1947 CJ-2A – My dad purchased this 1947 CJ-2A back in the mid 70’s from a very close friend, and at that time, he and I briefly went through the vehicle to insure its safe operation before taking it out on many camping trips to follow. 
Now that it has been passed over to me, my wife and I are looking forward to the many adventures that we will have in this jeep. We (my wife and I) really enjoy the outdoors and exploring the back roads/trails that are hardly seen by many. I currently own a lifted Chevy blazer (that I wish to keep in nice condition), but our addiction to exploration has left its mark(s) of pin-striping on my daily driver. 
This 1947 CJ-2A is completely original (other than getting a coat of paint and new seat covers). It has the matching serial numbers through-out the vehicle and has only 21,864 original miles. Even the shocks are original from the factory. Once I got the jeep over to the house, I began a thorough inspection and have found “many” things have just deteriorated away and some things are in desperate need of attention,,,, but even though it sat for over 10 years, after replacing the battery, and adding some fuel, it fired right up. Sooooooo, The Restoration Begins! Plans are to start from the front, removing/ inspecting/ and polishing “every” nut, bolt, and washer along the way. As for everything that has been, needs to be, and will be replaced, Kaiser Willy’s has been fantastic. I am like a kid in a candy store while shopping through their web site. Thank you Kaiser (Mike). Your help and full range of available parts supply has turned my stressful project into a fun one.
2/1/2012 update; Front axle has been completely restored. The complete axle was disassembled, sand blasted, and then used a wire wheel to detail the cleaning before it was painted with 2 coats of primer & 5 layers of epoxy paint. New bearings and races were installed, as well as new seals throughout, shims, steel brake lines and “S” lines, flex lines, and brake cylinders. Also stocked & ready to install new brake pads, new master cylinder, cleaned and turned drums, new leaf springs with new shackles, shocks, and new tie rod assemblies.
My dad lent a hand in pulling the engine and I am currently doing same process toward the restoration…down to polishing every nut, bolt and washer.
5/27/12 update; Engine & crank is back from the from the machine shop and is ready to reassemble. While the engine was at the machine shop, I started going through the transfer case. Ended up needing to replace the output shaft sliding gear, front output shaft & output shaft gear. Also replaced all of the bearings/races, bushings, thrust washers, as well as all gaskets & seals. Front output bearing housing was replaced as well due to a broken mount. Gave it a new yolk as well since it had some seal wear on the old one. Everything was sandblasted before a minimum of 4 coats of apoxy paint was applied. Transmission is next in line for some T.L.C…
Houde Oil Bath Air Cleaner was soaked in ZEP Industrial Cleaner for a week, then sandblasted, wire wheeled to smooth it down, and also recieved 4 coats of apoxy paint. I was tempted to repaint the clamp to blend it in to the housing as well (because it was painted before), but with the new label having a chrome accent in it, I cleaned off all of the old paint and buffed, buffed, & buffed until it shined up (I think it looks much better this way).
Ed,
Wow, sorry to hear about the burglary. Hope you catch the pr—- who broke in and took your tools.
Thanks for your comments. Yes, its been slow going, but I am really determined to restore this right. Taking it piece by piece, and I am not putting any kind of schedule to this on getting it completed. If I come across something wrong, I don’t do a make-shift repair just to get it back together.
I went to see if you had any photo’s of your project, but didn’t find a photo album for you. How far did you get into your restoration before the burglary?
I’ll tell you, if it wasn’t for Kaiser’s, this restoration could of been a nightmare. They have been fantastic. There are some other parts suppliers out there, but Mike has been a Great Help on getting me everything I have needed for this restoration, so I don’t deal with anybody else (even though they are over 3000 mile away from me).
Thx. Dan
Dan,
Looks like you have your hands full restoring your 1947 CJ-2A….Looking good. Great job!
We also have a 47-willys we have being restoring in our Barn, We had to stop
our restoration due to a burglary our hand tools & power tools were stolen.
happen two [2] weeks ago….Once we purchase the lost tools we will continuethe restoration…Good luck Dan, Ed Santi
Thanks Bud. Yep, I have had my eye on this mission for quite some time now, and now that it is here, I am looking for as close to perfection as I can,,
that’s really impressive. you sound like a man on a mission. i sure would like to see the finished product. good luck dan. mike