- Sep 20, 2017
- 8,689
- First Name
- Jeff
- Willys Model
- Wagon
- Pickup
- CJ
- Willys Year:
- 1955
- 1958
- 1962
While my father bought our wagon in 1975, it was the family jeep, not yet mine; see my build thread https://www.oldwillysforum.com/forum/index.php?threads/project-ran-when-parked-58-wagon.31171/ for details. When I was a senior in High School, fifty years ago today, I bought my CJ5 from a gas station near Downtown Milwaukee. On the way home we took a detour through a semi-developed industrial park to get it "trail tested". Naturally, I got it high centered in a deep mud hole. The 4WD craze was in full swing, and being in sight of the freeway, several folks came down to help. All failed. One guy broke the end of his chain, (before straps were even a thing) and sent the hook flying. He gave up and left, and while we waited for another Good Samaritan, one of my friends found the hook in the mud. I still have that hook, properly attached to a proof-rated chain, but straps have replaced its use for vehicle recovery. Finally, a 4WD Chevy Malibu (conversion) was able to pull me out. None of the Good Samaritans asked for any compensation, and it wouldn't have done them any good anyway, because I had noting to offer. Partially as a result of that experience, I've never asked, or accepted, compensation for pulling someone out. I have a lot of good memories, but few pictures (other people took the pictures, and pre-iphone sharing wasn't so easy).
A day or two after the purchase, nice tires!
Not shown in the picture, but the rear hatch was missing.
It turns out it was a special order that was originally purchased by the Milwauke County Parks Dept. It came with special equipment like a rear PTO, T-98 4 speed, Trac-Lok rear, and that super cool fold out windshield that I stupidly traded away after I bought a higher glass model (I'm tall) with electric wipers. Oddly it also had a speedometer that registered in KM with miles in small numbers.
It doesn't show well in the picture, but you could pass a vollyball through the hole left in the side after the spare tire was ripped off of the body. Another reason I hate side-mounted spares! It was covered over with sheet metal and thick paint when I bought it.
The first transformation.
No way was I using a side-mounted spare. I made my own tire/gas can carrier out of plumbing pipe salvaged from a dairy farm milking operation. Odd smells when welding galvanized pipe with milk residue in it!
Looking good!
Being completely disastisfied with the 4 cylinder, while my closest friend had installed a 327 in his CJ5, with lots of fitment issues, I decided that a V6 would be a good choice for me.
Of course, with a Kenne-Bell hoped-up Buick V6 I could install some serious rubber in the form of 35" tall 14" wide Gumbo Monster Mudders! They almost negated the reason for the Warn overdrive on the highway, but still came in handy splitting gears to match trail speeds with my fellow club members (Badgerland TnT 4X4 Club, the oldest 4WD club in Wisconsin).
If you've got the power, you tend to (ab)use it!
For some reason, a few months after this picture was taken at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Michigan, I replaced the frame with one from a '74 CJ5. IT was 3" longer, but had swinging pedals and several other advantages over the '62 frame....like not constantly cracking behind the front spring hangers, near the middle of the frame.
I don't trail ride as much as when I was younger, but I do occasionally get out there;
But more often that not, while waiting its turn on the project list for a fourth, and final make-over, it's relagated to work around the homestead.
When I bought it, I proclaimed that I'd keep until I die. My high school buddies made the same proclamations about their vehicles, but as far as I know, I'm the only one who will even come close to keeping my promise.
A day or two after the purchase, nice tires!
Not shown in the picture, but the rear hatch was missing.
It turns out it was a special order that was originally purchased by the Milwauke County Parks Dept. It came with special equipment like a rear PTO, T-98 4 speed, Trac-Lok rear, and that super cool fold out windshield that I stupidly traded away after I bought a higher glass model (I'm tall) with electric wipers. Oddly it also had a speedometer that registered in KM with miles in small numbers.
It doesn't show well in the picture, but you could pass a vollyball through the hole left in the side after the spare tire was ripped off of the body. Another reason I hate side-mounted spares! It was covered over with sheet metal and thick paint when I bought it.
The first transformation.
No way was I using a side-mounted spare. I made my own tire/gas can carrier out of plumbing pipe salvaged from a dairy farm milking operation. Odd smells when welding galvanized pipe with milk residue in it!
Looking good!
Being completely disastisfied with the 4 cylinder, while my closest friend had installed a 327 in his CJ5, with lots of fitment issues, I decided that a V6 would be a good choice for me.
Of course, with a Kenne-Bell hoped-up Buick V6 I could install some serious rubber in the form of 35" tall 14" wide Gumbo Monster Mudders! They almost negated the reason for the Warn overdrive on the highway, but still came in handy splitting gears to match trail speeds with my fellow club members (Badgerland TnT 4X4 Club, the oldest 4WD club in Wisconsin).
If you've got the power, you tend to (ab)use it!
For some reason, a few months after this picture was taken at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Michigan, I replaced the frame with one from a '74 CJ5. IT was 3" longer, but had swinging pedals and several other advantages over the '62 frame....like not constantly cracking behind the front spring hangers, near the middle of the frame.
I don't trail ride as much as when I was younger, but I do occasionally get out there;
But more often that not, while waiting its turn on the project list for a fourth, and final make-over, it's relagated to work around the homestead.
When I bought it, I proclaimed that I'd keep until I die. My high school buddies made the same proclamations about their vehicles, but as far as I know, I'm the only one who will even come close to keeping my promise.
