Modify or Restore? The age-old question.
What are Jeeps for? Are they made to be used or to be stored in a musty garage? Should they be modified for trail use or put on display in a museum? The modify or restore question is a hot topic nowadays. Ask people on both sides of the fence for their opinion, and the debate rages as hotly as the battle of classic cars versus hot rodders, which has endured since the early 1930s.
So who's right? Or are both views equally valid? Before we begin, we want to emphasize that both modes of Jeep admiration have their good and bad points, which is why, ultimately, the decision is each person's subjective choice. The important points to ponder are specific to the vehicle and situation. We're not here to tell you what to do, just to give you fodder for your head and some reasons why the choice is important.
Our cover Jeep is way past restoring, but it has many goodies a collector could use. The body tub alone is so patched and rusty that use of a more economical CJ-2A reproduction body is advised for restoration, but for hard trail use, this body is excellent.
Modify
Jeep owners have been modifying their vehicles since they were first produced. Because the Army originally considered Jeeps to be throw-away vehicles with a short service life, keeping them well preserved and original wasn't a priority. After WWII, workers at the massive rebuild depots mixed plenty of MBs with GPW components, and no one really cared.
Through the years, countless modifications have been performed on Jeeps to make them faster, more powerful, better off-road, and more comfortable. Nowadays, extreme 'wheeling is the rage, and there are countless old rigs on the trail that appear to have retained only the somewhat-original body. For the hard-core trail user, there's no way a stock or restored rig could do what's asked of it, so a well-modified Jeep has a valid place.
Restore
Innumerable myths about Jeeps in crates have created a holy grail of a search for the perfect Jeep: one that's just as it came from the factory. A find like that would be best consigned to a museum because of it's rarity. But restoring old Jeeps has become an extremely popular pastime, and restorers recoil at the sight of a flatfender being beaten up and abused on the trail. Finding a rusted-out CJ-2A and lovingly restoring it to its original condition is an honorable undertaking.
Strange-looking factory packages like this CJ-5 camper with a factory tag axle are quite rare, and it would be a shame to turn them into radical rockcrawlers. Limited-production models like this have a greater value in the collectors' world than on the trail.
Due to the limited number of original Jeeps readily available or left to be found in someone's barn, certain models are indeed candidates for preservation. On many modified Jeeps, some items like the original seat frames are missing, and many hard-to-find brackets and pieces have been chopped off and thrown away. No one really cared about originality years ago, and many felt that a restoration could safely include a set of Mustang seats and taillights on their Jeeps.
What to Do?
The choice between restoration or modification might be easier if you think about the intrinsic value of the Jeep you're working on. If it's a rare, low-production model and you want a hopped-up engine in it, contact some collectors to see what they think. Maybe they have a common Jeep that they can be persuaded to trade. Or perhaps you have a vintage conversion with Hudson steering, Mercury brakes, and a Studebaker straight-six engine installed--that's a part of Jeep history that also needs to be preserved.
Many Jeeps are just too far gone in the originality department. Some have mismatched bodies and frames and all the brackets and goodies hacked off or are just too rusty to save. They may, however, still be of some value to a collector, so do some research before cutting the frame and body into scrap. The bottom line is, of course, to do what you want. But remember, the original Jeeps are no longer produced and except for reproduction parts, there won't be anymore. Treat a Jeep with the respect and honor it deserves, but don't forget to drive it and have fun.
Owned by Glade Meredith of Show Low, Arizona, this prime example of a restored CJ-2A is a delight to the eye; the details are impeccable. Meredith started with a Jeep full of holes that needed to be brazed shut and floorpans that had to be replaced. Meredith also has a CJ-3A that's just as nice. | 
Cool factory options on Meredith's Jeep include the draw bar and way-bitchin' power takeoff box on the rear. The PTO was used to operate equipment around the farm and field. Note the side-mounted spare and the unique four-wheel-drive insignia. |
The frame of the cover Jeep is more interesting. Though fully boxed and near aborted in originality, it still sports the original MB 1XX25 serial number on the aluminum tag. With work, this frame could be salvaged, but the cost in time spent would be more than a new frame. | 
Our cover Jeep has a small-block Chevy conversion and a cutout firewall to match. But most important is the hood hinge driprail, which is found in the back of the tub and shown here, where it belongs. This rare item keeps water from leaking onto the engine and settling in the spark plug wells and it fits on the same bolts as the hinge hood. |
Virtually any WWII script body tub is worth keeping, such as this GPW tub found on a golf course. Though it's not in pristine shape, when was the last time you saw one of these and could feel the raised ridges with your fingers? Rough as this tub is, the scrap yard is not where it belongs. | 
At first glance, this M38 seemed like a prime candidate for a full resto. The body was as straight as could be and except for the missing tires, it was said to be "all original, and...runs and drives." The late-CJ seats and the lack of seat frames isn't good, but things could be worse. |
The engine bay of the M38 held a cobweb-covered 3A engine that was converted to 12-volt that completely lacked military wiring and the venting system. It may run fine, but it would cost way too much to restore to the military original. | 
A closer look at the M38 also revealed a butchered dash and a MB frame complete with the WWII running gear. Though it would be nonsensical to restore this rig or use the drivetrain for 'wheeling, the components could be sold to a restorer. The leftover body would make an ideal trail Jeep, and everyone would come out ahead. |