j2000 Build Up Finished - inside - Photo 27472206

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The finished cabin is super-comfy, quiet, and plush. It's gonna be hard to climb in after a greasy junkyard scrounge or after loading a mess of yard waste, but the vinyl seats will wipe clean, the ACC floormats will protect the carpet, and the BJ's Off-Road rear window and weatherstripping should keep the interior dry and cozy.

154 0908 01 z+j2000 build up finished+front view

154 0908 01 z+j2000 build up finished+front view

As a starting point, the interior really wasn't terribly bad. The previous owner had put a new interior in with custom door panels, somewhat-new carpet, a nice steering wheel, and new upholstery on the factory bench seat. The only bummer was the roof leaked through a botched CB antenna mount and water intrusion ruined the custom headliner and rotted out part of the carpet. Plus, the stock seat springs had all broken under the driver side.

In addition to the water damage, the door seal weatherstripping, window channels, and any other rubber component had dry-rotted, ripped, and cracked. BJ's Off-Road carries a full supply of weatherstripping and seals. The company sent new door seal weatherstripping, a new windshield gasket, and new door window wipes.

The door seal weatherstripping features a nice, steel core mounting channel and is a little longer than needed so you can trim it for a perfect fit. It's best to start the install from the center of the door opening under the sill trim piece so the seam is hidden. A small rubber mallet makes a nice installation tool that won't damage the new weatherstripping channel.

With no A/C and no tinted windows, the '68 was in dire need of some increased ventilation. The rear window glass is easily removed by pulling the weatherstripping insert and then gently pushing out the glass. This honkin' one-piece factory glass got the heave-ho for a BJ's Off-Road sliding rear window for '67-'88 J-trucks.

The door window wipes were also hammered, so fresh ones from BJ's went on like a glove. Although the new door seal weatherstripping required a hefty slam to shut the door (they break in after some use), the new windshield, door, and window seals went a long, long way in reducing the wind noise and quieting the truck when going down the highway.

Don't forget the small stuff. Check out the difference between the old, dingy interior light cover and the nice, new one from BJ's Off-Road. It's the little details like these that make a big difference in the appearance of your interior. Not to mention the fact that the interior light is much brighter at night with the new cover.

In addition to the tinted glass, which cuts down the interior temperatures, the BJ's Off-Road sliding rear J-truck window features a nice powdercoated frame and a locking latch that's easily operated while sitting in the driver seat. The difference in driving comfort on a hot day with the rear window open is unreal compared with the stuffy confines of the stock one-piece glass.

For seats, it's hard to do better than the price of these Smittybilt Contour Sport Seats in black vinyl and Smittybilt's stereo security console. Although the PN 49501 seats are designed to be a direct bolt-in to a CJ or YJ, adapting them to the factory J-truck bench brackets isn't too hard if you can weld.

Even though our old carpet was marginally acceptable, nothing revitalizes a vehicle's interior more than new carpet. BJ's Off-Road carries this replacement carpet and the associated padding made by Auto Custom Carpet. Given this vehicle's work truck nature, it was tempting to order BJ's rubber floormat instead of carpet, but the plush ACC carpet really takes the interior refresh to the next level.

Some seat tabs, some 1 1/4-inch square tube steel, a chop saw, and a welder is all that's required to mate the buckets to the factory bench brackets. You'll also need to obtain some 2-inch square stock to space the new seat frame cross bar high enough to clear the tranny tunnel.

Notice the square tube spacers under the bench seat mounts. Although it raises the seats 2 inches, the Smittybilt buckets aren't as thick as the stock bench seat, so even tall people should have enough headroom. The Smittybilt PN 31815 security stereo console is a great fit in the J-truck interior, allowing plenty of elbow and shifter room.

The finished cabin is super-comfy, quiet, and plush. It's gonna be hard to climb in after a greasy junkyard scrounge or after loading a mess of yard waste, but the vinyl seats will wipe clean, the ACC floormats will protect the carpet, and the BJ's Off-Road rear window and weatherstripping should keep the interior dry and cozy.