4. In a little less than three...
4. In a little less than three hours the whole back half of Teal-J had been stripped clean of all aftermarket components. Also removed was the Poison Spyder Customs weld-in rollcage. The Brute kit requires a factory cage be used during the mock-up process to hold the body panels square once the frame and rear half of the tub is cut off. As you might imagine, we didn't have any trouble finding a donor's Jeep to trade cages with.
5. Because of the highly modified...
5. Because of the highly modified nature of Teal-J, the guys from DC Customs removed the gas tank, transmission, transfer case, rear Dana 60 axle, suspension components, and related frame brackets. The frame was cleaned up where the rear suspension brackets used to be by DC's main fab guy Danny Howe, even though AEV's directions don't call for it.
6. Each of the rear-most body...
6. Each of the rear-most body mounts had to be removed from the frame before the mid-frame extension jigs could be C-clamped to the frame.
7. Once both framerails were...
7. Once both framerails were smoothed and ready, the supplied mid-frame extension jigs were clamped in place. Several measurements were taken at this point to ensure accuracy, then lines were drawn and small indents placed where holes were to be drilled.
8. No turning back now. The...
8. No turning back now. The kit includes detailed instructions about cutting the rear half of the tub. As one might imagine, we were very nervous as this step of the process began.
9. This shot shows where the...
9. This shot shows where the inside of the tub is cut.
10. Here you can see the back...
10. Here you can see the back half of Teal's tub as it was removed from the Jeep forever. We suspect somebody out there might like to make a Jeep trailer out of this section. Any takers?
11. The next part of the process...
11. The next part of the process requires that each spot-weld is drilled out between the inner and outer portion of the body from about the center of the door and the rear of the cut-in-half tub. A cut is required to remove the outer sheetmetal from the inner section as shown here.
12. Next, both framerails...
12. Next, both framerails were cut per the marks made when the frame jigs were clamped earlier. Dustin made sure to double-check the measurements before cutting began.
13. Once all cutting was finished, this is what we were left with. At this point our beloved Teal-J was going to become a Brute, no excuses. We left Ukiah headed for Los Angeles excited to share the process with our co-workers. Up to this point it had only been seen by AEV employees.
* Mid-frame extensions (24-inch)
* Cab closeout (assembled)
* Rear-frame extension with winch mount
* All 14-gauge-steel bed assembly with tailgate
* Brute hardtop (assembled)
* Glass for hardtop
* CNC-bent fuel and brake lines
* Body mounts (2)
* All necessary hardware and decals
* Detailed instructions
AEV operates out of two facilities comprising more than 25,000 square feet of Jeep-building heaven. One 6,000-square-foot facility is located in Missoula, Montana, and houses AEV's design center, prototype, and development operations, as well as various other consumer-related services. Another 20,000-square-foot facility in Detroit serves as its warehouse, distribution center, and primary Jeep conversion center. AEV is one of a handful of privately-owned companies that have captured the attention of Chrysler's product planning team as well as just about every related enthusiast media operation in the industry. AEV is the only aftermarket company with an emphasis on four-wheelers that manufactures products with high-grade sheetmetal-stamping technology. They have already received four DaimlerChrysler Design Excellence awards and have built no less than eight Corporate Image Vehicles for Chrysler since 1997. The Brute Concept was entirely conceived by AEV in 2002 and nearly went into production with Jeep but was nixed at the last minute when the Unlimited (LJ) went into production instead. AEV can ship out the Brute conversion as a kit (like ours) or if you have the money, fully converted Brutes are available turnkey and built to spec by AEV.
We'll show you the next phase of the conversion process along with a ton of trick and custom goodies we used to assemble our Brute Pickup. Stay tuned!