Some time ago I came across this early CJ2a serving as a lawn ornament.
One can assume that it provided many years of farm service before being put out to pasture. The top looks like an old Sears model.
I would hate to see inside it, I am sure it’s a mess of rust and moss.
This Jeep’s current state is a really sad testament to the former ubiquity of these domestic workhorses. But I should remember, after all, that even Jeeps are only machines built for a purpose, Once they have finally served that purpose, even machines deserve retirement.
I just read that people are paying $77,000+ for replicas of the CJ3a. I think I’d take a shot at fixing this one up if it were mine. It certainly doesn’t look too far gone in the photos.
Yeah, you can buy them. You can also buy new Kubelwagens, too. http://www.kooblekar.com/ I have no idea of what they cost, though, as I’m not in that market!
need to clue Educator Dan in on the Kooble wagen. It’s an Albuquerque company
Yup, I’d say it’s a good candidate for a resto, resto-mod or driver project.
I traded a handgun for a similar Jeep once. I got it home and started looking at it. Every wooden brace in the body tub was rusted through (new tub $3,000), the engine was full of water (engine rebuild $2,500), the springs sagged ($500.00), the steering was loose, etc. You get the picture. So I sold it and eventually got one in better condition for more money (subject of a future article), well worth it.
Rusty wood?
I always liked the idea of one of these with modern mechanical swapped in. Something like this sitting on a Suzuki frame and running gear.
I had often fantasized about that, back when I was dying to own a Jeep.
Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, on that vehicle, can be had in the aftermarket. Frames…you can get a replica ladder-frame, or an aircraft tubular frame. Body tubs, glass or steel or even aluminum. All the spartan fittings. The only thing not advertised, are engines (which are almost always replaced) and axles and transmissions.
In this case…I’d like to make the owner an offer. A low-low offer, let him clear it from his line of sight. What I’d want to keep…is the VIN and title.
Everything else, fresh. Tubular frame, galvanized. Glass tub. Racing seats; modern instrumentation.
And…given that the thing will be so LIGHT…I’d love to find a way to fit the Suzuki Swift three-cylinder engine in there. With a Sidekick tranny and transfer case.
Of course, new, low-friction axles would be required…I don’t know where I’d get them. But the curb weight of my plastic-fantastic should be under 1400 lbs…that three-cylinder mill would be plenty up to the task. And, with its FI, think of the ECONOMY! Geo Metro mileage in a Jeep!
And titled as a Jeep. The rest of the original parts…off to Ebay.
A friend in Tassie had one of these people kept trying to buy it despit major engine problems and the bodywork being remade in galvanised sheet I wonder where it is now? the top however looked like this one maybe it was original some one would know good find.
My dad had one of these-A 1947 model in DEEP purple. We owned it from 1975 to1977. It would take us places in the Tennessee backwoods that a mule wouldn’t try. It had the 4 cylinder engine and starting was a two step process- you turned the key , then pushed the dash button. It never failed to start. It had been well cared for before we got it and I spent many hours just…looking. Under the hood, at the diffs, the transfer case. just finding my way around. Dad paid $1200 for it and when he sold it he got every penny of that back. I like it so much that I bought a ’67 Jeepster Commando in 1987. I have never forgotten the good times we had in the Willys.
Being Scoutdude I have a collection of Scout related paper work. Some of those are Sears “replacement parts and accessories for Jeep and Scout vehicles” Catalogs. The 1976 version still lists a number of hard tops for early and then current Jeeps. The standard all aluminum full length version for a CJ2a would set you back $299. It was shipped un assembled and you bolted it together. This one does not match the picture of either of the full tops shown for 1976 but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t an earlier version. The ones in the catalog show 12″x20″ door and 14″x24″ side and rear glass as well as different rear roof details. The catalog was quite extensive, virtually every drive train part was offered except axle housings, blocks and heads. They even listed complete brand new, not surplus, transmissions and transfer cases as well as fiberglass tubs and other body parts.
Somewhere Ive seen replacement body tubs for these in stincts tell me they came from the Philipines an off shoot of their jeepny industry but the top you describe sounds like the one on Mals bolted together but very homemade looking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney
I love those
I stumbled across one of these recently in a local industrial park. It looks like it hasn’t been used in years but the plow up front has a new ram on it so who knows?