Today Ike was taken out to the street to meet my new tool: a 1600 PSI power washer. After using a very strong de-greaser and letting it sit for a few minutes, the high-power jet went to work. Chunks of grease, dirt, and who knows what came off the block and the forward axle and running gear. Some of the chunks were surprising in size, about an inch thick and 4-5 inches square. Once this first wash (there will be many more) was completed, I was able to see more block markings, new bolts that I never saw before, and…
1 CommentCategory: Restoration
Got a wonderful present on the doorstep today. My first parts order! Needless to say I was a little like a kid who woke up on Christmas Eve hearing Santa at the tree. After finishing digging up the sprinklers in the back yard, and going out to dinner, I got to go install my new parts. So, what did the old guy get? 1. I already put these on since they came a few days before the rest of the parts, but brand new hood blocks with proper screws as Toledo intended. The old blocks (original?) were very worn down.…
Comments closedOne of the items that was part of my first parts order was a new set of white oak hood blocks. They aren’t anything special really, just some blocks of wood attached to the front end of the hood. They serve two purposes on the CJ-3A. The first is to keep the hood sheet metal from rubbing against the windshield frame. The second is to keep the windshield frame, and sometimes more importantly the windshield wiper arms, from rubbing against and digging into the hood sheet metal. Now, keeping with my theme of going as original as possible, I also…
Comments closedI’m officially starting the rebuilding and restoration process now with my first parts order. It wasn’t much, just a few necessary pieces to keep things running well while I plan out my total restoration. Today I purchased a new set of spark plug wires, a new distributor cap and distributor rotor, a new side mirror and rear view mirror, a new pair of hood blocks, and a new ignition switch. Nothing ground breaking or amazing, just a few odds and ends. I’ve also put out some feelers to see what the cost difference would be from replacing the body parts…
2 CommentsI took some pictures of the initial jeep and some problem areas on the body. They can be seen at the Flickr page. My goal was to document some of the initial starting points so I can get an idea of what my focus will be on the body restoration.
Comments closedAfter 8 hours, 200 miles, and tank of diesel later, the Willys is home. Overall, the pickup went ok. The newly rebuilt starter looked great, went back in with minimal effort, however the thing just would not start. After doing some troubleshooting, we traced it down to a possibly bad, although recently replaced, coil. After a trip down the street to the auto parts store we bought a new coil and got it installed. Unfortunately, there still was no starting, and more importantly no spark. We traced down the wiring under the dash, which was hardly helpful. The wiring was…
1 CommentHappy to report that I am the proud owner of a 1950 Willys CJ-3A ‘Universal Jeep’. On March 28th I made the 100 mile drive with my dad, brother, and nephew to take a look at a Willys that has been posted for about a month on Craigslist. It certainly needs work, but is functioning well, seems nice and solid, and is a perfect candidate for a restore. I wasn’t able to bring it home yesterday like I had planned, however. The starter was beginning to fail on Saturday and failed completely yesterday. Fortunately, the seller, who is an all…
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