David EilersSeptember 6, 2011

CJ-3A Body Kit Options

A reader plans to buy a CJ-3A body kit for his 1949 CJ-3A. He was leaning towards either Morris 4x4 Center or Willys Overland. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with a full body kit purchase?

8 Comments

TomSeptember 6, 2011 at 4:38 PM
I stopped by W/O in Toledo and talked with Jay the CEO. He showed me what they did to the body to correct it from the PI in moving braces and adding stand offs ,bending the bottom of the dash board for the steering wheel shaft mounting hardware, ect. They will drill all your holes if you want them to. I saw one that was crated up and was impressed with the quaility of workmanship. I got a quote for a CJ3B and CJ2A and it was what I expected. If possible you need to stop by and talk to them. I have never heard of Morris 4 X 4 Center so I can not comment on them but they might great too.
Desert Jim 1960September 6, 2011 at 6:24 PM
I purchased a repli-tub from WO in Toledo Ohio also. The details of the tub was amazing. If you could have gone back in time and had gone to a Willy's dealer, this tub is what you would have received. I put this tub on a CJ2 that had a rusted out body. The fit was 100% perfect. Every hole lined up and there was no issues with having to drill or modify the body to fit. If i needed another tub i would make the trip and pick up another from them. Be warry of other less expensive replca tubs as they do not fit like an original.
MichaelSeptember 6, 2011 at 8:00 PM
All of the aftermarket tubs for sale today, from any supplier, all come from MDJuan in the Phillipines. As stated about Willys Overland, they have a system to "fix" all the wrongs that are still happening to the tubs after they are manufactured, all of today's new tubs still leave the Phillipines wrong in some way or another....the tooling is old, leftover, and wore out....having said this, i have heard that MDJ has stepped back a bit, and are attempting to correct some of these problems.... and as newer tub supplies arrive, the quality has picked up a little bit....... make sure you measure ANY "new" tub that you buy today, especially in the wheelhouse area...MDJ was mass producing the tubs to a more 3A standard than they were a 2A standard....
Mike HeimbignerSeptember 6, 2011 at 8:15 PM
Does W/O do anything for the 3B that has the emergency brake indent in the dash?
harvey hubbardSeptember 6, 2011 at 11:31 PM
Well I have one on e-bay right now; dirt cheap!
BobSeptember 7, 2011 at 12:25 PM
I've heard plusses and minuses about Willys Overland tubs. My buddy bought one and it still needed reworked quite a bit to fit right. At least they try! The biggest problem is on the end of MD Juan, if they made it right in the first place there'd be no problem.
DonSeptember 7, 2011 at 1:51 PM
I recommend Jay at Willys Overland Motors Toledo, Ohio
Wayne DunardSeptember 9, 2011 at 12:01 PM
Midwest Jeep (Willys) phone 630-529-2116 They have 16 Gauge tubs verses 18 guage . I have been rebuilding jeeps for fifty years and all reproductions (Bar none) have some type of miss-alignment. They do this so they are not taken to court.