The Was-Clutch

I knew I would have some clean up work to do when I separated the bell housing from the motor. When I picked up the 2A there was fresh chewed-up paper towel in around and it was otherwise evident a mouse or 3 had moved in.

I took the previous owner's word that the engine turned freely and didn't bother with it until I got home. Once in my garage, I took out the plugs, put a wrench on the crank and when to give her a spin. Well, there was some not-so-nice noises from the clutch and the fork was loose. I let it sit for awhile before coming back to it after working on a few other things.

Upon separating the bell from the motor, it was immediately apparent more was wrong than I thought. There was a lot of debris in the housing, and not just the small rodent kind.


The only evidence of a friction plate was a small amount of powder in the bottom of the housing and a few small flakes. The flywheel escaped major injury, but the 6 bolts holding it to the crank didn't do so well.

So, it is time to pop the flywheel off and go to the machine shop. New clutch will be ordered from NAPA or Walck's 4WD.

Frame Work

First order of business, after getting everything organized, was working on the frame. The stock springs were discarded because the hinge bushings and spring eyes were nearly worn through. I guess the original farm owner didn't like to grease the bolts. That meant cutting these nasty bits off.


And while we're at it, might as well cut all the shackle hangers off and replace them too.


The original battery tray was pretty much hanging on by a spider web so I zipped that off too. Luckily, the previous owner had already purchased a new battery tray, but it was not installed.

After a bunch of grinding and working with a wire-knot wheel and my wire brush, I got a pretty clean looking and solid frame.


There are a couple areas of slight damage on the front frame horns that will need some attention.


So I'll straighten them out, patch-weld 2 small cracks near the crossmember tube and box them in with these.

The frame boxing plates are created by a member on thecj2apage.com forum. They are nicely made and just about dirt cheap.

A few weeks later and I found some time to put on 3 or so wet coats of SEM Rustshield. I attached the new spring hangers and shackle hangers I got from Walck's 4WD with grade 8 hardware and some red locktite. I'll back that up with welds before it drives.

Looks like new! Next stop will be putting Rancho 1" lift springs under it and the axles from my other 2A (recently rebuilt).

What followed Me Home One Day

I have to thank my brother-in-law, Geoff, for finding this project for me. I'm convinced the guy carries around a bag of BS in his car just in case he sees someone who he wants to shoot the chit with. He always seems to have an ample supply. . .

Anyway, as I'm told, he's driving down the road near Corning, NY and sees a 2A for sale. The owner is outside nearby so he stops to check it out. He's thinking he can talk about the 2A I already own and see if there are some loose parts, or something that would be for sale. The guy leads Geoff back to his shed (I didn't ask anymore questions) and shows him a basket case of a 1947 CJ-2A, but it is original and numbers-matching.

Geoff and I immediately traded a few phone calls which ended with me directing him to give the guy whatever cash he had in his pocket and immediately get his utility trailer. Well, we didn't have to be quite that impatient, but it was only a few days later when I piled the family in the car for the 4 hour drive to pick it up. Early on a Saturday morning we were loaded and headed back to my garage.

The trailer was loaded with all sorts of goodies. Geoff's truck had another 7 or so cargo bins filled with various bits and pieces of electrical and mechanical parts. There were a couple carb rebuild kits, some 3A parts, and other goodies that came along.


There is extensive rust, damage and "repair" on the passenger side of the tub.


Another look at the Swiss-cheese tub.

The motor generally looks to be in good shape. It turns over freely and puffs air out of the cylinder head. It still sports all the 6V equipment and the canister oil filter.

The frame looks really good and solid. The axles turn freely, but obvously haven't been rebuilt in awhile.


The fenders are in unbelievebly great shape.
Aside from having peeling non-stock paint, the hood is solid and looks great. (see my other 2A peeking out of the background?)


Now the work begins. . .