1955 CJ-3B Details:
A Photo Reference

Photos by Rus Curtis

This low-mileage CJ-3B is owned by Lawrence Wade in Alabama, whose father bought it new in 1955. Lawrence says, "With the exception of batteries, a muffler and a tailpipe, no other parts have been replaced. Dad did have the seats recovered, I think in the mid-80's. The original color of the seats was the same as the grey covers on the tailgate chains. The only other change Dad made was to add a stabilizer shock (70K JPEG) to the front tie rod ends to eliminate shimmy, and to bolt on a farm tractor floodlight (70K JPEG) to the drawbar for a backup light."
 

Below are links to a series of detail photos (50-100K JPEGs) of Lawrence's Jeep, taken by Rus Curtis, who is restoring a 1954 CJ-3B in Kansas. Included are comments by Rus on some of his photos.
 

	Hood and Grille Details Grille top -- Showing the overlap of the hood with the grille. Grille brace -- Notice the windshield tie down strap, and the clips for the wiring harness. Parking light wiring Hood front -- The weld and seam at front of hood. Hood rear Hood hinge -- Side view showing hinge-firewall gap.
	Engine Left Details Engine left side Vacuum line left side -- Near the bottom, notice the small "S" clip holding the vacuum and fuel lines together. Fuel pump top -- The fuel in and out lines, wiper vacuum out, and the oil line into the oil filter canister. Some of the lines have obviously been replaced. Radiator top Carb linkage from left -- Choke cable is mounted just above the hand throttle cable.
	Engine Right Details Engine right side -- Notice the decal on the oil canister. Oil filter -- The remnants of the other decals on the canister. Battery connections Fuel line right side -- How the vacuum and fuel lines route under the water pump. The oil line is from the oil filter canister to the timing gear cover. Carb linkage from right -- Shows how gas pedal linkage and hand throttle linkage connect.
	Firewall Details Air cleaner top -- Remnants of decal. Also visible is tube from oil filler/valve cover. Air cleaner bottom -- Shows the wiring harness clip. VIN plate -- Shows the same number as frame number. Firewall center right -- Hand brake cable, part of the wiring harness, temp sending unit, speedometer cable. Firewall left side -- Oil supply line up to head, oil-sending unit. Also visible is a hole plug. Grille brace rear -- Including inside of hood hinge.
	Windshield Details Dashboard left side -- Shows the routing of the wiper vacuum. Notice the windshield clamps are not painted. Windshield rear view Venting windshield open Vacuum wiper -- Large bolts hold the venting windshield hinge.
	Frame Details Shock absorber mount Frame right side VIN stamp -- Shows the same number as VIN plate. Body mount front -- Shows the type of rubber cushions. Body mount under floor Body mount rear -- Also shows the drain from the top of the toolbox. Left step mount bolts -- Lawrence explained that the driver's side only had one bolt securing it to the frame rail because the clutch linkage mount was too close to the hole. His Dad put in a second bolt after cutting the head to fit. Near the bottom is one of two clips that secure the wiring harness to the frame rail.
	Body Tub Details Step right side -- View of how steps were mounted. The rear mount had a stud mounted in the floor pan adjacent to the hat channel. Front fender corner -- I was looking for evidence of an anti-squeak strip. It is visible. Floor inside cowl -- Could this be the cowl pillar plug in the parts list? Also note the rectangular impression in the floor pan just to the left of the cowl pillar. My guess is since the hat channels butt up against this on the bottom, it was used as a guide to ensure proper alignment of the hat channels during assembly. (Note from Derek: see the answer we found to this one during our Visit to Vintage Wiring of Maine.) Tub right side top -- the wooden block keeps the wheel off the side of the body. See The Vibration Dampener on CJ3B.info for details. Toolbox from below Toolbox inside
	Wiring Details Junction block on left fender Wiring inside left fender Wiring clip on left fender -- The only clip like this. It holds both wiring harness and vacuum line to wipers. Left fender near cowl seam Wiring clips underside view Rear wiring harness clip on frame -- Also visible is the brake line following the crossmember before connecting to the rear flex line.
	Brake Line Details Brake line to front wheel -- Confirmation that the S line had a 90-degree bend to it. Brake line on front axle -- Notice the band securing the brake line to the axle. It's just a spring type clip. Brake line on front differential Brake line on front frame -- The clip securing the brake line to the frame rail. Also visible is the horn wiring. Brake line through rear frame -- Shows where the hard line and flex line connect.
	Underside Details Handbrake return spring -- This linkage matches fig. 289 in the early manual and fig. P-8 in the later version. Handbrake cable -- Last mount of the cable housing. Under fuel tank Fuel line under floor -- This is how the fuel line was secured just forward of the fitting on the bottom of the tank. Jack placed under springs -- Lawrence remembered the jack as a dull metal color. It was painted yellow in the late 60's, but he removed the yellow to return to the original look. The base is 6-1/8 x 4-1/8 inches, height 6-1/2 inches.
	Rear Body Details Taillight right Taillight left Tailgate chain Tailgate stencil

Also a page of photos taken by Lawrence of the framework for the original canvas top.

Thanks to Lawrence, and to Rus for this great set of reference photos. -- Derek Redmond

For more background and photos of this Jeep, see Family Tradition and Wade at the River.

Return to Jeep CJ-3B Owners and Photos.

Visit CJ3B.info on Facebook.

CJ3B Home | Contents | Search | Links | 3A and 3B Community