1963 J-300 Jeep Gladiator Daily Driver (front yard mechanic).

by Eric
(White City, Or, USA)

No VIN# found on the truck, only serial number 3406B 10894 WILLYS MOTORS,INK. Toledo OHIO U.S.A.

My good friend is a contractor and found this truck in a field. He made a trade for labor and drove it home. It had sat for some time yet he enjoyed abusing it in the mountains around his home. I drooled over it and as he had a multitude of vehicles I often tried to get it from him.

Finally it gave in and no longer ran well. Five years passed and he called and said he needed room and I could have it if he towed it to my home. Yes!

It had one brake, no rear window which left the seats unusable, no gauges, bad carburetor, bad timing chain, oil pump, water pump, etc. I had to re-wire the truck and go through the entire drive train and plumb the brakes. I tore down the tranny and t-case, etc.

This was a project truck but after an accident in my daily driver I had to risk using it full time and I am happy that it has over 200,000 miles and is still going strong. My J-300 Gladiator has an all stock 230 Tornado engine, 3-speed transmission, t-case, DANA 53 rear axle, and DANA 44 front axle.

I hope to do a full frame off restoration some day. Until I have a new car this is my daily driver.


Editor's Comment: Nice looking truck, Eric. From your serial number it shows that your truck is indeed a 4-wheel drive J-300 model, chassis cab, with a 6,600 lb GVW.

The engine compartment and the interior look super clean in the photos. I also like the manual transmission. Does it seem to need overdrive to get up to highway speeds, or is the 3-speed transmission enough as is?

I have always liked the old full-sized Jeep pickup trucks. Nice to see that some of them are still running and being used by folks like you.