This is my Father’s 1947 CJ2A. The picture was taken in Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road. To get up to the Alpine Visitors Center we drove the Willys up Old Fall River Road, which is a one lane, up only, non-surfaced road with hairpin switch backs and without guard rails.
The Willys has been in the family since the late 70’s or early 80’s and was used on our Iowa family farm. My brothers and I learned to drive a stick shift on it when we were only 9 or 10 years old. (The blessings of growing up on a farm).
Dad traded an old Plymouth coop for the CJ-2A and practically brought it home in pieces. The 1st “restoration” was done on a shoestring budget. At times Dad had to fabricate necessary parts or retrofit parts from other things. (Part of the alternator bracket was three other alternator brackets cut up and welded together.)
One day in the late 80’s it did not start, we got busy with other things and stored it in a shed. When covid started, I told Dad he needed a project, so we drug it into the shop. We hoped it would be a quick restoration with an engine kit and new paint. We were wrong.
We literally had the fifth engine block before we found one that could be rebuilt. The tub turned out to be in much worse condition than we had hoped. All new floor pans braces were needed as well as other things. About the only things on the entire project that weren’t taken apart was the transmission and transfer case. The Kaiser Willys catalog was a big help.
We are pretty sure the original color was blue. The 1st restoration had it flat black because Dad had the paint left over from another project. With the 2ndrestoration we went with military green as a tribute to my grandfather who served in WWII as a mechanic and truck driver. The “3463” on the hood was his company number.
- Jim Maeder
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