1960 DJ3A Resto with my 18 year old son

[BeninCT]

New here because for my son’s senior project at his high school he decided to try to fix up a flat fender. We found a 1960 DJ3A for $2500 and picked it up last weekend and jumped right in. Condition is decent- floors in front are rusted through but the rest of the body is mostly surface rust as well as the frame. Engine had good compression and ran in spring but has since had carb removed to be rebuilt but was never completed so its in a box.

Plan is to clean it up, paint the frame after repairs, make it mechanically sound and paint it desert tan. Prob a slightly larger set of tires but nothing too crazy and we are not doing a historically accurate restoration but rather more of resto mod if that term applies here.

Odd thing is that its been converted to 4x4 and I cannot find a S/N on top of the frame so I don’t know if someone just added the T case or if it was body swapped to a CJ3A rolling chassis?

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Edit to add: was looking to make a great start here and my pics are tiny….. need a lesson in uploading them normal size…

[LarrBeard]

Your pictures are OK. That's just how they are on the site. They run them through a resizer to keep the data on the forum manageable.

And you commented: "I cannot find a S/N on top of the frame "

Finding frame serial numbers is iffy at best. the VIN tag is almost always the best indicvator of how it started life - but if someone swapped a tub - who knows what you might have.

You are now at the First Rule of Jeep:

1 "Trust nothing you read or what someone tells you until you until you verify it yourself. What you see is what you have."

Then, the second Rule:

2. Never say;"Willys-Overland would never have ____________________________ (just fill in the blank - with something like ... put a DJ body on a CJ3A frame as a special order).

Jeeps are kind of like "The Last Cat of the Day When There Are No Matching Parts"

[bmorgil]

Definitely an interesting Jeep you have there. I have not seen a top modified like that before. The modifications to the door openings and floorboard are something unique. The roof looks like it is one strong piece! That is a rugged looking top that was made. Are there any indications on the top of who made it? Look for a manufacturing tag. It could be fabricated from scratch. Who knows what you will find with these things. The DJ factory or dealer conversions could have become anything. The intention of the DJ was to turn it into something that could be driven around. Mine was a dealer converted CJ to Farm. The conversion consisted of a hydraulic system, air bags and a PTO with a lot of shielding underneath. Does your serial number indicate if the vehicle was originally a DJ or is it a dealer converted CJ?

I like the look yours has on the trailer with the top on. It has a "car" look to it. It should be a very cool restore. You are going to uncover some history.

Depending on where you look at data, there were less than 3000 total 1960 DJ3A's built. If yours has a DJ3A 1960 tag, it is rare.

[bmorgil]

Your pictures are OK. That's just how they are on the site. They run them through a resizer to keep the data on the forum manageable.

The file type the pic is in is a big part of it. If it is anything OTHER than a .jpg it is limited to 19kb. If it IS a .jpg it is limited to 97kb. A lot of files are .jpeg now. Those will be clipped as Larry indicates. If it is in a .jpg format as yours are, you may want to check the file size. If you don't keep it below 97kb, it will get chopped. Make sure you are using the Advanced and Manage attachments method for inserting pictures. https://willysjeepforum.kaiserwillys...re-in-a-thread

Attached is a pic saved in .jpg file format. We are still working on why they come in sideways. The consensus is it depends on how you were holding your phone or camera when took the picture. If you click on the picture after it opens in a new window, it will enlarge.

[LarrBeard]

Well - this is how we hijack a thread. We were talking about a unique DJ and now we're getting smarter about pictures.

The picture Bob posted enlarged nicely when I opened it. It is indeed a .jpg format and it has been resized to 924 x 696 pixels.

SO, I'm hijacking this thread for a minute to try a photo experiment. I grabbed a photo and ran it through a resizer:

https://www.simpleimageresizer.com

This is a VERY simple resizer, it asks you how big you want the resized picture to be and I told it 924 x 696 pixels.

I am going to attach it to this note and I want to see how it turns out when I reopen it - we'll see how that works.

(I've never resized before I post and maybe I will from now on...)

We're all still learning!

[LarrBeard]

ANd, by golly - when I go back and look at that post - when I click on the attachment it opens up to a very nice 6 x 8 inch picture on my display.

We've learned something... a good day.

I'll resize to 924 x 696 from now on when I post.

THANKS DOC DANA!

[bmorgil]

Good tip on the photo size 924 x 696. That or anything less will do it. Here is another way to resize. It is a bit clunky but if you are worried about downloading something, this is already in your computer.

Open up your file explorer and go to the photos you want to resize. Highlight all the photos you want to resize, right click and then pick the "Send To" (choose more options if you don't see send to) then email as if you were going to email them. Windows will pop up a window and ask you what size you want. After that it will insert them as an attachment to an email. You can cut and paste from there. I use that when I am trying to send a lot of photos in an email. It does reduce the definition as you reduce the size.

Now back to that DJ, take a picture of the firewall VIN tag.

[BeninCT]

@larrbeard - Hey thanks- the cat reminds me of many old vehicles that I have owned lol. This one is no different either.

Going to upload some more pictures of the chassis now that we have the body off in hopes of identifying exactly what I have for axles, t-case, transmission and engine. Also, up front there is a mount for the bell crank on the round crossmember that is left over from the 2WD days and then one on the front axle where it should be. Going to eliminate the old one on the round crossmember unless anyone has a better idea?

Anyone know exactly what I have here for running gear?E314778F-6199-46E2-AF34-7E1BA20BFB88.jpgD56BD37A-F49B-4D74-9BE0-BFD2601991C5.jpg478BDD76-6F76-4683-8203-C5837866BDBD.jpg6F0141F6-53F4-4AB7-BA84-331D4051E57C.jpg

[BeninCT]

Good tip on the photo size 924 x 696. That or anything less will do it. Here is another way to resize. It is a bit clunky but if you are worried about downloading something, this is already in your computer.

Open up your file explorer and go to the photos you want to resize. Highlight all the photos you want to resize, right click and then pick the "Send To" (choose more options if you don't see send to) then email as if you were going to email them. Windows will pop up a window and ask you what size you want. After that it will insert them as an attachment to an email. You can cut and paste from there. I use that when I am trying to send a lot of photos in an email. It does reduce the definition as you reduce the size.

Now back to that DJ, take a picture of the firewall VIN tag.

Picture process is going to take some studying but thank you for outlining it for me. ALso, there is no such thing as a hijack! Feel free to discuss

Firewall tag has it as a 1960 DJ3A as far as I can tell. Its the chassis that has me wondering. No diagonal braces in the rear and rear mount fuel tank plus bell crank mount on front round cross member has me thinking this was a DJ chassis that someone added a t case and new front axle to. I have no idea tho! Attachment 9794Attachment 9795Attachment 9796Attachment 9797Attachment 9797Attachment 9798

[bmorgil]

We truly need gmwillys to jump in here and see what he thinks.

I am going to say you have a 2A or 3A frame that someone put a body on. The confusing thing is the comments on the bell crank. On the very early jeep, the bell crank was on the axle. On the later models the bell crank was moved to the round cross member you mentioned. That almost makes me think it is a newer Military frame (the rear gas can mounts make me think military) because of the bell crank mount on the round cross member. I cannot see if it has the machine gun mount which would distinguish it from the civilian frame The front axle on the other hand has to be something early like an MB or very early 2A to have the bell crank on it.