I bought this in the 90's, in Rhode Island. It had no body ... just a frame with running gear, stuck motor and a column shift . VIN is 35*** which makes it a mid 1946.
I rebuilt it in 1998, swapping out the column shift for a regular floor shift T-90. I understand this probably offends a few purists out there, but the fact of the matter is, I prefer a floor shift.
A couple of years later I was driving home late at night in an ice storm. I was on a small country road, going up a hill in four-wheel drive, and as I was taking a turn, the front end slid and the front passenger wheel caught a utility pole. I was going about 25 mph. The pole slid past the rim, bending it as it passed, and then hit the the free-wheeling lock-out hub. The following things happened. The front axle bent into a V, the passenger side spring bent the front end of the
frame down 90 degrees, the force transmitted through the front prop shaft shattered the transfer case, breaking it away from the transmission, and the then broken end of the prop shaft punctured the oil pan. Simultaneously the steering gear sheared off at the front cross-over tube. Fortunately, I wasn't hurt, and as I was only a mile or so from home, I left the jeep and walked home, and returned the following morning with a friend and his 1960 Willys Wagon to tow the wreck home.
The frame was beyond repair, and as I already had at home a ratty old CJ3A frame, it was a no brainer to rebuild the jeep using the 3A frame.
The steering gear on this old frame had been modified with the front cross member replaced with a galvanized pipe, welded in further ahead of the original. A friend of mine, who built race cars for a living, welded in the correct cross member, and thus it was not a lot of work to put a new oil pan on the motor, rebuild the transfer and transmission with an intact transfer case, get the front spring rebuilt, and find a decent front axle. And refit the steering gear, back to original.
The day I finished the rebuild, a Saturday, I drove from Rhode Island to Boston's Logan Airport, to pick up my then girlfriend, and now my wife, who had flown in from Oakland, CA. The plan was to drive the jeep across the continent to Oakland, leaving on Monday.
We did it ... it took three weeks and was a great adventure. Small roads all the way, and over the Rockies on dirt roads. The entire trip will be recounted here over the coming months.
The top in the photos above was made for me a good friend. I supplied the canvas, which I found online at a great price. Unfortunately, the quality was no-where as good as the price, and after two years of sun, it deteriorated. A great shame because my friend's work was immaculate.
I found a great supplier in India, Subodh Kumar, whose company The GI Store (The Great Indian Store) sells canvas tops on eBay. They make a fine top out of heavy-duty canvas, and will make them exactly to your specifications. In this case, I wanted a close to original multi-piece top that would give me the option of having a half cab, a full cab, plus roll-up sides.
I had this twin stick Koenig PTO on the shelf for years. It is a Model 41 and came off a truck. I had always thought it would not fit a CJ, but with a wee bit of floorbending by the gas tank, it fits up nice and snug, the end for the forward winch nestling neatly between the frame rails. One does need to drop the cross-member that supports the transmission a tiny bit, or, as I did, cut and bend the cross-member up a quarter of an inch in order to give the rear drive shaft clearance. The PTOs made by Koenig for the CJs hang down much lower than this one, and I have always worried about bashing it against a rock on the trail. I really like the fact that this one sits up so much higher.
In this pic it is temporarily mounted on my 3A - as the tub was off this jeep, it was quicker and easier to trial-fit the PTO as opposed to groveling under the 2A.
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