"Betsy" 1953 Willys CJ-3b cheap jeep gone wrong

[Millsonwheels]

Here is the build on my new mistress what started as a very old tired and beat up treasure
Ok so It all started because I collect these old jeeps and am always on the lookout for cheap ones with a title. I found this jewel all beat down for sale in roanoke on facebook marketplace and sent the guy a message he came back and said I looked through your pictures and you seem to have a passion for these and will save it, crap now im committed. I told him id take it for $500 no questions. I asked Grubb to go with since his truck worked and mine did not at the time (constant struggle). We went and got it praying the guys driveway wasn't too steep as the tow vehicle of the day 4wd was questionable. following are the one picture from the listing and when I got it home.

[Millsonwheels]

Fast forward almost two years where it sat in the back corner of my yard looking sad, a ride was coming up in two months and my willys truck being broken i decided to build a whole vehicle instead of fixing it, because I am a stupid stupid man, so the plan at this moment was to throw it together with parts i had on hand for about $800. stupid, stupid man.

So pulled the body off and thats when I began to learn things about this rig. the first being she had already lived a life, a rough one. its been painted at least 5 different colors one of which was fire department red with gold leaf stripes, I assume it was a brush truck and most of these jeeps were used with a small tank on the back for putting out spot fires in rough areas, but the frame was good so I hooked up a old tow bar and washed it off and even used the old junk buggy to push it into the shop to begin the long transformation into something hopefully better

[VerticalTRX]

I should have done a better job documenting the build on my ‘49, glad to see you took some pics along the way. For some reason I was thinking this one was the one from Ohio. Maybe that was just a parts jeep, I guess my memory is shot.

[Millsonwheels]

Grubb the 64 you are thinking of is the one I bought for parts mostly for the rare 4 speed I put in the willys truck, That one Being the worst jeep ive ever bought for condition, I got it in the garage put it on jackstands, turned my back to it and it literally broke in half (picture below). it is part of this story as that jeep donated its good running engine that was rebuilt in 1987 that came with paperwork to Match.

[Millsonwheels]

Ok Back to the story, so at this point I go it in the garage and started to look at the sad condition it was in, and make no mistake it had lived a very hard life however the frame was in great shape and very straight despite the front frame horn being torn off from god only know what kind of abuse.

[Millsonwheels]

From here I cut the ruined bumpers off and started to removed the rest of the ruined parts and replace or build new ones such as the battery tray which I made out of 1/8 plate and 1/4 flat bar because you know battery's are so heavy I also put on and upgraded set of military m38a1 style shackles instead of the stock cast steel c shape which i tend to mangle and change the shape of.

[Millsonwheels]

It was still around this time I was still sticking with the whole budget build using what I had on hand such as used but rebuilt in 1987 f134 engine from a 1964 cj5, 1948 cj2a transmission and transfer case and a used clutch and the stock leaf springs, those two decisions I will regret later on its second trail ride. When it came time to do brakes thats when the whole budget build fell apart, I cant put outdated drum brakes on my new freshly painted frame? so I converted it to 4 wheel discs using suzuki sidekick and geo tracker and first gen s10 brake parts. I cant stop all that with a stock single pot master cylinder? upgrade that to a 76 cj5 master and adapter brackets.

So the budget was blown and im still an idiot

[Millsonwheels]

It was at the point I got the brakes done and plumbed I decide I should think about the body, It turns out its worse than I thought, non salvageable and no replacements anywhere in sight, after making a couple calls to new body companies to see if they had any that had been dropped out of a plane I came across a company that had a blemished replitub for half price as long as I was ok with no wholes in the dash and not front end sheet metal. perfect I didnt need to eat that month anyway. While I am waiting on the tub to get here I finish other little things like my bumpers, shocks, and engine work like replacing a broken manifold with 5 broken bolts in the block.

The bumpers im pretty proud of the are 2x4 box 1/4 wall with the d rings ran completely through fully welded and sticking though so I could also weld them up into the inner c of the frame. its over kill but I didnt want to make something that bent or broke off, the jeep will literally get pulled in half before they come off.

[Millsonwheels]

Ok so its getting to be crunch time a week and a half till the trip and its nowhere near ready I get the call saying my body is in at the depot in draper I rush down there only to find they sent me the wrong one so I make some calls mine is coming but it will be another 3 days. When it gets here with days to spare I rope poor old Matt Grubb into helping me set the body on after I paint the underside, he is dying of ebola or some mystery illness at this time but helps anyway, what a guy.

The night before the body gets here and i have to turn the jeep around the other way so I chain it to the poor old junk buggy in the middle of the night and drag it around in the street to get it facing the way, this is where the wheels literally fell off the bus because I am dragging it sideways one minute and the next the front wheels fall off, in the middle of the street, in my haste I seemed to forgot the lug nuts

I throw on the spare sheetmetal and parts I have which is a mystery steering wheel and cj3b windsheild, m38 military fenders, mystery cj2a seats and tailgate, mystery cj5 steering column. I also spend about three hours "straightening" the original grill.

[Millsonwheels]

Sp at this point I had like 2 days before the trip to uwharrie I wanted to take it on I worked very long nights tying up lose ends like wiring and a temporary yet permanent fuel cell etc. I made it to the night before and still I could not get it to fire, it ended up being to a worn distributor that was only hitting the points every now and then.

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This last picture is the one that haunts my dreams because it was the picture of defeat at 4am the night before where I didnt make it, so I sloshed some fuel and loaded the junk buggy on the trailer in the middle of the night and cried myself to sleep.

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In the end it was a good thing I didnt make it because I had no gauges and no rear recovery points.

[Millsonwheels]

After the trip i took a week or so off from it because I needed a break but I then put a m38 gauge panel in with gauges and painted the cowl and put the newer radiator in it with adapter brackets to make it work and it actually went on its maiden voyage where it smoked like crazy because the old exhaust was full of oil that the original worn out engine dumped in there. at this point I loaded it up and took to my new house to paint it and finish it up there.

[Millsonwheels]

This whole time I had one inspiration for a CJ-3b,

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pale yellow was factory color but they all faded out almost immediately to a cool tan color that what I wanted mine to be. at home I started the leisurely process of painting it antique white. I couldn't bring myself to paint the cool old beatup tailgate and windshield yet.

[Millsonwheels]

I am ashamed to say but it sat in this phase for many months where I would drive it around but nothing more really got done on it until there was a upcoming potts trip and I was persuaded to go, so here we go again but ill make it if it kills me this time. so I got the tin work installed robbed the tires from the junk buggy and fixed a bunch of other things, I almost didnt make it and gave up the night before. I went in to take a shower and sulk and my lovely better half basically told me to get my ass out in the garage and finish it because she couldnt put up with me moping around all weekend and she actually helped me get it done enough for the potts trip.

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It was as ready as it was ever going to be one headlight, one seat, outdoor patio cushions, 5 minute test drive and away we go.
It surprisingly did very well at potts with the only issues being an ailing clutch, kinked exhaust, and a ruined rear set of springs. we encountered some kids drunk and stuck in the bypass and as they were walking by my poor jeep they said theres no way thats making it referring to my sad creation. I made up my mind just then that it was going through even if it was on fire, but it chugged right on through with very little drama.