Wanted: J-truck 'Brow' Panel

[KenoshaKoos]

Does anyone have a J-truck cab that is smashed, rusted, or otherwise unfixable? I'm looking for the 'brow' panel (Part # 957 423) but would hate to sacrifice a usable cab to get one...

[Heep-J4000]

I'm not a negative person at all ,but good luck with finding a brow panel in good useable condition!

I just did replace the complete roof section of my 73' j4000 this weekend.(made it fit and test fitted it a dozen times last weekend)
I got a replacement roof last year from Levelhead in Canada after looking and asking for a couple months.
The brow panel of that can was also rusted out on both sides.
I did know that before purchasing it , so no bad words at all!
It was in way better condition than my own roof.
I was kind of lucky because the only piece of the original j4000 roof that was not crusty was the brow panel , so i re-used that on the donor roof section.

Your best option is to make a couple pieces from sheet metal with a hammer and dolly and weld it in place.
That was my first idea also , but decided to re-use the piece from the original roof!

Making a couple new pieces from start is almost the same time consuming as removing and re-using a original brow panel because the sheet metal is different from any jeep or j-series truck.

I don't know if you already started on your cab , but you probably going to find way more rust and crusty sheet metal than you hoped for!

Kaiserjeeps and Herk on this forum did have some j-serie cabs or cab sections when I was looking for a complete donor cab roof.
So maybe they still have some and have what you need!?

Another option would be asking around on Facebook on one of the many full-size jeep areas or give a call to Watson and sons
They did have a couple j-series cabs when I asked.
But you have to organise your own shipping for the parts.

[Heep-J4000]

Later on I thought about making a new brow panel with the help of a template.

Make a template from a strong piece of wood in the exact model of the brow panel.
Cut some not all to heavy sheet metal a bit wider all around and clamp it on each other with woodworking clamps and hammer the surrounding edge in model around the wooden template.
It probably needs some fine-tuning but could help you in the right direction.

I once made a front splitter from sheet metal this way for my brother's Volkswagen rabbit mk1

[KenoshaKoos]

Re: Brow Panel

Making a template has been my plan, but due to the compound curves this has proven to be...complicated. My wife suggested using some 'thick tinfoil' that I could press into the opening to make a rigid template; I may try that.

Ultimately it would be better to melt the seam sealer at the top and remove the current panel, repair it, and reattach it...but I'm afraid of what I'm going to find underneath.

I'm concerned that the bottom mounting surface (which appears to also be the 'surround' for the windshield gasket) is going to be so compromised that I'm going to have to pull the windshield. The parts book is a bit vague on how this goes together; was there some sort of tab on the bottom of the outer panel that was spot welded to the windshield surround?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hQi...usp=share_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rgC...usp=share_link

[Heep-J4000]

Yes everything is spot welded also ,so removing it and keeping things in good shape is time consuming.
And yes the underside of the brow panel is longer and forms a edge for the windshield rubber to seat behind!
If you start working on the repair it's a must to remove the windshield!
That is not that difficult to do , but it's important to take your time with it and make sure that the windshield rubber is not sticking to the metal and window all around.
And the windshield goes out the lower part of the rubber first!
It works best with a couple wooden jigs to put in between the rubber and with two people.

[threepiece]

I have several J Truck roofs here in the Detroit area. already cut off, both brow and brow less.

[threepiece]

Also I have a method of removing the windshield that takes less than 15 minutes, offers little to no chance of breakage, does not sacrifice the gasket, uses tools that cost little or nothing to procure and does not strain an old body.

Let me know if you want more details.

[KenoshaKoos]

RE: Three Piece

Sent you a PM...I would definitely be interested!