replacement tubs

have to replace the tub on my 75 cj5.(decided to restore it). just wondering what the best one is i do want to stay steel. thinking about replitub from willy's overland but will go with what is the best. dont think i'll lift this one has hd stack of springs stock. dont know how it rides yet.just rebuild the engine replace the body and away i'll go thanks doug

 

it would be great to go steel, just in case you want to go glass, i have a # for you.there is a guy over here that got a steel tub in toledo.i will get some info from him and send it over,he did his last summer

 

I like these guys. http://www.rigidsteel.com/

 

six of the seven that I have rebuilt I have gone glass. I said that the next one would be steel. I have always bought my bodys through www.4wd.com and I have compared several and they are the best. They also sell steel bodys for a good price almost everything they sell is quailty stuff.

 

I am in the same situation, and I was leaning towards the Willys-Overland Repli-Tub. The reason for this is because from what I understand, all the replacement tubs out there on the market (steel) are made by the same company in the Phillipines (I believe their name is M.D. Juan). There are several companies that distribute these bodies, but Willys-Overland takes care of the "problems" that these bodies come with before they sell them. They ensure the location of the mounting holes, repair faulty welds, repair inaccurate placement of bracing, install crush sleeves, and so forth. It does cost a little more through Willys-Overland, but they send you a body that is ready to bolt on, not one that needs all kinds of little "adjustments." For me this is great because I am not a welder/fabricator/body man. For others, tweaking the tub may be part of the challenge to them, but not me. Just my .02......

 

thats the same reason i'm interested in them. i could tweak/weld another one but my patience level is much lower than it used to be i'd end up with a dented tub from a sledge hammer lol.going to wait for the snow to melt before i do anything. thanks

 

I bought a replacement from willys-overland. Great people to work with.
The tub came with the mounting holes re-positioned and most of the firewall holes re-positioned. The tub bolted on with no problems. Steering column and foot pedels fit perfect. Steel is the same thickness as the original.
But, of course there were problems. The biggest of which was the "rough" condition of the panels. It took a lot of body work to smooth out the waves and spot welds. The dash had no holes cut out. The mounting hardware is very whimpy. I upsized all the mounting bolts. My original dash and hood are about 3/8" wider than the tub. It's hardly noticable now, but really sucked in putting it together. The dash mounting holes were out of alighnment by about 1/8". Most of you reading this can understand the problems that can present. Finally, the overall length of the tub is about 1/2" longer than the original, which made it difficult to install the front fenders.
All said and done, I'm satisfied with the results. But, If I had to do it again, I would salvage the original tub, cut out all the rust and patch it up.

 

Your best alternative (IMO) is an original 72-75 tub from a southwestern state. You should easily be able to find a tub in CA or AZ, and have it shipped to you, for the price of a replacement tub. It will require more time and leg work though. Check Scotty's in Fontana CA, J&W in Antelope CA, and there are probably Jeep/4WD yards in the Phoenix area too.

 

I have 2 questions regarding replacement tubs. (Not trying to Hijack here) 1. Are there really a plentiful amount of tubs available for the 72-75 years in the southwest? 2. Does the Repli-tub have the Jeep words embossed on the sides? If not do any of them have the the words embossed?

 

I don't know in general about other yards, but the last time I was at Scotty's they had 2 flattie tubs, maybe 5 or 6 CJ tubs on the ground of which I think 1 was early and 1 was intermediate, and another dozen or so CJs complete. They have lots of sheet metal, but I don't recall whether they had tubs in the racks or not.

No, AFAIK the replitubs do not come with the letters embossed in them.