I am new to this forum and new to the obsession of Willys Jeeps. I received my 49 CJ3A from my father who got it from a former customer of his, I believe I am the third owner. Before pulling the jeep out from under his shed I had no knowledge of the history of the Willys Jeep and had never restored anything. I am a mechanic by trade but never had a desire to start a project like this.
Starting in May of 2012 I stripped it down to the frame, sandblasted the frame and axles, replaced the springs and shackles, rebuilt the axles and replaced the brakes. I discovered that at some point 11" brakes were installed but other than that I believe it was original. I rebuilt the engine, trans and transfer case and soon had a rolling chassis in place. It was time to move on to the body which had wood floors, tool box removed, gas tank removed and most of the side panels sheet metaled over. I decided to replace the tub with a reproduction tub as I had no desire or room in my garage to do the necessary repairs. Long story short I took it for its first test drive in December of 2012 then removed the tub and send it out for paint. I reassembled and drove it as a 90% complete project on January 15th of 2013 before putting it away for the winter.
I am looking forward to using it as a daily driver during the summer months.
