Wednesday,
June
5th,
2024
~ Sent to us by David Grayson
I purchased this 1946 Willys CJ-2A in 2020 from guy in a small town in Iowa. He loved the Jeep but unfortunately had become too old to be able to get in and out of it. The Jeep made the journey home to the Chicago Area in Illinois. I have always loved WWII history and wanted to make this a tribute Jeep. I knew very little about vehicle repair and service. Purchasing this Jeep was a way for me to learn about vehicles as I rebuilt it from the frame up. I stripped it all the way down to the bare metal, rebuilt the transmission, transfer case, differentials, and added a dual master brake cylinder for safety. It had years of farm fixes on it so everything was gone through and redone. It appears the Jeep has never seen salt. It received a new paint job and I worked to find as many used parts as possible including many WWII MB and GPW parts. What I couldn’t find I sourced from Kaiser Willys.
I marked the front and back bumpers in honor of my great-grandfather and grandfather who both served in WWII. The front bumper is marked for my great-grandfather who was the head surgeon in the 2nd Medical Auxiliary Surgical Group assigned to the 7th Army when they freed Dachau Concentration Camp. He was assigned by the army to document the camp with pictures and film and took recordings of what the German doctors were doing in the camp. Many of these films and pictures are in the Illinois and National Holocaust Museums. The rear bumperettes are marked for my grandfather who was a control tower operator at the South Plains Army Air Field in Lobbock, TX assigned to the 850th Double-Engine Fighter Training Squadron. That airfield was known for where the main glider-plane training took place.
This Jeep started my love for all things Jeep. The Willys goes out to a few car shows each year and makes a lot of little kids happy to see it, honk the horn, and sit in the driver’s seat. It is always great to talk to folks who either drove them in the wars or owned one years ago. Every summer it makes many grocery store runs and takeout pickups. The 1946 Willys Jeep CJ-2A now lives in the garage next to a 1994 Jeep YJ.
- David Grayson Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – If you would like to share your Willys Jeep Story please send us a line. We’d love to meet your Jeep.
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