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| Factory Installed Braden Winch?; Photo | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 25 2009, 11:41 AM (3,023 Views) | |
| willy | Oct 25 2009, 11:41 AM Post #1 |
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Ben Hildred
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![]() So if my jeep was made for the border patrol is it possible that this Braden winch is factory installed? |
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.......................1957 CJ-3B................. ........................[ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ] ............... ........................[________] ............... ......................./ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ/ ................ ...................../_WILLYS_/ .................. .....................[O]||||[O] ................... .....................'''''{88}''''" ................... .....SALTSPRING ISLAND, BC, CANADA..... | |
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| Larry (TX) | Oct 25 2009, 01:07 PM Post #2 |
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If gov't. specs included a Braden winch, then yes, that most likely would have been the case as the order was probably for an entire run of vehicles. Many of the '50 - '52 gov't. spec'd Willys M38 jeeps were assembled with Ramsey PTO driven winches. Interestingly enough however is the fact that civilian jeeps produced didn't come off of the assembly line with winches already mounted. Buyers wanting those had to have them installed by either the selling dealer or a commercial vendor. Koenig Iron Works (here in Houston), the company who mfg'd. the Koenig winches, jeep cabs, gin pole assemblies and a vast array of other jeep and truck mounted items for all types of businesses, once had a specialty shop at their mfg. facility where those items were installed on customer vehicles. Braden brand winches (10,000#, 12,000# and upward) were used primarily on 3/4 ton, 2 1/2 (deuce and a halfs) ton, 5 ton (and up) trucks manufactured for use from WWII through at least the Viet Nam era. I've owned a '43 Dodge WC52 with such a winch, and still own a '51 Dodge M37 with a Braden mounted winch. Most of the winches used in today's MV's are either electric or hydraulic powered. By the way, that's a nice set-up you have. If it were mine, I'd definitely restore it back to the way it would have been used by the Border Patrol as it'd be way different form all others at display events. That is of course unless you intend to use it on a farm or ranch, etc. Larry S. |
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Larry Steed Pearland, Texas '53 Willys CJ3B '52 Willys M38 '86 Chevy M1009 CUCV (K5 4x4 Military Blazer) M100 1/4 ton jeep trailer M416 1/4 ton jeep trailer (2 ea.) M101 CDN 1/4 ton jeep trailer | |
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| oldtime | Oct 25 2009, 01:29 PM Post #3 |
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MODERATOR
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This could be a tough call without having other Border Patrol winch examples. I will guess for now that it was not original equipment. Tell you more about that later. It looks like a Braden LU 2 winch to me. Can you find a model number likely embossed or possibly stamped onto the housing ? 10 " wide drum right ? Also more closeup pics might help us to identify optional Braden features. |
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Currently building my final F-134 powered 3B . Rock Crawler using factory parts from the Willys Motors era (1953-1963) http://s4.zetaboards.com/CJ3B_Bulletin_Board/topic/30228766/1/#new | |
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| willy | Oct 25 2009, 03:37 PM Post #4 |
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Ben Hildred
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Thanks guys, I am loving this forum, I have so many questions and you guys are full of knowledgeable answers. The winch has a small plate on top of the housing with MU 2707 stamped on it. The drum is 10" wide and has MU 135 embossed on the side. I will get more photos of the winch when it stops raining so I can bring the old girl out of the shed. |
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.......................1957 CJ-3B................. ........................[ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ] ............... ........................[________] ............... ......................./ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ/ ................ ...................../_WILLYS_/ .................. .....................[O]||||[O] ................... .....................'''''{88}''''" ................... .....SALTSPRING ISLAND, BC, CANADA..... | |
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| Larry (TX) | Oct 25 2009, 10:07 PM Post #5 |
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Willy, An item I forgot to mention to you is that the Braden Winch Co. is still in business today (in Okmulgee, OK) and producing probably one of the most reliable winches ever made, for vehicles, cranes, offshore platforms, and you name it, etc., etc. From the description you've now posted, you obviously have the Braden MU model winch. Another example of gov't. spec'd vehicles using the Braden winches installed at the factory level were the many original style Dodge Power Wagons produced for the National Forest Service from the late 40's and into the 60's. Every now and then, one of those old orange, green and black bad boys will show up in eBay ads. As Ken states above, with the single photo you've provided, it's very difficult to tell whether the winch on your jeep is a factory installation or not; such would have been installed with roller fairleads as your's appears to have and they also would have been bolted in (rather than welded in) as your's appears to be; however, it is very unlikely that the tow bar was a factory addition. Take a look at the inside of the frame horns (under the winch) to see if they have been cut off with semi ragged edges, possibly with an acetylene rig; if so, the winch was probably installed as an aftermarket item. On gov't. spec'd. factory mounted winches, the frame horn ends would have been machine cut, smooth and evenly on both sides. Larry S. |
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Larry Steed Pearland, Texas '53 Willys CJ3B '52 Willys M38 '86 Chevy M1009 CUCV (K5 4x4 Military Blazer) M100 1/4 ton jeep trailer M416 1/4 ton jeep trailer (2 ea.) M101 CDN 1/4 ton jeep trailer | |
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| Larry (TX) | Oct 25 2009, 10:37 PM Post #6 |
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Well guys, believe it or not, Willy's 3B Braden winch, tow bar and all may very well be factory mounted. I just typed in U.S. Border Patrol in the Google search on this machine here and up it popped (right at the top), museum and all. Once I clicked on the museum site, I clicked the "Gallery" site and lo and behold, on the very first line of photos, in the third photo is a 3B photographed in '55, complete with a half canvas cab. And yep, if you enlarge that photo, you can see not only a winch mounted low in the bumper just as Willy's is, but a near identical tow bar mounted at the very same point as the one in the photo that Willy has posted. Now very obviously, Willy's '57 3B couldn't be the one in this particular photo that was shot in '55 could it. And having two 3B's, two years apart with identical winches and tow bars tells me then that the 3B's used by the Border Patrol were more likely than not, all spec'd the same way, and most likely at the factory level; however, all the jeeps could have very well been shipped to a central Border Patrol or vendor shop before being placed in service, and the equipment mounted there. I'd opt for the factory mountings however as were performed by Dodge on the Power Wagons used by the Forest Service. Larry S. |
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Larry Steed Pearland, Texas '53 Willys CJ3B '52 Willys M38 '86 Chevy M1009 CUCV (K5 4x4 Military Blazer) M100 1/4 ton jeep trailer M416 1/4 ton jeep trailer (2 ea.) M101 CDN 1/4 ton jeep trailer | |
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| willy | Oct 26 2009, 01:17 PM Post #7 |
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Ben Hildred
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Hey Larry, I actualy found that site a few months ago but obviosly they have upgraded their site recently because I did not see that photo then. This is great now I actualy have a photo of a Border patrol jeep for my project. The one thing I noticed in the photo is that the tow bar is shorter than mine but they may have changed that. I will give my winch a good look over this afternoon and take more photos. |
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.......................1957 CJ-3B................. ........................[ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ] ............... ........................[________] ............... ......................./ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ/ ................ ...................../_WILLYS_/ .................. .....................[O]||||[O] ................... .....................'''''{88}''''" ................... .....SALTSPRING ISLAND, BC, CANADA..... | |
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| oldtime | Oct 26 2009, 02:22 PM Post #8 |
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O.K. here's some info I have on BRADEN WINCH IDENTIFICATION
I would like to add that the "U" designates the winch as an underslung design. For those who are curious; "underslung" means it mounts via low profile fore/aft brackets, not an "A" frame design. |
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Currently building my final F-134 powered 3B . Rock Crawler using factory parts from the Willys Motors era (1953-1963) http://s4.zetaboards.com/CJ3B_Bulletin_Board/topic/30228766/1/#new | |
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