CJV35 Headlight Guard

The CJ-3A Information Page | The CJV-35/U Page

Fabricating a replacement CJV35 Headlight Guard

CJV35's were factory equipped with unusual headlight brush guards not found on any other production vehicle. Because so few were manufactured it is difficult to locate original replacements. The artwork above shows a cross sectional view of the CJV35 headlight assembly. The unique guard (item 1) is a cylindrical ring with a rolled front edge. The ring is 7-3/4" diameter by 1-5/8" deep. Four tabs on the ring are inserted through slots in the bezel (item 2). The tabs are twisted on the backside to secure the ring in place. The bezel appears to be a stock CJ-3A type except it is not chrome plated.

My V-35 was missing one of the rings. Since I could not duplicate a rolled edge in my shop I started searching around the house for something that looked similar. The kitchen yielded some pots and pans with a nice edge. I decided it wasn't a good idea to appropriate Jeep parts from the kitchen so I made a trip to the local general store. Soon I was on my way home with a cake pan from the housewares section.

The cake pan as purchased

The rolled edge looks very much like an original V-35 guard but the cake pan metal is not quite as thick. The thin metal did make it much easier to work with. I used tin snips and a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel to trim the cake pan. Be sure to leave 4 tabs so the ring can be attached to the bezel.

The cake pan after trimming

The original brush guard ring was spot welded together in the overlapping area. I decided to use autobody panel bonding adhesive instead of welding. Panel bonding adhesive is a very strong fast setting epoxy used in place of welds in the modern body shop.

Carefully measure the tabs on the ring and transfer their location to the bezel. Use a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel to cut 4 slots.

Ready to cut the ring attachment slots in a CJ-3A bezel.

If all the measurements are correct the ring tabs should fit into the bezel slots. Twist the tabs on the backside to fasten the ring to the bezel. Now paint the new brush guard your favorite V-35 color and install it on the vehicle.

An original guard is on the passenger side and the fabricated guard is on the drivers side.

The finished product looks very much like an original headlight brush guard. Close examination will reveal it is not exactly correct. Most people will never notice the minor differences.