2 Sheet Metal Questions

I am doing a frame-off rebuild of my 72 Renegade. I am not worried about show quality, but I want it to look original.

First, I am looking for a good picture, or measurements, of a floor tunnel so I can repair what has rusted away on mine. Is this one a 72-74 only? I don't know anything about the early CJ sheet metal, did they have the same part?
Here is what is left of mine.


Second, how much difference is there in the rear floor of a 72 compared to a 76? I know that the riser area is different, but could a donor floor from a 76 be used in a 72 with some work to the front of it? Are the ribs the same? I know the front is very different.

 

1) Front floor panels are mostly the same through '74. I think at some point they started welding in the round master cylinder access hole, maybe other details. '75 is the same panels but all spot welded-in instead of bolted. Same steel through '75. '76 up is completely different.
2) Rear floors are different '76 up. Possible you could use the flat steel and ribs of the '76-up floor, but the frame mounts location and heights will be different. Even if the ribs were different, if the steel spans between the wheel houses, it should look mostly ok. Suggest you get your tape, make some measurements, find your donor and compare.

You can get replacement floors from Classic Enterprises, if you are willing to pay their price. Jeep Floor Panel with Supports - Rear - 1951-1975

Looks like they use the same picture for both -

 

So, is there a tunnel cover in a 70 CJ that would bolt into mine?

I also checked classic enterprises website. I was hoping someone would know the difference in the two so I don't have to drive an hour and a half to measure the donor floor.

 

Yes, the '70 tunnel cover will fit. I think you'll have to cover the small round transfer case shifter hole for the Dana 18, and enlarge the shifter clearance for the Dana 20 shifter. Might be easiest to graft on some of the '70 part to fix the rotted edges on yours. The 4-speed cover is different.

Sorry I don't have a later example to measure. I'd think all you need is length and width - the pictures show them to be (nearly?) identical. The parts book is no help. There are 15 or 16 different numbers for the CJ-5 rear floor, '74 to '80. This panel from Jeep would include the floor kick-up across the middle and the reinforcement across the rear. Looks like the part from Classic is just the floor.

 

Yeah, the floor riser is a separate part from Classic Enterprises, however, the floor does come with the 2 reinforcement bars already attached. I am hoping to find a tub that I can get multiple patches to repair my panels, as opposed to paying the hefty prices at CE.

It looks like the floor and the wheelhouses on the '76 and up models are different though, so I think I am stuck trying to find a '72-'75 tub, or buying new panels from CE. The entire floor in mine is shot, and the tail section is pretty bad. All the other body panels/pieces are in different levels of rust, but I think I can fix them.

 

The rear floor skin is close to the same with a brake and some flat sheet metal you can fab patches. Harbor freight has an inexpensive sheet metal brake that works decent.

 

I think that Jeff is suggesting that it's close enough you can make it fit. Just use the central part from the donor for the ribs and add/subtract a little steel around the edges to fit. Or move the reinforcing bars around. Likely that's different.

 

I am. the bars underneath may be in the same spot but the “pads” the mounts go on will not be the same.

 

Your '72 Renegade shares more common metal with the '71- earlier Kaiser models, and essentially none with the '76-later models. Though different, the center floorplate you posted is based on the earlier Kaiser part, just with more cut out for the D20 shifter/linkage for yours. If you got a new or good center floor plate from the early Jeeps, you could use your rusty original as a pattern to trim the new one to the correct shape. The '71- newer front floor shares the same embossing as yours. I believe there are replacement panels with the intermediate embossing pattern, if you are trying to stay true to original.
Many times its worth paying more for quality replacement panels that acually fit better and are made like the originals. Classic Enterprises are better than most, but they don't have a monopoly on better replacement parts.
-Donny