Builds Research Archives

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Reader’s Builds — Jim’s Barn

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

A reader named Jim has been working with jeeps for quite a while, rebuilding roughly 70 jeeps over the years. He started rebuilding jeeps by adding v8s, lifting them, and hot rodding them a bit.  Over the years, he did something unusual, he paid attention to what customers seemed to want.  The result, as you will see, is that he has taken a variety of jeeps, provided a military theme, and accessorized them well without investing large amounts of time or money.  He said he found that people seem to really respond to the military theme.  In addition, he wrote to me, “I cant stand to see an old ranch jeep neglected in some field or some backyard; I have to make it run, make it fun, and bring it back to life again.”  He’s found a great niche, has fun, and gets to collect some jeeps.  We should all be as fortunate 🙂

Here’s got 9 willys, an m-38, m-38a1, aussie land cruiser troop carrier and plenty of extra parts.  Here’s a shot of his barn.  I’ll be provided some glimpses of his projects over the next few days (I’ve run out of time tonight).  Thanks Jim!

jims_barn

 
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Readers Builds — William’s 1948 CJ-2A

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

William, a reader from Costa Rica, contacted me this weekend with a question.  After exchanging a few emails, he offered to share his project with readers.  The 1st picture was taken in April of 2005 and the second in November of 2007.  He has made some nice improvements that have made this jeep look much better.  You can see all the pics here at cardomain.com.  Thanks for sharing William!

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Reader’s Builds — Jeff’s Jewel’s Flat Fender

• CATEGORIES: Builds, CJ-3A, stainless/jewels This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

After seeing all the interest in stainless on the website, Jeff has kindly provided us with a couple of looks at his all Jewels Flattie.  It’s not just the stainless that makes this look nice, but also the accents, such as the execution of the rear bumper design. With a full cage on the inside and a winch, this jeep is quite capable of playing in the sand, the trail or wherever he wants to take it.

Jeff notes below:

“This is my Semi stainless / galvanized jewels body kit mounted on a 1952 cj3a chassis. Currently powered by a chev 153 4cyl. I also own another complete kit that I have been collecting for the last 15 years. It appears there is a lot of interest in these stainless jeeps these days.”

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MB restoration from Fowler Automotive

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

1945_mb_fowlerautomotiveFowler Automotive appears to perform high quality restorations of mostly older vehicles.  As a side project the owner(?) did an MB restoration.  I don’t know anything about Fowler Automotive, other than I believe they are in the bay area (based on the telephone numbers).

Here’s a snippet from the webpage:

“A few years ago my son and I traded into a bunch of WWII jeeps and partial chassis. We kept the best three. He needed a summer project so I turned him loose with his buddys to build one jeep from all the available parts. That went pretty well and he ended up with this ’45 Ford GPW which we have taken on many trips over the last five years.”

Click here to see the entire story

1944_mb_fowlerautomotive2

 
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Reader Builds — A Garage Full of CJ-2As in Wisconsin

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

garage_robertlangdonA 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)

1946_cj2a_robertlangdonI 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.

Continue reading

 
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Reader Builds — All Jewels Flattie

• CATEGORIES: Builds, CJ-3A, Features, stainless/jewels This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

A reader wanted to share a pic of this beautiful all Jewels Flatfender he built over many years and recently sold.  He says he already is at work on another jeep.  Hopefully, he’ll provide us with some updates as works on his new project.

randy_jewels_flatfender

 
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Reader Builds — More on Paul’s 1944 MB

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

Paul has supplied us with some additional pics and an explanation of the mounting system.  You can view the full article about Paul’s jeep here.

“The first pic with the hood open shows the two Dzus (brand name) (learn how to pronounce Dzus) fasteners which help hold the hood down when inserted into the brackets shown in the 2nd pic.  The brackets are just above the yellow ignition coil and next to the master cylinder.  I also use another fastener (for a total of 4 to hold the hood) on the back side of the flat fenders.  The last image shows another view of the ½” pipe as it is bolted to the top side of the flat fenders. ”

Continue reading

 
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Reader’s Builds — Brian’s Swinging Pedals

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

Brian sent me an update on his adaptation of a wranger swinging assembly into his CJ-3B.

“I was going to use a dual master cylinder kit, but instead I located a set of swing pedals from a early Wrangler.  With the extra 4 inches of cowl height in the CJ-3B, I found they would fit. This provided me two advantages: (1) the assembly came with a brake booster and (2) I can use the hydraulic clutch kit from Novak to simplify life the install.

Here’s stock assembly from a early Wrangler.

Continue reading

 
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Reader’s Builds — Don Giovanini’s CJ-3B

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

Don’s got a beautiful CJ-3B that he’s clearly spent a great deal of time building.  Only a labor of love would produce details as unique as ‘a 4 barrel with a holley from a scout’.  If you don’t see this weekly driver around town, then he’s likely in the the hills of Colorado.

Some stats:

  • A 1954 CJ-3B that has the nomenclature plate for government service.
  • 231 buick bored .030 balanced
  • Eldebrock performer 4 barrel with a holley from a scout with a small venturi
  • Continue reading
 
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Builds — James’ Jeep is Painted

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

James sent me a pic of his recently painted flattie.  It looks great and, he write, he didn’t have to bondo it.

As I started looking a the image more closely, I realized that his jeep has reversed shackles on the front and outboarded 2 1/2 inch springs on the back.  Nice ….

You can see what it used to look like here.

 
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One owner, 5 mechanics & 45 flatfenders …

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

A gentleman named Vivek contacted me last night.  He ran across ewillys while searching for some jeep parts.  He’s from India and owns a CJ-3B that he restored.  He’s currently working in California for a few months, before heading back to India, so he’s looking to locate a few parts he can take back with him (there’s enough jeeping in India that maybe I ought to head there and work for a few months — can I get a job with my MBA Vivek?).  I’ll be highlighting him and his efforts in a post I’ll write in the next few days.

For now, I want to thank Vivek for opening up the interesting world of jeeping in India to me.  After a few email exchanges, he pointed me to a gentleman named Mr. Uday Bhan Singh.  Mr. Uday, it turns out, owns 45 flatfenders that he has collected over the span of 40 years.  This month, autocarindia did an article on him, which has been copied and posted to the Jeep Thrills website, which is also Vivek’s jeep club.

Here are links to the article pages which is worth reading (once open, click on the page to zoom into it):

Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

To say Mr. Uday is passionate about jeeps likely understates things; The article’s description of him as a Jeep Junkie is likely more accurate.  One look at the images of his “great arc” jeep and you’ll see he not only knows jeeps, but uses and jeeps with them.  Last year in his MB he navigated the length of the great arc, the 78th meridian that bisects India.  The meridian itself stretches about 583 miles as the crow flies, however the actual driving mileage was just under 1200 miles.

To complete this drive, Mr. Uday went prepared.  This jeep carries a few extra parts, such as 2 sets of springs mounted to the underside and a special contraption made of poles for helping winch out of difficult places that are strapped to the driver’s side.  I highly recommend reviewing the pictures.  Even the paint job is nicely unique (reminds me a bit of the follow-me jeep paint jobs).

thegreatarc

 
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Reader’s Builds — Brian’s new bumper for his CJ-3B

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

Brian's been busy creating a new bumper for his CJ-3B build. He's says it's nothing fancy, but I think it's pretty nice.  Here's a start-to-finish explanation of the work it took to make his bumper.  Thanks for sharing Brian!

"Because the springs are longer than stock, I had to come up with a way to lengthen the frame a little in the rear. So, I fabricated  a new rear bumper and incorporated a swing out spare tire mount.  In addition, rather than cut holes into the body, I decided to put the tail lights in the bumper. To make the bumper, I only need to use a grinder, drill press, and a Mig welder — it's nothing fancy."

Continue reading

 
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The Former Pittle Power

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

I just got some pics from the owner (who shall remain nameless until he sends me his name 🙂 ) of the jeep formerly known as Pittle Power (I remember it as Piddle Power though).   I don't remember the history of the Jeep prior to Jim and Patty Carter purchasing it, but I believe they purchased it so their growing boys, Tim and Steve, wouldn't have to squish themselves into the back of Otis.  They purchased a stock CJ-3A, installed a chev 4cyl and attached desert dogs.   Otherwise (I'm told) they left everything else stock.  Pittle might not have had much power (hence the name), but it could go 99% of the places the modified WWJC jeeps could go.

The Carter's had a habit of naming all their vehicles.  There was Otis (the jeep), tote-us (the jeep trailer), Brutus (their first motorhome) and more.

Our To-Be-Named contributor writes:

"The Jeep I bought was owned by Jim Carter(original member of the WWJC). The race name was Pittle Power. Skip Baird helped me with my first swap with a V-6 and a top loader. Al Hamilton and I became very close infact I still have one of his pups Mandy she is a very stubborn German Shorthair."

Editor's note:  To the right is the only picture I have of Pittle Power from 1983 (and it's only the hind quarter) hidden behind Danny's CJ-5.  While the Pittle Power was never actually raced, I do remember a club trip to Liberty Trail one weekend.  After we made camp, Tim Carter decided he wanted to head down to the store and asked me to ride shotgun (somehow he knew there was a remote store at the bottom of the hill we were camped on). So, he drove me down that hill in Pittle Power, a ride I remember vividly because we were travelling sideways down the constantly turning gravel road for a good portion of it.    Come to think of it, one time Tim took me for a ride in his late 60's camaro and we travelled sideways heading onto the cloverleaf on ramp to I-405.  Maybe Tim always travelled sideways or I just brought it out of him.

 
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Builds — Brian’s working furiously on his CJ-3B

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

Brian sent me some updated pictures of his CJ-3B project.  He just finished reversing the springs in the front.  As a part of that reversal, he had to replace the front of the frame.  After conquering this task, he turned his attention to the rear differential, only to discover a big problem (which he'll update all of us about as he progresses through the issue).  

Brian explains more below about his spring reversal experience below …. 

"I wanted to do a spring reversal so I started by getting some universal after market parts to make things a little easier. Then I bought a early Cj5 frame for the front 8 inches then sold off a chrome bumper and ring and pinion at a small profit.

Here's what I did to lengthen the frame.

I cut a block to use as an template to cut off the front of the 3b frame. (Stan H. — from the Wandering Willys Jeep Club — always said to cut at a 45 degree angle though the frame.) I did the same with the pieces to be added. They lined up really nice.  

Continue reading

 
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Builds — Irwin Arnstein’s 1947 CJ-2A

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

When some one gives you a jeep for free and you have to pull the jeep out of the mud to start rebuilding it, you know you are going to have your hands full.  Irwin Arnstein nicely revives this old Jeep.

"When my brother’s neighbor T.J. generously gave me his old 1959 1-ton truck, I felt that I ought to do a good job with it and show it to him. As you could see on my Gallery page, it brought T.J. a bit of pleasure to see his truck ready for another 46 years of work. A few months later (and I think after his wife got on him to clean the place up) he gave me his 1947 CJ2A Willys Universal Jeep.

When I got the truck, I had no idea that the Jeep would soon get so lonely that it spoke to T.J. about rejoining its old compatriot. I wasn’t so keen to do the jeep but when my brother offered to help, I decided "Why not — if it wasn’t a complete junk pile."

See all the pics of Irwin's rebuild

 
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Builds — 1944 MB Build

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

This site contains information and a variety of pics about a 1944 MB Build.  It's worth a look.

"Here it is a small collection of the finished jeep throughout the summer of 2003. I logged over 2200 miles in "Phoebe" since her restoration was completed this early spring. I hope that everyone enjoys these pictures as much I do, I had a blast taking them. I had a great time and will forever remember this experience, its kinda like having a child I guess. I have one on the way so i will find out shortly what that is like. Everyone says its like owning a jeep, when you first get your jeep home everything is ah's and oo's. After a while it starts to bear down on you…. you get the picture. Enjoy the pictures and if you have any questions please feel free to email me."

http://www.angelfire.com/gundam/my44mb/index.html 

 
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Builds — Craig Ellis’ M-38

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Features, M-38 This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I don’t know whether Craig is finished with his jeep or not, but he certainly had some terrible rot to deal with.  I’ve linked to the ‘Golden Triangle Jeep Club’s’ bulletin board for this Build story.  Below is the pic of Craig’s M-38 body:

you could draw a line down the middle of the body and replace all of the driver’s side floor to be safe. i’m gonna avoid catalog bought floor panels and construct my own from 16 gauge sheetmetal along with new crossmembers. i got a pair of Wagoneer Dana 44s last weekend and am working on the suspension, which will be stock waggy leafs in the front and YJ leaves out back. I picked up a Chevy 4.3 V6 to use and can’t decide on which tranny to go with, but i’m thinking SM465 b/c Novak offers a really short adapter to the Dana 18 case….”

View all the rest of Craig’s pics and related comments (10 pages) as he works through various issues.

 
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Builds – 1942 GPW

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

This 1942 GPW has been extensively rebuilt into a rock climber.  No hack job here as the builder documents his efforts through a series of words and pictures.  The builder writes that the jeep was featured in the December 2006 issue of 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine; however, I couldn't locate the article nor the builder's name.  

 "I stripped the Jeep down to the bare frame and started work. The frame was a stock GPW frame that had some previous 'fixes' done to it and it had a few cracks. I completely boxed and strapped the top and bottom of the frame. If I were to do it again I would definitely make my own frame from scratch using 2"x4" box tube. To strap the frame I used 2"x1/4" steel and stitch welded it along the length of the frame. I made cardboard templates of the sections to be boxed and then cut them out of some plate steel."

Learn more about the details of this rebuild here. He also details how he turned a Pro Tools 105 HD bender into a hydraulic bender.

 
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Builds — Chris Olson

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

This is a build done by Chris Olson that I found at the BC4x4 website.  He found a beat up '48 CJ-2A, made a variety of mods, and ended up with a highly modified, but ordinary looking, CJ-2A.

"At first glance, Chris Olson's 1948 CJ2A Willys looks rather plain next to his brother's LJ80 Suzuki. Your first impression would be that it's another flat fender Jeep with big tires and a spring-over-axle conversion. But like his brother's Suzuki, Chris' Jeep isn't what it appears to be. In fact, it is more Toyota than Jeep. This flat fender reflects Chris' pragmatic attitude toward building a 4×4. Choices were made due to cost, availability and functionality. He has no loyalty to any make or model of vehicle and because of that, he has ended up with a very unique vehicle.

When Chris first set eyes upon the Willys in 1997, it was sitting in a backyard, partially hidden by knee-height grass. It had a seized engine, the front axle housing was gutted, all four tires were useless, the interior was a rat home, and it sported a rollbar made of old driveshafts (including the yokes!). The important thing to Chris was that the body was in pretty good condition, especially for a vehicle built half a century earlier. For $400, it was his."

Read more at the BC4x4.com website

 
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Builds: Brian’s CJ-3B resurrection cont.

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

Brian from Michigan sent me some updated pics from his efforts to bring his CJ-3B body back from the dead. Here are several body pics (some I’ve posted before).  Below the body pics you’ll see his latest unexpected issue, the engine he’s dropped into the jeep has an oil pan that hangs too low — a problem seeking a solution (note his clever use of some plastic pipe in place of a yet to procured front drive line).  Finally, he shows a picture of his unabashed stripping of a parts Blazer.

 
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1948 CJ-3A Randy Lawson’s Build

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

This article about Randy Lawson’s build appeared in the 1994 Off-Road Magazine.  It took Randy 15 years to redo his CJ-3A.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a before picture.  Some of the details not mentioned in the short article on this page include the following:

  • Randy has added a second little window below the wipers on the windshield.  I assume this is custom as I’ve never seen it before.
  • Randy changed the look of the cowl on the engine side by placing a chromed or polished plate across it.  It makes it look very clean.
  • It appears Randy padded the dash (you can see this here and here ).
  • The Jeep may be registered as a CJ-3A, but the cutouts on the passenger side suggest an M38.

Continue reading

 
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Builds — Bumble Bee

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

Louis Dawson recounts, in this four page article on code 4×4, his 12 year building process for Bumble Bee, a 1947 CJ-2A.  Started as a restoration project, Louis discovered he'd rather focus on trail performance.

Louis sums up the experience with the following quote:  "Our ensuing 12-year restomod of "Rumble Bee" includes a huge amount of fun, plentiful stupid and expensive decisions on my part, and a final result that retains the flat fender look and feel, while being competent and safe enough on the trail to peg the fun meter. This "retro" project includes little of the latest tech — it's mostly older solutions that reached their peak a number of years ago, but it works."

On additional feature I like is the "what we did right" and "what we did wrong" on page 4 of the article.

Read the entire article and see the pictures. 

 
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Builds – 1951 m38 Glendale, Az on Ebay — The Rhino Hunter

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Features, M-38 • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This build is for sale on eBay.  There are plenty of pics.  Note the m606 in the background of one of the ebay pics.

“This is a really unique combination of old and new and we’ve had a ton of fun in it. This rig started it’s life as a military M38 until the previous owner started modifying it as a back country rock crawler. When we got it, it had wasn’t much to look at, was missing a windshield but ran and drove so well we had to have it. It is heavily modified to be a safe, comfortable, go anywhere ride. We call it The Rhino Hunter as it has effortlessly shamed a few ORVs in the mud and rocks…”

 
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Builds – a Build from the MYCJ3A.com website

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

Many of you may have seen this site already, but if you haven't it's a treat.  The author nicely details the experience of rebuilding his titled 1953 CJ-3A (which he discovers to actually be a CJ-2A).  One of the more interesting details, to me anyway, was his write-up of the swing pedals.  This is the first time I have seen these type of pedals (in my 1st jeep I used a swing pedal set from a Vega — with significant mods — and in my current jeep I've modified a set of pedal set from a jeep cherokee.  

See all the different pictures and write-ups at the author's website (The author never mentions who he is)

 
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Rebuild in Ohio — from offroaders.com

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

mike-cj3aHere is a rebuild from Ohio as seen on offroaders.com.   It’s a very nice, clean rebuild that resulted in a playful looking flatfender. The before picture is on the left and after on the right.

Mike writes, “The Jeep had a rough  life for some 8 years wheeling the local 4×4 haunts of southern Ohio and it was looking pretty rough and was needed some serious TLC. In early 2005. I stripped it down to the frame and this is the end product after nearly 2 years work.

SEE THE FULL WRITEUP FROM MIKE AT OFFROAD.COM

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