My first flattie - Willys CJ3B

I'll just copy and paste most of this from one of my home boards, as it's easier that way.

Well, here she is in all her glory.....


I've only had a 93 Grand Cherokee (first gen), and a 95 YJ before this, so I'm pretty excited.

I get her hauled out here next week when I have room for it in the garage. The wife didn't want to put it on the back of the new-to-her as of Wednesday 2003 Jetta TDI.

More details to come.

 

We decided to run past the used beater lot looking for a diesel truck beater as I sold the Grand Cherokee last Saturday and need to find something to lug junk from renos around in.

The lot was closed, so we went in around the back alley, and "looky looky LOOKY". Must have acted like a kindergartner seeing a squirrel. ;D There she was, at 9:50 on Wednesday night, and I couldn't see anything except that it was a flattie.

Called the owner and asked about it. Just something he bought to go hunting up north with, not looking to sell, but if I was really interested, he'd let it go for $1000.

So yesterday morning I went in and checked it out. Pretty decent for $1000, although it needs a carb for the 350 in it(as it's currently sitting on the front fender lol). The rest of the drivetrain is original, and supposedly there is a PTO on it. Brought him down to $800 if I took it, came home to see about trying to resucitate a 1980 Mercedes with a bad tranny in the garage. Must be quite the motivator, these flatties, because at 8:30 last night the car started to move in all gears pretty nice. So that will be sold off and the Willys will go into the garage.

Needs a lot of work, but for $800 I couldn't let it go. And lucky for me, I called this morning to tell him I was going to take it, and he had one guy to call back and tell it was sold, and already had about 15 other guys in looking at it - glad he held it for me, instead of taking a higher offer on it.

I'll put some more pics below.

 

I know it has a 350 in it, and supposedly the "original jeep drivetrain", whatever that is. If anyone could identify it for me, that would be great.

Also, I can't find the vin yet, as there are no plates anywhere, and the decal is either long gone, or under the coats of black, red, green, and white paint. The frame actually had some manure on it underneath, so I didn't see anything stamped there either, although wasn't completely sure where to look either.

 

VIN plate should be a steel plate on the pass side upper corner of the firewall.

$800 is a little more than I would pay for a 3b with a body in that shape but things may be different where you are at.

Got a pic of the engine compartment????

 

Look on the front of the wheel well behind the passenger seat, should be a body tag there. Nice find, looks like you've got your work cut out for you. Are you going to mod it up?

 

I'll check those spots, but on intial look there weren't any vin plates. I get it delivered this week, as I hve no tow rig right now.

As for mods, yes, but not severely so. Something to make it a strong off-road vehicle without going overboard.

I have no idea how the drivetrain goes, so I need to check that before I decide on mods.

Does anyone recognize the three shifters on the right side?

 

Looks like you got the tranny shifter, transfer case split shifter, and a PTO shifter. Boy it's in a rough shape... There's a good challenge for you R)

 

The shape it is in ACTUALLY does depend on where you are.

In my case, if I throw a carb on it and get it moving I could probably sell it for $2500 or so. They're pretty rare up here.

Same thing as my 1980 Mercedes diesel....$4000 was one hell of a good buy up here, but I wouldn't pay more than $2000 in your lower or western states.

 

Hmmm I know were a few Merc Diesels are for cheap and in good shape..................What makes these worth so much up there??

 

Supply and demand....or rather, LACK of supply, and LOTS of demand.

 

Thats how I feel in NM with ECJ's, YJs and XJ's
C'mon everyone let's be nice to the neighbors to the north. Nicer off than 99% of the neighbors to the south...

 

interesting steering tie rod arrangement

 

Well, no one said she was perfect.

I suppose I could have let the guy use it as a "huntin' rig up north" - bet she would have been in GREAT shape after that. R)

Anyway, figured out my shifters, tranny, and transfer case to the best of my ability with some help from some friends. I don't have it here, but I do have the flu, so I did some checking on my first flattie....looks like a T90 with a rear PTO, and a twin-stick Dana 18 with a winch PTO. All armchair analysis from the pictures.

I'll check up on the steering....what I really wanted was a body and frame to start from scratch, and that's what I got....with some extras, right?

 

Looks like a good start... it's a little rough but there are members of this forum that have started with a LOT rougher, so don't be discouraged. I agree by the way, about flatties being rare up here and a little pricier. There isn't an abundance of these things in Canada, while they are still easy to find in the south.
Good luck and keep us posted on the build! PM me if you need some good CDN parts ressources. It's always nice to avoid customs fees when you can.

 

Is it drivable? I'd be curious how it steers with the steering set up like thst. I actually have seen it done that way a couple of times most recently a couple of years ago on this flatty...

 

Thanks for the offer, I'll keep you in mind. I sold my 95 YJ to a guy from Ontario a few months back. Their jeep club had a post office box just over the border. That way, they could drive 20 minutes, pick up their online orders, and come back and pay the custom fees, but at least they weren't paying international shipping and UPS brokerage.

Yes, she's rough, but I've seen rougher too....not getting discouraged at all, actually pretty excited.

 

It's not actually driveable right now, as the carb was leaking fuel everywhere. If there's issues with it, I'll just start from the ground up with the steering.

 

A fellow Albertan with a sharp eye noticed something from the pictures....the dash is not a CJ3B dash, but looks like a CJ3A.

Anyone notice anything else different?