The Willys Jeep Project
1946 CJ2A Flat-Fendered Willys
Jeep
Proud member of the 
Fleet.
The Crew:
Santo: One of the owner partners....Actually did the footwork in
Pennsylvania for over 7 hours to locate the new project vehicle. Other projects include a 1994 Jeep Wrangler, a 1982 Porsche 928, and a 1981 Jeep CJ-7
(Unfortunately no longer among us).
Little John: The other owner partner, Little John (named such because we have another, larger John), is a junior at West Essex High School, and another Jeep fanatic. His other project vehicle is a 1982 Jeep CJ-5, almost complete, which he and Santo have worked on extensively over the past year and a half. This past December he acquired The Garden State Marshmallow, a 1991 Jeep Cherokee Sport...Let the fun begin...
Mike: Junior Mechanic. Mike's claim to fame is his lust for speed. The
local heavyweight motor guy has fully adopted his yellow Monte Carlo with the glass packed
side pipes. Picture coming soon.
Big John: Moral Support. Also present on the original quest in
Pennsylvania to locate the project vehicle. For the record, he totally disagreed with the
purchase and will be there to laugh at us every step of the way, but hey: someone has to
go get the taylor ham and cheese sandwiches and coffee at 2am.
Big Lenny: Found the Jeep. Resident of Pennsylvania, Lenny found several Jeeps, which we drove around to see for about 7 hours in October of 1997. This is Lenny delivering the final parts, the spark plugs and the title.
Crew Support:
Lisa: My girlfriend, who sees me through all my crazy projects. She always has some
levelheaded piece of advice to keep us going through the night while working....or to get
us to take a break and get some sleep!
Samantha: My sister, who just shakes her head and mumbles about all my crazy projects. I
think this is the first picture I've used of her on my page that she hasn't complained
about so far.
And now, THE JEEP....
Santo and John inside "Willy" the night it arrived at our project garage, West Orange, NJ.
. . . . . . . 
What are we going to do with it? Well, there was some debate as to whether to restore it to military specifications, or to "hook it up". Mike's first comment was "You've gotta lift this thing and make it totally BA". Well, hats off to Mike, as we have decided to do just that. The stock flat 4 will be rebuilt anyway, but traded out for a different engine, most likely a Jeep 258, or whatever we can jam in there. The 12-volt battery system conversion has already been done, although we plan to put a new wiring harness in anyway.
. . . . . . 
The first step is to remove the body from the frame. The plan is to do a frame-up restoration, ending up with a precision vehicle built to look great. But there's more to it. As such, the truck would join the fleet of Lifted and Gifted Off-Road trucks, which means, OFF-ROAD. We build 'em to drive, not to look pretty in the show. Once the framework, brake lines, steering rods and the basic undercarriage assemblies are back in place, with a body paint gloss black paintjob, the rebuilt engine, whichever one we go with, will be reinstalled. We decided not to go nuts with chrome, just enough to make the truck look sharp. That means headers, valve covers, possible brake lines from the master cylinder, and air cleaner in chrome. Next, the transmission gets remounted, then the body.
[ 6/5/98 ] The body, we have determined, is too wasted to be reused. Many spots have rotted clear through, and were completely useless after being removed from the frame. We now have everything from the windshield forward removed, and have the engine mostly free. This weekend or early next week will see it out altogether. We are currently looking for a replacement body. We have also decided that we want to go with the deep Mustang Yellow and a high rise build onto the hood for effect; whether or not it is actually functional as a Cal-induction hood we have yet to decide, but in any case it'll be there. The frame and all bolt on accessories will be a high-gloss black.
. . . . . . . . 
For suspension, we're going to run Rancho RS5000's, and likely a ProComp suspension system. About a 4" suspension lift will be necessary, plus lift shackles and the lift coils in the front, to run the 35" tires we plan to install. We still haven't made a definite decision for tires and wheels yet, but a good bet is the BFG 35x14.5 Mudders, mounted on AR rims, polished aluminum. But this is just a guess for now.
As for the gearing, front and rear, and transfer case, we haven't made any positive decisions yet. The project has just begun, and more info will follow as we do the work.
Where would we be today without Dunkin' Donuts West Caldwell?
The inspiration to take on such a task? My parents, for always supporting my projects. My father, for teaching me most of what I know about cars and trucks. My sister, for being so patient, in her own way. My girlfriend, Lisa, for putting up with my endless chatter about cars. And last but not least, my partner, Little John, who I hope to teach everything I've learned to and for us to have a great time working on this project.
This page sponsored by the Off-Road Team.
For more information about the project, the crew, or Team Lifted and Gifted, contact Santo Commarato.
Coded by The Raven
Last Updated: November 3, 1997