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Calling all Leftys!

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WillysWally View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WillysWally Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Mar. 2020 at 1:39am
Good Evening 48 Walker:

It was my first jeep to own, but not the first one I drove on a regular basis.  I spent 4 years in the Air Force from 71-75 working on, almost exclusively, tactical vehicles -- M151A1's (And yes -- we called them jeeps -- NOT Mutts), Dodge M-37's, M-35A2 Duces, etc.  I was hooked!

When I went back to school after the Air Force I wanted a jeep.  This one was the closest thing I could find to a military jeep, that I could afford at the time.  When I moved back to PA in 1983, I originally restored it to a military configuration, painting it a gloss, Toyoto, olive drab shade that was popular in the late 70's, moved the spare tire to the tailgate and added a jerry can holder.  Not exact, but close enough.  By and by I came across the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA) and became aware of the military vehicle community.

I also did some research on the early CJ flat fenders, including Selling The All American Wonder.  Once I got my first military jeep, an M-38, I reconfigured the Lefty back to its original configuration, painting it an appropriate color.  I recognized the rarity and historical value of the jeep as a civilian vehicle, especially since I believe that it spent the first 30 years in the higher, drier climate of the rocky mountains and had a very original and relatively sound body.  Since I first bought it we did a body off restoration to stop what little corrosion there was, including two engine overhauls. 

I did replace the grill early on.  I used an earlier style grill, as I liked the look and mounting of the earlier parking/turn signal lights.  Here is a frontal view. I have also included a couple of pictures of the M-38 as well.

Enjoy!

Regards,

Walter






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48walker View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 48walker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Mar. 2020 at 2:35pm
Nice pictures, and great that you've been able to hold on to the same Jeep and keep it in the field for so long. 
The M38 and the trailer looks good too.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote APOS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Apr. 2021 at 12:39am
I was informed by 48cj2a that I may have a Lefty. It has the hardware/reinforcement on the driver's side (or what looks to be). However, it is titled as a 49'. It doesn't have the original engine, so I can't pull any numbers off that, no serial tag (screw marks, but has been removed), body tag, frame tag (don't see any spots for rivets), or dash tag that I can find. It does have the Tub ACM #167557 and a matching tailgate ACM #167557.

I'm not sure if the serial tag was pulled off when the gentleman began the project and was lost somewhere in transition over the years until his passing.

As far as I know, it's spent most it's life in the Pacific Northwest.





Edited by APOS - 27 Apr. 2021 at 12:40am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WillysWally Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Apr. 2021 at 2:28pm
Good Morning APOS:

I understand that you are lacking tag verification, but what is the S/N on the title?  Assuming that it is correct, that could tell you the year of manufacture.

I am not sure how things are done in Oregon, but back in that era, in Pennsylvania, dealers were allowed to change the year of the vehicle.  Here is conceptually how it worked.

If the dealer had any left over inventory from a particular model year, they could turn in the paper work on the leftover vehicle(s) and send it into PennDot, who would reissue the title for the current model year and not necessarily the year of manufacture.  We have seen some anomalies here that based on the vin number did not make sense as to the year shown on the title.

Good luck figuring it out.

Regards,

Walter
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bight Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Apr. 2021 at 3:04pm
it would be nice to centralize the topic of VIN numbers and titles. not sure how this could best be accomplished. state by state info would be nice but may be unwieldy.

just from a discussionary viewpoint (not critical, please) i am curious as to the various needs, desires, opinions of theCJ2Apage users regarding this topic.

there seem to be very, very few factory complete CJ-2A's out there. these would seem to deserve full accuracy, matching, title, etc.

but the majority seem to be mixes of frames, bodies, windshields, civilian turned military (militarized), chassis', wheels, engines, brakes, 12V conversions, etc., etc.

this leads to the question: what part of the Jeep constitutes the basis for the year and serial number? the body? probably not as so many bodies rotted away. the frame? maybe. you see where i am going here? has this been hashed out by the experts here?

in reality, it seems that many states do not even provide vintage auto titles. some provide only antique car titles for limited use and many "built" vehicles do not actually qualify. these clearly are not hot rods (except maybe MarkW's), and not horseless carriages (though the Amish may be passing you sometimes, oh wait, that is a horse carriage).

and then, it becomes IF you can obtain a title, what difference does it make what year is on it? or does it? i have a resto mod that is clearly a 2A from a distance (early column shift tub), but has a 3B frame, various ford, chevy, military parts, etc. it was PO titled as a 1945 and will be a huge hassle to try and change that and do little except provide salve for my OCD tendencies.

thanks for reading. thoughts?
CJ-2A 72586 tan (stock)
CJ-2A 197624 green (resto-mod)
the wife abides (def: to bear patiently; TOLERATE)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote APOS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Apr. 2021 at 10:00pm
Hi Walter, thank you for the information. The title states J1845908. From what I have read the J means it's possibly an engine number?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bob W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr. 2021 at 1:32am
Originally posted by APOS APOS wrote:

Hi Walter, thank you for the information. The title states J1845908. From what I have read the J means it's possibly an engine number?

Looks like an engine serial number because of the J prefix. There are one too many digits in the numerical portion of the number. The final "8" was probably actually the letter "B". What serial number is on your engine?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote damar2yxr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr. 2021 at 2:48pm
The number you have listed on your title as Bob said is an engine number. More than likely it’s the serial number of your original engine. I suspect that is the case since that number falls in the range of the “lefty” family of Jeep. Your tub and tailgate ACM numbers usually were off by at least 10000 from your Jeep’s original serial number which if you extrapolate puts you in the “lefty” range again. Your Jeep is definitely a lefty based on your body accoutrements.

Edited by damar2yxr - 28 Apr. 2021 at 2:58pm
eat,sleep,jeep

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote G16 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 July 2021 at 10:31am
Hi everbody ,

New here from Belgium , Europe.
I own a 1948 CJ2A , former Swiss army. Vin number 186840 , Body number :172281 , engine number J199889 ,  and yes it’s a lefty but with the spare wheel on the hinge.( EU regulations)

Strange thing is that the lefty production stopped accuring the service bulletin @ 185769 , so mine should have been a normal one ??
From the 9708 lefty’s produced almost 400 where shipped to the Swiss army .
The wheel carrier is the same as mounted on the Swiss army CJ3A & B ,so maybe local production.

The hinge closes not only with the chains but also with a clamp and a wingnut



Edited by G16 - 28 July 2021 at 12:03pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Stev Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 July 2021 at 10:53am
G16,

That is an odd Lefty.  It looks to have the inner fender mount for the tire on the left side but it also has the bow pockets mounted on the left side like a standard production Righty.

Is there any thing on the right side?  Inner tire support or bow pockets?
Stev
1946 CJ2A Trail Jeep (The Saint), 1948 CJ2A Lefty Restored
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote G16 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 July 2021 at 11:03am
No there is no inner tire support on the right and no bow pockets.
Those Swiss army CJ2a ‘s came with a MB style top , so they didn’t have the bow pockets or the corner tubes for the civil softtop bows.
I added the left bow pockets and corner tubes while restoring the car . Didn’t know about the lefty at that moment and where the hell could I find right side bow pockets . Civilian parts are so difficult to find here in the EU
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote G16 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 July 2021 at 11:45am
The swiss style rear wheel carrier 

 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rocnroll Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 July 2021 at 3:08pm
Originally posted by rocnroll rocnroll wrote:

Originally posted by Joe Friday Joe Friday wrote:

Everytime I hear or see the word lefty, even if it's not related to Jeeps, I still think of Alan.
 
I only met him twice, but he made an enormous impression on me that quite frankly has changed the way I live my life.
 
Thank You Alan -God Bless 
 
 
I thought he needed to make an appearance today.....(always liked the grin in this picture)
 
 
 
Went back to the beginning and was rereading this thread....just wanted to introduce Alan (WFB) to some of the newer readers (and let him smile at those of us fortunate enough to have been around him)....still missed after all these years. RIP
 
Also, great looking jeep Gerrit...truly a mysterious one.Thumbs Up
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Edited by rocnroll - 28 July 2021 at 3:11pm
'47 CJ2A PU
'48 CJ2A Lefty

"Common sense is not that common"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Scratch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Sep. 2021 at 4:07pm
Hi all, I've been into Jeeps for a long time and have acquired a small collection during these past 50 years.  I've known about lefty's for a while and have always thought it would be fun to have one.  I recently finished working on one of my Jeeps and pulled it into the pole barn, so I grabbed the next one in line and pulled it into the garage.  That's when I realized I DO have a lefty!!  

I have two more that I want to license and drive.  I want one to have kind of a vintage service station vibe and one to be fully restored, like just off the factory line.  I was going to do this one as the service station one, but now that I found out it's a Lefty, I'll probably do a full restoration of it!

1948 CJ2A
serial #181341
Engine #J193569A
ACM #170768

Glad to be in the club!!






Edited by Scratch - 03 Sep. 2021 at 4:15pm
43 GPW 93487 Blk
44 GPW 230283 OD
46 CJ2A 50100 Tan
46 CJ2A 77632 Wht
47 CJ2A 141681 Grn
48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel
48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red
61 CJ5 123120 Tan
03 TJ Inca Gld
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote damar2yxr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Sep. 2021 at 4:59pm
Interesting that your lefty and mine are 175 units from each other and the bodies are 200 units from each other. Mine looked like it rolled off the assembly line first. What is interesting is that your engine is 239 units in front of mine which means your engine was ahead of mine but my jeep theoretically is older than yours. Since both jeeps are Wisconsin jeeps, yours is an "up north" jeep and so was mine it stands to reason they may have come from the same place. I've got no history on mine but perhaps you do?
eat,sleep,jeep

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Scratch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Sep. 2021 at 8:59pm
No, I don't have any other history on mine.  I've had this one for about 15 years and don't even remember where I got it.  I know it was either Minnesota or Wisconsin but that's about it for history.
43 GPW 93487 Blk
44 GPW 230283 OD
46 CJ2A 50100 Tan
46 CJ2A 77632 Wht
47 CJ2A 141681 Grn
48 CJ2A 156240 Red/Yel
48 CJ2A "Lefty" 181341 Red
61 CJ5 123120 Tan
03 TJ Inca Gld
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ricksslatts Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Sep. 2021 at 9:12am
I posted the info on my left all the way back to page 1. That was several years ago...I also have another Lefty that i have had for quite a while...I will get the numbers when I get a chance and post them..I have a slat grill engine in it, originally Pickett grey. Jeep is in real good shape.
Rick
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ricksslatts Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Sep. 2021 at 9:51pm
Here are the numbers on my other Lefty... firewall tag #183741...body gusset  #172560..... tailgate #172560.... engine is from a 41 slat grill...
Rick
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