Opinions on this '49 2A

ekul310 wrote: The ad says that the steering column is out of a chevy, so I could probably swap the wheel, column and box with something aftermarket an original one for aesthetics.

Is it just me or is the tailgate welded shut?

ekul310 wrote:

Also, if you zoom in on the draw bar, you can clearly see that the braces are there. You can also see that a ball-hitch plate was torn out of the drawbar. All four vertical straps have been bent and the rivets have been torn out of the bumper & frame. Someone tried to yank something that seriously didn't want to be moved. You aren't going to do this kind of damage in any way other than taking a good run at something anchored solidly to the ground, like a large tree stump.

ekul310 wrote: Hi all,

It could be bent like that hitting an obstacle at speed, but it wouldn't have torn the ball plate off. The area where the plate was is still parallel to what it would have been before the drawbar was damaged, indicating to me that it the plate was yanked off at the same time the drawbar was bent.
This is someone else's picture, but it shows what the drawbar should look like. The triangle piece is the part that was pulled off.


When you go look at this, you're going to want to look for frame damage in the back half of the jeep. You're looking for twist in the rails and/or places where the top or bottom of the C channel aren't parallel to each other & 90 degrees to the side wall - like they've been pushed up or down in a 'V', indicating a severe up or downward bend in the frame rail. I'd also measure the distance between the frame rails at the transfer case cross member and and in several places from the rear bumper to somewhere forward of the axle. The measurements from the rear of the frame should be very close to what you measure at the transfer case cross member.

You'll also want to follow the braces to the upper anchor point and look for damage there, too. I expect you're going to find some. Either a bent cross member or deformed/torn-out bolt holes.

e.g. this CJ2A frame horn has been bent upward, as indicated by the V-shaped 'pucker' in the top of the frame rail, again someone else's picture:

Any frame damage like above that is directly above  a spring is going to directly affect suspension movement and cornering.

If you can take it on a solo test drive, I'd see about making arrangements ahead of time to stop at a collision repair shop to have them eyeball the frame.

All that said, any of this kind of damage is pretty easy to fix on these things. Once you know it's there, you can make plans for repairs.

And welcome to the forum!


Edited by LesBerg - 01 Nov. 2017 at 5:56pm