1947 Willys CJ2A #4338

The Willys CJ2A, the first mass-produced Jeep intended for the civilian market, began production on July 17, 1945. Most people know that civilian Jeeps evolved from the model MB of World War Two fame, but few realize that the CJ2A had two civilian ancestors: The CJ-1 and the CJ-2. By 1944, the Allies were confident the war would be won. This allowed Willys to consider designing a Jeep for the post-war civilian market. Documentation is hard to come by, but it seems that a CJ-1 (for "Civilian Jeep-1") was running by May of that year. The CJ-1 was apparently an MB that had been modified by adding a tailgate, drawbar, and a civilian-style canvas top. None of the CJ-1s built have survived, and it is not known (at this writing) how many were built.

For consignment a far cry from the original CJ2, we now give you a rip roarin' lengthened, powerful engined, dune digger that has radical updated looks, plenty of customizations and it is no longer your typical Civilian Jeep 2A, but plenty more! Read on…

Exterior
The original body shell from the firewall back has been retained and is olive drab painted steel. Now sans any fenders the wheelbase has been extended lengthwise and widthwise using 30x10R15's up front and 35x12.5R17's on back all with knobby mud digger sand slinger treads. The power plant compartment has been opened up to accommodate the engine, and up front the original 7 opening grille, flush mounted round headlights are retained also presenting pin olive drab. A fold down windshield is up front which is typical of the original CJ's, no doors no roof and a small rear deck has been fashioned from simple touch cut pallet wood. On this rear deck sits a fuel tank that looks like an old bomb made from spun aluminum. Neato STOP tail lights bring up the rear, and now we are ready to go sloppin' and diggin'.

Interior
Utilitarian army chic would best describe this rough and tumble interior with bomber style seats for driver and passenger have a cushion made of black padded vinyl and an army star painted on their curved backs. These chairs sit on another rough wood deck that floats above the black texture trunk paint floor. The straight all steel dash has been upgraded with some modern instrumentation to keep track of the vitals which are sitting right in front of the passengers. Fronting this dash is a HAUK rally style steering wheel. Interesting use of an ammo box for the center console storage, and a B&M shifter sits proudly in front of the ammo box. This all comes together to create the Army look, somewhat retaining the original interior but now with style.

Drivetrain
A beautifully done 350ci V8 now sits in the open air engine compartment and it is circa 1970-76. It has a 4 barrel carb atop and an air scoop is topping that. Adding to the menacing look are wrapped headers that snake their way into large side pipes, and entering passengers are protected from these by a small step. Also seen on the back of this mill is a TH350 3-speed automatic transmission which pushes power rearward to a Ford 9 inch rear. The overall engine retains the original cast metal look, right up top the electric fan which is spinning behind an aluminum radiator.

Undercarriage
Underneath is pristine with no rust and fully restored. In front is a transverse leaf sprung setup which all the world can view as this CJ has gone naked sans fenders. In back are more transverse leaf springs. Stopping this digger are disc braking upfront, and drums on back. This undercarriage literally looks like new with all surfaces coated either with black undercoating or the textured trunk paint.

Drive-ability
“GI is really grand , marching through the mud and sand, sound off one two, one two three four", and it's off to the test track. Here all was working perfectly with plenty of noise, power and good braking. Our test track does not have any dunes or mud bogs so we were not able to get a little mud on the tires which made our detail man very happy! All is right with this modded CJ.

Hi Ho lock and load, hear the engines loud and bold. A custom 1947 CJ2A the runs like an infantryman on a mission, great build and it retains just enough of the original CJ to make it believable, hoverer performance is unbelievable and is definitely an eye catcher. Ten-HUT!

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.