Should I buy a Willys?

Since my first reply of “sweet” bounced back due to brevity, I will say ”Great, that’s sweet”.

As long as you aren’t expecting it to be a daily driver or drive it above 50 mph, I say go for it.

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As I said, these were in as close as possible to “as found” condition. The interiors were well ratted out. Ratted is not misspelled here, I mean torn up, wore out, eaten by vermin etc. One guy was sitting on basically a metal tractor seat, but you could see that at one time, it had padding and a cover, the reminants were still attached to the edges.

@keith
I don’t know how old I was, maybe 8, but I helped my dad deliver groceries on Saturdays in a Jeep like that only had a cover. I thought it was fun. The delivery service owner looked like Roy Rogers and I thought the Jeep was Nellie Bell. That thing would go anywhere in the winter though. Dad never let me drive it. I watched him shift so I think I could have in a pinch.

Am I the only one who remembers the Greatful Dead, Sugar Magnolia song?

“She can dance a cajun rhythm, jump like a Willies in four wheel drive”

Great song and great memories.

Older than you I guess.

Rogers rounded up the desperados atop his horse, Trigger, while sidekick Brady rode the range in a four-wheeled steed, a 1946 Willys Jeep nicknamed Nellybelle.

Let’s just say that I have a Hopalogn Cassdiy wristwatch from when I was a kid. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I liked this one too, lots of character. Flathead six.

… and, if you have as good a memory as I do, then you will recall that Nellybelle’s engine wouldn’t start most of the time. Perhaps a lack of reliability is the long-standing hallmark of Jeep.
:wink:

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I was always curious about the added sheet metal around the passenger compartment. Then realized that was to conceal the stunt drive. Slot in front of passenger side was where he looked out.

Why would he need a stunt driver? Memory is pretty foggy of events back then thougj.

They always started right up on MASH.

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The stunt driver drove Nellybelle when she took off unexpectedly.

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Different shows, different fantasies…
Then, there is the possibility that Jeep reliability might have improved by the time of the Korean War.
Or, maybe it continues to be dismal.
:thinking:

I think it just needed a carb kit, plugs and points. That would have spoiled the story and the idea that Trigger was reliable but the Jeep was not.

Not just for the Willy’s but a list of clubs by state for military vehicles.
https://www.mvpa.org/localclubs

That’s fantastic! Thank you!

Nelly bell would often startup on her own then chase Pat or take off down.
The Roy Rogers show is still in reruns but does not have the same appeal for me as when I was five years old.

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My opinion is if you want one for tooling around town then go for it. I think military vehicles are pretty neat myself.
I don’t think you would want this one though…

That’s reminiscent of a cartoon, I believe by Bill Mauldin, of a soldier covering his eyes about to shoot his broken Jeep.