Frame-Off Revival: Bringing the Family CJ-2A Back to Life

My name is Phil Ashbrook and I live in Piqua, Ohio. I have a very early 1946 Willys CJ-2A farm Jeep with a column shift and a Monroe hydraulic lift and PTO. My grandfather purchased this Jeep in the early 1960’s and used it for gardening and clearing the driveway in the winter. When my grandfather passed it became my dad’s Jeep. My dad kept the Jeep in the garage for the last 35 years. I inherited it recently when my dad passed. He had always talked about restoring it, but, he did not get the chance.

It was recently restored by Paul’s Autobody in Fitchburg Massachusetts. Paul and his team did a fantastic job restoring this Jeep! They did a frame off restoration with a lot of custom metalwork in order to save the original tub with tool indents. The CJ-2A has been converted to 12V and it runs great. The frame and body panels were removed, sandblasted, primed and painted. A new radiator was installed. The body was painted Harvest Tan and the wheels were painted Sunset Red. These were the original colors. Vintage Firestone Knobby 600-16 bias ply tires were installed on all wheels including the spare. It has a new windshield frame and glass since the original was too far gone. It has a new military style exhaust that exits on the passenger side. The list is quite extensive! I could not be happier driving this Willys CJ-2A. My 4 sons absolutely love taking rides in the Jeep!

- Phil Ashbrook

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