1953: Bruce Isaacs
When Bruce in Kentucky bought his 3B in late 2011, he said, "After oven cleaner, the engine number is 4J13876 I believe. 85,254 miles, runs great, drives good. It's still 6 volt. It has Cutlass lockouts with the two circles that takes an L-shaped tool. I am throwing a quicky paint job on it. (See it before the paint job, 200K JPEG.).
"I'm going to use it for light trails for fishing, hunting, and just relaxing cruises in the woods. Will restore it later up the road."
In 2012 Bruce decided he needed a hardtop to make it practical to use the Jeep on the farm in the snow (270K JPEG). He says, "I built it with 1x3s and plywood, painted, caulked and cut up an old Walmart pool to cover it. Then caulked again. Windows are plexiglass. I invested about 20 dollars in hinges, etc."
1953: Warren Newbury
Warren and Carol Newbury now live in California, where Warren decided in 2012 to give their Jeep a new rattle can OD paint job, with vinyl lettering from a sign shop. It replaces his earlier, very fun Desert Storm camo paint that the '53 wore in the Veteran's Day parade when they lived in Durant, Oklahoma.
The Jeep has had an electronic distributor since 2009. Warren initially tried a Pertronix electronic points replacement and coil, but had problems and then installed an Omix Ada electronic distributor, which he says has been running great ever since. However, he comments that "I had to rotate the wire location in the new distributor cap by 180 degrees when putting the wires into the new cap. 1 became 3, etc. The tang in the bottom of the distributor shaft is off center. It only goes in one way."
1953: Jared Agee
Jared in Missouri wrote in 2011: "I have recently acquired a 1953 CJ-3B with the serial number 453GB2 13718. The engine number is 4J13999B2. It is dark green in color with what looks like gray seat covers... or very very faded black ones. The wheels are 16" and are painted body color. It appears that the Jeep and the wheels have the original paint. The engine compartment looks to be very close to original with the original-style clamps on the air breather tube, etc. Has the remainder of the Fram sticker on the oil filter cover, etc.
"The Jeep has a PTO unit that includes the gear box, drive shaft, and control unit, but no drum or governor. The PTO unit also has what is left of a very bent guard (40K JPEG) on it.
"Originally the Jeep was from Illinois, and went to Pacific, Missouri around 1959 or so and was used around a farm there until 2009 when a guy bought it and sold it to me a few weeks ago. It appears to be all original with the exception of a 12 volt conversion, tail lights, and a clock added to the dash."
1953: Greg Farrell
"My father-in-law, Holland Tussey (currently 87 and doing well) purchased his 1953 Willys CJ-3B Jeep on February 5th, 1954 to use primarily as a farm vehicle. He snatched up one of the last '53's the dealer had on their lot. He doesn't have the original sales receipt and can't remember exactly what he paid for it, but knowing him, I'm betting he got a pretty good deal. Holland was one of the pioneers of North Carolina pit-cooked barbecue, and ran Tussey's Barbecue, a successful BBQ restaurant in Lexington, from 1948-1963.
"While visiting her dad in 2010, my wife Holly made reference to the Jeep and explained how she hated seeing it, year after year, just rusting away. She suggested he let us collect all its parts and move the Jeep to our basement garage. He reluctantly agreed. The following weekend my two sons and I gathered all the parts up and towed the Jeep to its new home."
See more details on this North Carolina High Hood.
1953: Doug Newman
Doug wrote in September 2010, "Early in the summer I bought a beautifully restored '53 Willys CJ-3B in Cooperstown NY where I have a summer home (I live in Stowe VT the rest of the year). Of course, I immediately went online to learn as much as I could about this terrific vehicle. I've been on The CJ3B Page at least a hundred times and have learned a ton, while enjoying the car all summer."
See also a rear view photo (200K JPEG).
1953: Greg Olson
"I live in Rockville, Maryland. I purchased the Willys in February 2008 from a fella in Landenberg, Pennsylvania, who purchased the Jeep a year earlier. I was told it was totally refurbished 10 years prior to that. The tub was layered over with steel and a huge step bumper was welded to the rear with new rear lights and stickers everywhere. It was a non-runner when I got it, frozen motor and mouse-eaten wiring everywhere. I'm not a mechanic, so many thanks goes out to The CJ3B Page and Kaiser Willys Auto Supply. I was able to get the engine running great, the transmission working great and a host of wiring and other mini projects completed. I'm proud and happy to say that the Jeep is roadworthy and I take it on errands often."
See also a rear view and the interior (160K JPEGs). Greg sold the Jeep in 2011 and says he is on the lookout for another project.
1953: Jeff Heidman
Jeff Heidman in Newnan, Georgia is going for a military look for his '53 and has painted it in OD. When he first bought it (80K JPEG) Jeff said, "Just bought serial no. 453GB2 18404 in Georgia -- it has a title from Newport, Pennsylvania. Has a Kelly hardtop #300 on it. Haven't got the engine number yet." See also a photo of the interior as bought (80K JPEG).
In early 2009 he wrote, "We went to the new hunting club for several hours of scouting and wheelin' fun. A friend brought his 14-year-old son so it was time for some clutch lessons in the old Jeep. He admitted he had a blast. See a front pic (160K JPEG) and a rear view pic (200K JPEG)."
Jeff had it looking pretty military for Memorial Day 2010 (180K JPEG).
1953: Sebastian Lobo-Guerrero
"After many years of living in Pittsburgh, I finally bought a CJ-3B to have here. I still have the red 1954 CJ-3B back in Colombia, which thanks to family and friends is still in great shape. The new one is a 1953 yellow 3B. It was completely restored here in Pittsburgh by Chuck Curty, one of the founders of the Flat Fender Club of Butler. As with all of his rebuilds, Chuck did an amazing job with this car. I was very lucky he let me buy it."
See some nice photos of Sebastian touring around Pittsburgh in fall 2010: a nice rear view (230K JPEG), on the street (180K JPEG), in front of the famous University of Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning (tallest school building in the western hemisphere, 90K JPEG) and a first -time Jeep driver (120K JPEG).
Continue to 1954 Owners and Photos.
Return to the index of Jeep CJ-3B Owners and Photos.
You can contact the CJ3B Page to add your CJ-3B to the Owners & Photos pages. -- Derek Redmond
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