Days Before Safari Departure, 1948 Willys Finally Starts

David Tracy’s Easter Jeep Safari-Bound Willys CJ Finally Starts up Using Tractor Contraption

Auto journalist David Tracy may be able to apply some of those mechanical windshield wiper skills to his Willys CJ-2A project, after all.

As you might recall, our fellow Jeep fanatic recently posted a video of his hunt for windshield wiper parts for his Easter Jeep Safari project. At the time, we felt the entire thing was probably more for show than anything else. Mostly because of David’s ongoing struggles to get his Safari-bound 1948 Jeep up and running. But apparently, he’s making a lot more progress with the project than even he expected, as detailed in a recent Jalopnik report.

More specifically, David discusses the progress being made with some of the Jeep’s electrical issues, which have prevented him from being able to get the Willys’ engine started. As David details in the story, it turns out that there were a couple of issues creating the problem.

One of the biggest was the poor condition of the battery cables. That prompted David’s friend, Brandon, to cook up a contraption to fire up the motor by using 1-gauge wires bought from a Tractor Supply Co.

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“The new wires still didn’t let the six-volt battery turn the engine over, but they did finally allow the 12-volt battery to crank the motor with the plugs in. This meant we could fire up the engine with the 12-volt while using the six-volt to power the new ignition coil,” explains David.

On top of that, it appears that David has landed the help of a seasoned wrencher to help with his Jeep project. That said, David is still far from out of the woods with this thing. And with only 11 days left before the 2017 Easter Jeep Safari, there are still some major hurdles for him to clear before he hits the very long road.