I have an oppurtunity to buy a (1948?) ****** CJ2A for $500. The body has a quite a bit of rust/cancer and it is missing the engine but the transmission/transfer case are present. Does anyone know if this is a good deal or not?

 

It's a little high but not much. I've found them for much more and a little less. Condition makes a huge difference. Unless you plan on doing a full resto don't worry about the missing little go devil 4. Barely made enough power to pull it anyway.

 

Spent the best part of the day picking up the CJ2a. No engine; the transmission/transfer case still turns and it appears to have a Spicer O/D on it. The steering wheel is not original and wasn't connected to the steering gear. Good thing the wheels were stuck pointing straight ahead. The skinny little tires on it look funny when compared to today's tires. That is the good news; the tub has excessive body cancer. I will be picking up some sheet steel to patch with until I can find or afford a new tub.
Pictures tomorrow if anyone is interested.

 

I'm interested. What are your plans for the drive line?

 

Quadratec sells tubs, floor pans and pretty much everything you need. You could actually build a jeep from their catalog.

 

The drive lines are present, both front and back with one more throw in the back for good measure. Unknown which it is as this project is going to sit until spring. I'm assuming I will be able to use both with the transfer case when I get that far.
It will pull the tub in the spring and start fixing things as I go - I'm going to keep it appearing stock; skinny tires and all but will have a non-stock engine. (no idea yet) Maybe a Chevy 4.3L V6.

 

OK, I posted some pictures of the CJ2A in under my user account so I wouldn't fill up the forum with off-topic photos. Look there for photos. Thanks for reading.

 

Ok, one picture here and you can go visit my user pictures for the rest.

 

That is going to be a fun build for sure

 

The tub is going to be a real challenge. I'll need to replace just about the entire floor. The other areas of the body will get patches. I will convert it to a 12 volt system - it will be easy now with no engine; just a few lights and a couple of gauges. An interesting thing I saw is the tub is hinged at the rear by the tailgate. Unbolt the front and it lifts up. Another thing it has is few gauges under the hood with a remote start button. Makes you wonder what it did in it's past life.

 

That ain't no T90! It seems in my haste to get it home and uncover for the winter, I didn't notice that the transmission is a 4-speed instead of a side shifter T90. It has a Ford toploader 4-speed - like out of an old Mustang or similar. The previous owner told me it had a small block Ford intake manifold in the back. He got it without an engine as well. It is starting to make sense - a little research told me the Ford engine is longer than a SBC. The headlight basket/tubs are cut up (badly at that) in order to fit a radiator. So I have a Ford tranny mated to the Dana 18 transfer case.
It won't get a Ford back into in as I have plans for a Chevy V6. But now I need to find a T90 to replace the toploader. But nothing until spring - winter will prevent any time to work on it.