1951 CJ3A Restomod - A Father/Son Project

[zhandyside]

To start off, I'll admit I'm a little bit late to posting about our project. We acquired our basket case of a 1951 CJ3A back in March 2017. The plan is to build a reliable, summer driver. Something we can drive around town, take to a local car show, and good for the occasional 20+ mile commute to work.

My father used to have a 1941 Ford GP from 1982-1997. He was able to partially restore it, but never was able to finish it due to lack of funds. Unfortunately, he had to sell it. I tracked it down about 5 years ago, but it's ended up in the UK and is going to be restored. As it was a non-standard prototype, parts are expensive and hard to come by. So a civilian Jeep was a better fit.

My dad's GP the day it was sold in April 1996. This was GP S/N 8541 #41 of the original 1500 prototypes build in 1941.



Here is where what we started with:



This CJ3A is quite the "Jeep Salad". What we have here is a 1951 CJ3A chassis and grille, a 1948ish CJ2A body and fenders, M38 windshield frame and a later CJ3B/CJ5 F134 engine.

The Plan

Power train: Keep /restore the factory L134/T90/D18.
Axles: Keep the D25/D44
Chassis/Suspension: repair damaged frame/keep stock height springs
Electrical: Convert to 12V and electronic ignition
Brakes: Dual res master cylinder, GM disc conversion for front / 10" early CJ5 drum rear
Body: Search for CJ3A tub or buy new reproduction
Wheels and Tires: Stock 16" wheels with vintage style all terrain tires

[zhandyside]

Here are some more before photos.













It was in pretty rough shape, with plenty of bubba-mods as well.

[zhandyside]

Here is where the Jeep sits today. We've more or less have a complete running chassis at this point. We've purchased a reproduction body, but have been unable to pick it up due to the travel restrictions in our home state due to COVID19.

[zhandyside]

Some of the work that was done to the frame. We had to repair the rear cross member and v-brace. We also sent the frame out to be straightened and sand blasted. After blasting we repaired the damage and boxed in some of the weaker areas. After the repairs, it got 2  coats of epoxy primer and 2 coasts of semi-gloss black.

[athawk11]

Cool!  Looks like you have a nice shop to work on it too.

[zhandyside]

I do! One good thing about this coronavirus shelter in-place order is it's given me more time to work on the Jeep. This week I've been working on getting the fenders repaired. It's also pretty dry out today, I may take the chassis for a spin around the driveway.

[aboyandhisdog]

Sweet project and very good looking work.  I like the hood scoop for the supercharger!

[Rus Curtis]

I really liked the light switch attached along the edge of the extra round hole in the instrument panel and the set screw on the steering wheel! 


Someone has had some fun in that jeep along the way.

[zhandyside]

This Jeep definitely has a unique history. The mismatch parts and the number of dents in the 2A tub  show it clearly was a workhorse for someone over the years. It's future life once it's back together will be much easier!

Did some work on the fenders this evening. Started repairing the various damage and clearanced the 2A fenders to clear the battery tray and shock mounts.

Bolted them on and set the hood on to check to see how it all fit. Looks like my aftermarket radiator filler neck sits a little too high, so I had to notch the hood seam for it to clear.

[Bob W]

Even the totally stock CJ-3As had a radiator cap/hood seam clearance problem. Late CJ-3As had a factory notch in the hood seam to clear the side mount radiator cap. I wonder why they didn't just move the radiator cap over?

[zhandyside]

Even the totally stock CJ-3As had a radiator cap/hood seam clearance problem. Late CJ-3As had a factory notch in the hood seam to clear the side mount radiator cap. I wonder why they didn't just move the radiator cap over?

I don't feel so bad notching the hood then. Instead of repairing our original hood we tracked down another one. From what the owner told us it was from a 49 2A. We're just keeping our Jeep's mismatched parts tradition alive and well!

[zhandyside]

Progress has been slow the last few weeks due to lack of parts and other things. However, we have a new large piece to work with. Last week we made a quick 2 day road trip to pick up the repro body we purchased back in March. Once the body mounts arrive we will start fitting the tub to the frame.

[aboyandhisdog]

That tub looks good.  Where did you get it?  2A or 3A?  Keep us apprised of the fit challenges you will no doubt incur.  But I hope it goes on very trouble free for you!

[zhandyside]

It's a MD Juan CJ3A tub. It's a mid 2019 production tub based on the serial number. I bought it on eBay from the guys at Quarter Ton Military in Chickamauga, GA. Overall it looks good, but I've seen a few minor things that will need to be addressed, but much easier to deal with than rust! I'll be documenting the install as it goes.

[Chris P]

I love father/son projects! That's how my jeep life started 37 years ago when my father decided to do a frame off restoration to our 1943 G.P.W.
My son is now 5 so I am waiting 2 more years to initiate a 2A project together. Everything is waiting for him to become grown enough to handle some tools and don't get bored too quickly. 
Thanks to Forums like this one and great websites like Derek's one I am much more knowledgable about jeeps that my father was in 1984!

Your 3A is progressing very well. A very creative previous owner by the way!
Keep those pics coming!
Regards,