1946 CJ2A # 26624

Well the wheel well storage sure makes a great spot for hornets to hide, I have found nests in my glove box, both tool boxes, and under my dash.  God bless bug  bombs.

I am thinking that I will do an MB clone as a temporary finish, slight errors on it though, i.e. trying to maintain my CJ windshield, CJ hood (8 hours of sanding so far, worth more than a replacement hood to me right now)  but I'm gonna probably do MB Fenders and Grille, the flat OD green will just be easier for me to do than the Harvard Red.  After I'm done with medical school and have some spare money, I will probably spring for a 2A body tub, and transfer over the tool indents.  Then have it professionally painted and finish with the 2A resto.

Longhunter wrote: ovrlnd wrote: sweet find. Why couldn't willys left the wheel well storage compartment in the civvy's? they would be so useful   Personally, I like the wheel well storage and the glove box. Beats me why they ever changed it..... (????)

Every little "feature" added to the cost of production, WO was aiming at a particular price point (even with all the deletions they still missed their original target)

Sorry about the huge lag in pictures, Busy week at work, had to work 48 straight for the ambulance.  Oh well, got home today and here's what I did.

First got busy sanding the underside of the hood.



Progress was going slowly, so I finished it up with a flapper wheel, boy those are nice!



After doing this, I took a body hammer and dolly to the hood, got all the dings out as good as I could, and then used some high-fill primer, after finding the low spots, I carefully sanded down the areas to bare metal, and used a chemically suspended metal bondo, seems to work just like lead used to do for it, I've actually melted down old sinkers for the same effect, but I don't have enough sinkers for this job.



Sanding still needs to be done, but I am waiting for my Girlfriend tomorrow, she loves doing meticulous work, and I can't think of anything  more meticulous than sanding bondo!



Here is the fender damage that I discussed earlier, does anyone have an opinion as to whether it can be salvaged or not?



heres another shot



and here is the brilliant fender mount that the previous owner put in.


Does anyone know if this is the factory correct parking brake handle?  It is designed to have the sleeve type cable in it.



New wheel is here!



Here is the inside of the steering box, now that my new parts are here... I wondered why it was getting so difficult to steer.  Here seems to be the issue.



more gunk



The seal around the steering column seems to have been the issue.  Also, the P.O. had it dry in there, I put gear oil in a few days ago, of course came out nice and black.



Pinched in and got out this much.



That is some nasty gunk, well I guess disassembly and thorough cleaning is an order, I guess I can clean up the outside while I'm at it and give it a nice coat of black.  Did others use POR 15 black, or what did you use?

You could try to find an mb frame and build an mb instead of a cj2a

Update - Hood's Ready for Paint!

Well we have the hood all primed up and ready for paint, Here are a few of the pics of it.  The paint work is going to need to wait until spring, but here it is now. 

My girlfriend Kristin and I working on getting the sanding done.



Happy to be almost done!



Steering box is all cleaned up, and I hand painted the numbers onto it, so that it has a little added detail.  Sorry that it's a little blurry.



Close up on the numbers for added detail.



Hood with primer on it!



Turned out great, it's actually shiny too!  Too bad I need to wait until spring for color!



Close up on the stamping, that's a hair sitting on it,  not a run (between the L and the Y)



A few more coats of primer are still needed, and I need a couple more sandings, but over all it looks fantastic, It's perfect within about an inch or two good light.  That's plenty good enough for me.  I still need to finish up with 1500 and 2000 grit wet sandings, after that I'll be happy.

They are both "keepers"!

Jeeper, the MB tag was near the end of the war (5-2-45) and is serial number 458536  The CJ5 is a nice looking one, how many coats of paint did you have to use?  Thanks to all about the compliments on my girlfriend, she's nice and embarrassed by it.  Keep up the good work on that.

Well I have been busy doing other projects,

Brakes and a full tie rod set on my 2008 Focus (only 38,000 miles.  Dirt road is rough on that little car)

Power Steering Pump and rear brakes and all 4 new shocks on my dad's F-350, unbelievably difficult to get to to work on.

On my girlfriends Grand Am, New Speed sensors on both front wheels, new brakes on the front, New power steering pump, new spark plugs... etc etc etc. it works now.

On the bright side, lots of new parts coming my way, so as soon as I get a day off I will have more project work and pictures for everyone on here.  Sorry about the major lag!

Alright, well 5 more weeks until I can start working again, but I am getting the following parts.  A NOS, WWII era Glove Box Button and latch assembly, to fit my tub because it is an MB.

  

New Floor pans for drivers and passengers side, also new hat channels.  A new, proper distributor, no more V8, that is factory style externally, but has an integrated electronic ignition instead of points.  I know it's not original, but it will be replacing one with an external electronic ignition, so it is closer.  A frame that appears to be completely unmodified, with very little damage, battery box, and a rim from Damar2yxr which is a huge help.  Then the big work will begin!  I may end up with some good extra parts for sale/trade so I'll keep everyone posted on that! Unfortunately, Kristin won't be in many of the photos because she's heading to where the tub went in 1945! She is going to study in France for a semester and will be in the Brittany region!  She promised to get some Normandy pictures for me to share with you all.  Finally, I picked up a 1970's Jerry Can, which I am going to make into a tool box mounted on the jeep!  She's gonna end up being an MB-2A, so a mix of the two, color undecided, but I'm leaning away from OD, something nice and bright perhaps?  I promise lots of pictures to come, and I apologize for the delay!

Final note, the reason I have to weight 5 weeks instead of 2 is that I hit a deer with my car, and need to fix it first!  Hope you all can forgive my priorities!