Vintage Don
Well Oiled
(I am writing this Build Thread - at least the first big chunk of it - “in retrospect”. I want to try to tell my whole story, in one place and complete - instead of my "shotgun posts" here in the forum - which have been written kinda helter-skelter as I have asked questions while I worked to bring this poor old abandoned truck back to life, piece by rusty piece. I plan to add to this thread by importing (some of) those previous posts, and restoring the photos where they've disappeared - and maybe cleaning it all up to flow a bit better.
So travel back with me to the Fall of 2017…….)
I wasn’t looking for a ’48 Willys pickup…. Didn’t need one, didn’t want one, didn’t really know much about them….but I liked JEEPS, and old vehicles… And I thought the early flat-face trucks were just, well - cool looking, I guess. I never said it was logical. Cause of course, it's not.
I’ve had several Jeeps through the years. I actually bought a new one 25 years ago, when they went back to the round headlights on the Wrangler. And we’ve had several big Grand Cherokees through the years for our family car. That’s still what I drive, and this current one even has a Hemi! It’s great. And I’ve been messing around with old cars for my whole life - started out with a Model A Ford in 1969 - in High School, in partnership with my Dad (his money, my enthusiasm! haha). I have restored a lot of them since, to one degree or another - mostly Chevys, mostly from the 1910’s to early 1950’s - rebuilt a few engines, puzzled over a few transmissions, even managed to get through painting a car or two that came out looking pretty darn good. But it has always been a hobby and a passion, never my job. As years passed, I even restored some to national award winning Trailer Queens, other ones just to drive reliably. Have had dozens and dozens through the years, but seldom more that 2 or 3 at a time. Get one, fix it up and enjoy it, then get the bug to sell it and do another one. Endlessly. It’s a disease, I know that.
But in all those years, and all those old vehicles, this one is somehow special. Maybe it’ll be my last one, maybe not. But it is certainly a case of it needing every experience, skill and every tool - for every aspect and system of a vehicle - ALL needed on this one! Needed real bad! haha
So I’ll start at the Beginning.
One evening in early October 2017 - totally innocently - I was surfing around on eBay to see what was out there, just to look, killing time………. And here was this decrepit old Willys truck, smiling at me. I got to studying the photos. The seller obviously didn’t know very much about what he had - didn’t know what year it was, what engine it had, what it needed, and so forth. He just knew that it was For Sale. Some of the photos made it look kinda decent, but pretty tired. Some showed that it was really beat to death. He wanted way too much money for it, I think he had $3,000 on it for a "Buy It Now" price. Wasn’t nearly worth that much… and, it was in central Oklahoma, and I was in northern Ohio. That’s about a 1,000 miles, not exactly next door local.
Well, I made the mistake of sending a message and asking the Seller about it. He came right back, and we ended up having an email conversation. He didn’t have a Title. That’s a Big Problem in the modern world…. But I found I liked the guy, enjoyed talking with him. He was in his 60’s, and his name was Sam. The truck was actually his MOTHER’S! She was pushing 90, and had inherited it when her husband passed away 10 years or so earlier - it was just junked on some property she inherited. Sam (the Seller) had “come home” and was helping clear stuff out for his Mom. There were assorted other derelict cars he had listed on eBay, mostly from the 50’s. The pickup was part of the group. He had gotten a cousin to drag them up out of the brush with a skid steer, up by the house, so he could take photos for eBay. The tires were rotted off.
I found out it had been his step-dad’s, and it had been parked (maybe we should say “junked”) - since about 1962. Yes, Nineteen Sixty-Two - 55 years… The last license plate was 1960, and it was still on the truck. That’s pretty long…. But that also meant, it was mostly all ORIGINAL. I liked that aspect. A lot.
We had a few conversations over the next few days. I helped him figure out what engine it had, and helped him figure out what was good ("W-O" tailgate) and what was bad (pretty much everything else). But it was real, real original.
The interior was pretty scary. Only later would I learn that that was the wrong steering wheel - one of the very few things that had been changed out on the truck. Of course, in the photos you can't tell that you can see through the floorboards. I don't think they would have supported your feet without falling through.
Nobody ever did bid on it. He kept talking to me, told me one guy had offered him $1,400. Sam told him if he would make that $1,700 he could have it. The guy said No Thanks. (He was smarter than me, I reckon). The auction ended, the old truck was un-sold, no bids at all. So I tried to just forget about it.
Then I heard from Sam! He found out they COULD get a new Title, they just needed to do a bunch of paper work and submit a Death Certificate from the old man. Said he wasn’t going to spend that money and effort unless a Buyer wanted it, though. He thought he would put it back on eBay again. I kept thinking about it. But in late October, I told him I had come to my senses, and was going to “pass” on it. He thanked me for my help, called me a friend, and wished me the best.
And I kept thinking about that damned old truck….
He put it back on eBay, and again nobody bought it.
And I couldn't get it out of my head....
So in early November, I emailed Sam and told him I would do his $1,700, if he would get a valid Title. He said sure. I mailed him a Deposit, and started trying to figure out my next moves.
< to be continued.... >
So travel back with me to the Fall of 2017…….)
I wasn’t looking for a ’48 Willys pickup…. Didn’t need one, didn’t want one, didn’t really know much about them….but I liked JEEPS, and old vehicles… And I thought the early flat-face trucks were just, well - cool looking, I guess. I never said it was logical. Cause of course, it's not.
I’ve had several Jeeps through the years. I actually bought a new one 25 years ago, when they went back to the round headlights on the Wrangler. And we’ve had several big Grand Cherokees through the years for our family car. That’s still what I drive, and this current one even has a Hemi! It’s great. And I’ve been messing around with old cars for my whole life - started out with a Model A Ford in 1969 - in High School, in partnership with my Dad (his money, my enthusiasm! haha). I have restored a lot of them since, to one degree or another - mostly Chevys, mostly from the 1910’s to early 1950’s - rebuilt a few engines, puzzled over a few transmissions, even managed to get through painting a car or two that came out looking pretty darn good. But it has always been a hobby and a passion, never my job. As years passed, I even restored some to national award winning Trailer Queens, other ones just to drive reliably. Have had dozens and dozens through the years, but seldom more that 2 or 3 at a time. Get one, fix it up and enjoy it, then get the bug to sell it and do another one. Endlessly. It’s a disease, I know that.
But in all those years, and all those old vehicles, this one is somehow special. Maybe it’ll be my last one, maybe not. But it is certainly a case of it needing every experience, skill and every tool - for every aspect and system of a vehicle - ALL needed on this one! Needed real bad! haha
So I’ll start at the Beginning.
One evening in early October 2017 - totally innocently - I was surfing around on eBay to see what was out there, just to look, killing time………. And here was this decrepit old Willys truck, smiling at me. I got to studying the photos. The seller obviously didn’t know very much about what he had - didn’t know what year it was, what engine it had, what it needed, and so forth. He just knew that it was For Sale. Some of the photos made it look kinda decent, but pretty tired. Some showed that it was really beat to death. He wanted way too much money for it, I think he had $3,000 on it for a "Buy It Now" price. Wasn’t nearly worth that much… and, it was in central Oklahoma, and I was in northern Ohio. That’s about a 1,000 miles, not exactly next door local.
Well, I made the mistake of sending a message and asking the Seller about it. He came right back, and we ended up having an email conversation. He didn’t have a Title. That’s a Big Problem in the modern world…. But I found I liked the guy, enjoyed talking with him. He was in his 60’s, and his name was Sam. The truck was actually his MOTHER’S! She was pushing 90, and had inherited it when her husband passed away 10 years or so earlier - it was just junked on some property she inherited. Sam (the Seller) had “come home” and was helping clear stuff out for his Mom. There were assorted other derelict cars he had listed on eBay, mostly from the 50’s. The pickup was part of the group. He had gotten a cousin to drag them up out of the brush with a skid steer, up by the house, so he could take photos for eBay. The tires were rotted off.
I found out it had been his step-dad’s, and it had been parked (maybe we should say “junked”) - since about 1962. Yes, Nineteen Sixty-Two - 55 years… The last license plate was 1960, and it was still on the truck. That’s pretty long…. But that also meant, it was mostly all ORIGINAL. I liked that aspect. A lot.
We had a few conversations over the next few days. I helped him figure out what engine it had, and helped him figure out what was good ("W-O" tailgate) and what was bad (pretty much everything else). But it was real, real original.
The interior was pretty scary. Only later would I learn that that was the wrong steering wheel - one of the very few things that had been changed out on the truck. Of course, in the photos you can't tell that you can see through the floorboards. I don't think they would have supported your feet without falling through.
Nobody ever did bid on it. He kept talking to me, told me one guy had offered him $1,400. Sam told him if he would make that $1,700 he could have it. The guy said No Thanks. (He was smarter than me, I reckon). The auction ended, the old truck was un-sold, no bids at all. So I tried to just forget about it.
Then I heard from Sam! He found out they COULD get a new Title, they just needed to do a bunch of paper work and submit a Death Certificate from the old man. Said he wasn’t going to spend that money and effort unless a Buyer wanted it, though. He thought he would put it back on eBay again. I kept thinking about it. But in late October, I told him I had come to my senses, and was going to “pass” on it. He thanked me for my help, called me a friend, and wished me the best.
And I kept thinking about that damned old truck….
He put it back on eBay, and again nobody bought it.
And I couldn't get it out of my head....
So in early November, I emailed Sam and told him I would do his $1,700, if he would get a valid Title. He said sure. I mailed him a Deposit, and started trying to figure out my next moves.
< to be continued.... >
Last edited:
