1949 CJ3A on the Georgia Coast

[athawk11]

I replaced the individual pans and hat channels on a couple 3As because the transmission humps were in decent condition.  I have seen the full replacement floor offered by most vendors.  It is sub-standard in quality.  I highly recommend Midwest Military for the hat channels.  The complete set costs about the same as the partial version offered by Kaiser, and is a better quality...

https://store.midwestmilitary.com/product-p/mwm134.htm

They also have the individual pans for less than Kaiser sells them for.

Edit: Don't get me wrong.  Kaiser Willys has lots of nice stuff, and I have bought plenty from them in the past.  They are just out of line on the sheet steel prices.

[Rus Curtis]

I think the best way to know is sand blast before making a plan.  See what you really have left over.  You may need the whole floor.

I wanted just floor pans but had rot all over and in the hump, so the whole floor needed replacing, and all the hat channels.   I bought a full floor from Turner 4WD (back in the day) and it was for an M38.  There was no CJ full floor available at that time.  As mentioned it was sub standard (pretty thin).  I had the channels removed and ordered replacements from Classic Enterprise.  I also worked close with the welder to ensure my CJ3B floor fasteners remained on the floor vs. using what came with the M38 floor.  That required cutting the floor pans almost in half and adding correct caged nuts at certain locations.

One other thing.  You'll notice a caged nut in the hat channel under the tank.  I believe originally there was a stud there for the frame mount (could use a bolt) but I also had a nut swapped in for the crush sleeve that CE had at that spot.

Once the floor was attached to the hat channels and the floor attached to the tub, you really can't tell. 

[Joe Loehle]

Thanks for the info. Definitely looks like a lot of rust in the hump area also. I think I may have to change out the whole thing, but will see.

I see that the KW Complete Front has a lot of the front footrest part while the individual floor pans stop at the upward angle. Another point leaning towards KW.

KW seems more expensive and I have found the same thing cheaper elsewhere, but the shipping always adds up higher. KW is about 3 hours from me, so I can go and get it instead of shipping. I just worry about spending the money and it doesn't fit in well. Mostly concerned about the hat channels lining up correctly.

Thanks for the info everyone! I will let you know how it proceeds. Right now I need to get the toolbox off and see what the other side looks like.

Joe

[Joe Loehle]

WHAT COLOR GRAY?

I always thought my gray looked a little dark for Potomac Gray. I finally got a 1948 paint swatch that has both Picket Gray and Potomac Gray on it.

My color looks slightly lighter than the Picket Gray, but not much. Could be slightly faded. Photo taken under daylight-balanced LEDs.

It is a switch over year, so I guess they used the old paint? What do you think?




Joe

[Joe Loehle]

Used some citrus stripper on the back tailgate after I noticed it o my was taking the top layer off. You can see the original Picket Gray color and the “WILLYS” and “4 wheel drive” was done in red! I remember someone talking about a family member remembering it being red. Here’s pretty good proof. Personally I like it in white better, but may need to think about doing it this way for the restore.

[Rus Curtis]

I used sunlight to help me with multiple angles (strange how an angle can alter color appearance).  To me the darker Picket Grey looks closest.  I can understand fade but don't know enough about paint to justify paint getting darker over the years.

[Joe Loehle]

Yes. Changing the angle changes it slightly. It is REALLY close to Picket gray.