A reader named Robert in Wisconsin has provided some pictures of a CJ-2A collection he has put together.  For me, this brought back memories of living in Wisconsin.   In fact, the reason I sold my first jeep was to fund a move to Wisconsin back in 1992.  I knew I couldn’t haul it around and keep it maintained, so I figured it was time to let it go.  I called Wisconsin home for two years and have plenty of fond memories of the Dane County Farmer’s Market, Old World Wisconsin, 40 below temperatures (brrrrr) and the birth of my first son.

Robert has been kind enough to share a number of stories and pictures below.  Many Thanks!  BTW, to the right is the way a garage should look!

#1 – 1946 CJ2A (tan)

I got interested in CJ2As after buying a 1969 Series IIA Land Rover a couple years ago (ed note:  shown at the bottom of the post).  I had always wanted a Series 109 Rover and had convinced my wife that I needed one for my beekeeping hobby.  We had been hauling beehives and honey around in her mini van and she’d had enough of the sticky mess and ticked off bees that got stuck in her van.  With her blessing I located a Rover for sale in Minnesota and dragged it home.  I really enjoyed the Rover and put it to good use, but found it was way too big for the garage.  Also, it was right-hand-drive and it made me feel like I was driving in the ditch all the time.  After awhile, I started looking for something a bit smaller that I could still use for the bee hobby.  That’s when I noticed a nice looking 1946 CJ2A on ebay.  I bid on it and won.   The previous owner had done a really nice restoration and equipped it with a vintage Western snowplow.  I never thought I’d need a plow, but it actually ended up coming in handy with all the snow we got that winter.  I’m convinced the plow saved my back from shoveling.  This is the tan jeep with the soft top shown with my dog.

#2 – 1948 CJ2A (light blue)

I envied the previous owner’s ability to restore the 1946 CJ2A and I started thinking it would be a fun project.  So, I kept an eye out for a project jeep.   It didn’t take long when an article appeared in our local newspaper (Wisconsin State Journal) about a vacation resort in Eagle River.  The article included a photo showing some resort guests – a mother and her young daughter- sitting on the hood of a CJ2A in the middle of the woods!  The jeep looked to be in pretty good shape from what the photo showed.   So, I got the phone number for the resort, called, and eventually got connected with the jeep’s owner.  We talked over the phone a couple times and I eventually went to look at it.  The body was much rougher than the photo showed, with lots of rust, dents, and holes in the floor.  Also, it wasn’t running.  But, the frame looked very solid, and everything seemed to be there.  My dad, who’d tagged along to see what I was getting myself into, took one look the jeep and did an about-face.  He thought it was too far gone.  I decided to make and offer any ways and wound up hauling it home.  My father and I started working on the motor and we got it running within a few weeks time.  In fact, I recently took the jeep for a spin with no brakes or seats down my street!  To my amazement, it seemed to shift smoothly and handled well.  This is the blue jeep shown with a hard top.

#3 – Another 1948 CJ2A (dark blue)

While puttering with the Eagle River jeep I started doing the math: restoration was not going to be cheap!  I needed cash so reluctantly decided to sell the 1946 and eventually put it on e-bay.  I knew I’d miss the plow, so I took some of the proceeds and bought myself another plow-equipped CJ2A.  This was another 1948, which I had spotted on Craigslist in Michigan.  It’s a classic mid-west jeep with tons of rust and rotten frame, but it runs fine and plows like a champ.  This is the blue jeep shown in my photos with my daughter and dog.

#4 – Another 1946 (red)

I continued searching for parts to continue restoration of the Eagle River jeep and eventually spotted a 1946 on Craigslist within a few miles of my house.  After I purchased this one my father and I spent most of the summer taking it apart.  We kept the parts we needed, including a nice plow set up, and sold the rest.  This was a great learning experience for both of us and got us acquainted with the mechanics of these jeeps a bit more.  The frame and tub were in really rough shape, even for a Wisconsin jeep.  So, we cut out some of the pieces that we thought we could use and had to scrap the rest.

Now my garage is jam packed with jeep parts and we’re ready to continue work on the Eagle River jeep.  We talk about it way more than we actually work on it, but eventually we’ll get there.  In the meantime, I’m really enjoying tinkering with and running the plow jeep around.