always wanted an old CJ, finally getting one! CJ2a in a few weeks :)

[daniel_buck]

I'll probably keep it mostly as it is for a while, but I'll eventually put a little bit of lift on it and taller tires. But I don't want to go with wide tires, I like the tall thin tire look on these old jeeps I'm not gonna add any military markings, if it came with them I'd probably leave them, but this wasn't a military vehicle, I think the owner just sprayed it that color.

[aw12345]

I'll probably keep it mostly as it is for a while, but I'll eventually put a little bit of lift on it and taller tires. But I don't want to go with wide tires, I like the tall thin tire look on these old jeeps I'm not gonna add any military markings, if it came with them I'd probably leave them, but this wasn't a military vehicle, I think the owner just sprayed it that color.

Might want to keep stock size tires on them, those little engines do not have a lot of power. As is 45mph is about top speed
Just zip it around town or flat tow it behind the Rubi when you want to take it places

[daniel_buck]

True. I'm not talking about huge tires though, just a little taller. We'll see how it goes, but for the time being I'm just going to upgrade the brakes. I'm not gonna be throwing tons and 44s under there though

I've thought about trying to flat tow the CJ with my TJ, I started a topic over on JF about it to see if folks thought it would be a wise idea, and most people advised against it, especially without brake upgrades on my Rubi. I'd love to be able to get it out to some trails though.

[aw12345]

If you get creative you could rig up a brake setup from a boat trailer on the old CJ make a towbar that has a mastercylinder in it so when you hit the brakes the force of the CJ pushing agains the towbar will activate the mastercylinder on the towbar which in turn applies the hydraulic brakes on the CJ

[daniel_buck]

is braking the only real concern when flat towing, using a TJ as the tow vehicle?

[Materdaddy]

is braking the only real concern when flat towing, using a TJ as the tow vehicle?

Braking and braking on a turn are both concerns.

Braking in general, your rubi might not be up to the task, but can likely be rectified by beefy brakes, or a braking system in the CJ as Art as thrown out there.

With braking on a turn, you would need to be concerned about the wheel base. The force is a lot more likely to cause your TJ to spin/jackknife because of the short wheelbase. That's why the same drivetrain (4.0L, aw5, np231) is rated to tow 4000 in an XJ and only 2000 in a TJ.

[daniel_buck]

Hm... yea. the little CJ weighs just over 2000, so it's at the edge of the TJ's threshold, and I have 35" tires. I've got centric rotors and black magic pads, which brakes good enough, but I bet it's not up to the task of flat towing.

[alittleoff]

On my GPW the 11" brakes were drums. Although research and fab work could yield a 4 wheel disc set up.

Steve

[1ATony]

Those old Willys Jeeps were cool. There's a guy over this way who has a really cool one.

[daniel_buck]

It survived the trip home! Thanks Jason, for helping me get it home, I appreciate it!

Now that I've had a chance to drive it around town quite a bit this afternoon, I think that I don't really need to upgrade the brakes. I'm just not used to having to stomp on the brakes. It actually stops pretty quick when you get on them. After a few trips out, I've got a handle on how to drive it, it's quite fun! Gotta get used to having a choke, I completely forgot that you need to pull the choke when it's cold, I've not driven a carbureted vehicle in a while! When the choke is pulled, it starts right up when it's cold.

I did replace the side view mirror, the one that was on there was not convex at all, and such a small mirror with no wide angle was very difficult to actually use. I had a round wide angle mirror laying around, so I took some small tubing, smushed the ends, drill two holes and now have a sturdier mirror arm and a wider angle mirror. Tested it out, and it works great! Paint is drying as we speak

[jonah]

Hey, congrats on the willys! That is a great looking stock 2a, can't wait to see it out in the dirt!

[daniel_buck]

Photos of the new mirror arm and mirror. I had some round tubing and a wide angle mirror laying around, looks like it belongs there now! And it doesn't wobble or vibrate, provides a nice clear view of what's behind me and to the left :-)

[aw12345]

Here is a way to haul your toy to the trail or on long distances.

Measure it make some ramps and start hauling it around in a U haul truck or any other rental truck where it fits in the box

We hauled 2 MB's to Belgium with a old Mercedes 508 van. One inside and one on a car hauler behind it. Didn t break any speed records but we got there just fine. This way you can haul both Jeeps at the same time if need be, one inside and one flat towing or on a trailer

[daniel_buck]

HAH! That's a great way to take it out some place :-D

[daniel_buck]

replaced the battery cables and starter cable (it didn't start one morning, and after replacing the cables it's starting just fine!) And I also removed the oil-pan air filtration system with a simple small paper air filter (the top to the filter is not shown in this photo, the green paint was still drying!) The engine bay looks alot simpler to my eye, without all the factory air intake stuff.