by Alex Houle, Montréal, Canada
We would like to introduce you to our workhorse CJ-3B we lovingly call Floyd, after a veteran and longtime family friend who was born and raised right in the same area where we found him for sale. That was in 2008 on vacation touring around Ontario, Canada.
It is a 1963 CJ-3B, serial number 57348 97308. Original body is very rust free, original engine and drivetrain on matching number frame. Koenig 100 winch mounted on the back, off a transfer case PTO. And the most fun and cool accessory is the engine-driven snowblower in the front. More on that further down.
Floyd has front locking Warn hubs and studded 15's all around. The spare is the original Suburbanite tire. The wipers were switched over to electric and they used a setup from a Toyota landcruiser, bolted on top inside.
The windshield was moved about two inches forward and straightened, and a steel cab was installed. Maybe a CJ-5 top I think, it is square on the top and they added filler strips down to the small fender and hung the doors on these.
Lots of glass all around and the doors are great with roll down glass. It fits well around the body, and with the original defroster and heater I am very toasty when it's 30 below Celsius (-22 F).
The cab was put on early in Floyd's life, as the interior is in very good shape due to being protected. The doors are a pin drop type and easy to remove.
We found him while on vacation and driving to our campsite; he was sitting in a car lot for sale on Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario. In a hurry to get to the campsite and beach we did not stop, but all night we were sitting by the fire looking at the back of our little motorhome, thinking how nice it would be to have a Jeep behind it. So the next day on our way to the ferry to have a nice supper cruise across Georgian Bay, I had the feeling that if I did not stop, it would probably go for a song.
A man was there and started it and moved it around and I told him I would ask around, and thank you but goodbye. So the rest of our trip camping all around Ontario and back to Montreal, and the next couple weeks, I talked gently to my lovely wife Sylvie and convinced her that we should buy it for the body needed to restore our 1964 Canadian 3B. And until we are ready we have one to drive. It would be cheaper in the end, Right Dear. Please.
We did the deal on the phone and fax, a little more than I wanted but still a good deal. A quick weekend trip (two 12-hour drives) two weeks later, and he was in our driveway in Montreal getting used to all the road signs in French. On the trip back to Montreal I was explaining what a good deal it was even if it was a little more money, and to my surprise my beautiful wife leaned over and whispered that it was a good thing I didn't collect airplanes and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Gotta love her.
By the way, we went smart and reserved a one way car hauler trailer close to the Jeep from U-Haul, and a friend lent me a bigger pickup than I had. Trouble-free, and a nice road trip with my wife beside me. (See a map, 200K JPEG.)
I spoke to a couple of local people who knew the Jeep and the owners. It was bought new in Sudbury by a farmer on Manitoulin Island to use on his small farm, clearing snow, wood hauling, fishing and hunting, and of course to take Ma into town on Sunday for church. When he retired he sold it to his neighbor, and when he retired and moved into town, a local car dealer bought the Jeep, and I bought it from him.
The first owner installed the snowblower, Warn hubs, winch, cab, gun rack, roof rack and fishing pole holder. I would have loved to have been there when he got together with a couple buddies in the tractor shed drinking the brew, and decided to install the blower from a tractor instead of the blade. I don't think they went to the store for anything. Very smart install, must have had a few brews to work out the details.
Over the years it was well taken care of and maintained. Used but not abused. Treated as a valuable and needed piece of equipment. Most of it is original and stock, and only minor repairs. Someone hacked the dash and installed a radio from I believe a CJ-5. I removed it and have it to donate to a CJ-5 restoration. The exhaust was replaced with a homemade one. Thick walled threaded pipe (80K JPEG) and a homemade muffler made to last forever. Very bush resistant. At one point they overloaded the hood out hunting, and warped it and then applied a thick coat of bondo on it. It is now peeling off.
I used it for a winter in Montreal, clearing my small driveway and the parking spots in front of our place. Montreal was not happy, but when they were told they had no choice if they didn't clear our street early, we were done before the main streets from then on, ha ha.
We finally found our paradise in 2009, southwest of Montreal near the US border. A small hobby farm with lots of uses for Floyd, and we moved him there. Back on a small farm doing what he was built for. So far, the only thing I've grown is peace and quiet, oh and renovation to-do lists.
Last fall I pulled the engine to change the clutch and give it a good look, and fix anything broken. I was very surprised how nice everything was. I put the engine on a stand (60K JPEG) and cleaned and painted it. I pulled the covers off to check. Very little sludge, crank and bearings looked excellent, piston and walls very nice, new gaskets and back in she went on new motor mounts.
I regret not overhauling the generator when I did the starter. I thought a charging problem was the regulator; guess you can hear me swearing now. It was the generator, and the hydraulic pump is mounted to it, hear me swearing louder now. Next summer's project I hope. I just had to rebuild the carb last week and changed the plug wires. Running like a top again and ready for the snow.
Now about the snowblower attachment. It was at one time on a tractor I am sure. It is driven through an electric PTO clutch from the front of the engine crankshaft. They removed the harmonic balancer and replaced it with an adapter plate with a splined center, for the shaft supported by a pillow block bearing to the electric PTO clutch (80K JPEG).
The electric clutch was made in Texas and was popular for farm equipment use. The company is still in business and I have been in contact with them. Regretfully they have no spare parts anymore.
The double belt pulley on the front of the clutch goes across to a large pulley on two bearings (50K JPEG), whose center accepts a tractor shaft with joints (70K JPEG) to the gear box for the impeller and auger on the blower. The shaft from the crank always free spins and the clutch is energized from a switch in the cab to engage the belts.
The belts are tensioned with an old emergency brake pedal setup (70K JPEG) in the cab, connected by cable to a mounted idler pulley under the front belt setup, that pulls into the belts taking up any slack. Simple setup but I wonder who went home with no e-brake that day.
They moved the ears on the blower and fabricated new mounts on the Jeep to attach to it. Looking at the welding there, I am sure they had switched over to the hard liquor at lunch.
When you're blowing snow you have to watch your RPM as deep snow puts a good load on the crank if you're not careful. I just go slow and let the chute clear a bit before moving ahead.
They installed a HiLo Jeep pump over the generator (200K JPEG) and routed it to a valve body setup bolted to the firewall on the driver's side, to control the lift and the swing of the discharge chute. They ran rods from the valve control handles into the cab (200K JPEG) to operate everything in the warmth. Push-pull, very simple setup again.
There is a ram moving a pivoting bar attached to the chute by cables pulling from either side, rotating it either way.
I think it originally had a plow, as the pump and the lift ram setup (90K JPEG) was probably bought at a dealership. Everything else was a case of beer, a bottle of rye and what have we got in the shed we can use to make this work. Gotta love the farmers in those times, very ingenious fellows when necessary.
To compensate for the load on the frame they sandwiched the rails at the front spring area with thick plates bolted together. When you lift you can see the front end sink from the weight but the plates and springs seem to pick up the frame load well and control the flex in the frame. No cracks or repairs anywhere. Everything fits under the front end well, but it is tight in places around the steering bellcrank.
The winch was installed by the owner. It is a model 100 Koenig, but installed using a sprocket gear setup connecting to the shaft from the PTO on the rear of the transfer case. Not very safe, being exposed, but I'm working on a cover for safety. Works very well and often pulling things -- like my wife out of the ditch. LOL. OK, and my pickup from the mud.
The last thing to note is that it has two rear lights and the passenger side is a light from Dominion Auto, Toronto Ontario. Around the lens it is marked SAE IPST 76 73-1022 RED 73-1023 AMB. The driver's side is marked stimsonite 701 stdb-61. They both have the wire clip to hold the lens in place. A new source of rear lights maybe in Canada.
Floyd is not a garage queen by any definition, but a working piece of history still serving faithfully. The little scratches, dings, faded and peeling paint, were all earned working honestly around a small farm doing what it was built for. I am sure it will earn a few more before I switch the body over for one probably a little rougher, but it will still be around working and helping me scratch my Jeep itch for a long time to come.
We also have to say that all the parts we needed, we ordered from Walcks. Friendly personal Jeep experts with great prices, good quality parts and great service. Can't go wrong in my book with that combination.
We thank you for indulging us on the history of yet another Jeep, but it is important to keep a record of these vehicles.
I have several videos and pictures for public viewing on Flickr if you want to see the blower in action. Leave us a message there if you want. -- Alex Houle
Thanks to Alex for the great story and photos. -- Derek Redmond
Also on CJ3B.info, see Alex and Sylvie's 1964 Canadian Kaiser CJ-3B.
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Last updated 2 December 2015 by Derek Redmond redmond@cj3b.info
https://cj3b.info/Owners/Houle2.html
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