Please guys, I'm needing to make a decision here, and I'm sure there is a wealth of information and opinion on this list about the best body for a CJ. I suspect that we will end up with Fiberglass, but even that's not decided for sure yet. And if we do go fiberglass, is it worth paying Shell Valley prices or is JC whitney good enough? We won't be doing much rock crawling, and plan on staying with the original 6 for now. It's a 1976 CJ7 which I've owned since new, and I'm sort of attached to the old girl. How about front ends body parts? I'm leaning towards a one piece. Are there advantages? Problems? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Jim

For me steel is much easier to work with. When I hit something it just might dent a little. I have seen fiberglass messes on vehicles. But then again I live in So cal, if you live in the rust belt, you might feel differently. Dan

Cool I like the picture of the ford ranger on the lift and the frame folded in half in the middle due to rust.

I've built three fiberglass jeeps and live in Buffalo New York. Fiberglass has pluses and minuses PLuses Easy to repair and manipulate NO RUST!!!! NO RUST!!!! Minuses IT will not fit right, it will fit put not perfectly and not without some adjusting I've seen the expensive downs bodies, jc whitney, Shellvalley, ect and they never seem to fit right. also fiberglass has a tendancy to loose it's shape from siting over a period of time. IT will spider crack easily. This has no direct effect if installed correctly, but will not look the best. No body electrical ground Tuff to get panels straight with out waves or distortions Your going to want nerf bars. Fiberglass with no structural support will not absorb side impacts well enough for my liking. The jeep bodies I did I reinforced with plywood and resined everything in to make it stronger. Really makes a difference. If you go with a one piece nose I recommend against the tilt forward idea. I did it and hated it when trying to work on anything in the front of the engine, where mostly everything sits. I ended up putting the factory hinges in place and used it that way. These are just some quick thoughts in between work so if you have any other questions give a hollar. Tim PS I do not have spell check on this email editer

Jim, When I first did my CJ, I decided to go fiberglass for very much the reasons you are. (Ohio winters with lotsa road salt = rust, rust and more rust) I don't know much about Shell Valley but I would defiantly not use a JCW body, the ones I've seen were not the best quality. I went with the recommendations of quite a few people and bought mine from 4 Wheel drive Hardware, take a look at them. www.4wd.com  I have rolled it on the expressway and put it on its side during a trail run, it cracked but was easy to repair. As for the front clip, I know I wanted to keep it all steel, a friend of mine had the fiberglass 1 piece and is now changing it because of the fit. You can still go fiberglass, but I would buy the fenders, grill and hood all seperate.
Hope that helps a little   Jon "Twystd"
Jim <hultman@rea-alp.com> wrote: Please guys, I'm needing to make a decision here, and I'm sure there is
a wealth of information and opinion on this list about the best body
for a CJ.

I suspect that we will end up with Fiberglass, but even that's not
decided for sure yet.  And if we do go fiberglass, is it worth paying
Shell Valley prices or is JC whitney good enough?

We won't be doing much rock crawling, and plan on staying with the
original 6 for now.  It's a 1976 CJ7 which I've owned since new, and
I'm sort of attached to the old girl.

How about front ends body parts?  I'm leaning towards a one piece.  
Are there advantages?  Problems?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Jim

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I'd go with Aluminum, it?s just about as easy to repair as steel doesn't rust like steel but will oxidize a little. Light weight and will dent not crack. And frankly looks really cool when you just clear coat them. Just my $.02! Tom >

I'd go with Aluminum, it?s just about as easy to repair as steel doesn't rust like steel but will oxidize a little. Light weight and will dent not crack. And frankly looks really cool when you just clear coat them. Just my $.02! Tom >

Another con that I have heard about the fiberglass body. From what I have read, a fiberglass body will not hold the weight of a hard top unless it is reinforced. Depending on where you live a hard top may be a necessity. Can anyone else confirm this?