The Resurrection of CJ2-26

drm101 wrote: Wheels look perfect! Curious what paint they used. Is it base/clear or single stage? It looks like a satin finish in the pic.

Hi Dean:

I took a peeled scrap of old Sunset Red paint to a local NAPA store and matched its rubbed color as best I could to a readily available NAPA orange commercial paint (of which there are many), so it is not an expensive custom mix but a readily available paint should I ever need more.  The orange I chose looked lighter on the chip than on the painted wheel, but I'm still pleased with the final result. Its a single stage paint but Lou coated it with clear coat to help preserve it. So I guess I should call it a Sunset Red cousin. 

Joe Friday wrote: Fred, I'm scheduled to come out for the Color Tour a week early if you need help mounting those...Got tubes? PS Flaps are for 2 piece wheels.

After an inspirational week jeeping at Mike and Nancy's Fall Color Tour 2020, I was motivated to get back to restoring CJ2-26 for next year's trail rides.  My body and paint guy, Lou Ferra, also cleared the decks to repair and paint some of the body parts. 

Late this week I spent 2 days sandblasting small parts with the help of Squeezy and Beady, my air compressor and blast cabinet. Although I thought I had chosen parts to be painted Harvest Tan to give to Lou, it turns out most of the parts are to be painted black, which I'll do here at home.  So over the next few days I make better part selections to deliver to Lou for painting when he paints some of the larger body parts. 

The two most endearing parts Lou painted are the JEEP-stamped tailgate and outer windshield frame, shown here:

Many, many heartfelt thanks to Jpet for making the dies to stamp the JEEP name welded into the tailgate.  CJ2-26 will wear that tailgate with spot-weld popping pride! Lou also painted the front bumper:

so we're making good progress before winter sets in.  In a few days I post photos of the small parts I've painted black. It's great to be back on track. Enjoy!

Paul Dub-Ya:

Happy to hear my solution for removing that troublesome bell crank shaft pin helped you.  I've benefited immensely from the tips and solutions others have posted on this website, and am glad I can return the favor.

Like many other parts on a CJ2 stamped "JEEP",  the seat frames incorporate a combination of MB and CJ-2A features. The driver side seat frame is mostly MB with a few changes: (1) the right front leg has been shortened and turned 90 degrees towards the center of the jeep to mount on the wider transmission hump of the CJ-2, (2) the rearmost cross member is an angle iron instead of a flattened tubular cross member, and (3) no seat pan is mounted on top of the three cross members; instead, they are left open. Two small round locating pins have been added to the top of the front tubular cross member.

The passenger side seat frame is a MB passenger seat frame modified as follows: (1) the two front legs are shortened and have angled tabs on their ends to mount into cast brackets on top of the front edge of the new enclosed tool compartment, (2) the rearmost cross member is an angle iron instead of a flattened tubular cross member, and (3) the full width flat MB passenger seat pan has been omitted, leaving the 3 cross members exposed.  

These features are seen on the newly painted CJ-2 seat frames here:

Because the CJ-2 seat frames are dimensionally the same as MB seat frames,  I choose to have late war style MB metal seat springs made for the bottom and back seat cushions. Nick Hopper at All American Manufacturing and Canvas Works LLC in Nine Mile Falls, WA. 99026 has been making late war MB seat spring seats (using "S" springs) for a few years, and I asked Nick if he would make a seat of seat cushions for me. He quickly said 'yes".  But, of course, they would not be the standard MB canvas covered seat cushions he was familiar with as they incorporated a combination of MB and CJ-2A seat cushion features.

The seat pans that had been removed from the seat frames were changed and added to the bottom of the bottom seat cushions on the CJ2.  Fortunately for me, they were the same seat spring pans as used on the CJ-2A and Carl Walck has been reproducing them, so I ordered 2 seat pans (W.O. #663706) from Carl and had them shipped to Nick.

The seat cover fabric specified for the stamped "JEEP" in the CJ-2 Bill of Materials is "Olive Drab Fabric-112 Sateen Vynalite Coated - Colonial Gain Dull finished undyed  back finish weight 27 oz. per yard."  This is not a stock item at Joanna's Fabrics.  But again, thankfully, Carl Walck is reproducing this fabric and claims his current product is a very nice match to the original.  In a blind leap of faith, without having seen a sample, I ordered a complete seat of early CJ-2A seats covers (both front seats and the early MB style CJ-2A back seat) from Carl and had them shipped to Nick. A few photos I had seen on the internet of Carl's early CJ-2A seat covers suggested they were more beige then olive drab, but in the spirit of keeping CJ2-26 as original as possible I ordered them anyway rather than using olive drab canvas as is on CJ2-09 (and has wonderful patina and wear marks). Fingers crossed!

Of course Carl's CJ-2A seat covers were about 4" too tall for the shorter MB height back panels on CJ2-26's seat frames, so I asked Nick to shorten the rear seat covers and fit the bottom seat covers to his MB spring cushions.  He said he's be happy to do that and looked forward to this unusual project.

 . . . and I am thrilled beyond words with how great they came out. These are made the way the originals were on CJ2-26 but are brand new! Nothing could be finer. And Carl's seat covers are really olive drab in color, not beige as I was unexcitedly expecting, and I'm thrilled with those too!

Nick also had to attach Carl's reproduction spring pans to the bottom spring cushions.  I emailed Nick photos of a worn CJ-2A seat pan I had that used leather laces inside the hem around the bottom seat cover underside perimeter. The pans were then held to the cushion by folded triangular metal tabs.

Here's the inside of a back seat cushion showing the "S" springs that, over time, will make their imprint of the seat covers with extended use:

For now the seat cushions will be kept packed away in their box.  But once CJ2-26's body is repaired, painted, wired, and mounted on the chassis, I'll pull out the cushions and attach them to the seat frames.

A heartfelt and well-deserved "Thank You" is sent to Nick Hopper of All American Manufacturing and Canvas, LLC, for his excellent seat springs and superb upholstery, and to Carl Walck for his wonderful reproduction seat pans and accurate olive drab reproduction seat covers.  CJ2-26 is enhanced by your craftsmanly contributions. 

  

Fred,

   Great progress on your jeep! Appreciate you sharing the journey to bring this unique vehicle back to life.

Regards,

Dave