48CJ2a starting point

   Cory,
   Glad to hear about the brakes.

   I had rebuilt my first 2A back in 1985 about, and refurbed the brakes which I thought worked very well when completed. I purposely removed the parking brake for the Rubicon travels. The drum for the E-brake is not protected, and when slipping down off of a rock, it can Slam the drum fiercely.

   When I pass, I hope one of my 3-kids wants my '46 Willys.
They are in their early 30's now, but 20-years ago we'd camp for 3-days at Buck-island reservoir on the Rubicon, and they would snorkel around the lake endlessly. Those were some great summer-dayz.

   That Willys will last you for many wonderful years.
   Ha, after welding as a hobbyist my entire life, I still feel like a beginner.
   My son, 30yo drives a Tundra (@ 10mpg). I reminded him the other day, that is what I got in my 4x's back in the '70's.   chuckle, same today. big tires !
   ( I bought me a '46 2A in December 2017 which I haven't driven yet ).

   Happy Holidays to you and family !

   Len

I have enjoyed this thread.

Nice welding on that body to patch it together. If I remember correctly, I think I was using .030 wire in my Mig welder to weld-up the patch panels that I had installed into the '46 Willys I restored in 1984. It can be done with an oxy / acyt torch but with a small tip of "O" or maybe "00" to prevent distortion of the metal panels.

   Nice work, and way to hang-in-there to completion.

   Cory, I am sorry to hear of the passing of your Father. My wife says I have my dad's traits, and I am not so sure that is a good thing, but he is very crafty with making home repairs.
   With your brakes, I would automatically replace the master cylinder if you don't know the history of when it was last replaced. Then pull the brake drums to inspect the shoes, springs and wheel-cylinders. Wheel cylinders are cheap, and if you expect they have been on the willys for more that 8-years, I would suggest ordering 4-new ones. the lining on the shoes can be cleaned with Acetone and Emery-Cloth. Springs can be re-used if not severely pitted and rusty. They break where there is damage.

   The guys on this site who work on this stuff all the time can point you to a good Thread for the brake work is my guess.

   Oh, back to this build-thread, if one of you young guys doesn't have a 110 volt mig welder, but only a stick machine, use 1/16" rod. take the rod and cut it in half with your dikes, and hold the rod like a writing pencil, and weld-away accurately, doing little stitch-welds (short-passes) allowing the metal to cool after each stitch. When I was in my 20's, back in early '70, my neighbor was an auto-body man, and he showed me this trick.
    In a worst-case scenario: if you don't have an electric welder, then all you have to do is Jumper 2- 12volt batteries together in series, and you can weld with the 1/16" rod like a dream.

Back in my-day (prime), i ran the Rubicon solo with the wife and 3-kids. I always carried a spare battery in a plastic boat-box, not for a spare starting battery, but to do my own on-trail welding if needed. (i used it on Toyota's).

   That is my rainy-day B.S. sharing for the day. :)   happy trails

   Len

Sorry for your loss Cory and family.Your father and I started our built about one week apart.Joe was on my built the second day asking questions,like what welder I was using,he wanted more body work pictures.He did follow my built with questions and a lot of encouragement throughout my built.Joe probably did the same with others. Sincerest sympathies!

Edited by Gil - 08 Nov. 2018 at 1:34am

Not sure if it's browser dependent... for me, in Chrome, the first post on every page of a thread has "Topic Options", and under that is "Printable Version"...

Edited by mbullism - 06 Nov. 2018 at 2:16pm

Generic question. Does anyone know if there is a way to print the message board from start to finish? I think this will be something great to have with the jeep when I show it off at some Willy’s reunions! I made a promise that I would take it to at least one next year! Thanks again 

Cory,
On behalf of all of us on the CJ2A Page.com, our prayers go out to you and your family for the loss of Joe W. (I always thought 'wadoyado' was a great and clever web handle!). As a fellow Michigander I enjoyed reading Joe W's prolific postings. Clearly he loved the '48 Willys and knew his way around the hardware and his tools. Joe will be missed by all of us, but it's great to know you plan on joining the "2A Family." Godspeed, Joe W.!

Thanks for the comments, Jerseyhawg. Steve our window for a "rip" before the snow flies is rapidly closing. You know MI weather, I know we will still have a few good days to go for a rip Joe W

Great job your doing. I enjoyed every step. 

Thenks, the Grand Haven beach looks almost as beautiful as your 2A!

The CSX grade crossings used to hold Plymouth residents hostage with frequently stopped freight trains, until they built a road underpass a few years ago.