[SuB8HaVeN]

So I see an ad on the local CL 3 months ago that says something simple like "1961 Willys SW 4x4 $2500" and nothing else with no pictures so I didn't look twice, and didn't bother e-mailing or calling. I was bored at work one day so I started surfing CL for Jeeps one day and found it listed in a different section than I normally look and decide to just give the guy a call, not expecting anything because it was already an older ad. I talk with him and he doesn't talk too highly of it, he even had to call his son to ask the tire size and what motor it had. He said V6, so I figured someone had swapped in a 4.3L GM V6 or Buick V6 of some variant. He also said it had huge bumpers and massive mud tires on it, so I was thinking twice about even going to look at it, being a Willys purist at heart I wanted something ALL original.

So this morning I woke my *** up at 5:00 to drive all the way out and look at it so I could get back to work (now). I'm a 21 year old college student, so if I'm not going out to hunt or fish, it takes a very special occasion to get me up that early. I pull up and wait for one of the guy's assistants to come meet me at one of the houses he owns, and when he opened the garage, I think my heart skipped a beat, well maybe a few beats. Inside was an all original, unmolested, insanely solid 1961 Willys 4x4 station wagon in original paint and everything. The huge bumpers he talked about were just tube bumpers that I'm sure could come off easily (but were welded to the frame), and the massive mud tires were tall and skinny buckshot mudders that looked 31" tall (P78-R15?). The tires are practically new. Talk about old school! The body on this thing is incredible for original condition. From what I can tell it's original paint, and none of it is faded whatsoever, except on the roof and a little on the passenger side. The rust he spoke of on the phone turned out to be a few VERY minor areas that are surface only. The only major spot is on the driver side fender which is the only spot I found that was rusted through. There is no bondo on this thing at all, and the paint is original from what I gathered.

The interior, which he said was "OK", is all original. Original correct seats front and back that have probably been reupholstered at one time, but were practically mint. The floorboards stilll have the ORIGINAL vinyl floor covering with the Willys logo. I have never in my life seen a Willys vehicle with this covering before! There is no rust, and I mean NO RUST, at all in the floor. The back tailgate where there is normally rust, is in amazing condition, no even rust bubbles! The original wood strips are back there, in excellent condition. The trim is mostly there, but plenty of spare parts in boxes in the back.

I'm going to go back this weekend and make sure it will turn over, but the guy's assistant said they ran it to back it off the trailer when they first got it. It has the original flathead I-6 L-226 with all original 3 speed and Dana 18. The front Dana 25 is all there, steering works great from what I could see and feel, but the front driveshaft is pulled. The differential may have grenaded, he didn't know. The rear is a centered Dana 44, definitely not original, but it must have been pulled off an early Willys/Kaiser CJ-5 with the 2-piece axle shafts because it is the correct width (narrow track). The motor and drivetrain all looked great, but I'm sure this stuff is just going to need to be gone through.

If all goes well, I'm going to bring him the cash this weekend when it's convenient for him once I make sure the motor is at least not stuck (I'd really like to try and get it to run though). Here's some pictures, but they're with my BlackBerry so they didn't come out real well. It was pretty early in the morning still, too, so it was rather dark.











Let me know what you guys think. I'm also interested to see if this is the original paint or if it's been redone at one time. The hood is 2-tone with brownish/gold in the middle, and the teal/turquoise on the sides. The top is faded pretty good, but looks to be the gold, and the sides are 2 tone teal and gold.

[SuB8HaVeN]

A few more. Also, the door panels are also in amazing shape. I can't believe that they are original, so I would imagine the interior had been redone at one time. You never know, though. And that's Florida sand in the floorboards, the reason our Jeeps last with no rust!

Edit: I also noticed the oil bath had been removed. The original L-226 Willys Super Hurricane did have an oil bath, but this one just as an air filter element. When they do this modification, do they normally install an oil filter somehow? Or does the oil just run through unfiltered??

[DT5150]

for $2500?!?

[HackFabrication]

So you handed him the cash....Right?

IMO, good price for an above average starting point heading for a full resto. Other than some safety mods, restore it and run it with the I6.

[chuckwag]

For 2500, it would be sitting in my garage for ever, I think if you snooze on this one someone is going to buy it out from under you, after posting the pictures. if you change your mind I'll like to know. because I'll have it shipped to Maine. I have only seen one other like it and that one was perfect condition and from what i can from your pics I would of made an offer on the spot and paid for it even if he wouldn't come off the price.

[SlikRic]

Sweet find, you lucky B******!

[SuB8HaVeN]

The only reason I didn't buy it on-spot was because I didn't want to hand the cash to the guy's assistant, or else believe me I would have if the owner was there. I'm waiting on him to call me back, I just want to check in on a few things, and then I'll either have the cash to him tonight or tomorrow. My main problem is finding somewhere to put it, but for a find like this I'll leave it in my front yard for all I care! He's had it for sale for 3-4 months like I said, he just didn't really advertise it and is too busy with other affairs to bother with trying to get rid of it. I definitely have the money, so that's not a problem, just a matter of where I can put it for now. It may end up going to our farm in GA for the time being.

But if for some odd reason I pass on it, I will definitely PM the owner's contact info to anyone interested. But I will definitely be at least picking up the title today or tomorrow.

[DT5150]

dude... BUY IT. before someone else does. don't wait for him to call you, you call him. tell him you'll take it. get dibs right away.

[scforge]

Originally Posted by SuB8HaVeN

The only reason I didn't buy it on-spot was because I didn't want to hand the cash to the guy's assistant, or else believe me I would have if the owner was there. I'm waiting on him to call me back, I just want to check in on a few things, and then I'll either have the cash to him tonight or tomorrow. My main problem is finding somewhere to put it, but for a find like this I'll leave it in my front yard for all I care! He's had it for sale for 3-4 months like I said, he just didn't really advertise it and is too busy with other affairs to bother with trying to get rid of it. I definitely have the money, so that's not a problem, just a matter of where I can put it for now. It may end up going to our farm in GA for the time being.

But if for some odd reason I pass on it, I will definitely PM the owner's contact info to anyone interested. But I will definitely be at least picking up the title today or tomorrow.

You can leave it with me !!

[LSUtiger]

If the rear was changed, maybe that is why the frony driveshaft is missing. Maybe they are geared differently. Looks awesome! Get it!

[JoonHoss]

SuB

pull the trigger you Wuss!

did you see the pic's at the end of this thread???

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/new-toy-help-me-decide-if-i-should-buy-574826-post5383345/#post5383345

buy it, (buy it now)

and get a couple better pic's, and I'll start a mock-up for you, too!



Hoss

[PortlandCJ76]

Hmmm. I'm jealeous. I sure as heck didn't have $2500 lying around to buy Jeeps when I was in college, but then again, I didn't work either.

Are you going to run that centered D44 with the Dana 18? You may consider swapping the rear to a Wagoneer D44 if you want to keep the D18.

Any Jeep that's in that kind of shape for $2500 is a steal! Buy it!

[my73CJ]

you suck, wish i found it!, enjoy!

[SuB8HaVeN]

Well, I've been working full time as an IT manager for an investment banking firm for 3 years now, so I've been saving up trying to save for a down payment on a house (it's a great time to buy one lol) since my CJ-7 is "done" and I've been slowing down on that. I should be able to keep the CJ, simply because I have several thousands more invested than what I can get for it. But obviously the Willys wagon is more important to me than buying a house. Worst case, I can live in that, there's enough room back there.

I finally got ahold of him and tried to haggle on the price (may as well try), but he was set even though I thought his ad had said OBO. I just wanted to make sure he had a clear and good title on it, but he's got a deposit and he's going to keep it for me for a month or so until I can get to GA with my dad and get his car hauler down here. She's going to stay in his new enclosed barn for a while because I don't have room at the house with all my other projects. Besides, I think my pops just wants to have it for himself anyways.

But I will probably run over there yet again this weekend sometime and will snap some more pictures with a real camera. I want to keep the Dana 18 because I believe you need a few pieces to mate the later Dana 20 to the T90. I have a friend that was trying to get rid of D44 Waggy axles off a QT model, so it's offset. I didn't think of that but I'll have to give him a ring and pick it up. I just don't like the angles having an inline Dana 18 transfer case with a centered D44.

And as far as my intentions go, I have no intentions of doing anything but keeping it original as possible. With the paint in its condition and being original, I am certainly not going to re-paint it or anything. I would just take care of some of that surface rust, POR-15, and take it to a paint shop to just get it touched up. I would not do anything to sacrifice the condition of the original paint! Honestly from what I could tell it just needs to be gone through mechanically, but I don't see a need for a frame-off on this buggy. The frame mounts looked fine, and if anything I would just coat all the underside with POR-15. The headliner will need to be done, and a few other odds and ends, but really this is one clean original. I'm going to have to get more pictures up this weekend because they do it no justice!

[PortlandCJ76]

Congrats. Enjoy your new Willys. And definately pick up that Waggy rear Dana 44. Then get a Warn Overdrive for that Dana 18, and you'll be good to go.