My son turns 14 this summer and has become obsessed with the Willys CJ-3A. He recently asked me if I would consider buying one that he and I could restore together. After dabbing the tears of joy from my eyes, I said "absolutely". So now I need to learn something about them. Where to find one, how to restore one (I've never done anything even remotely like that), etc.
Please educate me!
I think he envisions something like this:
There was one for about $2500 at a car lot I drive by for about 4 months. I think it finally sold.
Can you rebuild one for less than just buying this?
The CJ-3A has been my favorite Jeep since before I was your son’s age, though I’ve never even sat in one.
oldopelguy said:Can you rebuild one for less than just buying this?
Probably not, but that would mean missing out on the restoration process with my son!
Do it they are stone simple , easy to work on and parts are available and generally cheap. I have driven one around town and it is similar to other 50-70 year old vehicles. Add a good roll bar and seat belts
Just a heads-up, about 45mph is all you want to do with these. They'll do 50-55mph, but doing it for prolonged periods of time will tear the engine up in a hurry.
oldopelguy said:Can you rebuild one for less than just buying this?
No, you can't.
NickD said:Just a heads-up, about 45mph is all you want to do with these. They'll do 50-55mph, but doing it for prolonged periods of time will tear the engine up in a hurry.
We had one in the Entomology department when I was in school. I was amazed at how slow they were. And low range is a crawl.
They ride like they have solid mounts in the springs. No power and 45 is about all you'll want to do. Brakes are a joke. Budget for just buying a repro body tub because you won't find much left to weld to on most of them. Most of the original engines have been rebuilt at least once and may be at maximum cylinder bore by now. Vacuum wipers are in the dictionary under 'ineffective'. Truly a terrible idea for a kid's first car.
With all that negativity said, I love the damn things. Closest I got was owning a 1967 CJ5. My dad had a '57 Willys CJ5 and we used to share a CJ3A with someone at our hunting camp when I was single digits in age. They are cool, no doubt about it, but should be relegated to 'toy' status and never considered for any sort of regular transport. They weren't built for, nor are happy, on most modern roads.
I think this is a GREAT idea for a kids first car. Who has time for texting and driving when dealing with old school transmissions, chokes and steering boxes? It will teach him many things and it will be so much cooler than the Civics and Camrys in the school parking lot.
We had a 1953 CJ-3A but it had a cobbled together lift, over sized tires, and a Buick 231 V6. The drivers side had an electric wiper and a manual one on the passenger side.
The 6 volt system was never all the way converted to 12v, so to check the fuel level I kept a a piece of wood under the seat to stick in the tank. If it cam out wet, you could keep driving! As in, I could drive and check the level at the same time since the tank is under the seat.
Arm strong steering, and thigh master brakes! I loved it. But then the front axle hit the oil pan and I ran it dry. sigh. It moved into a project jeep position in the garage and was later sold as parts.
As a restoration project to become a play thing - fantastic choice. As a restoration project to become his normal transport - bad idea. The idea of an inexperienced driver using one in traffic scares me slightly more than a kid using a VW bug in traffic, for all the reasons above. And I don't even HAVE kids. Now, if he plans on trails, dirt road weekend cruising, etc - then that's great.
I don't understand why the hate for a kids first car. It of course has limitations. Its not a freeway or even highway cruiser. Teach him how to build it, and then teach him how to drive it appropriately. I would much rather be on the road with him in this than the parent who puts their kid in a new car with all the safety nannies, but never teaches them how to drive. We have some friends who decided that their kid needed a new car because his old one didn't have enough air bags.
This is my 47 cj2 I bought it about 4 years ago. I think it is a great project to learn about cars and how they work because they are so simple. I don’t know if it would be worth restoring though.
My concern isn't for the kid's abilities. It's for the lack of attention shown by other drivers in larger, heavier vehicles combined with the absolutely abysmal crash mitigation in the Jeep (or a bug.) No matter how good a driver a young person is, they can't control other drivers. As an experienced driver you at least have some proficiency in predicting exactly HOW another driver could be dangerous at any one time and can (sometimes) drive to avoid those possibilities. As an inexperienced driver its much harder to make those predictions, and those are about the only "safety" equipment on a CJ3. The consequences of even a minor accident could be severe. Even something like an NA Miata has some basic crash mitigation engineered into the structure, but it offers the same lack of nannies and controls, which I agree is beneficial. Imagine a 40mph collision in an NA verses a 40mph collision in a CJ3. How different would the injuries be?
Now, rural areas where other drivers are more sparse, or back roads - sure, I think it's a great idea and valuable training. Driving in traffic? Not so much. Again, I'm not risk averse, I ride a bicycle to work sometimes. It's more about managing acceptable risk vs benefit.
I learned to drive in old Jeeps and my first real daily was a 73 VW. They are both great and a really good way to get a young driver interested in cars. That said, I live in a small town with no real traffic. Lots of dirt roads. Not sure I'd want to put a kid in one though if the roads are busy.
Also +1 to a cj being a part time car. They are great fun, until the weather turns nasty. Then it is still fun but only if you are really adventurous.
In reply to NickD :
I once drove a CJ 5 from the factory in Toledo to upstate NY. 50 mph all the way. Same gearing as the 3. 12 more HP.
I pulled a lot of trees with a 3 an plowed a lot of snow.
Thanks for all of the replies and I inadvertently caused confusion. This would NOT be a car for him to drive regularly! It would be a weekend runabout. My thought is that it would be a platform we could both use to learn about how cars work. I don't know much more than he does about the inner workings. :D
I worked at OMIX-ADA / Rugged Ridge with DILYSIDave for a few years. You can buy every single part for a CJ from a catalog. And while parts are abundant and cheap, I saw plenty of cheap parts that I wouldn't have put on my own vehicle.
Ditto on the 45mph top speed. I've been in one on the highway at 60 (it had the Warn overdrive). Truly horrifying, I felt safer on a motorcycle.
When I was in high school, Randy Grubb, builder of what would become Jay Leno's Tank Car, had a 32 Ford hot rod with a flat head V8 that he drove to school. Or he drove a Model T sometimes, and occasionally a MGTD.
I highly endorse the project. However, I would advocate for buying a specimen that is actually in pretty good condition, and make the project to go over the many details that an old car needs.
Stay away from bodywork in a father son project; odds are one of you is going to hate doing it, and it cost a lot of $$$.
dyintorace said:Thanks for all of the replies and I inadvertently caused confusion. This would NOT be a car for him to drive regularly! It would be a weekend runabout. My thought is that it would be a platform we could both use to learn about how cars work. I don't know much more than he does about the inner workings. :D
Go for it.
Agreed. In those terms, there isn't a better vehicle to start with. I would second staying away from lots of paint-and-body type stuff, at least in the beginning. The nice thing is you could buy one that has some body issues, make the mechanics right, and then tub-swap it in the long term.
I'd also suggest buying one that at least runs under it's own power even if it's badly. Take your boy out to a field and let him drive it around before you tear it apart. Being able to drive it some really sets the hook. It's hard for someone new to wrenching to commit to a long term project without some experience of enjoying the vehicle first. Hell, it's hard for ME.
I grew up helping my dad wrench, he taught me tons. When I started driving, I worked on my car and he helped me. It's one of the most valuable gifts I've ever been given.
You'll need to log in to post.
