Old Willys restoration or buy?

[swamprooter]

Looking for a project or maybe not. anyone own and/or restored a Willys jeep ? Late 40's model? Any tips or advice welcomed. Thanks

[WeBeJeepin]

It depends on how much you want to spend. If you have an amount in mind, buy one. If money is no object, restore one. By the way, I know a guy that sells/restores a bunch of them if you are looking for one. - John

[pondman]

Rooter,

My cousin built a '43 (I think) about 4 years ago. He is a mechanic so, stuff like that comes easy to him. He might be interested in selling. If not, he would be good for some pointers. If you are interested let me know I will PM him your number.

Pond

[MudHog]

Which model your thinking of? I've always wanted an M38A1, but there are alot of CJ-2A and CJ-3B floating around.


CJ-2A

CJ-3A

CJ-3B

M38

M38A1

[swamprooter]

Thanks Pond. Will pm

Dont kn ow Mud...low maintaince and parts easy to get .. looking to put aro und hunting club. Any suggestions

[deltadukman]

In my experience, it is always cheaper to buy one that is pretty much complete and just do little things to make it "yours". This goes for jacked up trucks, jeeps, hot rods, and race cars and pretty much every other vehicle that is not stock. You will almost never break even or turn a profit on a restored or customized vehicle.

[wrdabney]

Here is my '47 2a. I restored it over a period of about 8 months. It ended up being a lot more expensive than I had originally planned but mine has a lot of family history and sentimental value so it was never a question what I would do with it. The 2a's seem to be the most collectable (not counting military versions) and bring the most money but it really depends what you want to do with it. Some of the later models (3a, 3b, etc...) have some improvements over the 2a but my personal opinion is that the 2a's are the most attractive. Check out thecj2apage.com for tons of info and helpful people and feel free to ask me any questions or pm me if you want. I could sell it for about what I have in it right now but I probably couldn't make any profit. 2a's that are fully restored the right way bring a pretty good bit of money and it is hard to find one that is a really good restoration candidate for a decent price but they are out there.

Restored


When we bought it back in 2005



When my dad and uncle got it for Christmas in '64

[GrizwalD]

now thats cool right ther wrdabney..... so who did you have to buy it from in 2005

[wrdabney]

Actually tracked it down through the courthouse and found it about 30 minutes from my house. Guy gave me a pretty good deal on it. He wasn't doing anything with it. Just sitting in a barn. My grand dad sold it in '68 or '69 to pay for a car for my dad to go to college. It's amazing it only made it 30 minutes from home in all those years.

[GrizwalD]

thats too cool

[swamprooter]

WR... that picture is a classic!! everybody in their PJs Xmas morning...thats a treasure...

So basically the M series Willys will be more $ than the CJ ( civilian) series Willys? or do i have it backwards?

I like the 48's look with flat fenders.

What does a basic typical restoration include? without motor work. I am not a motor man.

[wrdabney]

MB's, M38's, M-38A1's, are generally more expensive and harder to find than their civilian counter parts. Anything before an M-38A1 (Cj-5) will have flat fenders like mine. A typical restoration really depends on how good of shape the vehicle your starting with is in. I'll just give you my experience.
Paid $1250 for the jeep. New tires, wheels, all new seals and gaskets, brake lines, fuel lines, sand blast everything, replace front floor, replace a few other small body panels, paint frame and body, new battery, rebuild generator and starter, new battery cables, new voltage regulator, new seat frames and cushions, add PTO, get motor unlocked then new rings, bearings, and valve job, all new fluids, new gauges (except speedo), new oil lines, spark plugs and wires, distributor parts, radiator flush, new gas tank, new windshield glass. Not in that particular order and there are a lot of odds and ends that really add up and countless hours in my garage. But, one thing you have to take in to account is I wanted a pretty original restoration for mine and wanted to make it look like it did in the old pictures. If you are just going for a hunting or farm jeep you could do it for a lot less. Basically get the motor running, fuel lines and brake lines and you have a drive able jeep if everything else is in halfway decent shape.

[jmh600]

swamprooter, i myself had a bright idea back in jan. that i was going to restore a cj7 and i thought i was pretty decent at fixing/mechanicing (besides the motor)and long story short i got in over my head pretty quick. I learned a good bit but i quickly gave up on it and passed it on to the next dreamer. I drank more beer (out of frustration), cussed more, and more sleepless nights thinking of how to fix issues in the few long months that i owned it than i have in a couple years.

I say all this just to say.. I will own another one day bc it was so much fun when it was working.. All it takes is patience and i did not have that.

[Northbigmuddy]

Wrdabney that's a fine looking ride there. My great grandmother bought a CJ-3A for the grandkids to tool around the farm in back in the day. We still have it. It has been running on and off trough the years. My dad's rule was you can start driving it when you press the clutch all the way to the floor. I harassed him until he gave in and put a cushion behind my back to give me another few inches of reach. I grew up cruising all over creation in that thing. I'm gonna have to check out your website. I've only got one issue. I screwed up and bought a CJ-5. I need to patch it up and sell the damn thing so I can focus on the 2A.

[wrdabney]

I'd like to get a CJ-5 someday. They are good jeeps but I'll never get rid of my 2a. I'm 6'4" so it's a little tight but I make it work. 3a's are good jeeps too. Sounds like y'all have a lot of fun with it.