Pete's 1952 CJ3a- "Barnacle Will"

Pete

Founder/Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Sep 17, 2009
7,928
Hailey, Idaho
First Name
Pete
Willys Model
  1. Wagon
Willys Year:
  1. 1960
I pulled the trigger on a new project, a '52 CJ3A.
Joseph and I drove 150 miles to pick it up, and after looking it over and taking it for a spin, drug it home.
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I happened to look at the local classifieds and found a set of 11" brakes for less than a 1/3 of the cost of a new set, with about 1000 miles on them.

First order of business will be to assess what we've got, and make a plan of action. We are going to keep the patina as is, and make it mechanically sound for wheeling in Moab.

Should be a fun summer project.

Pete
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Here's a couple of clips from yesterday-
Driving around the seller's yard before we bought.

Joseph wanted to do a Roadkill sufferfest and drive it home, but I rented a trailer just in case...
We stopped at a random gas station to do a real test drive, and decide if driving it 150 miles was going to happen or not.
The steering and brakes need a bunch of work, so we decided to trailer it home, but ran around the gas station for a while first just for fun.


Made it home with only one mishap... It was crazy windy going across the southern Idaho desert, and the windshield glass departed the frame and landed somewhere in the desert... The rubber was still there, but no glass. The lock strip in the rubber was missing, so it came out pretty easily in a heavy gust of wind.

It is a bit of a farmer-fix jeep salad, but it runs great (engine supposedly rebuilt) and the trans and t-case work like they should.
The body is surprisingly rust free. Other than the front passenger fender and step that are completely beyond repair, its pretty solid.
There are a number of things to sort out and fix or replace, to make it really road worthy, but it's all pretty easy stuff. I like the hammered patina, it will be just right wheeling on the trails without worry.

Pete
 
Pete, those Jeeps were the best ones ever made as far as an "off road" Jeep. They still had that low center of gravity, BUT, all the later things like the 5.38's and the better rear, better trans, etc.
 
The "JEEP" stamp on the front of the toolbox looks beautiful, the flange of the toolbox where it meets the flat floor part is flawless, this is a very good sign. In most rigs, there is a lot of rust there.
 
The "JEEP" stamp on the front of the toolbox looks beautiful, the flange of the toolbox where it meets the flat floor part is flawless, this is a very good sign. In most rigs, there is a lot of rust there.
The floor is remarkably rust free, and the toolbox lip and inside floor are also completely intact. No rust through anywhere, other than the passenger side step which is hammered along with the fender. There's a bucket of bondo on the sloping part of the fender, battered like a cake...

It's got a D44 rear axle, but not sure if it has the 5:38s or not. It seems to have been assembled from a bunch of parts so I'm not sure what all we really have.

The engine has the wrong motor mount plate on it, and was cobbled onto the frame mounts. It runs great though, so that's a start.
I need to figure out what the engine came from by the serial number J210770.
There doesn't appear to be a frame or body number tag anywhere, and it has a state assigned vin number tag on the firewall instead.

Pete
 
A few more pics from yesterday-

The seller pulled it out of his barn so we could get a better look
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It had been sitting there for quite a while.
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Joseph getting it started and running it around the yard.
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Signed and paid for, we loaded it on the trailer.
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Amazing how short these are compared to my wagon... The wagon rear bumper hangs over the end of a uhaul trailer.
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Homeward bound
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Stopped at a gas station, and cleaned off the windshield to take it for a spin. What looks like a cracked old lock strip in the rubber gasket is actually a few dozen yellow butt connectors... and I thought I'd seen everything... They didn't do their job though.
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Made it home to join the fleet.
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Engine serial number
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Block casting numbers
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Hey, from looking at the photo's, it's an old Jeep that's in extremely good shape except for some 'usage dings", which is what we Jeep Folk call "Patina". When I say good shape, I mean Body, it has a few dings, so what, that body is a good, solid one. Nice find Pete.
 
In a lot of cases Pete, when the slots are still there for the water to drain out there near the door openings, it's a solid Jeep. It's just one good sign.
 
They are almost ALWAYS rotted away around the Jeep stamping. The tool box holds water slightly due to a couple different reasons, and it can't go nowhere. It rots between the flange and floor, but it always seems to migrate up to the Jeep stamping for some reason. That is in unbelievable condition where that stamping and toolbox base is.
 
I have run into a bunch of old timers that call the little ones, " the little ones ". L O L I always have to laugh when I hear that. It's amazing what those little ones can do.
 
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