Installation Instructions and Suggestions For Jeep YJ Fiberglass Replacement Bodies Getting started with the removal of your existing Jeep body. Trust nothing to memory; take photos of everything at different angles. Pay close attention to the electrical wiring. Mark every plug-in connector that you remove and disconnect. Mark the location of any component that is bolted to the firewall, fenders and grill. Photos will help you get these components properly positioned when you reassemble. Do not discard the old body. You will need to make templates of existing holes in the firewall and then transfer these to the fiberglass body. Bag and mark bolts that you remove (some bolts will break when you try to remove them). We suggest that you replace all the bolts using grade 5 or grade 8 fasteners. The fiberglass body is thicker than the steel body and adjustments will have to be made to compensate for the extra thickness. If you make a mistake don t worry because fiberglass is relatively easy to repair. There may be subtle changes made by the factory for each of the years. We make a body tub that will work for all of the years. Some of the holes may not be exact and you may have to elongate a hole or two to make your parts fit properly. We have placed steel plates in the critical areas of the body, which will help you when bolting your body to the frame mounts. We have placed steel plates in the critical areas of the body for mounting of the hinges. You can drill and tap most of the hinge bolts and then back them up with a nut if necessary. Drain the radiator. While it s draining, remove the hood. Take pictures of the engine compartment area. Disconnect and remove the battery. Remove everything that bolts to the inner fender. Try to keep the wiring components in tact. Remove the strut rods fastened from the cowl to the grill. DO NOT remove the grill at this time. Remove the fender braces and battery tray then remove the fenders. Remove the heater hoses at the firewall and unplug the heater wire from the heater motor. Tag and mark all wiring removed. Remove all components bolted to the firewall (remember to take photo s) Remove the doors and the hardtop or soft-top. Remove the seats and seat belts. Remove the bolts from the roll bar at the windshield frame, remove the other roll bar bolts then remove the roll bar from the vehicle. Disconnect the plug to the wiper motor, and then remove the windshield frame. Removal of the steering column: Remove the steering column retainer and gasket that bolts to the firewall. Disconnect the brake and or clutch rods from the pedals, unbolt the master cylinder and swing it over and secure to the engine, do the same to the hydraulic clutch. Unplug the brake pedal relay switch. The steering column bolts to the swing pedal assembly, the steering shaft has a bolt holding it together at the steering knuckle. Remove the bolt holding the shaft at the knuckle. Disconnect the wiring attached to the column before trying to remove the column. With help remove the steering column; it may be necessary to tap on the knuckle while pulling the steering column. When free remove it from the vehicle. Remove the heater control cables from the heater. Remove the bulkhead wiring connector from the firewall; make sure you disconnect the outside connector. Remove the padded dash. Remove the heater defrost duct from the heater and dash. Remove the radio antenna cable from the radio. Remove the wire connector to the emergency brake pedal. Remove all the screws holding the dash in place, and then remove the dash as a unit leaving all wiring in tact.
Remove the emergency brake pedal assembly. Depress the emergency brake and clamp the cable using vise grip pliers. Release the emergency brake and remove the cable from the rear of the pedal assembly. Release the vise grips, the cable will return to its normal position. Then remove the pedal assembly by unbolting it from the firewall and side-mounting tab. You must push the rubber grommet attached to the e-brake cable through the hole in the floor Releasing it from the body tub. Remove the accelerator cable from the gas pedal assembly, squeeze the nylon ends and push the cable through the firewall. Remove the gas pedal. Remove the transmission and transfer case boots then remove the transmission cover. Remove the screws holding the rear wiring harness and lay the cable in the back of the jeep. You will remove this rear harness after the body is removed from the frame. Remove the rear brake lights and the license plate bracket. Be careful, as the license plate bracket is spring loaded. Remove the spare tire and the spare tire support from the tailgate. Remove the tailgate and the tailgate latch mechanism. The only thing left should be the body mounts. The bolts holding the body will probably break when you try to remove them. If you have an impact wrench, my suggestion is to try tightening the bolts then reverse and try to loosen them. If you do not have air tools then try to break these using a breaker bar. Once everything is removed from the body, you are ready to remove the tub from the frame. You will need help; four people will be enough to lift the body from the frame. Do not discard the body, as you will need it to take measurements and templates. Remove the VIN tag from the firewall by drilling the pop rivets holding it in place. SAVE THIS TAG You will need to put it on the fiberglass jeep in the same approx. location. Clean the frame; check all brake lines and gas lines. It will be easy to replace these while the body is off the frame. If you have mechanical work to be done do this at this time. Installation of the Fiberglass body: Using you transmission cover as a template, place the cover over the tunnel. Follow the dimensions in photo 1 for placement of the cover. Draw a line around the cover with a magic marker. Allow approximately 1 from this line and mark another line on the inside of the existing line. Cutout the inside hole using a saber saw. You are now ready to place the body tub on the frame. With help lift and place the body on the frame. Place your body mounting material between the body and the frame mounts. Measure from the top of the frame mount to the bottom of the body at each body mount. Allow 1/4 more for the thickness of the body mounting rubber. Measure from the frame to the outside of the body at the front and rear. When you are satisfied that you have the body dimensions correct also check front to back, by measuring from a common point in both the front and back of the vehicle. Center and drill from the bottom of the body mounts first using a ¼ drill bit then a 15/32 drill bit. Check your dimensions making sure the body has not moved. Repeat this process on the other side of the body. 2
Drill one hole in the front then one hole in the rear this should keep the body from moving when you drill the remaining holes. Measure from the top of the frame mount to the bottom of the body at each body mount. Allow 1/4 more for the thickness of the body mounting rubber. The factory body rubber mounts varied in thickness, and so will your new body mounting rubber. When bolting the body in position use 7/16 - bolts Grade 5 or Grade 8 with fender washers with nylok hex nuts. With the body bolted in position you can now proceed with the installation of all the parts that you removed. Find the center of the cowl and mark using a straight edge. Using the measurements provided from (Photo 1) layout the hole for the cowl air vent. Measure the width on the air vent hole mark with a magic marker. Measure the hole in your existing body cowl section and transfer these to the fiberglass body. The heater box will have to be taken apart to allow you access to the studs that hold the heater to the firewall. These studs must be removed and new studs 3/8 longer will have to be put into the heater box. Carriage bolts will work very well for this. Tack weld the new studs to the heater box. Re-assemble the heater. Using (Photo 2) measure and mark the centerlines of the heater box holes. Drill and cutout holes as shown using drill bits or hole saws. One mounting stud is not measured you will have to mark this from the inside of the jeep and drill accordingly. Place the heater in the jeep and fasten temporarily. You may need to elongate some holes in order to get this to fit properly. Put the air vent box in position and mark from the inside the water drain hole. This hole will be oblong. We suggest that you use a hole saw and cut-out starting at the top then using a die grinder, oblong the hole until the air box fits properly under the cowl. Measure and mark the holes for the battery tray. Do not drill the holes at this time. The heater must be removed before drilling the battery tray holes. The battery tray will have to be bolted with the heads of the bolts inside the vehicle and the hex nuts and washers on the outside. Place the heater defroster duct in place as shown in Photo 3 and secure by drilling and screwing the duct to the dash cowl section. Using the steel plate in your firewall as a template cut out holes in the firewall for your Bulkhead electrical connector, swing pedals and gas pedal. The swing pedal bracket will have to be altered because of the thickness of the fiberglass. You will have to shorten the swing pedal bracket see (Photo 4) and lengthen the brake master cylinder rod. Place the gas pedal on the inside firewall you will see an indent for the square hole this will have to be drilled so the throttle cable will go through. The fiberglass is too thick at this point to attach the cable directly to the floor. We suggest that you fabricate a plate with a square hole to hold the throttle cable. The plate can be bolted to the firewall. You will have to drill two ¼ holes to hold the bulkhead connector to the firewall. Position mark and drill two holes for the emergency brake pedal. Using the old steel body measure and mark the location of the emergency brake cable hole in the floor. Run the cable under the floor and into the hole, secure with the rubber grommet that came with the cable. Measure and mark all other parts that fasten to the firewall drill and bolt these parts to the firewall. The photos that you took will be very helpful in locating the approximate location of the parts. If you are painting the body, we suggest that you install everything on the body. You will be removing these parts before painting. You should also bag and tag all parts with bolts attached to make re-assembly easier. Once you have all the firewall holes transferred proceed with installing your front fenders, hood and grille. First position the grill but do not tighten in place. Fasten the hood to the cowl check that you have equal spacing from side to side. Position one fender in place at a time. Transfer and mark the mounting holes from the fender to the body cowl, remove the fender and drill the holes in the cowl. Align the fender with the hood and grille. Bolt the fender in place, you will have to transfer the mounting holes from the grille to the front of the fender, drill the fender and then mount it to the grill. Repeat this process for the other front fender. 3
Position your hood catches mark drill and mount these in place. You can get approximate dimensions from your steel fenders. Remove the hood so that you can get access to the inner fender. You will have to mount the overflow plastic bottle and your squirter bottle on the passenger fender. You will also mount the horn and air filter box. Again rely on the photographs that you took to get approximate location of these parts. The Jack and battery tray support mounts to the passenger fender. See Photo s 5,6,& 7. We have put nutcerts in the body to attach the dash, Mount and bolt the dash using the screws and bolts from your body. We do recommend that you use new bolts and screws if possible in all applications. Using the old body tub measure the location of your antenna transfer these holes to the glass body and then mount the antenna. Place the steering column in place and bolt to the swing pedal bracket and firewall. The steering column has a splined end that attaches to the steering shaft both parts have a flat area where a bolt secures the two pieces. Make sure that you have this in alignment. You have an upper and lower steering support brackets that hold the column in the center of the firewall hole, put these in position and mount to the firewall. See (Photo 8). Place the roll bar in position center it inside the body, mark and drill all mounting holes. The front mounting bracket may have to be altered because of the fiberglass thickness. Bolt the roll bar in place using Grade 8 bolts And Nylok hex nuts. Reinforce the underside of the body against the fiberglass with steel plates. Measure your steel body location for the seat brackets, transfer these to the fiberglass. Before drilling place the seat in the vehicle and check the location of the holes. If they are correct then drill the holes then fasten to the floor using Grade 8 Bolts. Use steel plates where possible to reinforce the seat bolts or large fender washers. Measure the steel body location for the rear seat brackets, transfer these to the fiberglass. Check to see if they are correct then bolt the rear seat in place. Measure the steel body location for the tailgate hinges, transfer these to fiberglass body. With the hinges bolted to the tailgate, put the tailgate in place check the location if correct drill using a ¼ drill then tap with a 5/16-18 NC tap. And bolt the tailgate in place. The tailgate latch mechanism will have to altered because of the fiberglass thickness. Position the factory mechanism and make the necessary alterations to make this fit. Bolt the bracket in place adjust the stricker pin to suit the fiberglass. Measure the steel body for the location of the gas filler and the taillights. Transfer these to the fiberglass, drill and cut out holes. Mount the taillights and gas filler. The windshield supports from the roll bar to the windshield will have to put in place. Set the windshield on the cowl with the cowl rubber in place. Bolt the windshield frame to the support bars. Place the windshield hinges in place on the windshield frame hold them tightly on the body. Mark the mounting holes with a magic marker, Keep down tension on the windshield frame so that the rubber between the cowl and windshield somewhat compresses the rubber. If you are using a hardtop you can put it on the jeep and also use it for alignment of the windshield hinges. Drill the marked holes with a ¼ drill bit and tap using a 5/16-18 NC tap. This is very critical so make sure of the fit before drilling. Locate and fasten the interior windshield brackets to the w/s frame and dash. With the windshield frame fastened correctly you can proceed in installing the doors. 4
The upper windshield door pivot must be aligned with the lower door hinge. With help you can hang the door on the upper hinge and make sure the door fits the door opening. Slide the lower door hinge in place on the lower door hinge mark the locating holes. Remove the door and then drill the two holes. Fasten the lower door hinge to the body. There is a backup bracket and door strap bracket that fastens on the inside of the body. With help hang the door and make sure it fits into the opening with equal clearance around the door. The door hinges are adjustable, and you may have to adjust the door hinges to get the door to fit perfectly. Once you have achieved this you can mark a centerline on the body where the stricker should be. There is a steel plate in the body for the stricker pin. Try to be as accurate as possible. You probably will have to elongate this hole to get the door to latch properly. Place the backup latch plate over the nut of the stricker pin mark and drill the two holes. Fasten the latch plate to the fiberglass to keep the pin from moving See photo Position the hardtop on the body Make sure you have good equal clearance around the door. The door rubber must be in contact with the door to avoid leaks from wind and rain. If all looks good bolt the hardtop to the body and windshield frame. Check the fit of the tailgate with the glass hardtop liftgate again make sure the glass seals against the rubber molding. If you are going to paint your jeep, you must sand the white gel coat. It would be easier to take the Jeep apart to do this. You must sand every nock and corner in order to get paint to stick to the gel coat. Remove any items that are bolted to the outside surface or any item that may interfere with the painting process. Use a 280-320 grit sand paper and sand every corner of every part to be painted. Make sure everything is well sanded then clean and remove all dust. Wipe clean with a wax and grease remover. Primer all parts using a good primer made for fiberglass. Wet sand all parts after priming then clean again. Paint using any type of enamel or lacquer. Once the paint has dried reassemble the parts. Grounding: Fiberglass is not a ground and additional ground wires will have to be installed as needed. You can purchase a ground BUSS BAR from any local electrical supply house. You ask what is a buss bar? To better explain what this is, look inside your main electric box of your house. You will see a group of terminals on the right with white and copper wires attached to it. This is a buss bar. You can purchase on with eight terminals. Take one 12 Gauge wire from the battery to the buss bar, then run one lead from the buss bar to any component that needs a ground. For example: Take one lead from the buss bar to the dash. This will ground everything attached to the dash. Follow this procedure for anything that needs grounded. If something electrical does not work the first thing to look for is a ground. We did not explain every detail of dissemble or reassembly for every component. We have given you generalities to help you through the process. If you have any questions or are unsure of something we are a phone call away at 330-549-2235 Tech support. Thank you for purchasing your Kentrol Product. 5