Return to the index of 1955-59 Jeeps.
J.W. in Kansas City says, "This is Roxanne, my 1959 CJ-3B trail Jeep. It was purchased in 2019 from a local salvage yard. I used the taller 3A windshield to match the height of the roll cage. The aftermarket seats I installed on a fabricated seat frame set up higher than stock. The seats and frame were used to sit above a second gas tank on the passenger side. It's a stock tank with the filler neck moved."
"It's now running a Buick 231 V6 with PS, T-90 TeraFlex low-range gears, Dana 30 front axle, lockers front and rear, and disc brakes on all four corners."
"There was no need to do any body work other than replacing the floor pans, as it's going to get a few dents. This photo was taken at the Southern Missouri Off Road Ranch."
See also photos of J.W. at Moab in 2021, on the CJ-3B Rock Crawlers page.
Jeff in Kentucky wrote in 2022, "My grandfather Richard Fischer bought this CJ-3B from a man in Illinois in 1968 when I was six years old. My grandfather died in 1976, and my father Richard Jr. used it to go hunting at Fort Knox. Then he stored it in the garage and it sat from 1978 until 1992 when my grandmother died. My father moved it to a neighbor's garage from then until I got it in 2001. I've wanted for a long time to see it running."
Jeff says, "I found Jerry Denny at Raccoon Creek Restorations in Harrison, Indiana, who did a complete mechanical restoration. Jerry said the 8400 miles on odometer are more than likely true as the Jeep is 98 percent original and has very little wear on it. He told me it is one of the best overall original CJ-3Bs he has seen. I love this Jeep and I'm so glad it's back."
This late '59 would have been one of the first 3Bs to get the optional fresh-air heater, which now has the plumbing disconnected (380K JPEG). It still has the defroster manifold, complete with the right-angle connector which is very hard to find these days. The hole in the dash for the defroster hose currently serves as a shortcut for the vacuum line to the wiper motor.
A rear view (340K JPEG) gives a good look at the original Hall taillights and the new Accelera MT-01 tires.
Jim in Illinois told me in 2020, "I was just given a '59 CJ-3B. It has a Tennessee title that shows the VIN as 4J223197; from what I can tell that would have been the engine number. The VIN plate is very distorted so I can only make out the last four numbers (6089). The Jeep was shipped from Puerto Rico."
Well, we looked at the list of Surviving CJ-3B Jeeps to place the engine number, and it does appear to be in the correct range for 1959 serial number 57348 56089.
Jan lives in Prahy in the Czech Republic, and has one of the many Swiss Army Jeeps which have been given the look of a U.S. Army Jeep, still a legendary and popular vehicle in Europe. Jan sent these photos in late 2018 and said, "My Jeep served in the Swiss army and at the airport until the end of the 1990s, and then in the Czech Republic."
"I am the second owner here and almost every weekend we take trips with him and attend meetings of the owners of similar U.S. vehicles throughout the Czech Republic. The car is excellent and it has become a member of our family, and especially for my kids (two girls 10 and 5 years old) it is the place where they are playing and looking forward to more trips."
See also a rear view (150K JPEG).
Joe is in Westchester PA, and back in 2004 he sent some photos of his super-low-mileage Jeep. In 2017 he had it repainted and sent some more photos. Since then he has been working on the restoration of a 1945 Holden MB ambulance.
See Steelglow Gray '59 for photos of both Jeeps.
This early 59 is a former Swiss Army Jeep and is now in southern Germany where Marcel repainted it in 2016.
See New Look for Swiss Army Vet for more photos and details.
Chris in Barnesville, Minnesota wrote in 2014, "I'm the third owner of my high hood. I went down to Colorado to pick it up. It was very exciting to find. Low miles with only 30,000 on it. Totally original with original paint and parts (no bondo or years of bad repairs). The engine runs great along with original drivetrain. All the lights, blinker, gauges (even the gas gauge), heater, and horn work like they were new.
The Jeep is also riding on all original Suburbanite tires (430K JPEG).
"I had to do a tune up and a major cleaning when I purchased it. It was stored in a barn since 1990. I would like to reupholster the seats and leave everything else the same. Riding the Jeep is what my family does in our free time. We search out places just to take the Jeep and explore. It's one of the things that puts my one year old to sleep. He gets so excited every time he sees it. And my 5 year old calls it her Jeep."
Tom's Jeep in Illinois has no WILLYS stampings on the hood or grille, which appear to be original. It carries serial number 5734857461 (100K JPEG) on the firewall, which makes it a late '59, but that would still be at least a year before Kaiser phased out the Willys name on the sheetmetal. Possibly an early experiment with the new parts, or a careful replacement job at some later date.
This photo shows plenty of rear-mounted hardware: gas tank filler, jerry can, spare tire, hi-lift jack, trailer hitch and tow rings.
This 3B is also one of the first with the fresh air heater, seen here.
Aftermarket add-ons include off-road lights, electric winch, two-way radio, and front and rear locking hubs. See a front view photo (110K JPEG), also taken at the Spring Willys Reunion 2007.
"I purchased my 1959 CJ-3B in November of 2007 for $3200 in Denton, Texas. I live in Roanoke, Texas. I didn't even know I had a CJ-3B, I just wanted an old Jeep for me and my grandson Taylor to putter around in on the weekends. After discovering CJ3B.info, I've become extremely excited about vintage Jeeps! I haven't looked for the engine serial number, but the VIN is 57348 53491 (210K JPEG). I've done a title search and the Texas DPS only has records back to 1968. The two previous owners used it as a hunting vehicle and spray painted it flat black. It has very, very little rust and is all original, even the Carter YF carburetor.
"I want to redo the brakes, put on new tires and shocks, and some other minor things.
"I did some light sanding on some areas and discovered the original 4 Wheel Drive stencil (160K JPEG) on the tailgate, and also some other painted labels (160K JPEG) that read 'Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service' on the right side (250K JPEG) and left side, just behind the front tires. I was hoping soemone might be able to provide me some information about this. The label on the driver's side has a shield emblem (180K JPEG) with a blue star at the top but I can't make out anything else."
(See some 1958 photos of a CJ-3B with similar markings, in Jeep Spirit II on CJ3B.info.)
James Alan Brown in Womelsdorf, PA must be an animal lover. He painted his freshly restored Jeep in zebra stripes, he called it the "Rockadile", and he even said, "I'm bringing this rust heap back from the dead."
But eventually he sold the Jeep.
See more photos and details of this CJ-3Beast in PA.
Aaron is in Nebraska, and as of early 2007 he is 14 years old. His uncle, Kevin Gilmore, says, "My nephew loves the early Willys Jeeps. I searched for several weeks trying to find a project Willys for him and me to restore together. I found one and my mother bought it for his first car! It's a 1959 CJ-3B. Aaron is a war history buff. His Grandfather got him interested in the military as a young boy. He is a very good young man and is a straight "A" student. We're all proud of him. Now it's time for his uncle Kevin (me) to get him started into automobiles. I really wanted to buy one that needed to be restored so by the time Aaron turned 16, we would have it done.
"For the time being, only the clutch and transfer case need attention (seals leak). I am a body man and a pretty good mechanic so, restoring it will be on my shoulders. We'll pull the engine out for a rebuild and to paint it, etc. The firewall and engine bay (50K JPEG) needs to be painted. It will be up to Aaron on what if any changes will be done, including a paint color change or not."
See also the interior and a rear view photo (50K JPEGs).
Jim McCormick Jr. says, "My father (Jim Sr.) and I purchased it on Vancouver Island in December 2005 and we repatriated it to Calgary in March 2006, with it having what we believe to be less than 20,000 original miles. This unit actually has previously appeared on The CJ-3B Page as the Calgary Airport Fire Jeep. The Island owner upgraded the restoration and painted it a Porsche Guards Red, a color that just pops! We have since added the top shown in the photos." (See a left side photo, 150K JPEG.)
Jim also took a nice photo of the CJ-3B with its garage mate, a '51 Willys Jeepster, at the Spring Thaw car show in April, their first time out with the new acquisition.
Patrick Schutte in Prescott, Arizona has done a huge amount of work on this trail-ready Jeep, with its custom interior and massive rear equipment rack.
Patrick modestly says he's just done "a bunch of mods and custom fab work on it" including winch, hi-lift and lighting on the front grille and bumper.
See also the CJ-5-style wiper motor in right side view (130K JPEG) and the wheels and roll cage in a left side view with the top and glass down (130K JPEG).
The 225 V6 engine looks ready for a car show, but Patrick doesn't baby this 3B. He recently reported, "Just blew the motor... the oil filter got displaced on a jump and the oil light was not hooked up. Ooops... anyway all the oil ran out.... Going to relocate the oil filter."
Dave "Hoghead" Ketterman is in Dargan, Maryland, and describes his project: "Starting with a '59 body that has been made to fit a '74 CJ-5 frame. Bought it from a fellow CJ-3B Bulletin Board member, Sean Downey. I was looking for a body for my '74 and he told me it had 4" added (100K JPEG) to match the CJ-5... I just had to have it. When she is done she will have an AMC 360 with the stock running gear of the '74 CJ-5. The firewall was cut out (100K JPEG) for a V8 conversion."
Patrick in Ottawa, Canada found this 3B with an unusual hardtop (120K JPEG). He said, "I have been taking it apart and have been re-working some components on the engine while removing some of the body parts. The tub is in rough shape and has had a few weekend body jobs over the years. I plan on replacing the tub and fenders.
"A fellow firefighter was nice enough to use his truck and trailer (120K JPEG) to help me pick the Jeep up from Denbigh, Ontario. The original top has been scrapped. I kept the doors and the rearswinging window, but the top had been riveted in many places and wasmade of aluminum. The Jeep also has a Harrison heater and I have cleaned it up and will be trying to get it working."
Pat finished the project in time for Remembrance Day 2007 (above). See 1959 CJ-3B Frame-Up Restoration for more photos.
"I bought the Jeep from the Indian Army auction in pretty bad shape. It served in the jungle terrain of Eastern India -- Assam state -- with the Border Security Force. I have since then gone through enormous effort to restore it as it was bought in a pretty bad state. I found two shades of olive green under the paint. I also added the additional fenders as the originals were damaged. See a close view of front fenders and grille (70K JPEG).
"It's a regular mountain climber and it's been through all the jungle and mountain trails near my hometown in Kerala, India."
Mitch bought this very original Jeep from Steve Chabot, who commented "The CJ-3B is all stock, and has only 29,000 miles on the odometer. It is still wearing the original paint and I have found no quick fixes on the frame or body. The toe steps, rear corners, rear fender wells, floor supports, and the driver's side floor board all have small holes and have to be repaired. The best part is that it has more style than any other model Jeep, and at forty years old and no modifications, I can jump in and go."
Mitch is planning a restoration. See Sunday Driver for more photos of the Jeep when Steve owned it in Maine.
"I am originally from Anacoco, Louisiana which is about 100 miles south of Shreveport. I got my interest in 4-wheel-drive vehicles out of necessity for hunting the swamps of Louisiana.
"I bought my CJ-3B for $650 as a basket case and did a body-off repaint and derust of the underside of the body and parts. I spent from February '98 till about October before I could drive it. The original engine was waiting for a rebuild, but I lucked into a '46 L-head engine (40K JPEG) for $150 and put new bearings and rings in it, to run until I could afford to rebuild the F-head right."
See also a photo with the windshield down (40K JPEG). Note: Michael has since sold this Jeep.
Jeff Spencer in Australia says, "I have several CJ-3Bs in various states. This one dates from between 1958-61 -- no later because the handbrake is (or was) of the 'L' type not the 'T' type. It was used by several people in one district, all on farms, with the last person being a part time 'roo shooter. The consequence is it's had a rough life. The tool box and fuel tank have been cut out and a bench seat put in, not to mention the rust being bogged up. As you can see I have a lot of work to do on this one. See also a photo from the right side (50K JPEG).
"The other two Jeeps are all pulled apart (bought that way), one being early 50's with left-hand-drive, the other late 50's with right-hand-drive. I should get one Jeep out of it all, and maybe a second if I track down some other parts such as seats, fuel tank, etc.
"There's also a photo of me with my recovery team pushing me off a contour bank (see Colorful CJ-3B Photos). This is from when I lived on a property out west."
Nils Lessmann lives in Germany. He says the Jeep is mechanically all original, although the seats have been replaced and the front blinkers and roll bar added. A German tag on the firewall (60K JPEG) carries the 1959 Willys serial number 54876 (which also is stamped on the frame) but not the 57348 prefix. The model is identified as CJ3, but no "baujahr" (year built) is entered. The Jeep is registered as a '61.
A rear view photo (90K JPEG) shows the new bodywork replacing the tailgate. A Porsche diesel tractor in Nils' garage is visible in a photo of the dashboard (90K JPEG).
I guess my 3B is actually a 1959 model, although it's registered as a 1961. It spent about 25 years plowing snow from one long driveway before I acquired it. It had been repainted a couple of times, and I approximated what I now know is Fountain Green paint simply by finding the closest match I could ('72 Ford Chelsea Green Metallic) to the original paint under the hood.
See more Project Photos, taken before, after and during. See also High Hood in the Snow, and Tracks in the Sand.
Return to the index of 1955-59 Jeeps.
You can contact CJ3B.info to add your CJ-3B to the Owners & Photos pages. -- Derek Redmond
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Last updated 1 January 2023 by Derek Redmond redmond@cj3b.info
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