Late last year Mark took the plunge and bought himself a Jeepster project. After about 6 months, he has completed phase 1 of the project, has learned his Willys isn’t 100% Willys, and, as you can see, is enjoying his efforts now that Spring is fully here. Thanks for sharing!
Mark writes, “I completed phase one last night when I closed the gaping hole in the firewall caused by an incomplete Chevy V8 conversion long long ago, so now my Jeepster may be eligible to be honored on your site. I was going to name her “Cheapster Jeepster” due to my desire to spend less money than a new vehicle, but after falling in love with my Willys I christened it “Her Royal Highness” and I’ve still only got $4200 bucks invested so far. I got her up to 60mph and drove 75 miles straight with no problems.
Purchased her on Halloween Day 2009 and quickly found out she wasn’t all Willys. She’s a ’48 Jeepster body set on a ’49 4wd Station Wagon chassis & floorboard. It has got a 1956 Chevy 265 V8, Lockheed hydraulic clutch, 1955 Ford F-100 rear brakes and MC, John Deere tractor fuel pump and a Caterpillar temp gauge. The gauge cluster is from a M38 and the gas tank, mounted behind the back seat, is from a 1958 Dodge pickup. And those are just the parts I’ve been able to identify so far.
Phase 1 seemed like a simple task: Start, Stop and roll down the road without leaking out all its fluids, make her safe and legal and do all this without knowing jack about restoring a 60 year old automobile. It’s been a lot of fun and a real stress reliever for me.
-new complete brake system
-new complete suspension front & back
-new fuel line setup
-new wireing harness and firewall rebuild
-clean & paint interior
-fluid change and tuneup
Oh, and of course phase 1 couldn’t be complete without…….cup holders.
Much thanks to your site, I get lot’s of great ideas looking at all the other builds you profile and just knowing I’m not the only crazy, insane Willys addict gives me great comfort. Although I’ve seen other Jeepster 4wd conversions on your site I haven’t seen one that used another Willys to make the jump. I’ll keep you posted on Phase II (Body/interior & drive train improvements).”
