Major Change of Plans!

Okay ... so it has been a long time since I took the time to sit down and write something. It isn't because I haven't been doing anything!  I took the seats and steering column and dash out of the CJ7. My plan was to do some serious welding work to get rid of all the rust.  First I took off the front fenders (which were shot) and the grille.  I had acquired some used fenders from a CJ5 in South Carolina (which would fit a CJ7) and I was going to refurbish the grille. I obviously took out the ignition components that are mounted to the inside of the right fender. I also took off the windshield which was NOT easy since all the bolts were rusted in place.  I was left with this ...

I then looked over the body really well and started cutting out all the rust spots.  I went through about 6 cutting wheels.  I had rust in so many places, that the Jeep started looking like Swiss Cheese with all the holes in it from where I had cut out rust.  I finally came to the conclusion that there was no saving this tub.  It would have to go. So then I started taking off the body bolts.  Wow!  I wasn't prepared for that fiasco!  The body bolt heads were covered by the floor of the floor of the Jeep and they were welded to keep them from turning. The trouble is, the rust had weakened the welds on 4 of the 8 bolts and they spun freely. I say that is "trouble" because there is no way to get to some of the bolt heads because they are covered by the floor of the Jeep. I just cut right through the metal ... but what if I had been saving the body instead of scrapping it?  If anyone has suggestions on how to remove stubborn or loose body bolts on a CJ5 or CJ7 please email me at projectjeep@yahoo.com.  So now the tub is off and it is basically a rolling chassis with the engine and tranny in it.  The 258 was running good so I don't plan to mess with it (although it is tempting because it is just sitting there).  I do want to rebuild the T-18A transmission because it is a great tranny with the granny gear.  It doesn't go into third gear easy though ... so I want to fix it while the Jeep is apart.