50 CJ3A "Nuthin' Fancy"

[squidtone]

Hi Brad,
Sorry I didn't notice your post....(actually I was out of town when you posted).
The wee red light is my "idiot" light for the 3 wire alternator. I may move it to the hole in the dash where the governor handle should go because someone long ago punched out the slug that was there. However, I can't for the life of me find a small incandescent light socket to fit in there. Nobody sells tiny incandescent lamp assemblies anymore. They're all LED which won't work for the alternator field. I refuse to drill the hole bigger to fit that big lamp. So for now, the lamp sits on a little tab in the crook of the steering column mount.

[squidtone]

Wow it's September of 2019!
I believe I have crossed the fuzzy line where I can say I'm finished. Of course that is never really true, but I've driven my wee little CJ3A for a couple months and I have ironed out all the bugs to where I can hop into it and take a drive with no worries. Here's some details of my fiddling over the past couple months.

Starter. This wasn't really a big problem, but I stumbled upon a replacement candidate, and it worked out well. I had an autolite 6V starter unit that did work, but I had to baby it to get it to mesh with my flywheel. This involved me modifying the set up by putting a key switch in series with the button switch on top of the starter. This allowed me to mesh the starter pinion (with the foot pushrod of course) with no electrical power, then apply power by turning the key. But it was tricky to coordinate the sequence. So I found a 20 dollar swap meet aftermarket Ford small block Denso type starter and adapted it to my Go Devil. I made up my own aluminum adapter (I have an ancient CNC machine) and sourced a 9 tooth pinion to make it work. I use a standard key switch on the dash with a ford solenoid under the hood. (The crummy NAPA solenoid is malfuntioning hence the disconnected "I" terminal of the harness...it stays "hot" even when the ignition switch is off. I have to investigate) I do miss the floor starter switch, but it's so darn convenient to have key start. It works perfectly....I don't think I can go back!

[squidtone]

Low oil pressure. After long drives I found I had almost zero oil pressure at idle. This engine still has it's original bores and maybe even original bearings and rings. I think it is an industrial type engine due to the strange springs on the intake valves under the "tulip" head. Anyway, I do NOT want to rebuild this thing. It runs great, has good power, and low smoke. I run 10-40 weigh oil which some say is not the best idea. I will probably change to 15-40 Motorcraft diesel type oil (as recommended by a nerd friend who did copious research on this) for zinc content as well as slightly higher viscosity (all good things for old loose motors).
I still wanted to improve my low oil pressure and I can't help but tinker so I pulled the oil pan and timing cover off in order to get to the timing gear oil jet. (As often happens I encountered a problem: I couldn't loosen the pulley nut...it took a week of head scratching and it escalated into cutting the nut off....the job went well after that) I found the timing gear jet had a 0.070" hole which Willys specified in the early years. Sometime in the mid 1950's Willys stated that this large oil jet output would possibly reduce oil pressure at some bearing surface areas, and recommended a jet size change to 0.040" for all engines. My solution was to drill and tap the part for an 8-32 set *, mill it flat and stake it, then drill a 0.035" jet hole. I cleaned up the pan, oil pickup and painted up all the parts so things look a little better under there. Result was actually a little bit more oil pressure at hot idle speed...about 3 or 4 PSI. That's good enough for me. I think thicker oil will put me over 5 PSI. I'm not in a rush.

[squidtone]

Hot engine fuel flooding. I found after being fully warmed up the Jeep would be difficult to restart. It required a long crank with the pedal to the floor and it would cough and smoke black for a minute until it cleared up. Then it ran fine. I noticed the fuel pressure would rise to over 5 PSI after a hot shut off. I have the fuel pressure regulator set for 1.5 PSI and SOLEX carbs can't handle much higher pressure than that. This is a "dead head" fuel system and the fuel had nowhere to go after a shut off, and with heat it would expand and pressure would go up and I presume fuel would get by the needle and seat and flooding would occur. I solved the problem by putting in a fuel line bypass; essentially the addition of a fuel line from near the carburetor input, through a 0.032" orifice and back to the fuel tank. It bleeds off all pressure when the engine (fuel pump) is off. It worked perfectly and gave me a chance to re do all my vacuum lines and put in a new fuel line too. The bypass is still rubber so I may update that sometime soon to metal line.

[squidtone]

After these repairs and tweeks, I've been enjoying the heck out of this old Willys. I've never been in, or driven any other Willys Jeep so I have nothing to compare my experiences with, but as far as this little Jeep goes, the engine power is not too bad. It can pull hills alright. And off the line, it's fun!. I have hit almost 50mph for some stretches and it just hums along with more pedal available, but I don't want to push it. It tracks very nicely and there are no vibes even despite no wheel balancing. There are no clunks or noises either. It's a neat little machine. It is definitely happiest at 35mph. I've gotten braver about driving it on bigger and faster roads, and I even made a 60 mile round trip to work this week to show it off to some coworkers. I had a blast darting around commuter traffic. It definitely gets way more attention than my convertible GTO. Folks love old Jeeps.

So I'll include a few shots of my Jeep as it stands now, and I'd like to say THANKYOU to all the folks on the CJ3A forum who have helped me along the way. I appreciate all who contribute here!

I'll post up some more detail pictures when the weather is better....

[SteveKfl]

She's a beauty!  Will this work? 1/2" hole required.   https://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-6V-Red-Electric-Incandescent-Indicator-Pilot-Light-1-2-Flush-Mount-NOS/323893522772?hash=item4b698ef154:g:EGoAAOSwPGpbCIDr 

[squidtone]

Ha YES that would work. Looks like an antique! I've got my Radio Shack lamp in there now....Radio shack (online) carries at least one incandescent!

[JeepFever]

WOW!  . . . the end result on "Nuthin' Fancy" looks REALLY fancy.   

I have been away from '3A page for a while,  busy with life, and my '2A (Wilson),  but started spending some time recently working on Hoover,  and checking out the page.

I feel a kindred spirit with your project because ours have such similar beginnings.  Our '3A's could be twins to start out. . .    Hoover will not look nearly as refined though in the end.  My goal is for it to look like a survivor,  flat paint, dents and all.

Enough about mine . .   I skimmed thru your entire thread,  and I am impressed with the workmanship.   I hope to go back soon to study in more detail

VERY NICE !! 

[squidtone]

JeepFever,
Thanks for the comments! It's hard to believe it's 2019. It is amazing how similar our Jeeps looked when we started our threads.
For me, it was fun to fix up a really cool old Jeep that I just don't see around here very often. I ended up going for a stock looking resto because I like that the best. But I did keep the dinged up tail gate and wheel well tops! I like the "patina", and I'm proud I saved big sections of the tub. Good luck on "Hoover"!
Dave

[squidtone]

Hi Jeepers
Well, despite the winter, I'm still enjoying a drive in this Jeep just about every weekend. Even in the 20's, I just bundle up with a hat and gloves and take a nice drive around town. It's an absolute ball to drive. The big CJ3A windshield does a pretty good job of keeping the cold wind down! Anyway, I plan on taking some video soon and detail pictures for my website (just a hobby page with details on this build) so perhaps I'll finish this thread up with some better pictures of the Jeep.
Happy New Year!

Dave

[OnlyOneDR]

I just finally read through your entire thread.  Coming from yet another guy with a huge pile of parts in the garage and a chassis and rusting tub sitting out in the yard I can say that this was very inspiring!  Good work!

[squidtone]

OnlyOneDR,
Thanks!
Good luck on your rig...you can do it!

[squidtone]

I've been lucky enough to keep working through these times, but even being so busy with work I miss having some "Willys" tinkering time. I did manage to carve out an evening and make an interior rear view mirror mount.
A year ago or so, I was at a swap meet and saw a cruddy old rear view mirror. I asked how much and the guy said "I'll give you two of 'em for 5 bucks. Sold. They had a Ford number on the mount and it turns out they're 1965 Ford Mustang and/or Falcon mirrors (can't remember now). I unscrewed them from their mounts and tossed those, then bought a steel bushing with an appropriate sized ID for the mirror stud, tapped it for a 6-32 setscrew, and then folded up a piece of sheet metal and welded it all up. I made a tab at the top so I could screw it to the underside of the winshield frame rather than pierce the front face like an original mount would do.
I scratched up the rusty chrome and painted it black, and fastened it to the frame with two slotted #10 sheet metal screws. It's a basic mirror with no "tilt" feature for night use, but I like it.
I took a ride and it's got a really funny, pure single axis rotation resonance that makes stuff appear wiiiiiide when looking into it at a very certain RPM. After that it very stable and gives smooth viewing.
I've been itching to do some projects but I can only waste time taking pictures and writing posts, hence this update!
Hope all is well for everyone in the 3A community.

[Squishymonster]

Nice work on the bracket. I might have to try that myself

Notice any vibration problems at all?

I only have a driver's side mirror and seeing clear reflection either requires a light finger press, or creative timing with the bumps in the road

[squidtone]

This is an update to this thread about "Nuthin' Fancy".
I was driving the Jeep one day in early May and I started to detect a soft, rapid sounding knocking. I worried it was rod or main bearings so I dropped the pan and took off caps to inspect. I found clearances were not terrible although worn to just about the limits. The bearings had date codes of 1965, so I think it was refreshed then although they kept standard bore pistons. I thought I'd just replace the bearings and rings so I pulled the motor. When I pulled the pistons out I found every piston had shattered top rings. All of them. Some were in broken in a dozen pieces or more. I believe that was the source of my light tapping. Soooooo, I was still going to just re-ring it but I found one piston had wedged two pieces of ring one on top of another in the land. The land was destroyed, so I need new pistons. Okay, then new standard bore pistons. But then, I noticed a long crack in cylinder 4 going from the bore, over the top into the combustion chamber (deck). Ugh.
I contacted Brian Hainer, otherwise known as "Metalshaper" on youtube and asked him if repair was feasible. He had me bring it in and said he could fix it. He did, and made some videos of the process.

Here's a link the first of several he made of the repairs:

https://youtu.be/CL3Rl911900

Brian fixed the crack with lock and stitch pinning, and decided it didn't need a sleeve. Since the crack was above where the top ring will travel, I think pinning will be okay there. He pressure tested it along the way and I'm happy with the repair. So, Brian bored and honed the cylinders, and decked the block and resurfaced the head. I sent new 0.040" pistons to Brian to fit to the cylinders, and then scrounged rings, valves, valve guides, bearings (main and rod).
I got it back late last week and I'm starting the assembly.

This weekend I pulled all the valve guides and sheesh what a task that was. I couldn't find my driver tool, and I couldn't find strong grade threaded rod in any local stores, so I resorted to a grade 8 3/8ths x 6 inch bolt to pull some of the guides. I used my 12 ton press on some too, but this broke the tops of a couple of the exhaust guides so I stayed with the threaded rod technique.
I did use the press to install all the new guides. Once installed, I've cleaned up the guides with a .374 reamer. I used a .374 just to clean up the burrs from the installation (primarily on the ends). All the valves fit no problem with acceptable clearance. I'm waiting on some Neway cutters to finish the valve seats in the block and I think the standard Neway .375" pilot will fit these guides fine.

I've attached images of the lock and stitch repair to cylinder 4 and the repair to the large central coolant passage...there were cracks from the passage to the head studs on each end. Brian "nutserted" those threaded holes (for those two studs). I"ll update as I go.