Builds Research Archives

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Builds: Mac and Jason’s CJ-2A Project

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Features, Website This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Titled, the “CJ-2A 1948 Willys Overland Jeep Restoration Project“, this blog follows the rebuilding of a 1948 Willys by Mac and Jason in Houston, Tx.  It’s clear they don’t know a great deal about jeeps (neither did I when I started on my jeep many years ago), but are jumping in with both feet none-the-less.  Kudos to them; it looks like they are learning already.

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Readers Builds: Jack — 3 Jeeps in 3 Weeks

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Randy’s friend Jack appears to have contracted the Willys disease.

Jack tells the story, “Short story; Jack has been familiar with my flat fenders and thought nothing about it. Well, I found and he bought the ‘Weeds’ Willys [See pics of the ‘Weeds’ Jeep here]. Next week, while looking at your site, I spotted a ’46 in nice shape only 15 miles from where we live!!!!  Well, Jack bought that one too! On Sunday afternoon he wa talking with some friends and someone mentions he has an old Jeep in his pasture; one of those “it ran when parked” jeeps.  Well, you guessed it, Jack bought that one as well ($275) and the motor looks good.  So, 3 Jeeps in 3 weeks for my buddy Jack. Guess I forgot to mention he’s an engineer by trade”

Here’s the ‘Weeds’ Jeep

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Here’s the 2nd Jeep

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Here’s the newest addition

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Builds: Leapin’ Lena & a Cab for sale

• CATEGORIES: Builds, CJ-2A This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE:  Kaweh says he’s asking $380/obo for the Cab, which includes a windshield, good glass, wipers, parts, etc.  It’s all there.  If you are interested, you can email him at ketminan-rad@jccscpa.com.

Recently, Kaweh used eWillys to find this 1951 CJ-3A in Osbourn, Idaho.  The owner named the jeep Leapin Lena.  She owned the jeep for 50 years and made Kaweh promise that he wouldn’t change the jeep’s name.

The jeep came with a top that Kaweh doesn’t want. He’s included some pics below.  He hasn’t determined a price yet, so if you are interested, drop a comment below and I’ll make sure he gets your information.

In addition, Kaweh is looking for a CJ-2A windshield.  If you have one and aren’t too far away from Missoula, drop a comment below.  Thanks!

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About the top, Kaweh writes “The window on the driver side (not the driver door but the window in the cab itself) is cracked. Otherwise the cab is in great shape just needs some TLC and paint.”  Kaweh and the top are located in Montana. The windshield that is currently on the Jeep is part of the cab (you can see how upright it is installed).  The doors are in really good shape; even the insulation is still there.

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Builds: Josh’s WW2 US Navy Converto T6 Trailer

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Features, trailer This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Josh sent over some pics of a very rare WW2 US Navy Converto T6 Trailer.  Josh is curious to know if any other readers have or know of these trailers.  I’ll be happy to set aside some space for Converto trailer owners to gather and share information.

Also, he’s got another trailer for sale on eBay (Converto Airborne Dump Trailer — see post below this one).

Josh writes, “Here are some pictures of my WW2 US Navy Converto T6 trailer I mentioned to you a while back. I found it here in Boise, though it was never advertised for sale. It is almost identical to a more well known Bantam t3 or a Willys MBT.  During the war there were a number of companies producing nearly identical trailers for the military.  The only notable difference between my MBT or T3  and the Converto T6 are a different brake hand set up, dataplate, and, in the case of my trailer, a ball hitch that is stamped USN 1944. (My hitch is different from the two other Converto T6s I’ve heard about — They both have the standard military lunettes)   The data plate was originally riveted to my trailer but the past owner removed it to paint it grey again with spray paint. The under side of my trailer has what I believe to be the original paint and some yellow stenciling that has shipping info/load info. I plan to fully restore and hold onto this T6.

Converto also produced a T7 (same 1/4 ton trailer as the MBT/T3/T6 but with a tailgate) and a Converto Airborne Dump Trailer which is a 1/2 ton but used with the jeep. There is really little info I can find out on either the T6 orT7, but the Dump trailers do have a lot of info available including a military TM.  I have had a few Converto Airborne Dump Trailers.  They are very hard to find as it is estimated only about 6500 where produced. I’m unsure how many T6/T7 were produced. Not very many based on how few are still around. Maybe we can find a few more with your readers??”

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Builds: Some closeups of Brownie

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This is John’s CJ-3A named Brownie.  Here are some closeups. You can see the whole jeep here.  And, we saw the whole family here.

The first pic is the vintage award he received from the Lost Valley Jeep Ralley Oct. 10-12. There were 65 Jeeps,  3 of them Willys.

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This chair was customized for John’s Wife:

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Builds: 1950 CJ-3A with a variety of great ideas

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

A reader emailed these pics today. There’s a variety of creative ideas on a jeep that’s been thoroughly rebuilt. My personal favorite is the spring plate solution, seen on this first pic. I’m going to make me some of those spring plates this winter.  Also note some of the storage solutions as well.  Thanks for sharing pics of Red Dog!

“Just thought I’d ad my 3a to the many great ides on your site. Mine is a ’50 3a body and frame with a 225, t90, d18, D30 and D44. Everything is modified.”

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Builds: Quinn’s 1950 M-38

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Quinn sent me some pics and information about his very nice M-38 build.  Thanks for sharing!

A Buick V-6 225 bored 30 over powers this 1950 M-38 and is fed by an Edelbrock 500 cfm carb.  The drive train includes a T-90, Dana 18 and Warn Overdrive.  The front (Dana 25 or 27) and rear Dana 44 are slowed down with 11″ x 2″ drums possibly from a Willys wagon or truck.

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A Hot Rod F-Head?

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Engine, Racing This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Here’s a couple pics from Gerald of a Zooped up F-Head.  Gerald writes, “Here are pictures of a hot rod f-Head.  This is in a tube frame racer at Lisbon in 02.  Not the kind of motor you see spinning high rpms.  From what little he would say it had a dry sump oil system,  a block girdle,  “modified” head, custom fabbed intake, electronic ignition, etc.  It may have had nitrous as well nut not sure.  That hood was open in public for less than 5 minutes.  He was not real talkative.  But man that thing flew.”

I found a zooped up L-head article that I’ll feature tomorrow.

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Builds: Gerald’s Brother’s rebuild and more

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Gerald send these pics:

1st up, his brother’s build — This is a mixed 1948 CJ-2A.  The front loop is actually out of the red willys you’ll see in the next picture.  They had it stored in the garage for about 15 years.  Reuse and recycle.  Perfect!

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Here’s Gerald’s Mom racing around the track around 1979.

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These M715 pics are from Sam Winer Motors in Akron around 1992, all crushed now.  I loved that place back then.:

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Here’s Gerald’s brother’s cool 1940 Bantam coupe with the 22 hp Hill Master engine in it.

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1946 VEC CJ-2A Shasta Lake, Ca **SOLD**

• CATEGORIES: Builds, CJ-2A • TAGS: , , This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE:  **SOLD** .. and it is heading to Norway.  Congrats to James and to the new owner (whom I hope sends pics of it from Norway!). James wants to thank Ron from the G503 Site for helping out with this.

James has decided to sell his 1946 VEC CJ-2A #18526, column shift, driver’s indents, no rust. original docs and rear glass light.  It works great and is in fantastic shape.  He simply wants to have something he can modify and he doesn’t want to modify this CJ-2A because it is in such good shape.

James writes: It has original motor and all ACMs match 8057.  A lot of work was done in 1985 at  Archer Bros, Hayward. Motor wa rebuilt at 51k and is now at almost 62k.  There is no rust.  The springs and shackles not original; instead it has a superlift 2.5″.  The top bow side holders and rear corner brackets have been removed.  The front bumper mount has one ‘bubba weld’ and the rear bumper removed.  I have the original rear light, trailer socket cover, and vacuum wiper. There are rear ‘bubba’ 4″ cutouts for lights.  I’m the 4th owner and have lots of reciepts and docs.  The Original owner had it until  1985, the 2nd to 2007, the 3rd to last year then me.   This cj is a blast to drive and my family loves it, but I just can’t mod it like I want.  It has survived 63 years without any major mods and I don’t have the heart to start ripping it up now.

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Pic from when first purchased, before James cleaned it up a little:

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Recent pic — James pulled off the diamond plating  and, to his amazement, found no rust or damage:

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Builds: Cutting a logo into metal

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I am planning to do a section on mini jeeps from the 50s and 60s.  As I was searching for images, I ran across this very logical way of cutting out a logo from a thin plate of steel with some simple tools.  Of course, once I saw the pics, I thought, duh, that makes perfect sense, but for some reason, it didn’t occur to me to do it this way.  Now I know how I can make some “ewillys” plates that I could mount on the sides of the jeep.

I got these pics and idea from the Ranger Station.

You can see the logo in the middle of this image

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The Logo was painted onto the steel

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Then the logo was drilled

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Then there were many hours of grinding according to the builder

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And then, the thing that surprised me the most, was where the builder planned to use the logo.

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1954 CJ-3B Eastern Or $2500 + some other jeeps

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

The CJ-3B for sale is a Non Running Jeep that’s a bit rough.  It is for sale on MyJeepSpace.com.  This was put up for sale September 09.  I assume it is still for sale.

Below the images of the jeep for sale is the owner’s collection of old jeeps (+ one of his dad’s jeeps).  The owner lives on a ranch in Eastern Oregon and loves running around it in his old 4x4s. It looks like he had a wonderful barn for storing and working on them!

“For Sale, a nice 1954 CJ-3B High Hood. Not running at this time. Body in good shape, has 4 cylinder motor, original seat frames. Clear Oregon title. I was going to restore it, now going to get married, so, plans change ! Was running for the man I bought it from, he thought he would restore it, started to restore, then found out he was in over his head. Nice jeep to restore. There are pictures of it on my profile ‘view more pictures’. $2,500. colt5124440@yahoo.com , 541-358-2800”

You can view the owner’s profile here and   You can view all his jeeps here.

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Now some pics of the collection:

This is his row of project jeeps.

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Here’s his two CJ-5s

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Here’s a 1947 CJ-2A he restored

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And a 1946 CJ-2A that he and his dad restored

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Builds: More on Paul’s Stainless M-38

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

If you haven’t yet read about Pauls M-38 project, go to installment 1 and installment 2.

Paul, take it away …

Paul Bierman again with a few more pictures of the never ending Willys project.  I didn’t want a rear seat (Who can fit back there anyway?) so I fabricated a storage box which spans between the rear wheel wells and is divided into two sections.  The half behind the passengers seat is the new battery location along with the circuit breaker panel, the master relay and circuit breaker and most of the switch relays.  The half behind the driver’s side is the home of a now vintage (but it’s still brand new, I bought it quite a while ago) ten disc cd changer with some room left over for an out of view storage compartment.  I’ve replaced just about all of the wiring with new (there’s some original wiring on the gas heater still but I’ll get to that sometime) with some fancy pants, super flexible cold weather wiring which stays flexible down to 55 below zero F.  Boy, doesn’t that just make you feel dandy.  If it’s that cold I’ll wait till spring, besides I try to draw the line on outside work when the temperature drops past 40 below zero F, nothing’s worse than having to take a leak when you’re wearing multiple layers of clothing eight inches thick and Little Mr. Wizzard shrunk up to an inch and a half.  No matter what you do you know at least one of your boots is going to get wet.

Moving the instrument panel above the windshield caused still more problems but the most annoying one was how I could get all the wires from the gauges down to the main body without my work looking like crap.  I was at work thinking this over (Ok, I was in the bathroom but I do my deepest thinking sitting down) when I happened to glance over at the wall and saw a beautiful stainless steel handle just the right size with curved ends, satin finished and everything!   Problem solved, until I mentioned this great solution to my boss and his exact response was, “Touch it and die.”  Geeze, guess I’ll have to spend my own money and purchase some handicap grab handles.  The local home supply store had quite a selection of stainless handles but I ran into a problem with an over enthusiastic clerk wanting to help me with my bathroom remodel.  He’d never heard of a 52 Willys bathroom renovation.  The handles worked out great, you can see them on the pictures of the windshield/instrument panel photos by the door posts.

Winter was late getting here (I love global warming!) but I have lots of cold dark days ahead of me so the Willys will get a great deal of attention before this latest batch of snow melts.  Next week I’ll have the side and rear window glass cut and then I’ll have to make patterns for the door window glass and they’ll be ordered when my wallet says it’s ok.

PS …  I’ve really enjoyed the comments left by fellow Willys wackos, the concern about welding above the jerry can was nice but the can had never been used and I threw it out after I’d made the gas can mount.  If I was to worry about welding safety I should have thought about the beef and bean burrito (with cheese and onions on top) I’d eaten for lunch, not so much for the flamability aspect (the poor garage just isn’t that tightly sealed) but the thrust developed after lunch could have blown me off those fancy bucket workstands!

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Gerald found these great pictures to share

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Features, Old Images • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Here’s a variety of pics from Gerald.  Thanks for sharing!

Here’s Gerald’s trailer and his jeep with Military Tires.  The tires make a world of difference.  You can see the jeep with the mini terras here.

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Here’s some old dealership photos:

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Damn, what a lucky kid this guy was … I’m gonna have to talk to mom and dad about this! I had to wait until I was 18 for my first ‘real’ jeep!

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I can’t tell how young/old this photo is:

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And this is just for fun.  If you didn’t catch it, there was a fascinating documentary on the 2006 auction of Star Trek Memorabilia.

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Builds: More pics from Paul

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

If you didn’t see the first round of pics, go here.  These are a second round of pics that Paul generously provided. Thanks again Paul and great work!

No stories with these pics, just eye candy 🙂

Here’s the steering:

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Click on the link below to see more pics …..

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Reader Builds: Paul’s Stainless M-38 Project

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

highway_signUPDATE: See the second round of pics here

A reader named Paul contacted me today.  He mentioned he was working on a stainless jeep.  Would I like to see some pictures?

By now you know my response … of course I would!  Well,  was I in for a treat.  Paul has got that unique combination of patience, welding talents, and ingenuity (check out his shifter knobs made from $5 stainless cups from a chinese restaurant).  He also seems to be a victim of the dreaded Willys sickness, which seems to coincide and peak with the dark Alaskan Winters.  So, for the last 23 years, Paul has been treating his Willys sickness by following the beat of his own drum as he rebuilds his (and his father’s) 1952 M-38.  Here’s his story and pics (Thanks for sharing Paul!):

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My father bought an all original 1952 Willys M 38 in 1964 from a local guy here in Anchorage who purchased three Jeeps as military surplus.  The M 38 my father bought came with a full aluminum top and doors (commonly but incorrectly called an Arctic Top), a 20,000 btu Southwind heater with all the heating ducts, a built in gas fired engine and battery heater, and a 24 volt waterproof electrical system all coated with numerous layers of olive drab paint.  This was my dads everyday driver for eight years until it was finally replaced by a new pickup truck in 1972 and the Willys passed into my ownership for the sum of ONE dollar.  I got screwed on this deal, here it is 37 years later and I’m still dumping money into this never ending project.  Boy, if you want to really mess with a kid give him a Jeep and he’ll be twisted for the rest of his life!

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I drove the Jeep off and on (it broke alot and money was tight) until fall of 1985 when just about everything broke, quit working or caught fire but it did get me home one last time.  It was decision time, should I scrap it or perform a rebuild to end all rebuilds?   January 1st, 1986 was the day I decided to rebuild the Willys and make some much needed modifications so I could keep up with traffic and even have brakes that worked.  Geeze, this thing was so slow (5.38 axle gears and an anemic flathead engine) bus loads of Nuns were giving me the finger.  Everywhere I went it looked like I was leading a parade and I couldn’t take back roads because there aren’t any.  We’re lucky to have the limited road system right now and there are no extra roads planned in the future.

I’d been drooling over Acme Truck Parts advertisements showing Stainless Steel Jeep bodies (I still have the magazine) so I ordered the complete body (tub, windshield, front fenders, grille, tailgate and floorboards) for the gigantic sum of $5,000 dollars paid upfront.  Lots of delays, problems and denials later the body finally arrived along with a new steel frame for $500 bucks plus shipping.  To condense this story down I spent the first five years rebuilding the body so the parts would fit before I modified the windshield to a vertical mount to match the original aluminum top.

The more I inspected the top the more hidden damage I found so I cut the top apart and duplicated each 50 thousandth thick aluminum piece in 50 thousandth thick stainless steel keeping the outside appearance original but modifying the interior so I’d fit in it better.  Since I’d duplicated the top it made sense for me to duplicate the doors, window sliders, hinges and door handles from stainless also.  I’d purchased stainless seats but I made my own fuel tanks and I put one under the passenger side instead of the original storage compartment.  That’s why the Willys has a recessed fuel filler on each side.  I know, the original M38 had huge fuel caps but the only stainless caps I could find were normal sized ones so the filler neck is much smaller in diameter and the recessed fillers were built accordingly.

When I sit in the Jeep the top of the dash is below my knees so I moved the instrument panel above the windshield and fabricated an overhead center console filled with a CD player and lots of switches.  Between the seats is a pair of stainless cup holders (1/4″ thick so I don’t worry about them getting damaged), the ignition switch and a bunch of shift levers.  The normal three speed, Warn overdrive, four wheel drive and high/low range … I call it a four on the floor!  The engine was replaced with a Buick 225 odd fire V 6, 11 inch drum brakes with hanging clutch and brake pedals, a hydraulic clutch slave and master cylinder and of course a five position stainless steel tilt steering column complete with a leather wrapped stainless steering wheel custom made by Ididit in Michigan.  The steering column alone has a heck of a story about it but that will wait for another time.  I’m just trying to give you a brief overview covering the last 23 years.

I’m not done, I’m getting closer but there’s still lots of items left on my to do and to buy list but at least I’m closer to being done than I was 23 years ago!  Normally I don’t like to say anything bad about my mom but I have to admit it appears she raised an idiot.

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[Editor’s Note:  Paul comments on the roof corners. The next four pics show the creation of a corner]   It took me four tries to make the first successful rear corner on the Willys top, the initial three attempts just irritated the metal and burned my fingers.  By the time I finally stumbled on the magic formula for making compound corners in stainless each successful corner took twenty hours to build.  The left rear corner (drivers side) is corner number four and the right rear corner (pass. side) is corner number five.  Naturally I had stupid people visit to see the progress on the Jeep, look at the corners and ask “What else have you done?”   I’m pretty sure it’s ok to kill the really stupid folks among us, don’t dumb people cause global warming or something?

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[Editor’s Note:  Below is the stainless cup transformed into a shifter knob]

The Goddess (that’s my girlfriend, her name is Deborah but many years ago she told me to call her the Goddess so I do and she’s still here) wanted to go out for oriental food since she didn’t feel like cooking so we went to an All You Can Eat and Keep Down Chinese buffet.  Naturally she wanted tea but I had a Coke which I just about blew out my nose when I saw the waitress setting down double wall stainless steel tea cups on the table.  Not only were these tea cups the perfect size for gearshift knobs, the bottom of the cup had an embossed ring slightly larger than a nickel.  With a stainless nut welded to a stainless fender washer and this assembly welded to the teacup, the welds ground down and buffed, the new shift knob installed on the lever I finished this installation by attaching a Buffalo nickel in the embossed ring.  I really did buy these teacups from the buffet folks, it’s kind of difficult to steal four cups from a table with only two people sitting there but I only had to give them five bucks each!  What a deal !  The big knob on the transmission lever was some kind of float for a pump operating in caustic chemicals which another friend found and gave to me.

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[Paul didn’t explain these, but this shows the transformation from stainless pieces into a door handle]

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[Editor’s Note:  You can see the old aluminum doors (right) and new stainless doors (left)]
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Randy finds a jeep in the Grass/Sticks/Weeds

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Randy found this CJ-2A for a friend at a great price.  It looks in pretty good shape considering the height of the surrounding foilage.  He’ll be sending more pics.

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Builds: Jim finds a nice old CJ-3B

• CATEGORIES: Builds, CJ-3B • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Jim, take it away and thanks for sharing!

So I got a call today, woman says she has a1953 plow jeep she wants to get rid of. She said her deceased father, a mechanic, owned it for more than 40 years and used it to plow his business etc. When I hear plow jeep, Im thinking piece of rusty crap thats been worked to death etc. I have a driveway thats 1/3 of a mile long and I will need a plow this winter so I went to take a look.

Man, was I shocked, a completely (except orange paint) original 1953 CJ3B, 6 volt, uncut, runs great, has brakes, chains on all four studded tires, nice original seats, 15″ stock wheels, no rust to speak of, super straight, soft top frame with a tarp over it, still has the snap in carpet kit. Some one had obviously loved it for many, many years. Under that layer of dust is a really nice jeep and after a long heart to heart talk, its now mine for very little money!

I brought it home and tested it out.  Everything works great, brakes, heater etc but there is a weird knocking on the engine, seems to come go at time so Im thinking someone dropped a bolt or something into the carb and it is knocking on top of a piston. I will know for sure when I pull the head in a few days but overall it is in excellent condition. I couldnt tell you the last time I bought a flat fender with a full on complete snap in carpet kit, very cool!

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Builds: Electric Veep — Jazzy

• CATEGORIES: Builds, VEEP (VW Jeep), Scamp, Others • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I ran across this electric vehicle named Jazzy owned by Jim Stack.  It appears to be an ‘VEEP’ Kit with a fiberglass body.  It is powered by an Advanced DC FB-4001 Series Wound DC 9.  It runs in 3rd gear and never needs to be shifted, according to the owner.  The top speed is 70MPH with a total range of about 50MPH.  There are 10 Trojan T-105 now SG90’s, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded very minimal battery pack for 30 mile range. All located under center of chassis for stable road handling, great G holding on corners.  View all the information here.

“1968 Volkswagen VW chassis. 50 Jeep fiberglass body with front disk brakes carries the Veepster fiberglass 1950 Jeep body.”

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Rear of jeep.  Note no Jeep rear lights (he was looking for traditional square lights).

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Builds: Randy shares his Jeeps, Family & Animals

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Reader Stories This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Randy emailed me this morning with some great family pics.  Here’s a little bit about Randy and a variety of pics.  He says we can expect a few irregular reports from the Austin area as he often spots flatfenders around there.

I learned how to drive in a ’48 CJ2A when I was 12 years old and thus started my “addiction” to Willys.  I’m now 54 and still love ’em.  I moved to the Austin TX area a few years back and have a small ranch; So, of course, I knew what I needed in terms of utility vehicles.  I have a ’48 CJ2A that is all original and records for it since 1967.  The hardtop and extended bed are from a company in Houston, both are Koenig. I’ve not seen another Willys with the extended bed
[ED NOTE:  Here’s some info about extended beds from the CJ-3B Page]. I use the ’48 to go to the feed store and drive around town.

My other jeep is a ’54 CJ3B which is non licensed.  It’s a bit rough, but starts and drives great.

I have attached a picture of the Eifel Tower I took a couple years ago in the Crown Room in Paris.  It’s a picture of a picture.

As I was deciding what pics to send I discovered I have MANY pics of different family members, friends, animals and more with a Willys in them.  It seems I just realized my Jeeps are indeed a part of the family. The jeeps earn their keep and are always a hit.  I’ve taught a number of young folks how to drive a standard in these, and hope in some way I have started a passion for Willys as it did for me some 42 years ago!

Here’s Randy’s pic of a pic from Paris:

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Here’s Randy and his jeeps:

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View more pics — click the link below —

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Builds: Jim finds a Mouse & More

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Reader Stories This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Jim, take it away … (thanks for sharing!)

Got a call today.  Guy says,”I hear you like willys jeeps?” Yep, that sounds like me I thought. He said,”I have one here with flat fenders, all original, hasn’t been started in a while, will probably need a battery, some tires, gas.” Sounds like my kinda deal I thought, then I asked the fatal question,”when was it last run running?” “Oh, maybe 30-35 years ago when I was a kid,” he said.

Wow, it had been sitting in the same spot in a field on a fence line for so long that the diffs were touching the ground and part of all 4 rims and tires were 6-8 inches under ground. The 8000 lb warn winch on my trailer wound up pretty damn tight for a few seconds and then the whole jeep “popped” up and out of the ground as if it had sat on a tack!

2 trash bags of old carpet, wood, leaves, clumps of moss (yes, moss) rotted tools, a rusty hunting knife, 3 hornets nest and one poor little very unhappy wet field mouse later [ed note: see last pic]  I found some very decent floor boards, perfect hat channels underneath, factory paint still on the frame, a surprisingly straight body, all stock everything and a super trashed windshield frame, but I have a spare here at the cabin.

The owner said they parked it originally cause it needed a fuel pump; so, what do you want to bet I will be driving this old rig in a few weeks? A lot of fun for an afternoon of flat fender hunting!  Cocktail time to celebrate!

PS. my sincere apologies to the owners of the carwash I spent $10 at to remove the worst of the goo; sorry bout the mess …… serial number CJ2A 211636

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Builds: 1951 CJ-3A Off of Pirate 4×4

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I found this build through Usenet of all places (long story) on Pirate 4×4.  What I liked about it was that this body was pretty much toast, but the builder has done a nice job of resurrecting it for his project.  Below is a picture of his replacement hat channels and replacement of the triangle piece at the front of the body.

There’s plenty of pics and plenty of customization. It’s definitely a project still.

 
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Builds: Filandia, Columbia

• CATEGORIES: Builds, International This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Sebastian has forwarded a couple great pics from Columbia.  I love the colorful jeeps against the colorful buildings.  Thanks!

He writes, ” I received these Pictures from a very good friend. They are from a small town called “Filandia”. This is a typical picture of these kinds of towns, many Willys (especially CJ-3Bs) group in the middle of the town, next to the stores so people use them as taxis after buying groceries. As you can see they are pretty much stock even though some modifications have been done to improve performance. Keep in mind this is not a Willys ride, a car show, or anything like that; it is just s typical day in Filandia. The pictures only show a few, but you can usually see more than 20 together. Their drivers have been doing this for so many years and usually with the same vehicles. They always tell you they will never sell their Willys since they have provided a way of living for almost 50 years. Finding a Willys in Colombia is no problem, finding someone willing to sell it is a different story. Enjoy.

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Builds: Collapsing Spare Tire Holder

• CATEGORIES: Builds This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE:  A reader would like to have one of these built for their project.  See the comment below if you think you know of someone who could do this for them.

I was checking out Four Wheeler the other day and ran across this unusual spare tire carrier.  Check out all the pics on this nice CJ-3A at Fourwheeler.com.

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Builds: The Cheap Jeep & Its Ghost Town Adventures

• CATEGORIES: Builds, videos, Website This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

cheap_jeep2While it’s not a jeep in form, it certainly captures the spirit of a jeep in function. Two alternators, three batteries, and a host of features make this an unusual vehicle.  The most recent cheap jeep was launched in 1974 for the purpose of desert and mountain travel, not unlike the way original mountain bikers back in 1976 utilized old tough schwinn bikes to tackle the mountains.  It’s singular purpose –the next ghost town or bust — was a cheap, but dependable vehicle capable of on road and off road travel for thousands of miles over the period of a week.  This vehicle is still used and images and video from 2009 can be found on the website along with links to all the places these intrepid adventurers have visited over the past years (scroll to the bottom of the homepage). View the video below to learn a little bit about the unusual features of this vehicle (or go to their video page).

cheapjeepSteve Ricketts writes on the westernghosts.com website In 1974, I acquired a 1966 Pontiac convertible from another customer.   This time the price was $75.00.   Like the Chrysler Imperial, the Pontiac needed a lot of work.   After extensive engine repair and a transmission rebuild and modification, it was able to be driven to my house where the first Cheap Jeep (Chrysler Imperial) was stored.  The transformation from old cheap jeep to new cheap jeep began.   The finished product is what you see today.

cheap_jeep4It is highly modified, and works better for our purposes than anything we could buy today.   It is easy to repair on the road, and parts are readily available.  It carries more than “regular” jeeps and is a lot cheaper to replace should it become necessary to abandon.   I would really hate to take a $30,000+,  four wheel drive (Blazer/Bronco, etc.) on one of these trips.   At the very least, the paint and body would be badly damaged.   It would also be next to impossible to repair in the field, and a very real possibility exists that I would someday have to abandon it.   After all these years of use and modification, I still have less than $800.00 invested in the Cheap Jeep…and that includes the original purchase price.

Visit the Western Ghost Towns website here.