According to the CJ-3B Serial Number and Engine Number List, Dean Lachasse's 1965 CJ-3B is the latest production CJ-3B we know of which was sold domestically in the U.S. It was built in December 1964. The photo on the left shows Dean out for a 2007 New Year's Day drive through the hills a couple of miles from his house in Saugus, California.
Dean told me there was also an old 50-acre movie lot located nearby, so we thought that might be a nice location for some more pictures (below)
How ironic then, when we realized that one of the few CJ-3Bs produced from 1965-68 which wasn't exported to South America, was being photographed on a movie set designed for Hollywood filmmakers to shoot South American scenes without leaving California.
Of course CJ-3Bs were also exported to other countries all around the world, and it seemed appropriate when a little more research revealed that this movie set has in fact been used to represent many of them. It played the Middle East recently in episodes of the TV series 24 and JAG, and Korea in MASH. A prop man told Dean that the South American village scene can actually be transformed overnight into WWII Europe, as it was for movies like Anzio (1968).
Dean describes how he ended up owning this late model CJ-3B:
"I don't recall ever seeing another '65 3B, except for the Spruce Tip Green one I learned to drive in over 30 years ago. For the past several years, I kept an eye out for an elusive '65. After talking to several 3B owners through the years, I was surprised how little was known about the Kaiser 3B's. I did find out that by the mid-60's, the 3B's were not too popular. For almost the same price, one could purchase the updated CJ-5. That probably explains why most of them were shipped overseas or sold to the government. It's hard to say what the cut-off date was when these Jeeps were last sold in the U.S., but this one appears to be the latest known example to exist in the U.S.
"After looking around for a true '65 3B, I discovered that no one in South America wants to sell their 3B and/or they are too torn up to restore. I actually found this one in Indiana, although it reportedly spent most of its life in Texas. Since I purchased it, I've had the wheels painted the original Glacier White, and installed a coil in it."
"I discovered that all of the colors for Jeeps were changed in '65. Some of the original color (Empire Blue) is still located under the dash and inside the storage box, but the rest has been repainted in a slightly darker blue. It is pretty much rust-free except for a 4x5-inch area on the floor in front of the storage box."
See also the serial number stamped on the frame (80K JPEG).
"It runs great, top speed about 58 MPH. It has the typical oil leaks here and there. It appears that this 3B never had a heater; the rubber plugs that cover the heater hose openings appear to be original. It has the bench seat (see closer photos of the seat in 1965-68 CJ-3B Owners and Photos.) The axle ratio is 4.27 to 1, wheels are 16x5.5. Although I have the original carburetor for it, I prefer to run it with the Solex carb. I also have an original Motorola radio. I do have the original spare (15x5.5 wheel) with the original 'Suburbanite' Goodyear tire still mounted on it. The NDT's now on the Jeep came with it when I bought it."
"This 3B would climb straight up if I wasn't afraid of rolling down the hill! It will climb a hill so steep, that I had to have my nephew lean forward on the hood with the windshield down to keep the front end from raising up!"
(See another nice photo with the mountains in the background and the windshield down, 190K JPEG.)
"I have owned several types of antique cars down through the years, including a '56 Corvette, '32 Ford Phaeton, '51 Ford convertible, etc. This still has to be one of the most fun vehicles I have ever owned. It is easy to work on, it can be driven off-road, I'm not afraid to scratch it, and it still holds collector value. What more could a car enthusiast want?" -- Dean Lachasse
Thanks to Dean for the story and the great photos. -- Derek Redmond
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