1954: Thovar Lemos
Thovar's 3B in Brazil has a number of eye-grabbing elements, including a deluxe folding soft top, aggressive mud tires, and some unusual features in the engine compartment.
See more photos and details of this Hurricane With a Silver Lining.
1954: Henry Tejchma
Henry in Round Rock, Texas has restored this '54 (see a before photo, 40K JPEG) and estimates it's 90% original. He says, "I added the roll bar, winch and larger tires, other than that its pretty much original. I have the service manual, parts list etc. for the vehicle. I purchased the vehicle in 1999, restored it and still own it. Only a couple of hundred miles since it was restored. Would now like to sell it to a collector."
See a left side photo and a photo of the engine (40K JPEG's).
1954: Marco Icaro
Marco lives in Tietê, a small town near São Paulo, Brazil. He says, "I bought my 1954 Willys CJ-3B last April. Its chassis number is 454GB236178B. A friend owned it during 32 years. The CJ was in relatively good shape and 90% original (50K JPEG), but I decided to rebuild it and now I'll start driving it!"
Marco sent some photos of the work he did over the summer and fall of 2005 (80K JPEG's):
1954: Aurélio Mariano
Another '54 from Brazil; Aurélio Mariano's red 3B has an Opal 4-cylinder motor, one of many popular engine swaps in South America.
1954: Adilson Silva
"The owner is Adilson Silva, but people usually call him 'Sabiá' (the name of a bird in Brazil)," writes his friend Denis who takes his CJ-5 with Adilson on the trail (40K JPEG). "Once while we were 4-wheeling, Adilson rolled but the roll bar saved him, except for a windshield and a few jokes from his friends.
"Here in Brazil we change almost all the parts, and Adilson's Jeep received a few modifications. The engine is a Chevy 4 cylinder, 151 cu. in. People don't like the F4 hurricanes so much here --- they are 'weak' and have serious problems with the Brazilian climate, it overheats so easily here. The gearbox is a 4-speed from the Brazilian CJ-5, and it has disc brakes (front) and CJ-5 drums (rear)."
1954: Larry Sayre
"I am attaching two photos of the CJ3B taken the day I received it just a little over one year ago. Since that time I have adjusted the soft top so it fits properly in the rear (100K JPEG) and updated the tires to ones that are a lot more roadworthy. I also removed the "Jerry can" carrier and the spare tire carrier from the tailgate; both had cracked the metal. I had the tailgate welded to fill-in 23 holes that had been drilled in it over the years and seal numerous cracks that developed from faulty mountings. I thought it was important to preserve the original tailgate with its "Willys" embossing and I wanted to move the spare tire carrier back to its original position on the right rear fender. Both restorations will be completed sometime this winter. It already looks much better than these pictures show."
Larry has found what appears to be his engine number stamped into the left side of the frame near the fuel pump (see Numbers on CJ-3B Frames for photos). He comments: "I live in Carson City, Nevada. This Jeep came from Plumas County in northern California where I think it might have been in the Forest Service once upon a time, judging by one of the colors it was painted in the past. Plumas County is quite high in the Sierra Nevada mountains and it is rather common for older vehicles to have the head and sometimes the top of the block milled to increase compression. My guess would be this has been done to my Jeep and the engine number was "moved" to the frame member to preserve it for future reference? Glad they did that since it is also the number that appears on my title."
1954: Dave Williams
"I have a 1954 CJ3-B that has been in the family since 1963. The original F-head was replaced with an L-head from a stationary generator application in the mid 1960's. The Jeep originally belonged to the Port Authority of NY and was used to push or tow disabled vehicles out of the Tunnels. It was sold to a second owner who repainted it, and sold it to my dad who used it to plow snow and pull tree stumps. I welded in a new floor and it is a very sentimental vehicle to me and I would never sell it. There are some old photos I believe, that my mother has. I live in NY, not too far from where Sarafan used to be, in Spring Valley."
See also a right side photo (50K JPEG).
1954: Gary Gabriel
Gary in Pennsylvania recently purchased this Jeep: "It was used in a coal mining operation for boring core samples (I think). It had a drilling/auger setup attached to the rear. The tubes attached to the front bumper may have held flags or they may have held a support to carry drilling equipment over the roof. The top is a steel halfcab made by Kelly. The motor was rebuilt at some time since it has .060 over pistons and the serial number is missing off of the block indicating that the block may have been decked during the rebuild. It also has the rear PTO still attached to the rear of the transfer case, and an engine-driven Koenig winch (not shown in the picture as it was removed prior to me picking it up, but it is complete and I do have it) that was mounted up front. The rear of the body was modified with recessed tail lights. Also, the rear crossmember was replaced with a steel channel and the "V" brace underneath the bed has been removed, possibly to accommodate the drilling rig. There are remnants of extra coil springs that were welded to the frame over the rear axle to accommodate additional weight, no doubt.
"The previous owner had some problem with the engine making a terrible noise the last time he parked it and he never ran it again. When I got it home I tore into the engine and found all of the teeth ground off of the starter gear. It sounds like the starter engaged inadvertently while the engine was running but the young man who owned it didn't recognize the sounds. The motor was locked-up when I got it and we found the rear cylinder had some water leaked into it while it sat and rusted the piston to the cylinder. We freed it up and are in the process of reassembling to motor to try to get it running. Plans are to restore the Jeep over the next couple of years."
1954: Stuart Snow
Stuart in Phoenix says, "Took it up to Taylor Park, Colorado this fall. Runs great even at 11,500 feet thanks to carb rebuild kit from the carb shop in Missouri. We took the Jeep on a run up an old railroad bed to an alpine tunnel at 11,500 feet on that trip. It was a nice change of scenery for the old Jeep which has seen action in Montana, Nevada and Arizona."
This beautiful photo (100K JPEG) was on our cover in 2005.
1954: Nelson Proença Jr.
"I live in Registro (São Paulo, Brasil) and bought my Jeep CJ-3B '54 in 1998 in the city of Sorocaba. I have made the following modifications: Volkswagen AP 1.800 cc engine (70K JPEG) and 4-speed gearbox from a Ford F-75 pickup, Volkswagen Santana steering box, SBD disc brakes and Ensimec full locker on the rear differential.
"The wheels are from a Ford F-1000 pickup, with Firestone AT 750x16 tires, AVM locking hubs and a 2-inch body lift. I have also installed a gas tank under the box, electric winch, Gaucha convertible top, Volkswagen Gol seats and Maxion CB."
See also a nice photo of Nelson crossing a log bridge (140K JPEG), featured on our cover in January 2005.
Continue to 1954 Owners Page 5.
Return to the index of Jeep CJ-3B Owners and Photos.
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