CJ3A back in my shop after 19 years

professorkx

New member
About 25 years ago, four friends wanted flat fenders, and since they knew I had done a lot of customizing on Jeeps, they asked that I help build the jeeps and teach them how to fabricate, weld, paint and wire.

For Jeep 1, I did everything with their help, Buick V6, 4 speed, power/tilt steering, 44 rear end, roll cage, built a new wiring harness, etc. Pulled the body off the frame and one year later, the first jeep was finished.

For Jeep 2, since they now understood how to fabricate and weld, they wanted to handle the motor/transmission swap as well as all other mechanical changes on their own. They needed me to help them prep for paint, then lay down the paint, which was done 19 years ago. Once assembled, they needed me to build a new wiring harness, which was completed 18 years ago.

For Jeep 3 and 4, I only did the electrical, so only one weekend on each jeep. Jeeps 1-3 were all still owned by the original friends, while jeep 4 had been sold years earlier.

On Christmas Eve, I received a call about Jeep number 2. The owner was never really into four wheeling, and had only put 12,000 miles on the new speedo I installed 18 years ago when I built the wiring harness. He had recently been hurt in a bicycle accident and his new wife wanted nothing to do with four wheeling, so asked if I wanted his jeep for $4,000. Well, I knew the owner had well over $10,000 into his jeep 19 years ago, the motor had over $2,000 alone, along with all the other changes, so I drove the 1000 mile round trip and towed home my new to me CJ3A.



The 19 year old paint, 1976 corvette yellow, my favorite color, is still in great shape, as the jeep lived in one bay in his garage. It has the SM420 transmission (I don't much care for the SM420 transmission because the adapter to the model 18 transfer case is so long, pushing the motor way forward), warn OD, warmed up Buick V6, 44 rear end, hanging peddles, hydraulic clutch, tilt/power steering and more. Wasn't really looking for a project, as my new shop still has 3 months before its ready, but the price was right.

Since this Jeep has already been heavily modified, I am thinking about sectioning the body behind the seats so the back of the jeep is just behind the seats, stretching the frame 20 inches and building a bed that mirrors the Willy's truck bed, only smaller so it fits the jeep front.

I needed something to keep me busy during the winter of 2017...
 

professorkx

New member
I've wheeled a lot of CJs with the short wheelbase, and thought it was the only way to go. After wheeling my 2014 Rubicon unlimited at Moab for a week, I like the longer wheelbase. Stretching the frame to 100 inches should make the little CJ ride better on those leaf springs, and be a lot less scary for my wife if we play in the rocks with the CJ3A truck. It also has to look like it was born as a truck, as she doesn't like the Rock Rat Rod look as much as I do...
 
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