1951 CJ3A Restomod - A Father/Son Project

[zhandyside]

Well today was the big day! We started to fit the body to the frame. We expected some fitment issues, but had a few more that I was expecting.

Here's what we found today fitment wise:

-The hat channels don't even come close to lining up with the 2nd and 3rd body outriggers.
-The accelerator pedal linkage bracket on the rear of the engine hits the firewall
-The fitment of the cowl and the hood is pretty bad. The hood rubs on the cowl when it's opened and closed.
-Fender alignment is ok, but it seems the gap at the back of the hood it too small, not sure how to correct this?
-The hood seems to hit the rubber hose between the air horn and intake crossover tube
-Transmission cover hole will need to be adjusted


Some positives so far:

-Pedal holes line up pretty good
-Transmission hole seems to be in the right place

Also a few questions:

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with the hat channels? I've seen some move the body outriggers, but unfortunately we welded them on after we removed them to clean the rust between the outriggers and the frame.

How much clearance is there supposed to be between the block and the firewall? The accleratro linkage is hiting right at the seam between the floor and the firewall. I'm hoping to not have to just use a BFH and clearance it.

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[zhandyside]

We finally got around to getting the tub back off to modify the firewall. I was able to get about 3/4" out of it. There was quite a noticeable bulge in the center of the firewall before. Now it's flat like the old 2A tub we have.

[zhandyside]

While the tub is off, we decided to mock up a few things with the tub off to give us some more room to work. Over the last couple days we mocked up the front seats, accelerator pedal and are waiting on the gas tank to get the gas tank strap mounts installed. The hole for the accelerator pedal was way off, so had to fill that in. We also filled in the CJ2A keyed coil hole in the dash and the floor starter switch hole we wont be using.

Our Jeep came with late style CJ3B seat frames that someone cutoff the backs and mounted newer style seats. Were going to go with some aftermarket lowback bucket seats for a later CJ instead of buying the CJ3A frames.

[zhandyside]

Got the body back on the frame and all the mounting holes drilled. After the firewall adjustment there is plenty of clearance for the throttle linkage. We also got the gas tank and spare tire carrier installed.

[zhandyside]

It's starting to look like a Jeep again! Hoping to have it in a drivable state by the end of the month! We have a lot of work ahead.

[zhandyside]

Well the 3A is officially road legal! Got it plated this week and have been going for some short shake down runs for the running gear. Overall no major issues after 50 or so miles. Got her up to around 50-55 mph and it drives nice and smooth.

 We also installed new tires, Deestone D503, size 7.50-16. They are 8 ply, but the ride has been pretty good with 20 or so PSI in the tires. No clearance issues so far, our wheel spacers from the GM disc brake conversion are helping with that.

[SteveKfl]

Congrats.  It must feel great and a real sense of accomplishment.  Those are some aggressive looking treads you've got there.  Thanks for the pics.

[64CJ5]

What a project and an education too.  Thank you for sharing. 

[zhandyside]

It's certainly been a fun project! It's been quite the learning experience for me as well. I'm used to working on more modern vehicles (post 1985), so I've had to do a lot of research. This forum and others have been extremely helpful. We brought the Jeep home almost 3-1/2 years ago. Being able to finally drive is a great feeling for sure! Even in it's current state, it's been turning quite a few heads. You just don't see many of these on the road in the Midwest anymore. From what the previous owner has told us, this is the first time this Jeep has seen the road in over 20 years.

Our plan now is to keep putting miles on the running gear and continue to install all the little odds and ends before the winter comes. Over the winter will will strip it all back down and get ready for paint. Hopefully we can have it all back together by early spring next year.

[zhandyside]

Well we had a minor setback this weekend. I took the jeep or a drive Sunday morning and when I got home it left a pretty noticeable spot on the garage floor  . After some inspection, it appeared to be come from the bell housing weep hole. I removed the clutch inspection cover and the entire inside was covered. The engine side of the flywheel was dry, so we narrowed it down to the transmission front seal.

So we got the Jeep on my two post lift and my dad and I pulled the trans and t-case out. We took the bearing retainer off and it seems that the "sealed" front bearing wasn't as sealed as I had hoped. Oil was getting past the bearing and filling the bearing retainer, as we plugged the drain back hole as most suggested.

So picked up some gasket material and made a new gasket and took the set screw out of the drain back hole. What little oil gets past the bearing will now have a way back into the case. I think I'm going to add some UV dye to the transmission/t-case to make identifying future leaks easier. Hopefully it will be back in the Jeep later this week.

[zhandyside]

Well It's been a while since I've updated on the status of the project. Over the fall/winter, the Jeep sat without doing much to it due to lack of funds and time. We also got caught up in a few other things in the spring and early summer, so progress was slow.

As August hit, we realized it had been sitting for almost a year and we really needed to get it done before the end of the season. The last 3 weeks or so have been rather hectic, but I'm glad to report the Jeep is more or less completed other than a few small finishing touches! I was too busy to take pictures of the whole process, but here are some photos of the painting and once it's all back together and on the road!

[squidtone]

Beautiful. Nothing cooler than a stock looking flatfender.
Love the solid color.
Those are big tires!
Have fun with the Jeep...they're so fun to drive around town.

[zhandyside]

Beautiful. Nothing cooler than a stock looking flatfender.
Love the solid color.
Those are big tires!
Have fun with the Jeep...they're so fun to drive around town.

Thank you! From what we could tell, the Jeep was originally emerald green, so we were hoping to go with a stockish color. I couldn't find an affordable match to the original emerald green. But from looking at a countless photos, we settled on "British Racing Green" as a close enough match. I have a few runs in the paint I'm going to wetsand and buff out in the off season, but we're really happy with how the color turned out.

The tires are Deestone D503 7.50-16. They run pretty nice for being 10-ply tires! We've put over 100 miles on it in the last week, it's certainly been fun to drive!

[SteveKfl]

It does look good!  10 ply?  I'm curious, How much air pressure do you run with only  a 2200# vehicle, to have any "sidewall action"?

[zhandyside]

It does look good!  10 ply?  I'm curious, How much air pressure do you run with only  a 2200# vehicle, to have any "sidewall action"?

We're running them at around 22 PSI right now.