My 1946 CJ2a project

I thought this would be a great place to document my new project.  I picked up 1946 CJ2a #72652 on August 22, 2021.

Well I picked up pieces of it anyway!  Most of the jeep was scattered around the barn and yard of the previous owner.  It was all gathered up and piled onto my truck and trailer along with an extra rusted out body from a '47.

I've been working steadily on it now for about 6 weeks, so I'll have lots to record and update here as I get caught up to the present.  For now I'll start with some pics of how it looked when I bought it.

The story I was told:  Some "old boy" had owned the Jeep and hired Roy to work on it some years ago (20-30?). Roy says he rebuilt the engine, replaced all the brake components, and cleaned and painted the frame.  Maybe more?  But the guy didn't return to pay for it.  Roy said he would see him around from time to time, but the guy never had the money.  Finally, after an unclear amount of time had passed (decades?), he told Roy to just keep the Jeep and call it even.

Apparently, it sat in Roy's shop/barn the whole time.  (at least the chassis)  His grandson posted it for sale after finding it buried in the back of "PawPaw's" barn.  By this time, the body pieces were outside and grown over with weeds.

According to the license plate, the Jeep was last registered in 1989.  The photos above make it clear that the body was not well preserved, but my inspection of the chassis made me think the story of rebuilt engine, brakes, etc... was plausible. The frame is in exceptionally good shape and completely rust free.  The engine turned freely and held good looking oil and all 4 tires actually held air!  After considerable negotiation on the price, I agreed to buy it and drag it from Kentucky to my home in Ohio.

Once I got it home I got busy pressure washing everything and taking inventory of what I had and what was missing.  Some of the missing parts are significant  - most notable are: seats, air cleaner assembly, and oil filter assembly.  (still looking for these if anyone has spares)

I didn't think I was getting a fuel tank or a tailgate, but fortunately the PO found them both on the day I picked it up.  The tailgate is my favorite thing ever.  I love the look of the paint layering.  The fuel cap is equally cool.  I will not be repainting these!

(I can't seem to figure out how to get pics rotated the correct way when posted.  Any help would be appreciated.)

(bonus content: my 1984 CJ-7 in the background hogging my wife's parking spot) 

To deal with this, I got a delivery from Classic Enterprises:  floor pans, hat channels, floor riser, and side steps.  Time to really put my youtube welder training to the test!  lol

The original plan was just to patch up the floor and put it all back together -  but now that I've come this far I can't do that.  I'm now chasing down rust and patching sheet metal as needed.  Over the last 2 days I have completed patching up the passenger side.