1950 CJ3A budget build

[Trenton]

Well I picked it up 3 weeks ago in pretty solid shape and almost all original except the PO had converted it 50% to 12v. The previous owner had parked her in 1980 in his huge garage, he put a battery in and she cranked over and started right away still on the 35 year old fuel. he has already put new wheel cylinders and master cylinder as the brakes were frozen solid. The plan is to keep the build very budget friendly. I set aside $5000.00 Canadian and the plan was to get her road worthy for that much including the purchase price. Any money I can get back out of it for selling off parts like the complete rear PTO can then go back onto the budget. These are few and far between in Canada and costly if in good shape, I paid $3800.00 for it so that just leaves me $1200.00 for the build which I have pretty much used up already and I still need some parts so I may have to slow down a little. Its not a restoration or a hot rod, I'm trying to keep it as original as possible while also going the cheaper route when I can. All work is done by me.

pic from for sale add

[Trenton]

ok so we drove 15 hours to pick her up

my buddy and i couldn't resist unloading her and going wheeling in the rain on the return trip... don't forget she hadn't been driven for 35 years

[Trenton]

home successfully and that ugly roll bar removed


my nephew approves

[Trenton]

first thing is a complete tune up and replacement of parts i think may fail. I'm not doing a historically accurate build, i want quality and reliability over all.

so thermostat, rad cap, upper and lower rad hoses, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, coil(12V with built in resistor), starter re-wound to 12v, replace generator with one wire alternator, battery, ignition switch, remove voltage reg., replace all wiring and i do mean ALL. belt, water pump and re-core the rad, new gauges and senders so I can actually keep tabs on the Willys workings. also oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter...

pulled the oil pan, straightened it, primed, painted and re-installed

[Trenton]

modern thermostat with homemade spacer and 4 x 1/8" holes drilled in it



K&N air filter replaces oil bath, yes the hood closes

[Trenton]

old wiring

$80.00 for Painless harness from Summit, 4 switched circuits and 3 constant, also put in new started solenoid.


alt installed, i made a mount using part of the old generator brackets

[Trenton]

misc photos of cleaned up and changed parts



the starter i had rewound at a local auto electronics shop to 12v. they also rebuilt and repainted it. they left on the original tag for me. 

[Trenton]

in keeping with the budget theme i used a Safari top from a YJ i had laying around and the windshield channel and welded together 2 weight bench bars for the bow.




also used an old ARB air compressor i had from a previous build and she now has on board air so i can air down these rock hard tires for trail use

[Trenton]

got a set of 3 auto gages on sale for $85.00 and the senders from the oil pressure and temp fit just fine. also i like the red lights. hey does everyone have a red high beam indicator lamp? i didn't know what it was until i changed the bulb and it actually worked.



I'll be removing the throttle lock from the dash and then using the cable to connect to a hand throttle lever that i mounted on the transmission shifter for starting out offroad on a hill.

So after all the tune up parts were changed I flushed the rad and filled her u with fresh coolant and blammooo, about 47 leaks. so today i dropped the rad off at a great local shop that will re-core it for me for less than buying a new one and they are right around the corner and give warranty and stand behind their work. ill post pics of the new rad when i get it back.

[Trenton]

this is the rad and shroud this morning before dropping off rad at the shop, by the reading i've done the shrouds are often missing or damaged? this ones perfect, just needs cleaning and paint.



i've got a remanufactured water pump on the way and the rad should be back in a few days so once they are back installed that will be it for the engine and electrics, she should be reliable then.

i am also making front and rear bumpers and installing an M8000 winch and tow points. of course i still need to go back to original style seats and get some tires. I'm unsure on the tire plan, i am thinking a modern tall skinny agressive radial so i can air down for comfort offroad but you can't beat the look of the non-directional military tires...i'm torn. 

[Trenton]

today was a busy day. finally pulled the PTO off the T-case and installed the cover plate. changed the T-case fluid while in there, remembering this thing was parked for 35 years the color and smell of the fluid wasn't too pleasant. also pulled the fuel tank so i could inspect its condition and try to get the fuel gauge sender going again. good news is the fuel tank is in great shape, bad news is the Willys floor isn't so great. I also finished up all the under dash wiring and majority of the under hood wiring. On board air is running.

interesting cork float on the sending unit

i think this seal is LEAD

the tank looks ok

[Trenton]

looks like over the years the steel around the wood has gone and someone tried to bondo it a long time ago. i guess i'll be doing some sheet metal work

[Tumbleweed]

Trenton,

Very interesting and the red lights on the gauges looks neat. The Jeep appears to be in really good shape � great find! Did you check compression and what kind of oil pressure do you have?

Oh and of course you know that now you have just hooked another young soul that will remember the first time he ever got behind the wheel of a Jeep. Better start looking at another project for your nephew!

Keep the pictures coming and congratulations.

[Trenton]

got the rad back today, the only salvageable parts from the original rad were the side rails and the bottom tank. the shop had to replace the complete core and the top tank. they had asked if i wanted the top tank to look like the original curved upper (more money) but i told them i was happy with a squared top so thats what i got. the upper and lower hose mounts are in the exact same locations, the side mounts are the same and the original shroud fits. the overflow was completely blocked off, the lower part of the rad was almost totally closed off too. this should cool a lot better with the new water pump installed. will get pics of it in the jeep.

[Trenton]

well progress has been slow last couple days. i relocated the horns to behind the grill to clean up the drivers side inner fender. painted them black so i hope they kinda disappear from sight in there. the water pump came in so thats installed. painted and installed the shroud and radiator. i changed the drain spout on the passenger side of the block... when i first opened that spout nothing came out of it. so when i pulled the water pump i got a dental pick in there and with a lot of water flow and some air pressure i managed to get water flowing again. i hope the rest of the block isn't plugged up with rust and crud still, especially with new rad and pump on there. well with this work done I'm finished under the hood, now i can stop putting off the floor repair.