1953 Willys Cj3b Hardtop Jeep 4wd on 2040-cars

1953 Willys CJ3B Hardtop Jeep 4WD

There is nothing more rugged and endearing than a Willys Jeep…especially one from the early 1950s with some patina. This 1953 Willys CJ3B is almost completely original and has acquired some battle scars over the years.  Nothing serious…just enough to add some character.  If you’re into off-roading or just want a beast to drive around, this Willys with a factory Hardtop, just may be the ticket for you.  I know I have had a blast with it over the past 18 years cruising around my property high in the Colorado Rockies.  This CJ3B is listed with a starting bid of $1,000 and a reserve well below what it is worth.  
The CJ series was the civilian version of the famous Willys Military Jeep used by Allied forces during WWII. The Civilian Jeeps were built to be just as tough as the Military version, making them very tough vehicles and capable off-roaders.  The CJ interiors are very simple, just like their Military counterparts.

The CJ3B was the first CJ Jeep to use the Willys Hurricane F4-134 4-cylinder engine. The 2.2 liter straight-4 produced 75 hp and 114 pounds of torque, which is plenty to pull this bare bones vehicle around, especially with the dual range gearbox which has low enough gear ratios to pull you up any incline you are brave enough to tackle. The introduction of the F4-134 engine required the CJ3B to have a taller grill and hood, which only increased the rugged and tough appearance of the vehicle.  As testament to its ruggedness and reliability, the CJ3B model stayed in production until 1968.

At the time I bought it in 1996, the seller explained to me that it was originally purchased new from the manufacturer in 1953 by his retired parents who used it extensively for their hunting and fishing ventures in Colorado during the ‘50’s and 60’s.  (Their son had stored it and used it rarely after he inherited it in the early 70’s).  When the elderly couple ordered it from the factory, they added some amenities to suit their needs.  They originally equipped it with an exhaust snorkel for fording streams, and they added a winch onto the front end.  The front had to be lengthened to accommodate the winch.   The winch operates off the power take off (p.t.o.) which is engaged and operated from inside the cab.  They also added a game rack and had the back end lengthened behind the cab for the addition of a small trunk (Taken off of a 1930’s Packard as I was told).  The lengthened back end was also made to hold a couple of spare gas cans.   They later added a windshield defrost vent from a military jeep.  I removed the game rack and had to remove the snorkel because it had broken away from the tailpipe, but the rest of the truck is pretty much original and in the same condition as it was when they used it back in the 50’s and 60’s. (I can include the snorkel and/or the game rack if the new owner would like to re-attach them).

The Willys still runs and drives just as it should, with a go anywhere attitude.  The oil has been changed, new battery installed, and the brakes re-built so that it is ready for a new owner.  It has less than 41,000 actual miles on it.  There is no rust, and the body is straight, but the harsh Colorado sun at 10,000 feet altitude has sun-faded the paint over the past 15 years, especially on the hood and fenders.  Please note that the 1^st 4 pictures included, show the Jeep as it was when I first acquired it, and before I removed the snorkel, the game rack, and before the paint was sun faded.  I included these 4 pictures only as a reference. 

This tough old Jeep can be restored or left just as it is.  Either way, the next owner is sure to love it as much as I did.
This Jeep may not be as High-Tech as its descendants, and it is obviously not going to compare in performance to today’s 4WD vehicles, but there is something delightfully nostalgic to this rugged old survivor from 1953, and it is still a blast to drive around in.
If you would like to see and test drive, it is available for viewing in Littleton, Colorado by contacting me.