Joel’s Jeep Project By Joel Lewinsohn November, 2013
Eighteen years ago, I had just graduated from college, gotten married and moved in next door to my in-laws on the family farm in Eastern Washington. My father-in-law was a farmer/logger, in other words, a “jack of all trades” and I knew nothing about cars, but had always wanted to learn. A car project was needed for us to work on and the criteria were: 1. inexpensive; 2. parts readily available; 3. convertible and fun to drive. The answer was simple: I needed an old JEEP! A week later without knowing what I was getting into, I purchased a beat-up 194 Willy’s CJ2A from a high school kid who was overjoyed to be rid of it. Being very naïve at the time, I was under the assumption that all the original parts would be included and that it could be easily fixed…. I could not have been further from the truth. Starting at the top of a long list of issues were: • • • •
It had the wrong engine (F-head, which explained why the oil barrel was welded to the hood) It had an incorrect windshield Incorrect seats And a body that had been stick welded, which resulted in it being warped beyond repair
The conclusion was that I was going to need more parts and lots of them! A year later, I had acquired an additional 1948 CJSA body and axels and a 1945 MB with a L-head engine, and a WW2 military Hobart welder with rebuilt Willies Industrial L-head engine. Time marches on, as we all know, and sometimes “life” gets in the way of our dreams. Kids sucked up the money, a changes in jobs resulted in a couple of big moves, and the jeep ended up being “retired” to the barn where it sat for about sixteen years, waiting for me. Over the years, the jeep
remained in the back of my mind, an elusive dream waiting to be fulfilled. Finally, the pendulum of life swung back and I found myself with the time and a place to work on cars. The Jeep was brought out of retirement and I started the work again. Memory is an interesting phenomenon. I had vague recollections of what I had done and what I had planned to do, but often times I couldn’t quite remember what I had done before. The Jeep was entirely torn apart, with the exception of the front and rear differentials. Thus, with the help of my father-in-law and the internet, I rebuilt, cleaned, and painted everything on the Jeep. I tried to keep it mostly original with some modern upgrades for drivability and safety. The Jeep maintained the original body style, flat head 4 cylinder engine, 3-speed T-90 transmission, Dana 18 transfer case, and Dana 25/.41 axels. Some of the upgrades included a new 12-volt wiring harness with fuse block and relays, radial tires with aluminum rims, custom-made vinyl seats and seat covers, bikini top, roll bar, locking front hubs, turn signals, gas shocks, diamond plated box, and painted in GM’s Victory Red (which I thought was a fitting title for a 1946 post WWII Jeep). It took me two years more to finish and I am extremely happy with how it turned out. My only regret is that my father-in-law, with whom I started this project, had died of cancer five months before I had it running. We had talked about taking it out when the weather was better, but sadly, it was not to be. I did, however, take my wife, two daughters, and even my mother-in-law out for an exhilarating ride at 30 mph in the sunshine. I like to think that my father-in-law was there with us smiling and enjoying the ride in the completed Jeep that we started long ago.