by Piet Versleijen, Boxmeer, Holland
After getting the frame and engine ready (see Part 2) it was time to put some things together. First I painted some small parts (40K JPEG).
Then I put the tub on the frame, together with the fenders and the radiator guard. This photo shows the inside of the tub and the untouched gauges. See also a front photo (60K JPEG) and a close photo of the tailgate (60K JPEG).
Underneath the passenger seat I found some straps. It looks to me like thisis where a tow cable was stored. Also just visible in the photo is a sort of toolbag behind the backrest of the passenger seat.
A look inside the engine compartment. See also the right side of the engine (50K JPEG).
After finishing the wiring harness (with the help of the wiring diagram from the Parts List) it was time for a real test drive, and in a few short test drives no serious problems occurred. Time for a inspection by the RDW (Dutch goverment department for vehicle inspections.) I loaded my Jeep on a trailer and headed for the inspection station.
Despite some warnings from other people that a inspection by the RDW could take some time and frustation, all went very smoothly. The actual inspection took no more then 20 minutes and there was nothing rejected. However, the real frustation had yet to come: I had to wait over three months before they got the paperwork done to get licence plates. Can you imagine a complete CJ-3B in the garage and no licence plates (what a pain, and of course many illegal test drives in the neighborhood and through the fields.)
After finally getting the license plates some longer drives were possible. On some of the longer test drives sometimes a backfiring could be heard from the exhaust. And below the carb I saw that the carb was leaking some fuel. After a question on the CJ-3B Bulletin Board I decided to rebuild the carb. After that, all the driving problems disappeared.
The rebuilding of the carb wasn't exactly by the book. I built one carb out of two others, together with a repair kit. In the original carb and the repair kit were the same metering rods. In the spare carb I found a metering rod that was a little thicker. I used the thicker metering rod and adjusted the float level to about 10 mm (instead of 7.93 mm). Since then there's no banging from the exhaust, and the fuel consumption improved somehow from 20 liters per 100 km to 16 liter per 100 km.
My Jeep came with a brand new military winter soft top from an M38. The top bows and brackets come from a Willys MB or a GPW. The top fits pretty well -- the side curtains needed some minor modifications. The doors however were another problem: there was no way to get them fit properly (60K JPEG). Therefore I made new doors by using some parts from the old ones. After finding an old Singer sewing machine and destroying about twenty needles, the doors aren't ready yet. But so far it looks good.
When the doors are ready, a new challenge is waiting: Last week I bought a trailer (30K JPEG) for my Jeep. Since I'm planning to take my Jeep on vacation to the south of France I need some space to store the luggage. It looks like a Bantam trailer, but it was built by a Dutch contractor for the Dutch army. It is even older than my Jeep; the trailer was built in 1954, the Jeep in 1956.
Thank you Derek, for keeping CJ3B.info alive. Without it and without the help and information on the Bulletin Board, the restoration of my CJ-3B wouldn't have been as easy as it was. Keep up the good work! But don't forget to ride with your Jeep sometimes -- it will keep it in good condition. As they say in my country: "rust roest." (Translated it means something like use it before it rusts away.) -- Piet Versleijen
And thanks to Piet for the story of his project. -- Derek Redmond
Return to Restoring a 1956 Military CJ-3B, Part 1: Bodywork, or see Piet's 2001 CJ-3B Vacation in France.
See also more M606 Military Jeeps on CJ3B.info, or return to 1956 CJ-3B Owners and Photos.
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