checking compression and major checks

I'm a new member. Acquired a 1960 3B two weeks ago. Know ziip about automechanics. Have read more than a little about checking compression. Like every other subject I've view in this forum, there is little consensus about anything. Few people I know in the Seattle area (Redmond, to be specific) want to work on this model jeep; fewer still appear to know how to work on it.

I have two questions: (1) What is the best compression check gauge I can buy to get the most reliable reading, assuming I follow the instructions?

(2) The previous owner used and abused the jeep; it looks like it's rolled over cliff. Everything on it worked. However, when I changed all the fluids, I found that the previous owner neglected it drastically.

Now that I own it, what are the major places I should check to see what condition the jeep is really in, to know, better, what I'm in for when getting it to a more reliable condition? Please offer as much detail as you have time to offer. I'm about as overwhelmed as a person can be right now with my ignorance.

Thankfully, I asked forum members what to look for when buying a 3B. They told me, and I followed their advice as best as possible. The jeep (with a Koenig 350 hard top and an 8,000 lb winch (all in good shape) was originally owned by the military, then sold to the railroad, then purchased by a rather crazy man who put a plow on it, cracked the frame in at least three places and nearly tore off two fenders. It has new brake lines and came freshly tuned, with everything working for $2,000. The springs are there but "gone," (kaput); they're being replaced first.

What specifically should I look for when determining what else (that appears to work) could be in a state of disaster-ready-to-happen?

For example, when I asked you all what to look for when buying an old jeep, one of the things a couple forum members mentioned was, "Does the transmission pop out of second when you let up on the gas?" No, it doesn't pop out of second going up or down a hill, letting off the gas, giving it gas. Yet, from the amount of fluids the previous owner had in the crankcase, transfer case, and differentials, I have a strong sense this vehicle was not well maintained, but I don't know where or how to look for problems. (The caretaker of the vehicle who sold me the dead owner's jeep is the one who put on new brake lines and had the jeep tuned and who threw in a C-5 gas tank.) I'm afraid if I take the jeep to an automechanic, I'll be told to replace everything, which I can't afford right now. In fact, that's already happened twice. What are the most major places I should check, and HOW, to determine the extent of the repairs and replacements I'll need to make, so I know what to ask a competent person to check? You see, my ignorance is hazardous when it comes to being "taken." And, yes, I've followed your suggestions and bought a service manual; but reading that just makes me think I should replace everything, which, as mentioned, I can't afford to do at this time.

Thanks

Greg

Greg,
Congradulations on your purchase of a new to you 1960 Jeep CJ-3B.
Take a deep breath. Exhale. Take a deep breath . Exhale ...............
Apparently you have been bitten "hard" by the JEEP BUG !
In time we hope to slake your overpowering thirst for Jeep knowledge.
Know that everyone on this board has similarly been affected.

No need to "worry" about the compession readings at this time.
But if you must know most any engine compession gauge capable of reading 200 to 300 PSI will suffice.
In the meantime I suggest that you focus on Safety and Dependabiity issues.

If I had your healthy, calm personality, I wouldn't have coronary artery disease, five heart attacks and 21 angioplasties ... and triple bypass. If I had your personality, I would be thought of as a delightful, easy-going person. You give good advice, both technical and personal. I'll try and follow it.

Yes, I should concentrate on reliability and safety first and not try to climb mountains beyond my current capability and capacity.

Here's why I'm asking questions leading to what I suspect is an engine rebuild: The jeep I bought was severely abused and neglected: frame cracked in half in four places from snow-plow usage; fluids rarely changed in the previous 30 years of heavy use and gross abuse from an alcoholic madman (literally). Both fenders are torn in half from plowing into trees; the springs are literally curled backwards; the tailgate is split in half from daily use carrying fire wood ... that's just what can be easily seen. It's what I can't see that concerns me.

I've recently been told by a 3B-page contributor, who lives an hour-and-one-half away from me, that there are some abused parts on my engine that he can see that, if not fixed soon, can easily lead to entire engine failure and destruction—a big bill. I don't get the hare in defilade reaction and intensity from zero input, meaning I listen to what everyone who's supposed to know something tells me and I try and act on it, ASAP. From what I've been told by people who have seen this jeep, they seem silently disturbed and taken aback that I'm considering making this rolled-down-a-cliff jeep a daily driver. I haven't shown a picture because then it would be revealed that I, too, am a madman, just not an alcoholic one.

I AM trying to cover too many bases too quickly. I DO need to slow down, and your diplomatic and wise counsel is heard. I'll try not only to get the "right" carb but the right mindset. Clearly, for me, the former is harder to do than the latter.

Here's to hope and appreciation to those who have tired to calm my troubled soul.

Greg

Okay, so I'll say. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. I want to see photos of what you've described.

John J

1958 CJ3B - Cape Coral, Florida

Uhhh, we're all a bit mad. Trying to maintain, repair or find a beat up piece of junk and bring it back to life is not for the faint of heart.

Plopping down $30K for a new ride with USB plug-ins, cup holders, GPS/Media screens, push button (or heaven forbid computer controlled!) 4WD, 20” chrome wheels that will never see mud and sissy heated seats is waayyy too easy. Heck, most of these new vehicles don’t even call for a tune up until 10,000 miles!

So, welcome to the club! You now qualify for a Life Time Membership!

It is readily apparent you are late getting into the hobby. How can I tell? Well, if you had been a bit quicker in finding this lab experiment you call a jeep, you would no doubt have entered it in Derek’s now complete “Dilapidated CJ-3B Contest.”

http://www.film.queensu.ca/cj3b/Finds/FindsDilapidated.html

Feel any better about posting pictures??

You and your jalopy are welcome here. Go slow, learn and rebuild!

Don't feel bad about what others may think. You've seen the condition of the 3Bs some of us have bought. For example:
http://home.comcast.net/~jrburch_h/jeep/jo...econd_look.html
We ended up scrapping the tub, it was so far gone there was nothing to weld new metal to. And the head was off the engine, the carb was missing, you get the picture.

That being said, we'd love to see pictures of your "disaster on wheels" and we won't think you're crazy. Well, no crazier than any of us.

What you all say, have said to me, is more helpful than I can imagine you can imagine.

Try this for starters, and this was a literal starter. I've lived in the same house for 32 years. One of my next-door neighbors has been where he is for 20 years. It's a middle-class neighborhood of track houses. He plays the violin in a symphony and works as a computer programmer, was a weapons officer on a submarine in his youth and now has two young kids. What he said to me when saw the jeep will sound like a joke to you, perhaps, but if you knew him, you'd know he's not the joking type. What he says, he means literally.

He saw me driving around the neighborhood in this Transport Yellow (orange) delight and walked over to me, and his first words were, "What! Did you loose a bet?"

If my wife wasn't standing at the open window listening, I would have said something equally obnoxious; but, instead, I said, "Yes, I lost a bet."

He didn't let it end there, and said, next. "I've never heard of a Wileys" [pronouncing the word like the sound of "while" with a "ys" on the end. He wasn't joking; he was serious, or so I thought.

Then he walked up no farther than eight inches from my ear, looked around to see if anyone else was listening, and said with incredulity: "Do you like it?"

I wanted to say that, "No I lost a bet, and someone gave me what they knew I wouldn't like, you ____ ____." Instead, I just looked at him thinking those words, and a few other words.

Now, don't get me wrong. He asked me to his symphony and I went. We're on good terms. I gave him a small crane I wasn't using. He was just saying what he really thought and asking me what he was really wondering.

The fact is this. The jeep matches me. It's broken down, old, ugly ... but it runs. It's not a jeep looking to be impressive. It's a tool that someone else used to the max. There's a certain honor in that kind of use of an American vehicle, probably the most American vehicle ever built, a Willys jeep. I learned to drive in one. I went on my first dates in one. I married my first date in a jeep. We're still married, and she likes jeeps, and it was her idea that I'd find a a jeep to be my last and only vehicle. So, damn, jeeps are sacred to me. This doesn't look sacred; it wasn't owned by someone who thought it was sacred, but it is now. I could care less what people say about it or think about it; it just bothers me that people can be so insensitive and cruel about what someone else chooses to drive, as if you're not in a Japanese car, you must be a fool. The poet Blake once said that if a fool persisted in his folly, he would become wise. Well, maybe that statement fits all those who have restored old jeeps: we may be fools to people like my neighbor, but going through this process, along the way, can provide some wisdom. And one big part of that wisdom I want that I don't currently have is patience. That's why I appreciate your patience with me; and when I figure out how to upload pictures of my disaster on wheels, I promise you I'll show them to you.

Another story, from today, for you. I wanted to find out how much it cost me if I paid someone to rebend and reweld, sandblast, and paint my 3B, so I picked a moderate-priced person and warned him, "I want to warn you, my jeep looks like it was thrown over a cliff."

He drove up with a big smile on his face, and this is what he said, word for word, "You know I've learned in years of doing bodywork and paint on people's cars that when they tell me that their car looks bad, it always does; but when they tell me it looks good, it almost never does; and you were right: yours looks pretty bad."

Ever seen those pictures of brutally abused animals in shelters, which cower when you come near them from being beaten by mean-spirited drunks? If you allow yourself any open sensitivity, you can feel my jeep do that abused-animal cower when anyone moves close to it, or the stoic feeling of an abused animal that seems to be communicating "You can't treat me worse than the last guy; I'm no longer afraid of anyone." That's what this jeep also communicates.

By this weekend, I should have figured out, again, how to upload photos so you can see this specimen of a person desperate for a jeep in the last years of his life. There's nothing that nuts about such a desire, unless that person thinks screw drivers have too many moving parts and has a brain injury from an Asian place that's left his head with little ability to understand diagrams. Of all the people in this forum, Gianas is precisely the kind of person who shouldn't have bought a jeep to restore ... which may have been one of the reasons why I did it. Nothing is more out of my comfort zone than anything mechanical or mathematical. That's why you all are so important to me, more than you can imagine, because I seriously doubt any of you can compete with my ignorance level.

Thank you for the welcoming way you've received me. Welcoming is something I'm not used to and, for that reason it's more appreciated than you might imagine, not knowing my background, this being a few emotional days after Memorial Day.

Welcoming someone lost with real help is about the best thing anyone can do for another, and you've done that for me. Thank you.

greg

Okay, so maybe it's "ugly," then again maybe not. "Ugly" is only a word. It can be a feeling or emotion, but only to the extent you empower it to be so. Enough of that.

The truth is a Jeep can be many things, good, bad or otherwse. However, after all is said and done, it's really "otherwise." The "otherwise" is one of satisfaction and fun. There is a real sense of achievement in reclaiming a vehicle. There is an even greater sense of achievement in keeping it running and enjoying the ride. Talk with anyone else who has one and you'll see this is so.

My Dad or I've owned several over the years. A 1946 CJ2A, a 1961 CJ5, a 1969 CJ5 (bought new), and even a couple of Cherokees. My latest is a 1958 CJ3B (not a surprise since this is the Bulletine Board for the CJ3B Page).

I've been working on this one (as time and $ will permit) for about 3 years now. The engine, transmission, transfer case, axles, brakes and frame are done. I'm working on the body now. I opted to a new body from Willys Overland. I've got a list of things I still need and I continue to work on it. It's getting shorter. A recent score was a set of steps from someone on the Bulletin Board. As chance would have it, I saw them just minutes after they were posted for sale. It was like Christmas morning when they arrived in the mail a few days later and I opened the box. (My wife just shakes her head laughs.)

My progress has been pre-empted by (many) other things, but I'm still moving foward. My wife will tell you that I seem to spend as much time looking at my progress as working towards it, and I'm okay with that.

You've begun a great project. Others have already offered you some really good advice. I'm not sure I can improve on it, other than to tell you they're right about what they say.

Take heart and enjoy the moments, there will be many and they will be good.

John J

1958 CJ3B
Cape Coral, Florida

And, Greg, don't forget - it's FUN.
When you're underneath it and the rust flakes are falling on your face, your knuckles are a bit skinned and you're just filthy with old oil and grease, it's still fun, at least for me.

And the best part is driving it around the neighborhood or to Harbor Freight for just one more tool ( ), or even to work. Even more fun is taking kids for a ride. I've taken the children of two different friends for a ride and they were in heaven. One, a teenage girl, came back into the house and told her Dad that she wanted one for her first "car".

I'm doing my part to keep the dream alive for the next generation.

Welcome to the craziness.