MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: David & Donna Bucher's 1953 CJ3B
Pictured is our latest Willys acquisition. It is a 1953 model and is for the most part in stock condition. We bought the Willys in January in West Carrolton Ohio which is a suburb of Dayton and have been working on odds and ends since. When we got the CJ it was driveable but it had many things that needed repair such as brakes, rotten wiring harness, etc. Today was the first time that we have had the Jeep out for any extended driving. We will take the Willys to Cleveland Mississippi in early May and then on our way home to Ohio leave it in our hometown, Smyrna Tn. Hopefully we will be able to join in some of the Mid Tenn Willys summer and fall events.
The previous owner installed a tilt steering column from a Chevy Camero or Nova and a Saginaw steering gearbox. My plan was to put an original column and steering gearbox back in the Jeep however after driving the CJ with this setup I am going to leave it as is. I had read about this modification on the CJ3B Page and it does significantly improve the steering. I would like to find steering wheel of a diameter closer to the factory steering wheel.
David & Donna Bucher – Troy, OH (March 8, 2008) |
