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1960 CJ-3B Arvada, Co **SOLD**

May 3, 2012 • CATEGORIES: CJ-3B • TAGS: , . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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UPDATE:  This sold quickly.  Was listed at $7500.

Sam, from Flat Fender Willys, has done a large amount of work on this rig, including the installation of a rack and pinion that makes the steering very tight and responsive.  This also has a custom dash that tilts forward.   Sam would have painted this too, but the seller’s family wanted to keep it mis-matched because they liked the character.  If you are interested in a solid, daily driver, this is worth a look.

““1960 CJ3B – V6, 3sp, soft top, bikini top, runs great, no smoke great compression and can be used as a daily driver. Lots of fun! Must see to appreciate all that has gone into this rare Willy’s model Jeep.
2010 full custom rebuild is 90% complete. Here is the short list:

Body – 1960 CJ3B not perfect but the family likes it that way and won’t let me make it shiny.

Chassis – CJ5 chassis,

Mechanical – Buick V6, 3 speed manual, rebuilt transfer case, new clutch, clutch fork, clutch plate and bearings, rebuilt wheel hubs, bearings, new parts and lines from master cylinder to each wheel master cylinder, installed emergency brake, 3” lift with new suspension, shackles, pins, bushings, center bolts, U-joints, and shocks, starter, plugs, wires, wiper blades, new dual exhaust and thrush mufflers, custom built 18 gallon fuel tank, lines, pump and filters. New starter, one of a kind custom rack & pinion system by “Unisteer” with tilt steering column. Nice tread on all (5) 32×11.50 BFG mud and snow tires mounted and balanced on old school Outlaw I aluminum 15×8 wheels.

Electrical– New starter, electrical fuse block, gages, distributor, wiring, dash, instrument panel, speakers, electronic ignition, extra 12 volt charging outlets, emergency flashers, bulbs etc… plugs, wires.

Interior – All New, custom bulkhead, floor covering, roll bar, three point seat belts front and back, new front sliding bucket seats, new rear bench seat with head rests, new soft top windows, new custom bikini top to cover all passengers, wall to wall black carpeting, custom wall panels, new shifter boots and knobs..  Only thing left to do is a little body sanding, paint.“

Continue reading →

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Craig’s CJ-3B “The Mutt” and FlatFender Willys

February 10, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Builds, Features • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Craig’s CJ-3B has been a regular visitor at Sam’s Flatfender Willys shop in Arvada, Colorado, where Craig has allowed Sam to experiment and update his jeep in a variety of ways.

Sam’s not some  shade-tree jeep mechanic; instead, he brings 45 years of experience owning, running and working in hotrod shops in California. One of the early projects he worked on was the famous Munster Mobile.  Sam tried retiring, but that didn’t work for him, so when he moved to Colorado years ago he started buying jeeps for himself and rebuilding others.

It doesn’t take long when talking with Sam until you realize that he has a lot of ideas, and they all seem to be good ones. So, I am not too surprised that folks in the Colorado area keep him plenty busy restoring, updating and servicing their old jeeps. If you want to contact Sam and talk with him about your jeep, you can email him at flatfenderwillys@comcast.net or call him at 720-841-0614.  His shop rates are very reasonable.

As I mentioned, Sam has done a variety of changes to Craig’s jeep, including a rack and pinion system, an emergency brake, a lift, and a complete rewire.  This time Sam volunteered to give Craig an inexpensive floor pan a rebuild.

Here are the old pics:

In the image below the arrow points to a rubber line.  Replacing that was a priority for Sam.

Front floor removed and replaced . Dark Brown is new floor and black is removable two piece front and rear panels for access to transmission. NOTE: the arrow points to the new STEEL fuel line.

A shot of the complete Mutt.  When it came time to paint it, Sam was ready, but Craig wasn’t.  He said he wanted it to look like a Mutt, so he is keeping the mismatched colors like they are for now.

Here is the trailer that Sam built for the Mutt.  There are more images of the trailer here.

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Update on Sam’s Bolt-on Rack and Pinion for early jeeps

February 2, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Builds, Features, Tips & Tricks • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Since sam last reported about the prototype bolt-on rack and pinion system for early jeeps, he has made a few changes to improve the ability to install the system onto jeeps that have been lifted.  He reports that the system is installed on a number of jeeps without any issues.  The system dramatically improves steering at low speeds and at highway speeds.

Finished Install before New Exhaust:

Here is close up view of drag link end:

Arrows point to Borgston Joint and shaft support bearing:

Upper View of Rack and Partial View of New Steering shaft and joint. Arrow indicates new steering shaft and joint:

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Sam’s Jeep Trailer

January 30, 2012 • CATEGORIES: trailer • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Flatfender Willys owner Sam Thomas scaled back his projects for a while, but  plans on creating a little busier shop.  After doing some research, he believes he is the only flatfender-specific rebuilder and restorer left along the eastern slope of colorado now that Mile-Hi Jeep has closed.  So, he is looking to hire a couple mechanics who are experts with older jeeps. If you are interested, call Sam at 720-841-0614.

If you have been reading eWillys for a while, you might have remembered Sam was working on a simple conversion process for adding a rack and pinion steering system to an older jeep.  I will detail that tomorrow.

In the meantime, I wanted to share Sam’s recent project, a trailer designed specifically for carrying a jeep.  Here are the specifics.

“TILT TRAILER SPECS

1. Two 5500 lb. Axels with brakes
2. Constructed of 190 seamless square tubing throughout.
3. All wiring runs inside tubing
4. All electrical is armored core electrical cable.
5. Tall lights enclosed in 3/8 channel
6. 20,000 lb. hydraulic Ram
7. Deck is redwood stained and sealed.
8. Square jeep fenders
9. Spring assist rear ramps
10. Bed is 14 X 8 Feet.
11. Front Aluminum utility box
12. Bulldog front hitch
13. Brake Away Brake system
14. All LED lights.
15. LoJack equipped
16. Powder coated
17. Wheel Bolt Pattern 5 on 5 1/2…Jeep
18. Side Pockets all the way around.”

If you want Sam to build you one, call him to learn more.  What isn’t shown in the pictures is the canvas top and the kayak side racks (added specific for the owner of this trailer).

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Sam Gives Craig’s CJ-3B a Lift

October 18, 2010 • CATEGORIES: Features, How To • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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(Sam, feel free to correct if I have erred with any of my descriptions!)

Sam’s been keeping busy working Craig’s CJ-3B.  For example, Craig was complaining that the brakes didn’t work real well.  So, Sam took a close look at them and discovered that the jeep was only stopping with one brake!  Two of the brakes were completely rusted up and the third brake had suffered a pinched line!  So, Sam obtained some brakes off of a Wagoneer (shoot, I can’t remember the details Sam!), installed those and rebuilt the lines.  Now it “stops on a dime with 9 cents change” as Sam says.

Another project Sam tackled was the springs.  The ride was hard as a rock.  Sam told Craig he had a pretty easy solution.  Instead of installing new springs, they just needed to pull the leafs apart, clean them up, install new bushings and shackles, and then add a liner between the springs to help quiet the ride and improve the action between the springs.  So, Sam put everything back together, saving Craig plenty of money in the process, and the ride improved immensely.

A third project Sam tackled was a lift:  Craig wanted the jeep to ride slightly higher, but not as high as a SOA would have been.  Instead of using longer shackles, Sam suggested simply adding some blocks between the frame and spring holders.  This would provide the lift, but negate the need to change the axle angles.  Below are some pics of the finished lift.  During the process, Sam also installed new shock mounts in the middle of the frame, which allows for the use of stock shocks.

The blocks were made with 2.5″ x 2″ x 3/16″ square tubing that has been capped on each end.  Below pre-paint finished product.

Here is the post paint result of the front hanger (note the color is actually black, but the light faded the color)

You can see the homemade shackles that Sam built which utilize the horizontal piece in the middle. This helps reduce spring sway.  He prefers to keep the shackle as short as possible to additionally remove sway.

Here’s a shot of the front of the rear spring.

This shows the ‘new’ brakes, but does not show the lowered top shock mount.  It also doesn’t show the updated Rack and Pinion system which should be completed soon (here are some early images and discussion of the process).

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