Rear gate and quarter panel damage?!?

[Irvan105]

Ok first off the site is great and very helpful. I'm 23 and always wanted a jeep and a diesel. Got my diesel last year(got it that order so could pull jeep) and now have found a jeep I'm married so everyone knows money can get in the way of toys so I'm doing like I usually do and buying something cheap and fixing it up. Found this one dirty dirty cheap so had to do it. No motor but good tranny and transfer. Buddy's got a 4.0 gonna put in it, but a little curious about the damage. Never worked on one of these but is the rear quarter one piece or ow does that work? Any ideas on gate? Just looking for suggestions as I should be picking it up tomorrow after work( 4-5 hour round trip after 12 hr shift outta be fun) thanks in advance everyone!!

[cantab27]

gates fiberglass ..few body experts on here..one will chime in

[4.3LXJ]

I see some bad things there bro. The tailgate is no biggie. Just replace it. But what concerns me is that the rear door will not shut all the way due to the whole side being pushed forward. I think its days as a street vehicle are at an end. The only way I think you could fix that is to find a donor and cut and weld in that part of the vehicle

[bigjim350]

I'm sure the floor and rear "frame" section are buckled and warped. So to fix it you would need to cut out the 1/4 panel skin, put the jeep on a frame rack to stretch it back out in that corner, then weld on a new skin. Lots of work but doable

Sent from my nerdy smartphone

[xjrev10]

Looks like a good parts vehicle.

[XJ Wheeler]

If the frame isn't tweaked you could always chop the back off. Several do this after rollovers. That way there's less to repair/replace and no worries of the hatch fitting anymore. Still sonera work to do after that but cuts down the chores.

[Irvan105]

Is there any write ups or how tos on this? I'm really hoping to just fix it, but from what I'm hearing on here it's not looking good

[XJ Wheeler]

Not really a right or wrong way, but a cage is pretty much necessary because these unibody jeeps like their structure.

[Irvan105]

Ok got it home and its about as bad as it looks, nothing just extreme, but didnt luck out with it being better than it looked. To be honest if i hadnt drove 2 hours to get it, prolly wouldnt have picked it up, but live and learn. This will be a good jeep to get going and see if i like wheelin for sure, then if i do i can sell this and start building heavy another one. My plan is to get it in the shop probably friday afternoon (with tractor) jack it up take wheels and tires off and start going through it piece by piece. Interior is in good shape, just real dirty.(figures since this is least i care about. Exterior body is almost flawless ecept for the known damage. Needs engine. Really want the 4.0 I6. Hoping to find one cheap so i can keep this project to a minimum on cost at first. If i get started and really like it im just gonna turn it into an all out offroad rig(i have no problem with that). I went and checked with a place or two and its for sure going to need the frame pulled. I DO NOT want to sink that much dough in it right now atleast. What are your alls reccomendations for cuts? Ive been reading ALL day and looking at pics and seen a few things, just trying to learn before i start hacking. And just for craps and giggles, what has been the most successful tool for cutting these. Thanks so much guys. Oh and BTW as soon as motor gets in ill have a cage for it all.

[4.3LXJ]

Well, with that damage you could use a competition cut and follow the top ridge all the way to the rear from the fender well. Just need to straigthen the frame then and chop the rear. If you were looking to make a strictly trail rig, then that would not be to bad and you could get rid of a lot of uglies