Home » I Have 7 Weeks To Get My 1954 Willys Jeep Ready For My Wedding And I’ve Never Even Heard It Run

I Have 7 Weeks To Get My 1954 Willys Jeep Ready For My Wedding And I’ve Never Even Heard It Run

7 Weeks Jeep Cjb
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Through some miracle or possibly trance I have convinced a great, normal, well-adjusted person to marry me. And with the wedding coming up relatively soon, I’m in need of a vehicle to transport my bride and myself from our church to our modestly-sized lunch reception just a few miles away. This is a problem because 1. Most of my cars don’t run. And 2. Many of those that do run are not quite nice enough to handle wedding duty. Oh boy.

It is very, very clear to me that a wedding-worthy car must be in a condition far, far beyond that of pretty much any car I’ve ever owned (sans my i3s), which is why I’m in a bit of a predicament here.

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There is absolutely no chance I’m driving from the church to the reception in a boring car. That’s such a classic moment in one’s life — the vehicle has to be special. And as special as my Galvanic Gold 2021 BMW i3S is, I know that — as far as wedding photos go — it’s probably not the ideal candidate. My brother’s 1966 Ford Mustang looks great, but its engine caught fire recently, and also the suspension is completely shot:

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My 1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ is close; it just smells a bit like gasoline, and I haven’t quite figured out what’s going on, there. The YJ is an option, though, especially since it looks this good in photos:

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But, for irrational reasons, I’d really like my 1954 Willys CJ-3B to handle wedding duty. Not only does it look the part (or at least it will once I clean it), but there’s just something special about driving an old Willys Jeep. Also, my fiancee will at that point have never ridden in it, so this would be a fun first-ride.

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Anyway, this is a problem because I’ve never actually even heard the old Willys run. I cranked the engine over, and things seemed OK, but will this thing actually move under its own power? I know one thing it won’t do, and that is stop. So I’ve purchased a new brake master cylinder. I’m certain I’ll be buying new wheel cylinders. Honestly, I should just buy those now.

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I’ll be sleeping in my Pontiac Aztek starting this week, and part of that will involve me spending a few nights in the Galpin parking lot. This will allow me to focus on wrenching for a few days, as having my sleeping quarters 15 miles displaced from my car projects has proven to be a nightmare for progress. Now I’ll be sleeping within 15 feet.

 

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A post shared by David Tracy (@davidntracy)

Step one will involve me installing a new fuel tank. I’ve already got the tank sitting in the Jeep; all I have to do is bolt it down. Next, I’m going to blow the crud out of the fuel lines with some brake cleaner, plus I’ll rebuild the Carter YF carburetor. With a bit of cleaning of the intake ducting, and some adjustment of the ignition points, I’m praying the old Jeep will fire up. I’ll slap some clean fluid into the transmission/transfer case/diffs, replace the brakes, and hopefully by the beginning of November I’ll have something drivable. From there it’s fine-tuning.

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Let’s see what the inside of the tank looks like …
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My gas tank is rusted out and needs to be replaced.

Will I be able to get that tan paint to shine? I’m curious about that. I wonder if a detailer could work some magic on it. But before I can even think about that, I have lots of work to do. I really hope the engine and transmission are in good shape, because, even if the Jeep looks cool there’s nothing cool about driving off from your wedding ceremony in a black smoke-belching, gear-grinding heap.

Seven weeks. That really doesn’t seem like a lot of time. At least I have the gold i3 and YJ as a backup; they both look nice in those photos. Maybe the Willys will look that nice with a bit of polish? I hope so.

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Jeff Carver
Jeff Carver
1 month ago

The steed for our wedding was our ’76 VW ASI camper bus. We took off and headed out for our 8 month honeymoon travelling around the US and Canada the next day.

RC
RC
1 month ago

A proposal:

1) The Autopian community comes in to fix the Jeep. Barnstorming-style fix, where there’s just a dozen people working in three or four teams to fix the engine, suspension, brakes and sensors, and paint. David Tracy provides beer and pizza

2) A raffle is held. A ticket costs $100

3) Winner of the raffle gets the Jeep. Proceeds of the raffle – beyond parts cost – go to a charity of Tracy and bride-to-be’s choosing.

Solves for the following problems:

  • Excess size of David Tracy’s fleet
  • Gets him wedding transport
  • Gets a wedding gift (to charity of choice)
  • Gets community together
Frederick Tanujaya
Frederick Tanujaya
1 month ago
Reply to  RC

this!! >>

Geoff Buchholz
Geoff Buchholz
1 month ago

‘I would ask what date you’ve set, but we’ll be able to extrapolate it from the inevitable “I HAVE TEN DAYS TO GET THIS NON-RUNNING CJ-3B READY FOR MY WEDDING” feature.’
–Me, nine days ago.

That you’re giving yourself seven weeks shows how much you’ve changed. Godspeed!

TheDrunkenWrench
TheDrunkenWrench
1 month ago

You know the ACTUAL solution to this.

Put the body on the chassis of the i3 that you can’t seem to sell.

Mark Tucker
Mark Tucker
1 month ago

Just to verify – she’s cool with this plan, right?

Bram Oude Elberink
Bram Oude Elberink
1 month ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

She is marrying DT, she should know by now. If she doesn’t know by now, this is the perfect opportunity to start and set the tone for the years to come 🙂

Manuel Verissimo
Manuel Verissimo
1 month ago

I can’t wait for the next installments of this series :

“We’re having a baby in 2 month so I need to fix that Jeep Wagoneer with no transmission to take the mom to be to the hospital in style!”

“We’re moving house in 5 weeks but I refuse to rent a truck. Thankfully I’ve bought a 300$ big rig on FB market place, now it just needs an engine”

“The deadline to file my taxes is in 12 hours and I need to fix my Jeep trunk latch to get to the paperwork!”

Jeremy Aber
Jeremy Aber
1 month ago

Just see if Beau will loan you something! You do not want your wedding day to revolve around a Jeep that breaks down at an inopportune moment!

Nlpnt
Nlpnt
1 month ago
Reply to  Jeremy Aber

A lot depends on how much Beau is already putting up. I mean, did Elise hold out on the wedding dinner being in a restaurant not attached to a car dealership, or?

Bram Oude Elberink
Bram Oude Elberink
1 month ago
Reply to  Jeremy Aber

Au contraire. Weddings are remembered by the things that go wrong during the day, and DT marrying the love of his life in a normal, boring, functioning car would be a disappointment and not in character.

Edward Hoster
Edward Hoster
1 month ago
Reply to  Jeremy Aber

THIS^^^ Seriously, DO NOT give your bride-to-be anything extra to stress over as she might just have enough to deal with in the next seven weeks.

Shop-Teacher
Shop-Teacher
1 month ago

7 weeks? WOW! Y’all are not messing about!

Honestly, compared to all your past project cars, this is nothing. I think you can do this … as long as the motor is mechanically sound. Fingers crossed, I’m pullin’ for ya!

Dennis Birtcher
Dennis Birtcher
1 month ago
Reply to  Shop-Teacher

Right? That’s three more weeks then Project Cactus was given, and this is starting off as a seemingly complete vehicle!

Andrea Petersen
Andrea Petersen
1 month ago

I shall pray to David Bowie that you get to church on time. If you have to put out any fires, hopefully it won’t be with gasoline. And don’t forget, sometimes if it doesn’t work, you just need to Shake It. Your love may be modern, but that Jeep sure ain’t…

Geoff Buchholz
Geoff Buchholz
1 month ago

My vote for COTD. It’s dancing with the big boys.

Taco Shackleford
Taco Shackleford
1 month ago

Introducing: Project get me to the church on time.

Scott Ross
Scott Ross
1 month ago

I understood that reference

Luxobarge
Luxobarge
1 month ago
Reply to  Scott Ross

But was it a reference to David Bowie or My Fair Lady?

Last edited 1 month ago by Luxobarge
Scott Ross
Scott Ross
1 month ago
Reply to  Luxobarge

My fair lady. I have a theatre degree.

Clear_prop
Clear_prop
1 month ago

Fix the Mustang, it is less of a disaster, even with an engine fire.

Having a roof will be helpful in case California decides to have weather that day.

LTDScott
LTDScott
1 month ago

I love that sleeping in an Aztek is just briefly mentioned here. If I didn’t already know the context that would be pretty hilarious on its own. I also love that you’re taking advantage of said sleeping in a Pontiac situation to be productive. Never change, man.

The Jeep is totally you, so it makes sense to take it. And at least with a 4WD you can’t repeat what happened on my first wedding night in 2006. In a similar manner I didn’t want to drive a normal car to the reception so my then FIL took us in his very clean mid ’80s W126 Mercedes. I think it was just a 280SE sadly, but whatever. Unfortunately driving into the hotel parking garage there was a gutter dip and somehow the oil pan hit the ground and cracked. Tracked oil all the way to the top of the parking garage. Then because I was the only gearhead there I got summoned to see if the car could be fixed.

So there I was on my wedding night laying under an old Benz in a parking garage in the dark. It was clear that the pan was beyond repair and not easily swappable, so it went home on a flatbed. At least my new bride at the time was very appreciative of my efforts instead of being upset.

Patches O' Houlihan
Patches O' Houlihan
1 month ago

Of all the David Tracy headlines I’ve read, this may be the David Tracy-ist.

Godspeed to you on your peak achievement.

Last edited 1 month ago by Patches O' Houlihan
Autonerdery
Autonerdery
1 month ago

I think the i3 would be a great of-the-moment type weird car for photos, that people looking at them in the future would think made them a great period piece. I have photos from my parents’ wedding day of them heading off in my mom’s Renault LeCar—don’t underestimate the potential future nostalgia/curiosity factor of a strange little car.

Then again, that was at the end of the day; they left the ceremony itself in a ’49 Packard, so there’s a case to be made for something timelessly cool, too. Maybe the moral of the story is: try to get both the Jeep and the i3 in there over the course of the day!

Car Guy - RHM
Car Guy - RHM
1 month ago

You got to take Beau’s Bathtub hotrod, Jason can drive it, and you and your bride ride in the tubs!

Ron Gartner
Ron Gartner
1 month ago

You know what my wife really appreciated before our wedding? Me not working on anything so my nails and hands wouldn’t be beat up, scarred, or stained. Hopefully you remember to wear gloves and be safe! No one wants to get married in a hospital room.

Ranwhenparked
Ranwhenparked
1 month ago
Reply to  Ron Gartner

Or, hear me out, cover all that up with white parade gloves at the wedding

getstoney VII
getstoney VII
1 month ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

Dude, just because he moved to LA doesn’t mean he morphed into David Lee Roth.

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 month ago

Will I be able to get that tan paint to shine? I’m curious about that.

FWIW I think it would look better with more of a matte finish. Despite its soon-to-begin mission above its normal station*, this is a utilitarian vehicle; it shouldn’t be too pretty.

Also making paint look better can be insanely time-consuming and that may not be the best use of the hours left between now and The Day.

*Any totally valid comparisons between the vehicle and the driver are strictly coincidental 😉

Brandon Forbes
Brandon Forbes
1 month ago
Reply to  A. Barth

Agreed. A classic Jeep with shiny tan paint would just look weird.

Frank Wrench
Frank Wrench
1 month ago

Good luck! It’s sure a nice looking Jeep. If you don’t get the mechanicals sorted in time buy a tow bar for the Willy’s and have Torch pull it with the YJ as your chauffeur. And you and not her real name can focus on waving to the adoring crowds.

AlterId
AlterId
1 month ago

Seven weeks? I wouldn’t think that any wedding that involved planning could be put together in seven weeks plus whatever the proposal-to-using-it-as-fodder-for-content lag time is. I assumed you had gained a couple of pounds (and really, not much at all) just because life’s going well and your food is prepared and consumed in much nicer bathing facilities that don’t have quite the emetic growth of those to which you were accustomed in Michigan, but… are you in trouble? Did Elise (not her real name) first meet your brother at the end of his shotgun (not his real firearm)?

Fire Ball
Fire Ball
1 month ago

We all knew this post was coming.

MaximillianMeen
MaximillianMeen
1 month ago

Three months from proposal to wedding?!?! Dang, what’s the rush? Or is that something we don’t want to discuss?

MaximillianMeen
MaximillianMeen
1 month ago
Reply to  David Tracy

WHAT?!##$%$^

You proposed on June 1st, but didn’t tell us, your dearest deepest anonymous random internet car weirdo friends until September 24th?!?!?!?

I’m hurt, David.

I need a moment…

Shop-Teacher
Shop-Teacher
1 month ago
Reply to  David Tracy

I see. So you spent 5 months doing nothing to prepare the vehicle you want to be your wedding car. Pretty standard really.

Fix It Again Tony
Fix It Again Tony
1 month ago

Taxes? Filing as a single sucks.

getstoney VII
getstoney VII
1 month ago

Good grief. Ask Beau for something sweet as his wedding present. If you don’t have this thing perfect in the next three weeks, your wife will have patches of hair missing from her head in your wedding photos. lol.

This is a bad idea, dude.

Undecided profile name
Undecided profile name
1 month ago
Reply to  getstoney VII

I think David’s too stubborn to not try. Hopefully that’s his backup plan. I bet beau has more than a few “wedding cars”.

getstoney VII
getstoney VII
1 month ago

I don’t doubt he’s serious. He’s too nice to use us just for faux content engagement.

Right, DT? Right?

OrigamiSensei
OrigamiSensei
1 month ago
Reply to  getstoney VII

Exactly. I have no doubt Beau or one of our fellow Autopians could loan you something awesome if your old Jeep doesn’t want to run and you’re too busy with the site and wedding planning to wrench like you used to.

Vic Vinegar
Vic Vinegar
1 month ago
Reply to  getstoney VII

I was going to say, “If only David knew someone with access to cool cars”.

Just get a Porsche from Beau and complete the “Hollywood Tracy” transformation.

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
1 month ago

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha … oh man, you slay me. Best of luck, though.

Cpt. Slow
Cpt. Slow
1 month ago

If you keep saying that Elise(nhrn aka dot) is too good for you, she might start to believe it. I’ve never understood that kind of self-deprecation.

Mechjaz
Mechjaz
1 month ago
Reply to  Cpt. Slow

True facts. Careful with that brand of talk.

Who Knows
Who Knows
1 month ago

Just take a page from Nikola and take advantage of the fact that it is an old analog vehicle, and make sure the drive off is all downhill. No need for it to power itself, just coast along in elegant, luxurious smooth silence. If that doesn’t work, just bring the Aztec (with tow eye installed), a tow strap, and an old tire that you can attach to the back of the Aztec as an extra cushy bumper in case the brakes fail.

JurassicComanche25
JurassicComanche25
1 month ago

Is it single stage paint? That may not shine up as well, but can still be polished pretty good! If not, give it a comet or dawn wash so its evenly satin rather than splotchy shiny.

And for your wedding, Id say maybe throw some pads on the rollbar. Because in photos, youll be standing in the jeep, getting in and out, climbing, and the last thing you want it to bash your head, or the future Mrs Tracy(or maybe you take her name. Less things might come up in google searches that way).

Edward Hoster
Edward Hoster
1 month ago
Reply to  David Tracy

David, I brought the Guards Red single stage paint on my 1984 Porsche 944 back to life using Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze 7 show car glaze (M07). It wasn’t show room fresh but it was very very close and the paint was rejuvenated and ready for more California sunshine. Ask around and I think you will find a lot of car people who have had great experiences using it.

James Mason
James Mason
1 month ago
Reply to  David Tracy

Just wipe the whole thing down with used motor oil. Make sure you strain out the chunks first.

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
1 month ago
Reply to  James Mason

That made me think of a future DT headline w/ a nod to the past:

“I got oil on my fiancee’s wedding dress; here’s my brilliant plan to soak it in oil so it all matches!”

Leo T.
Leo T.
1 month ago

Sounds like a candidate for the David Freiburger scotch brite pad wash

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