getting an AJ's body. I wish you the best of luck with it and just keep in mind at all times.....it's a Jeep, most people just wouldn't understand.