When the Ford F-350 dropped out for my Cheap Truck entry I needed a Plan B, and I found it in my shop. Actually I found it months ago in a junkyard, and it made its way to my shop. This 1950 Willys Jeep CJ-3A isn’t perfect, but for a 65-year-old vehicle it’s pretty good. Is this a viable option for a kid’s first 4x4? That depends on who you ask. My first vehicle was a Jeep CJ-5. Péwé and Verne Simons both also had Jeeps as their first vehicles—a GPW and CJ-7, respectively—so it should be obvious that a Jeep builds character and can lead to a well-suited adulthood in a dying magazine industry.

The problems arise when the youth of today don’t realize that this 65-plus-year-old 4x4 is not similar to a modern-day 4x4 besides the steering and driving wheels both being round. There’s no radio, no working outlet to charge your phone, no Wi-Fi, no plastic dash, no airbags, not much heat when you want it (but plenty when you don’t), dodgy brakes (as in you hit the brakes and start dodging left to right trying to stay straight), and a giant loud gaping hole in the muffler. Actually kids like loud; a quiet muffler would only be for old codgers who can’t hear well anyways! Go figure.

A flatfender Jeep is small, requires concentration (no goofing around on Facebook on your Iphoney thingy) while trying to keep this diminutive sport/ute on the asphalt, and can be the best thing you’ve ever driven in terms of fun. They all came factory with a manual transmission. Driving one is a dying skill kids need to learn. It helps drivers understand what is happening with their vehicle when they realize that engine rpm and wheel speed correlate. The small size makes a great starter vehicle for off-roading because you can fit in tight trails and follow your friends in their fancy-pants side-by-side UTVs then still drive it to school on Monday.

Also, the lack of a sufficient top means you get to enjoy the great outdoors, and aftermarket tops are really just a way to enjoy the great outdoors from just inside a plastic/vinyl bubble, which means you’ll be very popular on sunny days and get to ride by yourself on rainy or snowy days.

All of these attributes will make you a stronger person. Well, these attributes and the lack of power steering and power brakes will make you a stronger person for sure.

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Where the Money Went

Vehicle purchase$1,300

Budget$2,015

Remaining$715

Modifications

Tune-up and tires$1,000

Fuel tank and filters$65

Forklift seats (2) $400

Rollbar fabrication and materials (est)$550

Total$2,015

Budget$2,015

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Now What?

My flatfender was awesome on Cheap Truck. The V-6 ran strong even after some time full of water, and the prior owner’s Saginaw manual steering conversion helped it steer, but at the end of the adventure my Spicer 18 transfer case spit bearings out and I took a trailer ride home. I like the Jeep as is, so I’ll just fix it, clean up the wiring, and keep driving it. I had added an old Warn off-road light I had lying around because the lights don’t work on the Jeep, but I never wired it in, so I will hook that up as well. If it were my only 4x4 I would swap in one-piece rear axleshafts and some custom chromoly front axleshafts, or upgrade the front axle to a Dana 30 and stuff both with selectable Eaton E-lockers. I may also sand off all the paint, not because I don’t like the paint but because it’s sprayed over an eighth of an inch of Bondo and I don’t like Bondo.