1954: Ed Wilson
"I grew up with this Jeep. The neighbors bought it new and it has been in my family since 1968. It spent most of its life on a dairy farm here in western North Carolina, suffering from the effects of fertilizer, manure, and winter road salt. My original camo paint job (80K JPEG) camouflaged the rust, not the Jeep. The paint scheme was the US four-color woodland pattern from the early 70's, copied from the trailer.
"The Jeep retains the 6-volt system (I'm stubborn). Modifications include the addition of locking hubs, electric wiper, heater, fog lights, rear utility light, and block heater. I removed the factory PTO unit to install the pintle hitch and added the eleven-inch brake kit for trailering. It is still used regularly for farm maintenance and getting firewood, as well as some top-down cruising. For the trailer buffs, the ID tag lists it as a Model 416M-65 accepted for service in November, 1966.
"I have rebuilt about everything on her myself including a total drivetrain overhaul, engine, transmission, transfer case and both differentials. The F-head is bored .030 over and the head is decked .020. All gear boxes now have synthetic oil. I ordered a Crane electronic ignition conversion and a K&N air filter."
See more photos of Ed's Jeep in No Spring Chicken.
1954: Ed Meiners
This Jeep belonged to an Esso station in Charlottesville VA until Bob Smith bought it in the early 1990's.
Current owner Ed Meiners says, "The Jeep followed me home from Bob's place to my home in Mason, Ohio. After some tinkering she is roadworthy, although her abilities are well camouflaged under replacement panels and rust. The most exciting accomplishment is the winch. It is the Koenig model that drives off the crankshaft pulley. There were a few parts missing so some fabrication was necessary. With the use of the manuals that are posted on the web and a brother-in-law who is a very patient machinist the unit is now functioning. I have finished a frame-off resto and I figure I will get another 50 years out of this Jeep."
As of 2009, the Jeep is now painted red, and Ed sent photos from on the trail (50K JPEG) and at a local Flat Fender Frenzy show (80K JPEG).
Bob Smith took some more photos, including the Koenig winch, when he first bought the Jeep.
1954: Erik v/d Peppel
"My Jeep was bought in 1954 by the police department in Rotterdam, Holland. They used it to push cars that broke down on the highway. In order to do this the Jeep is slightly modified to ensure there is no damage done to the car that is pushed. After the police sold the Jeep to the national forest service, it was used to tow trees out of the forest and for inspection of the woods. This organisation didn't look after the Jeep, so it became in a very bad condition. I bought the car at an auction of government property and began the restoration.
"Some of the parts (seat covers and electric wiring) were in such bad shape that I had to replace them. We restored the car to almost the same condition as it was at the time the police used it. This is the first car we restored. We did everything ourselves including welding, wiring and painting. After we restored the Jeep we have already driven 5000 km with it (and it never failed!)"
See Rotterdam Police Jeep Restoration for more photos and details.
1954: Jon Rogers
Jon says: "I found this block of rust with 3 wheels attached (complete with its own inbuilt tree) in 1990, in the bush in South East Queensland, Australia. The property owner had owned it for 30 years and had used it for general farm duties. I purchased it for the price of a 6-pack, brought it home, and freaked out the "Love of my Life", poor girl. Six years and about AU$7000.00 later there are now two loves in my life. I use it to run the 3 kids to school (I must have found at least three spare minutes during the restoration). The kids prefer the Willys to the brand new Toyota (who said kids were dumb), and it takes me shooting three week-ends out of four. The Jeep is restored to original, with the exception of the right-hand steering, and conversion from 6 to 12 volts. The canvas soft top was made locally by a bloke who used to make replacements back in the fifties. So far this is the only '54 model I've seen in Australia still being used, but I'm sure there must be a few more somewhere."
The serial number of Jon's Jeep is 57348 24438R. The "R" suffix is unusual -- I thought it might mean right-hand drive, but Jon says the Jeep is an American Willys, converted to right-hand drive in Australia.
See more photos and details on Jon's web page The Passion -- Old Jeeps.
1954: Doug Wilson
The drivetrain in this Jeep includes the original Hurricane engine, a T98 4-speed from a 1964 CJ-5, a Warn overdrive, the original front axle with a Lock Right, and a full-floating Dana 44 in the rear with limited slip and 5.38 gearing.
For more great photos of Doug's Jeep in action, see Hurricane on the Trails.
1954: Clint Spaar
"The previous owner had only had it for about 2 months, but had put a 2-inch Superlift on it, and another prior owner had replaced the tire rims and the seats. Other than that it was mostly stock. Engine, drive train, frame all seem fine."
For more photos, see 1954 CJ-3B Restoration Project Begins.
1954: Chuck Wootton
"I found this jeep in a junkyard -- the firewall and dash board was all that was left of the body. The engine was missing the head and was left open to the weather. Bought it for $100.00 and built it up from there. Buick 225 V6, Ford T-18 trans, Spicer 18 t-case, Warn OD, 2.5" lift, roll bar, bucket seats, five point harness and 34" Swampers."
For photos of Chuck's Jeep with several other CJ-3B's at the annual Willys Run in Massachusetts, see CJ-3B's Lined Up For Action.
1954: Scott Blystone
"My 1954 CJ-3B has been rebuilt twice that I can detect. About an equal mix of new and old -- old gauges, but new seats and so on. I will work towards a roadworthy restoration, but right now it will function as a plow/tractor around the house. Original paint was the pseudogreen, covered once with red and now with brown. A fair amount of rot to the drivers side body, but not unrepairable. It has an incredibly well preserved frame, original T-90 with long input shaft, and 15" wheels.
"It has a Dauntless V6 engine, installed in the late
1960's. I hope to reinstall an original F4 (I have a spare from
a late 60's station wagon). I'd be willing to trade the engine and
drivetrain (or the whole vehicle) for an F4 with bellhousing and tranny or
a complete 3B with the original engine in equal condition. Mine has a nice
power angle hydraulic plow run off a Jeep hydraulic pump. I have the original oil bath air cleaner for the carb as well. The
V6 appears to be a 1967 model, odd fire 225. My bellhousing has the
original Jeep adaptor manufactured for a short time to mate the T90 with
the V6 (before they modified the bellhousing), and the heavy flywheel."
1954: John Hubbard
John found this 1954 Jeep in excellent condition (green, with Koenig half-cab hardtop), and has restored it meticulously, including an authentic reproduction of a half-cab soft top, by Beachwood Canvas. He is also putting a 1953 frame under a 1961 body.
See more photos and details in Hubbard's Halfcabs 1954 CJ-3B, Part 1: Finding the Pieces, and Part 2: Phases of the Project.
See also John's Hubbard's Halfcabs FAQ covering the differences between a 1953 CJ3B, a 1954 CJ3B and a 1961 CJ3B.
1954: Joel Kamunen
"I have now sold my CJ-3B to a fellow in Wisconsin, because it was getting difficult to get into and drive for me. He was very happy with the purchase. It had been restored by a ranch mechanic about fifteen years ago and has been well maintained since. New Bestop, tires and shocks, and 12-volt electrics."
Joel reupholstered the front seats himself, with covers and foam from Beachwood Canvas, and did an F-head build-up with a Weber carb and Clifford headers.
See also Joel's new ride, a 4WD AMC Eagle SX/4. Joel says, "It's got 40,000 original miles on it and I have a fuel injection setup to install. It's from Texas and it's just like new."
Continue to 1954 Owners and Photos, Page 2.
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 and to
The CJ-3B Database. -- Derek Redmond
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