First time Willys owner, new project

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   Hello everyone,
Just joined the Willys club last Wednesday, so to speak.  I bought a CJ2A 157713 from a gent in Old Town, Idaho.  The frame and body tags are intact and legible - they match.  It's my first Willys or Jeep. Thinking about it, it's my first 4x4 outside driving various vehicles for the army. I've driven lots, just never owned them.

She's a bit of a rust bucket... though 'bucket' might imply it could hold water. I promise you, she can't. There's a LOT of rust and evidence of near-terminal abuse.

THE GOOD:
It's a stretched jeep (Willys? not sure just what to call it with this crowd). It's about 24 inches longer than stock.

Though this point could be argued, I think I like the fuel tank at the moment. The original tank was removed, possibly when the body and frame were stretched. The current tank is the width of the outside of the frame rails, as tall as the step from the front floor pan to the rear floor, and as deep as the stretch. I'm not sure what the exact dimensions are. I've been too busy working out the wiring issues. I suspect that the capacity is in the neighborhood of 20-25 gallons. 

The PO says that the motor was purchased last summer from a retired diesel mechanic in Blanchard. While he had no evidence to back the claim up, oil pressure at idle is about 75lbs. 

She starts right up and purrs like a kitten. Lacking any exhaust below the manifold, she purrs like a very large kitten. No choke, no pumping. Just turn the key and touch the button. I haven't done a compression test yet, but it's on the to-do list.

The carb is a Carter. While the engine fires right up, it smells a tad rich coming off-idle and leaks a bit. Shouldn't be anything a good carb kit can't address.

The radiator is very beat up, but it holds pressure and doesn't leak. 

The heater under the dash just above the driver's left knee is there and the motor runs smoothly. It's not much louder than the heater in my 67 Ford F100, so I figure it's in good shape.  I'll plumb it in and pressure test it soon(tm).

All the gages except the ammeter seem to be original. At the moment only the ammeter and oil pressure gauge seem to work. The speedometer cable is missing and the gas gauge is disconnected. Given that it's been converted to 12v, that's just fine. The temp gauge is permanently pegged at max. I may attempt to tease the unit apart and see if I can get it going.

The original horn is present, and it works. Though it's not connected to anything....

Oh - It moves under it's own power - very good in my opinion. 

THE BAD. 
Unfortunately, this is a large list.

The tub's floor is badly rotted. Not so bad that stepping on it poses a risk of falling through, but not far from it.

At least the last two POs used it extensively for plowing driveways during Idaho winters. The abuse was enough that the front plow was bent beyond use and the rear 3-point plow was repeatedly ripped off the back - it was bolted through the rear of the tub sheet metal. There is no bumper.

The frame been cracked, broken and welded more times than I've been able to count. Fortunately, I was a certified frame repair tech in a previous career. It needs to be reinforced in the area of the stretch, but that's for another time. I need to learn how much a 'jeep' frame needs to flex before I do any reinforcing. If I make it too stiff it can focus stress in other areas of the frame and body and cause more damage than it would otherwise prevent.

I won't say the suspension is shot - I don't know enough about these vehicles to know how various problems manifest themselves. 

That said, the frame almost sits on the axles. The shackles are completely shot and there are no bushings to speak of. The front loops on the front springs have been broken off and welded - the left side loop is offset half the width of the spring to the inside to compensate for the lack of bushings.

There are no shocks. At all. 

The front spring packs have way too many leafs - I quit counting at fourteen on the left side. Needless to say, replacing all the bushings, shackles, and the two front springs are close to the top of the repair list.

The brakes don't work. Given that the center of the master cylinder lid appears to have been drilled out, it's my first suspect. I tried pouring fluid in, and the system won't pump up and nothing comes out of the wheel cylinder bleed screws. I'll pull the master cylinder out and see if it's repairable. I suspect I'll be replacing it.

Two thirds of the steering wheel has been hacked out. Gonna need to find a used one. Since this won't be a restoration, a functional used one will do fine.

The windshield  frame is a travesty. Extra metal was welded all around it to mate up with an ad-hoc plywood cab. Returning the factory frame to something approaching original condition scares me more than fixing the tub...  If you knew how much I enjoy this kind of work, you'd get a good picture of how bad this is. The left glass is broken.

The air cleaner assembly is completely missing. Even though this will (hopefully) be a daily driver, I plan on using a stock oil bath filter. My experience is that even though they are messier and require more maintenance, they do a much better job filtering incoming air, especially in dirty environments. Given that we live two miles down a dirt road I suspect was imported from Dresden and that we plan on spending considerable time on back country Forest Service and logging roads, we'll need all the dirt protection we can get.

Anyway, my plan is to build this into a daily driver. Some of you may be familiar with the term 'restification' - a combination of 'restoration' and 'modification' where the modifications are correct to the period the vehicle is from. A '32 Ford highboy roadster with 50's wheels, tires, and a flathead V8 would be a good example of a restification. A poor example would be the same roadster with an electronic ignition and Recaro seats.

My only concession to modern tech will be a 12v electrical system. Mainly because the modification has already been done, but we're also planning on using this jeep for hunting and camping in Idaho back country. This is another reason I'm planning on keeping the current fuel tank, at least for now.

[edit]
Oh, it's also missing wipers and tailgate, and the slip yoke on the front driveshaft is shot. 

speaking of pictures.... 

Edited by LesBerg - 13 Apr. 2014 at 6:18pm