Build Thread 1956 Willys Dj3a Dispatcher

[GoldenEagle36]

It's that time of year again where Mother Nature opens up the heavens and the warm humid air comes out. But at my household that means I crack into another Jeep project. I bought my 1956 Dj3a Dispatcher in late 2011 from a lady selling a bunch of Jeeps. This one was the only one left out of the bunch and I knew I had to have it. It sat in the back, hood on the roof with an F head sticking out of the engine bay. The lady sold me a spare L-head sitting in the corner with the Jeep for a heck of a deal. So low and behold, it's sits on my property awaiting an engine swap for the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival coming up within a month's time. I'll keep progress as I go of the engine swap, frame and wheel restoration.
I already have the engine prepped to come out, which means I will be taking the body off as a whole and just rolling around (essentially) a running chassis so the engine swap and driveline hook up will be a breeze with all the room. As the engine is out, I'll be prepping and painting the frame back to black to preserve it from surface rust. And the wheels will get blasted and painted an off white. I may not have the wheels done by the 14th of June, but I plan on having the correct engine in it, and the frame and axles back to their glory in black.

(I will be posting pictures one at a time because my phone will not let me do multiple photos)

 

[GoldenEagle36]

Well, I did get all the body bolts out from underneath. Given that 1 snapped off, which is my luck. But I must face another hurdle. From anybody who has taken the steering column out of an early Cj, how do you remove the column from the old Ross cam and lever steering box? Do I have to pull the whole assembly or do I just undo all the clamps? I've heard of the whole bearing assembly on top where the column goes in, but I also thought about unbolting the steering box from the frame and bringing it up with the body.. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I will post pictures when the body is off the rolling frame!