Proud new owner of CJ 3B

[Bush Buck]

Hi there fellow Willys Jeep owners.

I am a virgin to the Willy's community. I have very recently got my hands on a CJ 3B here in South Africa just the day before our country went into lock down with COVID-19.
My intentions is to completely strip and do an overhaul on her once we come out o lock down.

What my question is for all your knowledgeable owners is what to look out for on spare parts for a rally I am participating in next year.
It will be a long hard rally crossing across 10 Southern Africa countries in 30 days. South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho.

The last thing that I want is to break down and have no parts to replace it with and get munched up by lions, hyenas and a pack of wild dogs or even get trampled by elephants or buffalos. We will not have any back up what so ever on this rally. We are completely on our own and the right planning needs to be done carefully and accurately. The most obvious is spare tyres, I know, but what I don't know is what intends to ware out and gives problems on the CJ 3B ie; bushings bearings drive shaft etc.

Any advice on this will greatly be appreciated by the Willy,s family.

[gmwillys]

Welcome Bush Buck!

Glad to have you aboard, and we will love to hear of your adventures! Make sure you post a lots of pictures of your adventure.

A few questions that come to mind when planning an adventure such as this. Are all of the vehicles taking part in the rally going to be of the same type of vehicles? This would help to pack a few of the vital ignition parts that would interchange within rigs. Are there any trailers being brought to hold extra parts/supplies/camping gear? Depending on how much room you will have to store parts, I would pack enough spares as you can stand to carry. The assumption is that you'll need to carry extra fuel and water for the trip, you'll be limited to the extra room to bring too much of the larger items.

Below is a Jeep adventure using bone stock Jeeps going through South America in the late '70s. Great read, and some information that may help you in your planning. It was a different environment, but still can help out.
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2014/04/25/to-enjoy-the-adventure-for-its-own-sake-the-1978-1979-expedicion-de-las-americas/

[Bush Buck]

Hi, gmwillys

Thank you for the warm welcome!!
I shall try and keep things updated as I progress with this adventure for sure.
I am pretty sure I would be the only one attempting this rally with a Willy's Jeep. Most people will most lightly have an Toyota pick up or Land-cruiser or some form of 4x4 / 4x2 vehicle. I am prepared to take a small trailer to fill with spares and nothing but spares. LOL Camping equipment etc can be minimal, not a great importance to me other than the bear necessity. Most importance to me is spares that will cary me through this adventure. Extra fuel and water is compulsory for the rally and have that covered.

The only real concern is what intends to wear & tear on a CJ 3B.
I shall have a look at the link you have sent. Im pretty sure ill find it interesting.Thank you.

[bmorgil]

Wow Bush Buck, please document this event! Nothing better than a cross country race. A true test of man and machine. You can get a lot of insight by reading the stories of teams that have participated in other similar events. There are a few throughout the world. Around here The "Rubicon Trail" events and The Baja 1000" are real tough events to compete in and finish. Often these event's are won by being the guy who made it. You will get a real good idea of what they break. It is hard to guess what will go wrong. That is what its all about. At the minimum I always suggested spare drive shafts and axle shafts. Most importantly the tools to remove and replace them. A bad mistake miles from anywhere! I am positive you will think of much more. In any endurance race you have to count on your majior parts, and make sure the support system keeps running. It has to stay cool, have fuel and the wheels have to stay on and round. It must keep moving forward!

If you lose something major, you try again next year! In your case I hope you have a rifle that will keep you from becoming lunch!

Good luck man, what a blast!

[LarrBeard]

My intentions is to completely strip and do an overhaul on her once we come out o lock down.


That is going to be your first step in the adventure. If anything you see in the tear down looks suspicious, go ahead and replace it now. BMorgil is our authority on drive line things, he knows what tends to break when you play hard.

When you are doing the tear down, pay close attention to the cooling system. Just go ahead and replace the radiator and water pump now, even if they look OK.

Keep us informed on what you're doing - we never will get a chance to have an adventure like this.

[TJones]

Welcome Bush Buck!

Glad to have you aboard, and we will love to hear of your adventures! Make sure you post a lots of pictures of your adventure.

A few questions that come to mind when planning an adventure such as this. Are all of the vehicles taking part in the rally going to be of the same type of vehicles? This would help to pack a few of the vital ignition parts that would interchange within rigs. Are there any trailers being brought to hold extra parts/supplies/camping gear? Depending on how much room you will have to store parts, I would pack enough spares as you can stand to carry. The assumption is that you'll need to carry extra fuel and water for the trip, you'll be limited to the extra room to bring too much of the larger items.

Below is a Jeep adventure using bone stock Jeeps going through South America in the late '70s. Great read, and some information that may help you in your planning. It was a different environment, but still can help out.
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2014/04/25/to-enjoy-the-adventure-for-its-own-sake-the-1978-1979-expedicion-de-las-americas/

WOW GM that was a very interesting little video of how they went about it and conquered it..
Bush Buck these guys really know Jeeps inside and out, between the 3 of them and the 4th "Pelago" there is nothing on these Heeps they haven't had apart,broke,fixed or know a lot about TRUST ME....
Good Luck on your Expedition cross country.

[gmwillys]

I applaud your desire to separate yourself from the rest of the pack of ralliers.

A short list of spares would be doubles of coolant hoses/belts, a water pump, a new radiator installed, and a spare to pack along. Spare batteries, points, caps, rotors, and wires. Fuel filters, carburetor, and a fuel pump, (wouldn't hurt to have an electric fuel pump as a back up to the back up). Tires, tubes, tube vulcanizing kit, and a spare wheel. Axles, hubs, drive shafts, and a set of U-joints for all ends. Hardware/nuts bolts and screws of various sizes. Engine valve springs, set of valves, two complete gasket and seal kits.
These would be the items that just came off the top of my head, or knowing my luck, would be the items that would go wrong.

[Bush Buck]

I want to thank you all for your warm response and advice that I have received.

I am glad I have signed up to the forum with Kaiser Willys, I'm sure I can learn a lot on here with the recommendation and advice from you all. I have yet still got a long way to go and plenty to learn, but i believe I have come to the right place.

I will enlighten you all what this rally is all about.

The rally is not a race, but about endurance and charity.
The charity is to provide shoes to the underprivileged children across the Southern part of Africa and to support the locals. The extra funding raised will be split with my chosen charity the TUSK TRUST which will help the fight agains pouching of Elephants and Rhinos.
There will be 6 check points across the southern part of Africa. The rally will set off in Cape Town/South Africa followed through Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, and end in Mozambique of a duration of 19 days and give or take 5,000 miles. I then shall carry on through Swaziland and make my way to Lesotho where I'll join up with the Garden Rout back to Cape Town and then finally head back home to Nelspruit, Mpumalanga which is close to the Kruger National Park. The total distance that would be covered is approximately just over 8,000 miles in 30 days.

Like LarrBeard has said my first step of this adventure has started by acquiring a CJ 3B Jeep.
Once our complete Lock-Down has been lifted due to COVID-19 I can get my hands nice and dirty by stripping her and reveal her secrets, to prepare her for a wonderful adventure.Hopefully 1st of many to come and able to share the adventure on here.

[bmorgil]

We are not racing? This just got a lot easier. Rebuild that Jeep and it will go all the way, with no racing pressure. I would strap an ATV to the top and a spare can of gas. If anything majior goes wrong, diagnose it and jump on the ATV and go get parts and tools! Save all the space for the survival equipment, and beverages!

I like gmwillys idea about all the ignition parts for sure, and the the tire stuff is a must. As LarrBeard suggested, definitely replace the cooling system. No guessing on the cooling system. If you did a good job on the rebuild of the power train, it will be just fine if you are not abusing it. You are taking it on a trip it was designed for. A spare hose or 2 and several rolls of duct tape. If help is a few hour ride on the ATV and time isn't a factor, it will minimize what you need to carry.

The best advice will come from pelago. He has experience crossing hostile terrain of many types, with only a military Jeep and his gut's. He probably is pretty sure of what he needed to keep it all moving forward or, what he wished he had. I hope he chimes in here!

LarrBeard is right on it, us old guy's would love to live precariously through you! Man what a trip.

[okiemark]

All good advise. I would get some heavy zip ties too.