Survivor 1951 CJ-3A found

[jeep63]

I am a modern Jeep guy with ~25 years experience with YJs and 5 years experience with JKs.  I own a restored late-95 YJ and a 2013 Jeep JK 10th Anniversary Rubicon.  I’m done with modern Jeeps and have been searching for a 3A for many years.  I accidentally found one 30 minutes from my house.  It is all original save for the push button activated starter.  The owner inherited it from his father, who owned it since new; using it on their farm in Indiana to plow the 1/2 mile lane out.  It was only used for that purpose.   The seller did take it on fishing trips when he was in college, but had to return it before winter every year.  lol.

It was stored in the barn on the farm until 10 years ago when he moved to Maryland and kept it in his garage with the intention of restoring it.  He never did.   It is in really good shape and runs, but does not stop due to a seized master cylinder, as far as i can tell. 

I hope to restore it as a nice Jeep, but not show room new.


I know very little about early Jeeps.  I hope to lean on the experience here. 

My initial plans are address starter not working well/consistently, and redo the fuel and brake system fully. 

Here are a few pics.  one is from the farm “back in the day”

The rest are after i got it home

[Rus Curtis]

Welcome jeep63! Looks like an excellent project!

[SteveKfl]

Welcome.  It does look like a great project.
 
I found the following that may help with "FOOT STARTER ISSUES"...  https://cj3a.info/tech/starter.html
 
Have FUN!

[BillT]

Oh Boy.... looks like a fun vehicle. Welcome to the site.
Lots of good info on this site. Start the fun with a good service manual.

[jeep63]

Thanks.  I have two that came with it.  One seems quite old. 

I'm going to the MVA next week to register it, but not get tags yet.  In MD they have permanent tags for 50+ year vehicles where you pay a one-time fee for them not an annual fee.

[Bob W]

Very nice survivor!!! Thanks for posting photos of your excellent CJ-3A. The combination of a "push button" starter, a vacuum advance distributor, and the lack of an oil filter makes me suspect it may have had an engine swap at some point in it's life. The engine serial number would verify that assumption.

[jeep63]

"Very nice survivor!!! Thanks for posting photos of your excellent CJ-3A. The combination of a "push button" starter, a vacuum advance distributor, and the lack of an oil filter makes me suspect it may have had an engine swap at some point in it's life. The engine serial number would verify that assumption"

Can I "pick your brain" regarding the vacuum advance distributor. 

I understand that oil filters were not always present.  Am I incorrect?  I did order a setup from KaiserWillys.com.

I was told the owner's son installed the push button starter, and he did not recall why.  That was all the explanation he gave on that.  Since the starter is acting up, I was planning to restore the foot pedal and use a starter for that configuration.

I did reach out to see if the PO remembers the engine being swapped.   I found the engine serial number, but it does not match the VIN on the title either. 

I doubt any of this will cause an issue with registration, but I would like to find the source of that number.

[jeep63]

The PO just got back to me and said it is all original, besides the push button start.  He was upfront about that from the outset. He says the engine was never swapped.

[BillT]

One possible reason to install a push button starter..... sometimes you get in a situation where you need three legs to get the Jeep going again..... maybe you are going uphill and in a heavily rutted road and are in a steep lean then the engine dies. You need one foot to hold the brake, one foot to press the floor starter, and the other foot to work the accelerator. You learn how to do this jiggle. Of course you can pull the throttle and use the park brake.... if they work. LOL
Have fun!

[jeep63]

The throttle cable on the dash allows you to work the throttle while the “gas foot” is engaging the starter. 

[Bob W]

Can I "pick your brain" regarding the vacuum advance distributor. 

I understand that oil filters were not always present.  Am I incorrect?  I did order a setup from KaiserWillys.com.

I was told the owner's son installed the push button starter, and he did not recall why.  That was all the explanation he gave on that.  Since the starter is acting up, I was planning to restore the foot pedal and use a starter for that configuration.

I did reach out to see if the PO remembers the engine being swapped.   I found the engine serial number, but it does not match the VIN on the title either. 

I doubt any of this will cause an issue with registration, but I would like to find the source of that number.

What would you like to know about the distributor? What numbers and letters are on the distributor tag? CJ-3As did not come from the factory with vacuum advance distributors. Other vehicles did.
CJ-3As came from the factory with oil filters. Other vehicles did not.
If you replace the starter be sure to count the teeth on the ring gear so you get a starter that will work.
What is the engine serial number? With that more information can be provided.

[jeep63]

What would you like to know about the distributor? What numbers and letters are on the distributor tag? CJ-3As did not come from the factory with vacuum advance distributors. Other vehicles did.
CJ-3As came from the factory with oil filters. Other vehicles did not.
If you replace the starter be sure to count the teeth on the ring gear so you get a starter that will work.
What is the engine serial number? With that more information can be provided.

I do not see a vacuum line going to the distributor. 

I smacked the starter with a hammer and got the Jeep running. I will keep your tip to count the teeth in mind when i go to replace it.

The engine serial number is on this pic.

[Bob W]

I do see the vacuum advance mechanism on the distributor, the line may be missing.

Your engine is from a Henry J car. There should also be a tag riveted to the block below the distributor with the same serial number stamped on it. The serial number of the starter or distributor could give more clues about the date of the engine. These engines were made by Willys for Kaiser. Does the cylinder head have the word "Supersonic" on it?

[jeep63]

I do see the vacuum advance mechanism on the distributor, the line may be missing.

Your engine is from a Henry J car. There should also be a tag riveted to the block below the distributor with the same serial number stamped on it. The serial number of the starter or distributor could give more clues about the date of the engine. These engines were made by Willys for Kaiser. Does the cylinder head have the word "Supersonic" on it?

First off, thanks for helping with this. 

I did some google-foo and read up on the vacuum advance distributor.   I understand it a bit more now.  I identified the vacuum advance mechanism on the distributor, and the line is indeed missing.

I had been trying to figure out how the VIN on the original Indiana title did not match the serial number on the firewall.  All this engine serial number research led me to what I beleive is the answer.  The title vin is 3J93170; I believe this to be the original engine serial number.  It is my understanding that some states used the engine serial number.  The PO is the son of the original owner, and it is possible the engine was swapped without his knowledge.

Yes, it has Super Sonic cast on the head.

I will read up on the Henry J engine now, and will look for the tag you reference.

[Bob W]

Engine serial number 3J93170 aligns perfectly as the original engine for 451-GB1 40482.